Press:
Press
About SENECA FALLS
"But the play is not a conventional history: Douglass mobilizes satire, sexuality, suffering, and sarcasm, serving up a tongue-in-cheek performance that underscores ongoing voter suppression and lampoons oppositions to suffrage."
- Melissa Rodman, The Arts Fuse
About THE FOG
"Normally, it wouldn’t be fair to dwell on context more than the play itself, but the Rep and Douglass built this for the times, and their ingenuity and experimentation — do it this way or not at all — are admirable.
Normally theaters, enclosed spaces alive with other people on stage and in seats, are refuges of contemplation from everyday life. The pandemic’s go-to form of distraction and escapism — streaming television and movies — can be completely escapist, vacuum sealed from current events.
“The Fog” was different, taking place outside and exposed to the wider context that was at times difficult to shut out. The writing and acting had eloquent moments where they aligned with the present."
About THE PROVIDENCE OF NEIGHBORING BODIES
★★★★ - featured in The Best Shows at the Edinburgh Festival 2018
"poetic study of female friendships"
"surreal and wonderfully written drama"
"Gazing into the audience, the two actors make the most of Jean Ann Douglass's sharp, funny writing, which pulls absurdity from the mundane"
"Douglass's writing, mostly soliloquies, revels in its oddities"
"Some of Douglass's lines are pure poetry"
"...it is the comedy that enables the emotional punches to carry so much weight. This is a strange reflection on female friendships, loneliness, rejection, denial and the need to find yourself. I won't forget it in a hurry."
- Bridget Minamore, The Guardian
"as Albee did so violently to the sanctity of families, Douglass does to female friendships"
"a surprising and wicked little concoction"
"Douglass's play seems like a sweet little woodland creature, but it's got needle-like claws"
"Douglass has a fine poetic ear"
"impossible not to laugh... richly amusing, despite its strain of darkness"
★★★★
"An incisive examination of the disunited state of America, Jean Ann Douglass' sharp script hones in on the reality of loneliness and the perceived threat of 'the other'"
"The Providence of Neighboring Bodies is both extremely funny and provocative, using the absurd to point out the thorny underbelly of bigotry and xenophobia while highlighting how isolated we are in the current political climate."
"The dialogue is cleverly crafted and skillfully executed"
"A piece that challenges as well as entertaining you throughout, this is an entirely unique play that will make you think, and leave you wanting more."
★★★★
"From the moment the endearingly delusional Dora opens her mouth, I'm hooked by the quirky charm of this play"
"Beneath the fantastical silliness, however, there beats a heart of social commentary. Rhode Island's historical disdain for beavers is an analogue for racial and cultural intolerance, and I was impressed by how such a serious issue was handled in a manner both sensitive and whimsical."
"an astounding piece of theatre!" "Powerful text"
"smart and heartbreaking and agonizing"
"Douglass’ writing is remarkable"
"a brilliant satirical metaphor that will ensure its longevity as a defining text."
"utterly enchanting"
"Through Jean Ann Douglass’ charming script, a basic conversation feels thrilling and definitely out of the ordinary. Human interaction takes on a joyful and celebratory quality that is equal parts delightful and lonely. It is both of these, joy and loneliness, that I couldn’t shake throughout"
"packs quite a big punch, and leaves you pondering some bigger questions on the way out the door"
-Victoria Teague, New York Theatre Review
Profiles on Jean Ann
An essay by Jean Ann in Female First
A Q&A with Jean Ann in Broadway World Scotland
Profiled in I Interview Playwrights
Profiled in the Providence Journal
Profiled in the Valley Breeze
If we gave Bechdel test related awards, The Providence of Neighbouring Bodies would get one for depicting (without fanfare) two women past their mid-20s, both living alone and expressing their inner hopes, doubts, and independent takes on life, without one hint of a desire for male companionship or approval.
...the characters were complex and well developed, and the unique plot gave us plenty of food for thought, so we’d love more UK audiences to have an opportunity to see this show, and hope it has plans for a run outside of Edinburgh.
"A quiet examination of the nature of exclusion and fear of the other is framed as a deeply ironic comedy in Jean Ann Douglass' surreal tale"
"There's a real frisson to Douglass' writing that speaks with great truth about the nature of loneliness"
"delightfully beautiful"
"poetically colloquial"
"delectable writing"
"Douglass has an innate ability when it comes storytelling"
"consistently touching"
"The Providence of Neighboring Bodies is a rare beauty. Jean Ann Douglass has crafted a play that exemplifies human connection in a manner that is subtle yet profound."
"bizarre, effervescent little play"
"a jolting conclusion"
"The bizarre, original voice of playwright Jean Ann Douglass is especially worth a visit"
-Keith Paul Medelis, Theatre is Easy
"a truly thought-provoking plot that gets more intricate the more I think about it"
"packs quite a punch"
★★★★★
"Jean Ann Douglass' tale of scapegoating, discrimination and old values that die hard... it's a fable wrapped not-so-tightly inside a comedy that will have you literally laughing-out-loud."
"captures the strangely absorbing Twin Peaks-esque emptiness of suburban living"
"a thought-provoking oddity that boldly sidesteps conventional drama in favour of something quieter, weirder and distinctively its own.
-Sally Stott, The Scotsman
"theater magic"
"Douglass has a flair for soliloquy aided by a keen eye for the details of everyday life."
"Douglass’ comedy is so entertaining it isn’t until afterward that you realize it is a tragedy about America in its present chaos."
About THE TRUCK PROJECT
Profiled in the Wall Street Journal
Profiled in the New York Times
Profiled in the Brooklyn Based
Profiled in the Greenpoint Gazette
About HUMAN HEAD PERFORMANCE GROUP
"intriguing but slightly infuriating"
"Douglass and Meyer's play asks some big existential questions, like how you experience what is around you, and how your experience of it changes it, and it does so while being very, very funny and entertaining. If elements that would be at home in Kafka, Stoppard, and perhaps even Donnie Darko filtered through a cat with a hobby in jazzy performance art sounds like a fun time, it is. Due to Events is a subjective experience that you should definitely have for yourself."
- Leah Richards & John Ziegler, Culture Catch
"It couldn't be more timely... It's very funny, and an intelligent skewering... The pair are superb, and calmly unsettling."
"an inspired performance"
About SOME EDITING AND SOME THEME MUSIC
"What the hell is this?"
-Time Out New York
“Douglass has created a scathing critique of narcissism, presented in such a humorous and upbeat way, that is highly worth checking out—the best show I’ve seen in the festival thus far.”
- Gyda Arber, nytheatre.com
"a rather provocative, meta-theatrical exploration of the ways in which we document our thoughts and lives; in a technology driven world where we can share things that were once kept largely private, is the self we document accurate, or rather the result of careful editing? Part "vlog," part commentary, part documentary, some editing and some theme music features quirky, playfully thoughtful performances by its three talented co-creators, as well as a fun, sharply smart appearance by director Jean Ann Douglass"
“Magnificently, they subvert our assumptions about what seemed to be clumsy performances… now we realize the performances are polished and minutely calibrated…”
- Ryan Davis, Davis Review