Jason Kingsley

A native of New Sharon, Maine, Kingsley spent a year of high school in Lubeck, Germany (during the 1989 Reunification), where he studied theatre and playwriting, and returned to the States to act in and direct theatre at the community and regional levels. His first short story was published in 1990. After graduating high school, Kingsley founded Dose of Applause Players, which premiered with his first full-length drama, "Auld Lang Syne," and went on to produce three full seasons of Kingsley's work. Accepted on scholarship to prestigious Bennington College, Kingsley double majored in directing and playwriting, and in 1995, he transferred to the British American Drama Academy in London, England, where he studied under legends Fiona Shaw, Mark Wing Davies, Irving Wardle, Diana Quick, and Kate Bassett. While in London, Kingsley founded his second theatre company, Ironwood Theatre Project, and traveled to New Delhi, India where the company premiered to critical acclaim with Howard Barker's "Judith," and "Scenes From an Execution." In India, Kingsley also penned and sold two radio plays, "Department of D.S.L.L.P.T.O.P." and "Just Looking," which were performed on the top commercial station in the country. Returning to the United States, Kingsley continued writing, directing and performing with Ironwood, basing out of Chicago and touring throughout the Berkshires in Massachusetts and New York State. Kingsley's stage play "The Slaughterwright," was cited for the Julie Harris Award in the highly competitive Beverly Hills Theatre Guild Playwriting Contest, resulting in an Equity Workshop production of the play in Chicago, and a fully funded season of Kingsley's work. Glowing reviews and solid attendance firmly established Kingsley as a force in Chicago theatre. Touring to New York and Los Angeles, "The Slaughterwright" (directed by indie filmmaker Ian McCrudden), was optioned by 1998 Slamdance Film Festival winning director Scott Storm, and Kingsley relocated to Los Angeles. In addition to performing at the Mark Taper Forum and the HBO/WB Workspace, Kingsley completed his documentary, "Tomorrow Is Not Promised," shot in Los Angeles' Boyle Heights, and Northern Maine, while his work-for hire includes the feature films "Cartel," "Eva's Wish," "The Color of Forget," "Chinese Princess," and "Red Strings", teleplays for "Robert Culp's SpyTalk", "The Descendants" and "Joy Lee Chan, Private Investigator", and sketch comedy for the now-defunct online enterprise, Digital Entertainment Network. Original scripts include "The Slaughterwright," "The Quarry," and "The Machinist." Kingsley is represented by industry veteran Tom Klassen.