Seth Jacobson

I've written, produced, directed and edited many corporate videos in and around New York City, for over 20 years. Many of these pieces have been offbeat, like an educational narrative/documentary I made that attempts to teach good information sourcing habits to 12 year olds. In that, I repurposed scenes from old and weird internet supernatural movies to try to try to teach methods that weed fact from fiction.

For years, I've been struggling to develop my screenwriting chops, but I'd like to try my hand at playwriting. I recently completed a 20-minute short film, "Back Story", which I developed in a theatre group (Brazen Giant Ensemble). It was selected for 10 festivals (New York Indy Shorts, Big Apple, Golden Door, Hollywood Shorts, to name a few. It can currently be viewed on the "Big Apple Film Festival" Channel on Youtube.

So, I'm 66 and still trying to find my voice. I have been an actor as well, over many years, and was recently cast by a friend in my theater ensemble to star in a short film. But, acting isn't something I am pursuing really. I am a fan of theatre (how can you NOT be, living in the East Village of Manhattan!) and for many years I was an actor, appearing in many off-Broadway productions, including as Vladimir in "Waiting for Godot."

I haven't seen most of the plays you mention, kept for Uncle Vanya, which I LOVE and have seen several film and theater iterations of (my favorite is the Andre Gregory/Wally Shawn "Vanya on 42nd Street"), I want to get a better handle on playwriting structure and. I have an intuitive understanding, but not a clear or firm one.

My influences are Stoppard ("Rosencrantz"), Allen ("Hanna and her 3 sisters", "Manhattan", "Sleeper"), Simon ("Odd Couple"), George S Kaufman ("Animal Crackers"), Durang ("Sister Mary..."), Jez Butterworth ("the hills of California") and others... I'm noticing there are NO WOMEN on the list. Shit! Okay, We'll add Wendy Wasserstein ("The Sisters Rosensweig"), Phoebe Waller‑Bridge ("Flea bag" series), Michaela Coel ("I May Destroy You" series) to the list.

There's plenty more but for now, that's it in a nutshell.