Performer Interviews, Q & A, and performance excerpts
with Marsh and MarshStream founder Stephanie Weisman

Jessica Litwak

Thursday, July 16 at 7:30pm PDT

Jessica Litwak is a playwright, actor, educator, puppet builder and recognized leader in the field of socially engaged theater. Her plays have been produced Off Broadway and on stages across the U.S., Europe and the U.K.

Jessica Litwak has had an international presence as a theatre artist and teacher in Iraq, India, Lebanon, Egypt, Israel, and London as well as throughout the United States. She has been on the full- time theatre faculty of San Francisco State University and The Theatre Academy at Los Angeles City College, heading up the Voice Department at both schools. She has also taught, voice, at Stella Adler Academy and Marymount Manhattan College, she has taught acting and playwriting at Columbia and NYU.

Litwak’s plays include: Emma Goldman: Love Anarchy and Other Affairs directed by Anne Bogart and produced by The Women’s Project and Productions, A Pirate’s Lullaby, which won The Oregon Book Award, was produced in Portland, Oregon at Artists Rep. Theatre, Off Broadway at Rattlestick Theater and in Chicago at The Goodman Theatre. The Promised Land, commissioned by The National Federation of Jewish Culture, was produced in Budapest, Hungary. Secret Agents was produced in Hollywood at The Renberg Theatre, and Victory Dance was produced at the DR2 in New York and also in Los Angeles where it received a Garland Award and an Ovation Award.

As an actress, Litwak has appeared extensively in theatrical productions across the United States, a company member at The Guthrie Theatre and a member of The Actor’s Studio. The Founder and Artistic Director of award-winning theatre company New Generation Theatre Ensemble, (www.ngte.org).

Stephanie Weisman founded and has been the Artistic/Executive Director of The Marsh since its inception in 1989. Under her leadership, The Marsh has grown from a one-night-a-week performance series to producing 600-700 shows annually on its four stages. In addition to its developing work performance series, The Marsh’s programs include: artist-in-residencies, after-school and summer workshops for youth both onsite and in 5 SFUSD, and performance development classes, workshops and Performance Initiatives. In 1996 Stephanie spearheaded the drive to successfully buy their 12,000 sq ft facility on Valencia Street in San Francisco. This increased The Marsh’s programs four-fold as well as provided for a stable Bay Area arts organization. In 2010, The Marsh added a second venue in Berkeley. In 2020, Stephanie initiated MarshStream. She is currently at work developing her opera, Aphrodisia, with dancer, Wei Wang.