Jacquelyn is an actor, director, writer, producer, and teacher. Her focus is on new and developing work, and supporting artists-in-process. She is the Artistic Director of the Elysian Theater in Los Angeles.
Originally from the south side of Chicago, she graduated from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and worked in the New York theater for over a decade.
Jacquelyn is the creator/writer of the musical fiction podcast It Makes A Sound, and the voice of Deirdre Gardner. She produced (with sound engineer Vincent Cacchione and composer Nate Weida) the original soundtrack album of the show, Wim Faros: the Attic Tape. The second season premiered in May 2022, and the second studio album is in production.
Theater includes the U.S. premieres of Deaf West’s Orpheé, Anna Nicole: The Opera by Mark Anthony Turnage/Richard Thomas, directed by Richard Jones at BAM; 3 Kinds of Exile by John Guare, directed by Neil Pepe at the Atlantic Theater; The Complete and Condensed Stage Directions of Eugene O’Neill, vol. 1: Early Plays/Lost Plays, directed by Christopher Loar (Drama Desk nomination for “Unique Theatrical Experience”); The Caucasian Chalk Circle, directed by Anya Saffir with Pipeline Theatre; Blue-s-cat by Koffi Kwahule, translated by Chantal Bilodeau; and 365 Days/365 Plays by Suzan Lori Parks at The Public Theater.
Alumna of the avant-garde comedy collective New York Neo-Futurists, the writer/performers of the long-running cult shows Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind and The Infinite Wrench. With the Neos, she received the Caffe Cino Award and several NY Innovative Theater Awards.
Former Artist-in-Residence at The Invisible Dog Art Center, and panelist at Austin Film Festival, IFC Center, and the NYPL Performing Arts Library at Lincoln Center. Her short plays and writings are published in 225 Plays by the New York Neo-Futurists; How To Be A Grown Up: the Complete and Definitive Answer; and Loose Lips.
For over a decade, Jacquelyn was on the master faculty of the Atlantic Acting School, where she taught the core acting classes in their Conservatory and NYU/Tisch Studio programs. She teaches performance and writing workshops across the country and internationally and develops projects with performance artists, comedians, screenwriters, playwrights, and producers.
