Welcome to the homepage of Jay Jaski for the Literary Managers & Dramaturgs of the Americas (LMDA). Jay is a theatre-maker, educator, and dramaturg specializing in the development of new plays and musical works in the Greater New York City area. He currently serves on the Advisory Panel for the Eugene O’Neill Music Theater Conference in Waterford, CT. Jay earned his MFA in Theatre Arts/Dramaturgy from Columbia University in 2012, studying under such leading theorists and practitioners as W.B. Worthen, Gregory Mosher, Anne Bogart, Christian Parker, Arnold Aronson, and Barry Grove. Jay subsequently founded J & J Theatricals, a play-development organization that currently serves multiple producing organizations and playwrights in NYC. In completion of his graduate studies at Columbia University, Jay fulfilled his Shubert Foundation Fellowships in the Literary and Education departments of the McCarter Theater in Princeton (see http://www.mccarter.org/travesties/pages/dada.html for his essay on Dadaism for the McCarter’s recent production of Tom Stoppard’s TRAVESTIES). Jay’s ongoing commitment to theatre education as a practitioner and educator includes working for the McCarter Theatre, where he has taught playwriting and dramaturgy to Princeton area high school students, as well as performance coaching of BFA students at Florida State University and student teaching graduate theatre lectures at Columbia University -- Jay is dedicated to utilizing theatre education as a vital means of empowering young people. As a dramaturg and literary analyst, Jay has worked with: the Richard Rodgers Award; his mentor, Tony Award-winning director and lyricist, Richard Maltby, Jr.; Moisés Kaufman for the writers of SPRING AWAKENING, and the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center -- where he repeatedly serves on the Advisory Panel for the National Music Theater Conference. As a director, Jay has had the pleasure of directing such Tony-winning and -nominated actors as Judy Kaye, Brian d'Arcy James, Harolyn Blackwell, Norm Lewis, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, and Marin Mazzie. More than 60,000 Chicagoans attended Jay’s recent Gershwin and Bernstein concerts in Millennium Park (venue by Frank Gehry). Both of these fully staged and critically acclaimed concerts were created with long-time collaborator, Broadway conductor Kevin Stites, and included extensive collaboration with the Leonard Bernstein and George and Ira Gershwin trusts. Jay’s producing work includes CHILDREN AND ART, a Broadway tribute honoring the career of Stephen Sondheim, SONDHEIM IN THE PARK (Chicago), and TAKE FLIGHT, the new Maltby & Shire musical that debuted in 2007 in London at the Menier Chocolate Factory, with a book by John Weidman. As a producer, Jay has had the privilege of working with James Freydberg, Ira Pittelman, Joey Parnes, and the late Gerald Schoenfeld, as well as the Trinity Repertory Company and Manhattan Theatre Club. As an actor, Jay made his Broadway debut in 2005 and developed his vocal technique under Joan Lader. He is a proud member of Actors' Equity Association (AEA) and has worked regularly in the development of new musicals in particular, including Broadway's 9 TO 5 (directed by Joe Mantello), EVER AFTER, by Goldrich & Heisler, and most recently, Maury Yeston's DEATH TAKES A HOLIDAY (directed by Doug Hughes in 2011 at the Roundabout Theatre, which included Jay’s show-stopping performance as Major Fenton and a mention in the NY Times from Charles Isherwood). Off-Broadway and Regional theatre work includes the Roundabout Theatre Company, the Public Theater, the McCarter Theatre, and the Georgia Shakespeare Festival. Jay has also worked with many notable writers, directors, and composers including: Stephen Sondheim, Theresa Rebeck, Tom Meehan, David Shire, Gary Griffin, and Graciela Daniele. As a scholar and practitioner, Jay has presented at national conferences, including the Association for Theatre in Higher Education (ATHE) conference in New York City, where he spoke on the art of "Dramaturgy in the Broadway and Commercial Realm." Jay holds a degree in Music Theatre Performance from Florida State University (BM/BFA Music Theatre), where he also had the opportunity to study the genre of American Realism under the direction of the great, José Quintero. In 2004, Jay was the recipient of the Florida State University BFA Alumni Spotlight for his role in creating and producing for the university “An Evening with Maltby & Shire” with award-winning artists Richard Maltby and David Shire in residence. Finally, Jay is currently working on several educational initiatives, including his first book entitled, "360˚ Dramaturgy: The Art of Making the Musical," as well as a scholarly article on the economics of televised theatre and its inherent quandary with liveness and theatrical efficacy.