Leelee Jackson PLAYWRIGHT
Keeper of Black Narratives
A Bit About Me
The work of Leelee Jacckson centers postmodern narratives of the African diaspora. While obtaining a Bachelor's degree in dramatic arts at the University of California, Irvine, she encountered phenomenal Black thinkers who were invested in archiving and protecting Black narratives and taught her how to do the same. Their influence and wealth of knowledge in Black politics led Jackson to write her first one act play, Comb Your Hair (Or You’ll Look Like a Slave) that went on to be a national finalist at the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival in 2016 for the John Cauble outstanding short plays award. Since then, CYH has been featured on multiple stages including Los Angeles based theatre companies SkyPilot in 2017 and Sorority in 2018. Her full length play The Shit Show: An American Allegory was honored as a finalist at the Austin Film Festival in 2019, where it received a stage reading. Jackson currently resides in Riverside, California and is a holder of a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) from the University of California, Riverside where she graduated in 2019.
On Theory, Theatre and Outreach
Theatre is a great performative platform to explore Black histories and unpack theory. Jackson allows for her knowledge in Black feminism and Afro-pessimism to communicate notions of Blackness according to trusted scholars and academics.
Jackson is currently working with a team of artist of color (predominately Black) to develop a nonprofit space for Black art to be archived, presented and preserved. Black Light Arts Collective (BLAC).
I wish you wouldn't make me explain these things to you.
What do I have to say? What do I have to do? How do I have to look to be heard by you? When I tell you they're racist, to explain what I mean.
How can you root for me when you're playing on their team?
- All of Us from Comb Your Hair (Or You'll Look Like a Slave)
Upcoming Events
Fri, Jun 19Online performance directed for videoJun 19, 2020, 6:00 PM – 7:30 PM PDTOnline performance directed for videoJun 19, 2020, 6:00 PM – 7:30 PM PDTOnline performance directed for video13 vignettes exploring aggression specifically directed toward Black womxn. This one act play highlights real and modern narratives of issues ranging from dating on tinder to confronting internalized hate while offering visibility to the known yet unseen.
Photographs From The Past
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Honorable MENtion with Sorority
Sorority Presents: SPACE
A stage reading of 5 vignettes from one act play Honorable MENtion
