San Francisco Playhouse has revealed new commissions with six acclaimed theatre artists, increasing its commitment to fostering the future of American Theatre through its robust New Works Program. Commissions include This Time by Korean American playwright Jesse Jae Hoon (Saved, Titans).
Named as part of Theatrely31's "Class of 2026" →
Theatrely Editorial Board – What does the theatrical landscape of tomorrow look like? The Theatrely31 is our annual compilation of visionary actors, directors, and theatre makers poised for a meteoric rise. These trailblazers and emerging stars are carving unique paths within our industry, and we eagerly anticipate the exciting destinations they will take us to next. See last year’s list here.
“Last summer, Jesse Jae Hoon’s spectacular Titans opened Clubbed Thumb’s Summerworks, a mini-festival of one-act plays that’s becoming the must-see event to find actually bold, actually exciting new work in NYC. Titans tackled the harrowing realities of the immigrant experience and the difficulties of organizing and building community amid the rising tide of fascism while still being delightfully screwball and funny. It’s a highwire act that only a playwright deeply invested in craft can pull off. In 2022, as a Creatives Rebuild New York Resident Artist, Jesse wrote 3 Lehrstücke (“learning plays”), inspired by Bertolt Brecht, that involved time interviewing organizers, observing the work of the Flushing Food Collaborative in Queens, and visiting the Bertolt Brecht Archives in Berlin. Jesse is not just interested in making art, but investigating how art can serve the collective good and investigate power and those who wield it. His work is that rare combination of crucial to our theatrical ecosystem while also entertaining as hell.” "–Andrew Martini, Staff Writer
Auditions for "Titans" at Company One Theatre in Boston
Company One Theatre is seeking local non-AEA actors for Titans by Jesse Jae Hoon, directed by Natsu Onoda Power. We will be holding a first round of auditions on September 26 from 12pm-6pm and September 29 from 5pm-9pm at the Boston Center for the Arts. Callbacks will be held in mid October over Zoom to include some out of town collaborators.
Titans rehearsals will start on December 8 and will take place Tuesday through Friday evenings (6pm-10pm) and Saturday afternoons (12pm-6pm). We will be off from Dec 24-28 and Dec 31-Jan 1 for the holidays. This production will take place at Suffolk University’s Modern Theatre from Jan 22-30 and then run at a second community space in Boston from Feb 5-27
Power to the people! Titans follows a group of ordinary residents in an overrun American city who organize and mobilize in response to ICE raids in their community. Written by rising star Jesse Jae Hoon and directed by longtime Company One collaborator Natsu Onoda Power, Titans presents a vision of what is possible when regular people work together and reminds us all of our innate extraordinary power.
Actors will be paid $350 per week
AVAILABLE ROLES
BEL – she/they, 18+ to play teens, Latiné. Riyo’s best friend, loves manga. An absolutely go getter who helps the teachers create a safety protocol for the school. Some comfort speaking Spanish is a plus. This actor also plays ESPERANZA and CARMEN
DIANA – she/her, 30s, Latiné. Gabriel’s sister and the disciplinarian at Bel & Riyo’s school. Stuck between wanting to protect her students and school bureaucracy. Some comfort speaking Spanish is a plus. This actor also plays ANALILIA and MATEO
ELIYSHEBA – she/her, 40s, Black, Riyo’s mother. Cares deeply about her community and immediately jumps into action to get the neighborhood organized. This actor also plays TEACHER 3 and ABSAN and will be asked to learn a few lines in a Somali dialect.
FARIDA – she/her, 30s, Palestinian American. Currently works at a chicken shop, but was once a professor. Develops a romantic relationship with Fran while helping the community organize. This actor also plays AMIRA, TEACHER 1, and CHEMISTRY TEACHER and will be asked to learn a line in Arabic and a line in Korean.
FRAN – she/her, 30s, Korean Adoptee. Works at the Marriott next to Wegmans. Scared to leave her apartment after finding out she isn’t a naturalized citizen like she thought. Develops a romantic relationship with Farida. Some comfort speaking Korean is a plus. This actor also plays HA-EUN, SECURITY GUARD and will be asked to learn a few lines in Korean.
GABRIEL – he/him, late 20s, Latiné, Diana’s brother. An aspiring entrepreneur who works at Foot Locker while also working to grow his online presence through YouTube, social media, and a Battlestar Galactica Etsy store. This actor also plays ADRIEL and TEACHER 2
JOYCE – she/her, 40s, white. A no nonsense lesbian who works for McArdle’s Tow Lot. This actor also plays LEONTYNA
JARED/LARRY/PRINCIPAL – he/him, 30s, white. Jared is a man of few words who works at the tow lot, Larry is an immigration lawyer who would describe himself as fabulous, and the Principal is an overworked administrator trying to get through the day.
RIYO – she/her, 18+ to play teens, Black, Eliysheba’s daughter and Bel’s best friend. Deeply worried about her mother’s activism, falls into a Chat GPT-fueled doom spiral as a result. This actor also plays HANI
HOW TO SUBMIT
Please email auditions@companyone.org with the following information in order to be considered
Name
Pronouns
Headshot
Resume
Role(s) you’re interested in
Preferred audition date and time
Actors will receive the full script and a side in advance of their audition.
If you are interested in auditioning but unavailable for any audition time, please email auditions@companyone.org to make other arrangements.
Feel free to email auditions@companyone.org with any questions
Pictured standing: Heesun Hwang, Jully Lee, Shannon Tyo.
"Saved: An American Epic in 2 Parts" Reading with The Civilians & The New Group
A reading of both parts of Saved (Part 1: The Girl and the Sky and Part 2: Thanksgiving) was presented on 1 June 2026 as part of The Civilians’ R&D Findings Series. It was directed by Taylor Reynolds and featured Heidi Armbruster, Michael Gaston, Christine Heesun Hwang, Zoë Kim, Josh Hoon Lee, Jully Lee, Meewha Alana Lee, Liz Leimkuhler, Alex Lin, Sydney Lo, Laura Sohn, Elizabeth Stahlmann, Joe Tapper, Shannon Tyo and Jeena Yi. Developmental support in the form of a workshop was held a week prior by The New Group.
Photo by Maria Baranova.
"Titans" at Clubbed Thumb
Titans ran from May 14-26 at The Wild Project as part of Clubbed Thumb’s 2026 Summerworks. The production was directed by Tara Elliott and featured Julia Brothers, Layan Elwazani, Ben Langhorst, Megan Lomax, Irene Sofia Lucio, Sharina Martin, Reynaldo Piniella, Marvelyn Ramirez and Shannon Tyo.
Casting for Titans at Clubbed Thumb's SummerWorks →
Lineup and Casting Revealed for Summerworks Festival of New Plays
Off-Broadway theatre company Clubbed Thumb will present three new plays as part of the annual festival.
Playbill – April 24, 2026 – By Meg Masseron
Initial casting has been revealed for the three plays being presented this summer as part of Off-Broadway theatre company Clubbed Thumb's Summerworks 2026.
The annual festival of new plays will kickoff May 14-26 with Jesse Jae Hoon's Titans, directed by Tara Elliott. The play examines ordinary residents of an overrun American city who must answer a signal to discover their extraordinary powers. The cast will include Julia Brothers (Weightless) as Joyce, Layan Elwazani (The Antiquities) as Farida, Ben Langhorst (Chinese Republicans) as Jared and others, Megan Lomax (The Skin of Our Teeth) as Riyo, Irene Sofia Lucio (Liberation) as Diana, Sharina Martin (The Piano Lesson) as Eliysheba, Reynaldo Piniella (Thoughts of a Colored Man) as Gabriel, Marvelyn Ramirez (CALF SCRAMBLE) as Bel, and Shannon Tyo (The Comeuppance) as Fran. Titans will feature set design by Raphael Mishler (The Fires), costume design by Phuong Nguyen (Usus), lighting design by Cha See (Oh, Mary!), sound design by Brendan Aanes (Taylor Mac’s Bark of Millions), and movement by Kelly Bartnik (The Death of Rasputin). Allison Raynes will serve as the production stage manager, and Cara Kienitz will serve as the assistant stage manager.
Nadja Leonhard-Hooper's Derangements will follow, playing June 1-12, with direction by Annie Tippe. It follows two girlfriends catching up over dinner, but their lives change in a flash. The cast will include Hannah Cabell (Your Own Personal Exegesis) as Anne Marie, Camila Canó-Flaviá (Dance Nation) as Maya, Crystal Finn (Cold War Choir Practice) as Roxanne, Marceline Hugot (Marys Seacole) as The Gynecologist, Allan K. Washington (SpongeBob SquarePants: The Broadway Musical) as The Waiter, and Danny Wolohan (To Kill a Mockingbird) as The Flasher. Derangements will feature set design by Cate McCrea (CALF SCRAMBLE), costume design by Brenda Abbandandolo (Cold War Choir Practice), lighting design by Alejandro Fajardo (Adult Relationships), and sound design by Johnny Gasper (Not Not Jane’s). Dominique Nadeau will serve as the production stage manager, and Aiden Dalton will serve as the assistant stage manager.
Bailey William's The Family Dog will run June 18-30, directed by Tara Ahmadinejad. The play centers on Whitney, who has returned to her childhood home to say goodbye to the pet who replaced her. Casting will be revealed at a later date. The production will feature set design by Colleen Murray (Coach Coach), costume design by Mel Ng (Grief Hotel), lighting design by Masha Tsimring (Cold War Choir Practice), and sound design by Ben Vigus (Lunch Bunch).
Visit ClubbedThumb.org.
"Titans" at Clubbed Thumb's 2026 SummerWorks →
Titans will premiere as part of the 2026 Clubbed Thumb SummerWorks series, directed by Tara Alliott. Season passes onsale now. SummerWorks will run May 14 - June 30 at The Wild Project. More information will be coming in the coming weeks!
Studio Theatre's NEW PAGES NEW STAGES: Interview with Jesse Jae Hoon →
Ella Talerico, Studio’s Artistic Producing Fellow, interviewed Jesse Jae Hoon, playwright of Do You Think I’m Annoying? which will be featured in the inaugural New Pages, New Stages Festival.
ELLA: So how did you fall in love with playwriting?
JESSE: I’ve always loved theater. But I really fell in love with playwriting it in my late twenties. After graduating, I worked in new play development as an actor and got to watch writers like Julia May Jonas develop work over several years. It was deeply inspiring.
ELLA: What do you enjoy specifically about the craft?
JESSE: Plays aren’t bound to one narrative structure. Every play demands its own form based on its themes and characters. I see playwriting as the most expansive and imaginative narrative art. Industry and institutional limits aside, theater remains one of the most egalitarian and pure forms of artistry we have. Other art forms are increasingly shaped by corporate ownership.
As a political writer, I write because I have something to say. Theater lets me be provocative and incisive in ways that film and TV, monopolized by corporate interests, often can’t. There’s hierarchy and censorship in theater too, but it’s inherently more democratic.
Studio Theatre's New Pages, New Stages Festival with Theater J →
Do You Think I’m Annoying? will be part of Studio Theatre’s New Pages, New Stages festival, thanks to Theater J. The reading will take place on January 25, 2026 at 5PM and will be directed by Shannon Tyo. Tickets are available here.
Studio Theatre, in conjunction with four other DC theatres, will host a three-day festival of readings from January 23-25, 2026. Produced by Studio, the inaugural New Pages, New Stages festival will feature new plays and public readings of two works-in-process from the Studio R&D Program alongside projects from local theatres Arena Stage, Theater Alliance, Theater J, and Solas Nua, offering audiences a front-row seat to new, dynamic playwrights in the DC area.
Studio R&D has supported commissions and development of new work since 2012 and boasts playwrights like Rachel Bonds, Aaron Posner, Kimberly Belflower, and James Ijames among its alumni, and plays from Studio R&D have gone on to productions on Broadway, Off Broadway, across the US, and internationally.
Part of The Civilians R&D Group →
The Civilians has revealed its 25th anniversary season. In addition to the world premiere of Anne Washburn’s The Burning Cauldron of Fiery Fire, in a co-production with The Vineyard Theatre, The Civilians will welcome the newest members of its R&D Group, as well as its third round of commissions for The Next Forever, a one of a kind partnership with Princeton University’s High Meadows Environmental Institute and Lewis Center for the Arts that creates new stories for a changing planet.
Now entering its 16th season, The R&D Group is comprised of playwrights, composers, and directors who work together as a writing group for nine months to develop new plays and musicals. The season culminates in Findings, a works-in-progress reading series, anticipated to take place in June 2026. The artists were selected from a competitive application process that included nearly 200 submissions.
The members of The Civilians’ 2025-26 R&D Group are Jason Aguirre, Andromache Chalfant, HyoJeong Choi, Nazareth Hassan, Jesse Jae Hoon, Jeanine Oleson, and Adam J. Rineer.
Saved, Part 2: Thanksgiving is the second play in a two-part drama about the South Korean adoption industry, from its Cold War origins to its transformation into a lucrative business empire built by systemic fraud and negligence. Three epic stories spanning six decades across Oregon, Washington DC, Vermont, Seoul, and Jeju Island, SAVED explores what happens when we kill the parents and raise the children. Saved, Part 1: The Girl and the Sky introduces the origins of industrialized adoption – Thanksgiving dives into the consequences.
From American Theatre Magazine: "Offscript: A Conversation About Our Theatre Futures"
Offscript is American Theatre’s flagship podcast, available wherever you get your podcasts (including Spotify and Apple Podcasts). I participated in this episode with Patricia McGregor (Artistic Director, NYTW), Lizzie Stern (Literary Director, Playwrights Horizons), and Deeksha Gaur (Executive Director, TDF), moderated by American Theatre editor-in-chief Rob Weinert-Kendt.
In Residency at Yangtze Rep →
Jesse Jae Hoon will be in residency as part of the newly announced 2025 Cohort for Project YZ at Yangtze Rep.
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THE KOREA TIMES: Jesse Jae Hoon's ‘Saved’ explores political roots, emotional aftermath of adoption →
Written by Antonia Giordano for The Korea Times.
Though it had its premiere reading on the opposite side of the world from Korea, on a stage in New York City, Jesse Jae Hoon’s "Saved" spoke directly to the hearts of many in both countries.
Divided into two parts, the first part of "Saved," titled "The Girl and the Sky," debuted at The Public Theater in New York on April 21 as part of its Emerging Writers Group Spotlight Series. The one-night-only event offered audiences a glimpse into a bold new voice in American theater — one shaped by lived experience and a fierce commitment to truth-telling.
With nuance and emotional depth, the play explored the complexities of adoption — not merely as a legal process or an act of “saving” a child, but as a personal journey shaped by love, loss, identity and history. It served as a reminder that questions of origin and belonging are deeply human — and often entangled in geopolitical forces far beyond an individual’s control.
EWG Spotlight Series Reading of "Saved, Part One: The Girl and the Sky"
The Public Theater presented two sold-out readings of Saved, Part One: The Girl and the Sky as part of their EWG Spotlight Series on 21 April 2025. The reading was directed by Taylor Reynolds and featured Kelley Curran, Michael Gaston, Heesun Hwang, Daniel K. Isaac, Zoë Kim, Jully Lee, Liz Leimkuhler, Kelly McAndrew, Joe Tapper, Shannon Tyo, Jeena Yi, and Estelle Lee. It featured dramaturgy by Harris Kiernan.
Thanks to everyone who came out!
Conversation with Tony Kushner about "Saved" →
In conversation with Tony Kushner, Jesse Jae Hoon discusses being trapped in the fog, and writing inside of a cultural moment. The conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity.
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"SAVED, PART ONE: THE GIRL AND THE SKY" in the Public Theater's EWG Spotlight Series →
The Public Theater will present a reading of Saved, Part One: The Girl and the Sky as part of the 2025 Emerging Writers Group Spotlight Series. The reading will take place on 21 April 2025 at 1:30PM and 6PM. Taylor Reynolds will direct, Harris Kiernan will be dramaturg, and the cast of 12 includes Kelley Curran, Michael Gaston, Christine Heesun Hwang, Daniel K. Isaac, Zoë Kim, Jully Lee, Liz Leimkuhler, Kelly McAndrew, Joe Tapper, Shannon Tyo, Jeena Yi, and Estelle Lee. Tickets are available here – both readings are “sold out,” but there will be a standby list prior to each performance and patrons often get in that way, so it’s recommended to come 15-30 minutes before the performance begins.
The EWG Spotlight Series will also feature readings from Karina Billini, Tommy Endter, Humaira Iqbal, Celeste Jennings, Nina Ki, Gloria Oladipo, Valen-Marie Santos, Amita Sharma, and Al Sierra. Please come and see these fantastic, exciting new plays by these brilliant writers. The series will run 21 April through 20 May.
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Saved, Part One: The Girl and the Sky is the first play in a two-part drama about the South Korean adoption industry, from its Cold War origins to its transformation into a lucrative business empire built by systemic fraud and negligence. Three epic stories spanning six decades across Oregon; Washington D.C.; Vermont; Seoul; and Jeju Island, Saved explores what happens when we kill the parents and raise the children.
A Weekend in 2025
A few updates from the beginning of 2025:
On February 2, I workshopped a small selection of Do You Think I’m Annoying? at Theater J as part of the culminating event for their “Expanding the Canon” cohort. The selection was directed by Shannon Tyo and featured Sun Mee Chomet, Sydney Lo, and Alex Palting.
On February 3, New York Theatre Workshop hosted a Monday @ 3 Reading of I’ve Got A Sinking Feeling in the Pit of My Stomach. The reading was directed by Iris McCloughan and featured Blake DeLong, A.J. Ditty, Sam Gonzalez, Emma Kikue, Alex Lin, Nadine Malouf, and Ben Langhorst.
McNally Reading of I'VE GOT A SINKING FEELING IN THE PIT OF MY STOMACH at Rattlestick
On 10 September 2024, Rattlestick Theater, in association with The Terrence McNally Foundation and Tom Kirdahy Productions, presented a reading of I’ve Got A Sinking Feeling in the Pit of My Stomach, directed by Tea Alagić and featuring Ryan Andes, Leela Bassuk, A.J. Ditty, Emma Kikue, Ashton Muñiz, Yên Sen, and Ben Langhorst. The reading was presented as a culmination the Terrence McNally New Works Incubator, alongside Sam Mueller and Eliana Theologides Rodriguez.
DO YOU THINK I'M ANNOYING? workshopped in D.C.
After coming back from the O’Neill, I went to Theater J to workshop my commissioned play called Do You Think I’m Annoying? It culminated in a small invited reading, directed by Shannon Tyo and featuring Sydney Lo, Momo Nakamura, Sarah Suzuki, and Grace Carter.
Photo by Emma Brown / The Eugene O’Neill Theater Center.
12 CHAIRS at the O'Neill
I spent a month at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center as part of the National Playwrights Conference. I workshopped 12 Chairs with my director Charlotte Murray, dramaturg Charles Haugland, literary associate Aysha Zackria, and the cast – featuring Amanda Centeno, Arielle Gonzalez, Shawn Jain, Ben Langhorst, Angel Lin, Frankie Placidi, and Jack MacGregor. The workshop culminated in two presentations on July 4 and 6, respectively.