Jonathan Alexandratos

PlayLab 2023 Playwright

Jonathan Alexandratos (they/them) is a Non-Binary, New York City-based playwright. Their work lives at the intersection of pop culture, ancient Queerness, and emotional catharsis. Jonathan’s plays have explored their family’s immigrant past (We See What Happen [Strange Sun Theater Greenhouse Award Winner, Nashville Rep Ingram New Works Lab project], Words Cannot Describe This [Queens Council on the Arts New Works Grant]), the Queer history of toys (TOYS 101 [the So-Fi Festival, Strange Sun Theater’s Explorations: Digital Theater Festival]), transitioning to an ancient Albanian gender in the modern rural Kentucky (Turning Krasniqi [2020 Parity Productions Commission Winner]), among other threads of their own tapestry. Find Jonathan on Instagram @toy_circus.

Proposed Project: The Hills

Cris Eli Blak

PlayLab 2023 Playwright

Cris Eli Blak is an emerging Black playwright whose work has garnered him recognition from The Negro Ensemble Company, Kairos Italy Theater, Austin Film Festival, Barrington Stage Company, TEDxBroadway, and Ignition Arts. His work has been produced Off-Broadway and around the country; on university stages (Columbia University, Northwestern University, New York University); as well as in London, Australia, Ireland, and Canada. He is currently the recipient of the Emerging Playwrights Fellowship from The Scoundrel & Scamp Theatre and a resident playwright with Yonder Window Theatre Company. 

Proposed Project: There Are Black Roses Under The Sea 

An examination of the forgotten Black towns in history, and what it would be like if one of these drowned towns survived and built a new civilization at the bottom of the ocean. When one of the younger residents of one of these towns sneaks off and finds themselves on land, they are immediately swept into the changing world, finding love and discovering the difference between life in the ocean and life on American soil.

Jeffrey James Keyes

PlayLab 2023 Playwright

Jeffrey James Keyes is an interdisciplinary writer and artist. He co-authored the New York Times bestseller Killer Chef with James Patterson in 2016. He was an inaugural recipient of the PEN America L’Engle Rahman Prize for Mentorship in 2021. His plays have been developed or featured at SoHo Playhouse, the Old Vic/Old Vic New Voices, 59E59, the Ensemble Studio Theatre, and Rogue Machine Theatre among others. He is a recipient of the Artists’ Patron Fund’s 2019 Gold Award and wrote the script for Digital Arrest, which took the top prize in the Creative Technology category at the NYC Media Lab 2019 Demo Expo. BA: Fordham University College at the Lincoln Center, MFA: Columbia University School of the Arts. Website: jeffreyjameskeyes.com IG/Twitter: @jjkeyes

Proposed Project: The Great American Holiday Crafting Show

Crafts. Storytelling. Healing. Come join Orange and Clove for an unexpected holiday experience. Go back to the basics and gather with us as we roll up our sleeves and embark on some good old fashion holiday crafting exercises. We’ll swap stories, unpack the holidays, and go back to the basics while working together to not only craft, but discover some hope and a bit of magic for the holiday season.