https://www.jessecameronalick.com/essays daily 0.75 2023-10-26 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ff89d825a6fae169d8f1d31/1610942714071-L2I1YIGEYEO3JGECSWNE/IMG_7022.PNG.png Essays https://www.jessecameronalick.com/essays/24jagalkney3hce2tmj91fb3l0zqv5 monthly 0.5 2023-10-26 https://www.jessecameronalick.com/essays/f6q1qcn9ckj2fynqy0cykzp9h9t3k3 monthly 0.5 2023-09-25 https://www.jessecameronalick.com/essays/8ikwxyvt0kdlukjq0c7g3shmeekfph monthly 0.5 2023-09-29 https://www.jessecameronalick.com/essays/z0rh4lnuyncmq6ezw6jlvig1zuyfmw monthly 0.5 2023-09-25 https://www.jessecameronalick.com/essays/the-spirit-of-the-thing-why-the-american-theater-cant-change monthly 0.5 2023-04-05 https://www.jessecameronalick.com/essays/r85r3go83dle9vegfcf1v7v9c0a587 monthly 0.5 2023-05-03 https://www.jessecameronalick.com/essays/the-circuit-boys-are-coming-for-everything-you-love monthly 0.5 2023-03-28 https://www.jessecameronalick.com/essays/26mv7swtsob9p8zir3zikcz4kxahr3 monthly 0.5 2023-03-01 https://www.jessecameronalick.com/essays/4njcpnnjockrw9jp5avxdvcmiqewwt monthly 0.5 2022-04-19 https://www.jessecameronalick.com/essays/oi624f353ldeo6wwmzdde1qigk99wc monthly 0.5 2022-04-11 https://www.jessecameronalick.com/essays/plays-at-the-end-of-the-world monthly 0.5 2022-03-08 https://www.jessecameronalick.com/essays/on-the-required-levels-of-belief-to-watch-a-show-mj-the-musical monthly 0.5 2022-02-08 https://www.jessecameronalick.com/essays/oifcilg4kri8fzeixyjh8dkah5go26 monthly 0.5 2022-02-08 https://www.jessecameronalick.com/essays/nagkurdf0ahaczcsm4zl8w5pkw0o3k monthly 0.5 2022-02-07 https://www.jessecameronalick.com/essays/k6gh5qoqul3q0st1q8mwtw5vj2tx9q monthly 0.5 2022-02-07 https://www.jessecameronalick.com/essays/gi9yh1fp2edu73z7l7ccuczsenyc40 monthly 0.5 2022-02-07 https://www.jessecameronalick.com/essays/things-i-learned-on-the-dancefloor monthly 0.5 2022-02-07 https://www.jessecameronalick.com/essays/title-3-f2whl-dpphs-bytrs-68t52 monthly 0.5 2021-02-03 https://www.jessecameronalick.com/essays/title-3-f2whl-dpphs-bytrs monthly 0.5 2021-01-28 https://www.jessecameronalick.com/essays/title-3-f2whl-dpphs monthly 0.5 2021-01-28 https://www.jessecameronalick.com/essays/title-3-f2whl-dpphs-3266x monthly 0.5 2021-02-03 https://www.jessecameronalick.com/essays/title-3-f2whl monthly 0.5 2021-01-28 https://www.jessecameronalick.com/essays/title-3-f2whl-txdfz monthly 0.5 2021-01-28 https://www.jessecameronalick.com/essays/blog-post-one-kbkzw monthly 0.5 2021-01-28 https://www.jessecameronalick.com/essays/1bcajlj2wrjsf1dn6gcdstsvvt02pa monthly 0.5 2022-02-18 https://www.jessecameronalick.com/essays/eqht8lr8i1ykj8j8w13ccrnsc1lk5z monthly 0.5 2022-02-18 https://www.jessecameronalick.com/essays/blog-post-four-grc4k monthly 0.5 2021-01-28 https://www.jessecameronalick.com/essays/sre3qfmpmz64xye26iru7k0qpm77i8 monthly 0.5 2022-02-18 https://www.jessecameronalick.com/essays/title-3 monthly 0.5 2021-01-28 https://www.jessecameronalick.com/aboutme daily 1.0 2025-05-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ff89d825a6fae169d8f1d31/27c163ab-82e7-4c9a-b9c5-8495bd1232d7/Jesse+headshot.jpeg About Me BIOGRAPHY Jesse Cameron Alick is a dramaturg, producer, poet, playwright, essayist, artistic researcher and science fiction expert. Born and raised Buddhist high in the mountains of Montana, Jesse is a first generation American born of Grenadian descent. He moved to New York City at 17, began working as a spotlight operator and over the course of his first three years in the city worked for a myriad of off off broadway companies doing everything from box office manager, to board op, back stage crew, theater rental manager, and hip hop poetry teacher. Jesse co-founded the Subjective Theater Company at 19, moved on to become the company’s first resident playwright and then took the helm as Producer and Artistic Director. Jesse ran Subjective for 10 years and staged 15 full productions around Manhattan and Brooklyn. Formerly, Jesse was the Company Dramaturg at the Public Theater where he planned bespoke development paths for projects, from acorn to oak, managing commissioning program with over 20 ongoing projects, readings and workshops, production dramaturg, the Emerging Writers Group and Public Lab/Public Studio. Following that he was the Associate Artistic Director of the Vineyard Theater, working in dramaturgy and artistic producing. Jesse is currently a Co-Director at HERE Art Center, in independent interdisciplinary theater in downtown Manhattan, working in a shared leadership model. Jesse is an active freelance dramaturg at various off-Broadway and independent theaters in NYC, nationwide and in the UK - as well as his work on commercial productions. Jesse studied writing with Adrienne Kennedy and has lectured, taught theater courses, been a graduate responder and/or mentored students at a myriad of programs including Columbia, Fordham, Syracuse, Lewis and Clark, UT Austin, Primary Stages, Yale and Vasser. He currently teaches at NYU. Jesse’s field wide artistic research project EMERGING FROM THE CAVE, is an independent study commissioned by Sundance Institute on the future of theater and live performance. In 2021 the project became the basis for a nation wide conference by Theater Communications Group, where Jesse was the lead curator and speaker. Jesse has been invited to lecture and lead workshops about the study in places all the way from the Kampala International Theatre Festival in Uganda, to the Freiraum Pan-European Arts Festival, to private meeting of senior leadership and board of directors of various institutions. Read the study at www.emergingfromthecave.org Jesse likes it old school and can be contacted at jcalick@yahoo.com. https://www.jessecameronalick.com/productions daily 0.75 2026-01-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ff89d825a6fae169d8f1d31/1610937517463-YQXL5D9UBMV6MVRX4WSG/IMG_3770.JPG.jpg Productions COAL COUNTRY https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ff89d825a6fae169d8f1d31/1610937523143-JKBZX79D2EC2DUB2I9W4/IMG_3772.JPG.jpg Productions EVE'S SONG https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ff89d825a6fae169d8f1d31/1610937524431-MUO8ZQJA1T1TA69T7LJC/B5DZZEHECVATRDX2OCP7F2AC5A.jpg Productions WHITE NOISE https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ff89d825a6fae169d8f1d31/1610937556663-G4LJJ3YS0KGIY57A884F/IMG_3773.JPG.jpg Productions AINT NO MO https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ff89d825a6fae169d8f1d31/1610937531113-761HIZX817YAQEQBO0H4/IMG_3776.JPG.jpg Productions BROBOT JOHNSON https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ff89d825a6fae169d8f1d31/1610937532618-MJCJPVKJSA16EKIE772N/IMG_3778.JPG.jpg Productions TEENAGE DICK https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ff89d825a6fae169d8f1d31/1610937539473-M2WO0443ROD5UROGY6N1/IMG_3782.jpg Productions THE REFUGE PLAYS https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ff89d825a6fae169d8f1d31/1610937567925-J7R82KA24ZEF3TJGZ2Z8/IMG_3780.JPG.jpg Productions THE VAGRANT TRILOGY at Mosaic Theater DC https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ff89d825a6fae169d8f1d31/1610937569888-KGOMKYE7ZIWRMFGYRQQK/IMG_3883.jpg Productions MAKE ME DOWN by the Hawtplates https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ff89d825a6fae169d8f1d31/9752a0e3-6ed2-4ee2-bb7b-3e7b3b64fffa/Lessons+In+Survival+1971.jpg Productions LESSONS IN SURVIVAL: 1971 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ff89d825a6fae169d8f1d31/5d36ba19-e72f-4cfc-8e8b-48465d76a744/vagrant.jpg Productions THE VAGRANT TRILOGY, Public Theater (2020 and 2022) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ff89d825a6fae169d8f1d31/e6df0213-3050-49c2-81a7-1a072793e977/PFTPY.jpg Productions PLAYS FOR THE PLAUGE YEAR https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ff89d825a6fae169d8f1d31/8a62f9e3-bbce-4775-9193-4f5389cc86eb/Theater+of+the+mind.jpg Productions THEATER OF THE MIND https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ff89d825a6fae169d8f1d31/4cc74a58-5102-459c-8d0c-19b56c2c5311/MISTY.jpg Productions MISTY https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ff89d825a6fae169d8f1d31/49e15313-4e71-4708-b64d-d283290f45ef/WGID.jpg Productions WHITE GIRL IN DANGER https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ff89d825a6fae169d8f1d31/8ab80bf8-c73e-430c-b070-e4af6103b818/Leland.jpg Productions THIS LAND WAS MADE https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ff89d825a6fae169d8f1d31/ece11a91-79e0-4027-b9d0-1db0e0a8ee06/241212_DiaryTapDancer-1-1920x1280.jpg Productions DIARY OF A TAPDANCER https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ff89d825a6fae169d8f1d31/4c0550c9-a95e-4e1f-8ee6-8cc9c4b34e2c/3.jpg Productions UNTITLED MINIATURE https://www.jessecameronalick.com/development daily 0.75 2025-12-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ff89d825a6fae169d8f1d31/1611779741999-Z6IL0JUGZDHCK821IP50/IMG_4429+%281%29.jpg New Play Development - The Development of New Work Over the last 20 years Jesse has worked with a myriad of writers, composers, lyricists, directors, designers, artist technologists, developmental houses and devised theater companies on new plays, musicals and new media work. He has supported them with one on one dramaturgical sessions, story mapping, script work, and other bespoke dramaturgical methodologies. Jesse is also regularly involved in readings, one or two-week workshops, as well as larger scale fully staged development moments for large projects such as musicals, or workshop productions. Jesse has built an international reputation of trust amongst artists and institutions. Engaging in over 100 discrete development moments a year, it’s impossible to capture all the names and projects, but below is a short list of collaborators. QUADROPHENIA, a new dance theater piece by THE WHO, Rachel Fuller (UK and US) BOWL, by Nazareth Hassan, Vineyard Theater, NYC THIS WORLD OF TOMORROW by Tom Hanks and James Glossman, The Shed, NYC Hend Ayoub, Noor Theater, NYC Khiyon Hursey, Ars Nova, NYC Borna Barzin, Egg and Spoon Theater Collective, NYC Adam J. Rineer and Jason Aguirre, Prism Festival of New Queer Musicals, NYC Jon Boogz, Lil Buck and Robin Sanders, Public Theater, NYC Shaina Taub and Leigh Silverman, Public Theater, NYC Whitney White, Sundance Institute, UT Gob Squad, Germany Antoinette Nwandu, Playwrights Horizons, NYC Chas Libretto and Jason Landon Marcus, NYC Ione Lloyd and Heather Christian, Public Theater, NYC Ricardo Perez Gonzalez, Public Theater, NYC Somi, The Kimmel Center, PA Derek McPhatter, Chicago The Illustrious Blacks, Joe’s Pub, NYC Aziza Barnes, Sundance Institute, UT A.Rey Pamatmat, Mai Yi, NYC Ife Olujobi, Public Theater, NYC Obehi Janice, Public Theater, NYC Diana Oh, Public Theater, NYC Kevin Snipes, Public Theater, NYC Mikhail Durnenkov, UK/Russia Tim Cowbury and Jess Latowicki/Made in China Theatre, UK Natalie Ibu and Mfoniso Udofia, Tiata Fahodzi Theatre, UK Waleed Elgadi, UK Sienna Rafter, Deaf West Theater, Los Angeles Kareem Lucas, The Bric, NYC https://www.jessecameronalick.com/upcoming daily 0.75 2025-12-23 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ff89d825a6fae169d8f1d31/1610940464427-QRKEJ04Z26A77SFDK74R/IMG_4138.jpg Upcoming - Upcoming Here are the upcoming theatrical projects in development which Jesse is currently dramaturging: THE RAMAYAN, a new musical written and composed by Manik Choksi, NYC https://www.jessecameronalick.com/philosophy daily 0.75 2025-12-23 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ff89d825a6fae169d8f1d31/1610940795031-1HENMRTVQ09DMVHIZ6OL/IMG_8378.JPG.jpg Philosophy - Dramaturgical Philosophy When I’m at a party and people ask me what I do, I almost always tell them I’m a poet to see if they will get bored and move on. But if they don’t, I tell them I am also a dramaturg, and they inevitably ask me what that job entails, to which I respond that my primary duties involve getting drunk with writers. But I’m only half joking! As a dramaturg I am a story expert, a councilor for the artistic creators, someone who isn’t here to do the thing, but will be right at your side while you do the thing, helping to guide your journey. There are lots of kinds of dramaturgs and different definitions of the word dramaturg in the western theater world. Some dramaturgs do historical research for writers and directors, then deliver packets of material for actors and design teams to refer to as the play gets made. Although I can do research, I am not primarily a research dramaturg. I’m a new play development dramaturg, which is to say that I focus on talking to artists about story, plot, action, character and language – helping to reflect back to them what I see in their work and assisting them in trying to make the work closer to what they intend it to be. An analogy I often is that working with me is like going on a road trip. You set the destination and the drive the car. I’m riding shotgun. So let's say that you tell me that we are driving to Montana – I jump in and off we go. You are driving, but I have googlemaps out, and I’ve been on quite a few road trips. So eventually I might comment to you “Hey, I know you said we are going to Montana, but I’ve noticed that this road looks like it’s actually traveling to Colorado. Which is fine – I hear that Denver is great in the summer, big mountains just the same as Montana, though Montana is much less densely populated, better coffee shops also, which I know cause I’ve been to Montana many times. So if you want to go to Montana, we are going to need to switch roads at some point to head further north.” My job is to read, reflect, and help give artists the tools they need to get where they are going. The ways I work with writers is through notes sessions, readings, workshops and in rehearsal dramaturgical guidance. There’s lots of methodologies and dramaturgical concepts I use when working with writers, directors, designers and collaborative theater artists – but no matter how we sort through a problem, a foundational tool of dramaturgy is relationships. Because who am I? I’m a person with an opinion about your work – and in your career you will run into quite a lot of people with opinions about your work. There isn’t a piece of paper you could find that says I'm smart or that my advice is the right advice – and if that paper did exist, I would recommend being quite suspect of it. Why should you listen to me? You should listen to me because of the relationship we have built. You should listen to me because you know me – you know that I love science fiction (more Star Trek than Star Wars), you know that I study religions in my free time, that I love to go dancing, that I cultivate friends who hold opinions that are far to the left of my own, and that I'm an insomniac. Because the source matters – and you should know the source of opinions that come your way. I cultivate relationships with artists by learning how to speak to them in their own specific and individual language. By learning a person’s language, I can give the note that will make its way into the center of your thoughts and have the greatest positive impact on your work. This is related to another value I have, which is “do no harm”. If I don’t think I can help you make your piece better, I will tell you that you shouldn’t be working with me. But if I can help, I will. This philosophy of going where I am needed and then speaking to a person in a way they can understand, has guided me over the last 15 years and it has never let me down. https://www.jessecameronalick.com/resumecv daily 0.75 2025-12-23