Today we’d like to introduce you to Jessica Wise.
Hi Jessica, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
The Bridge Club started out as a playwrighting class project in undergrad. I had never written a play before, and I was determined to leave the class with something I could stage in the future. I was only 19 at the time, but I knew I wanted to create something timeless, that would make people laugh, and covered multiple facets of womanhood. I was (and still am) a huge fan of the Real Housewives franchises, and I knew I wanted to capture some of that shady, meme-able humor.
After taking it through my class, I left the project alone for some years. Once I finished grad school, I was unemployed and back in my childhood bedroom, teaching Pure Barre in the morning and ballet in the late afternoons. I used the time to build the other business I’m known for (Audacity Magazine & Events) and to edit The Bridge Club’s script. I took around to my writer friends for some feedback, and by 2019, The Bridge Club had its first staged reading at local playwright festival at OnStage Atlanta.
Then, covid hit. It was yet another opportunity to work on revising and refining. During the lockdown, I took it through the Atlanta Dramatists playwright workshop, where they found four actresses to read The Bridge Club on Zoom. Then I received feedback from my peers, who were longtime successful playwrights and highly respected in the community. They steered me to my final edits, and play got its first public staged reading in spring of 2022. That’s when I knew this play could really go the distance. I took it through two more readings, and now we’re making our fully-staged production debut on May 16th at The Atlanta Theater!
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Not at all. I had never written a play before The Bridge Club, and like I said, I was only 19 when I first began writing it. I definitely took a proverbial beating in my undergrad playwrighting class, haha! But it helped me sharpen the play and boil it down to one driving plot, so I’m grateful for the redirection I received.
I’m also not a playwright by trade. I’m an actor and writer of other genres first. When you write a play, it’s not up in a museum where it can never be touched again. It’s a living and breathing work people are going to take to their stage for years to come. Everything about it has to be intentional, right down to the punctuation marks. I also work a day job and run another business, so The Bridge Club often took a backseat to more pressing issues until I finally had to say to myself, “No more b.s. It’s time.”
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’m an actress, writer, director, and producer. While The Bridge Club is my first play I’m fully staging, I’ve directed three of the five staged readings it’s gone through and produced two of them 100% on my own.
The Bridge Club is set in 1950 and follows four post-World War II women as they seek the truth about a nasty rumor following their newlywed friend. In a short afternoon, and a game of bridge, lines get crossed and friendships are tested as more information comes out. It’s a fun one-act comedy inspired by I Love Lucy and The Real Housewives of New Jersey.
I’m also excited to announce I will be launching my own theatrical production company by next year! My goal with my company (name to be revealed soon) is to create theatrical productions centered around womanhood, divine femininity, and diversity in period spaces. The Bridge Club is the first show that will accomplish this mission, as it is set in ’50s suburbia with an all WOC cast and crew.
What matters most to you? Why?
Giving people a space to be seen, heard, and felt. I chose acting and creating as my life’s work because it’s a profession that forces you to LITERALLY put yourself in someone else’s shoes without judgement. When you get onstage as that character, you have to know them, believe them, and love them no matter what. When you show a character’s life authentically, there’s a chance you can get someone in the audience to understand them and people like them. And maybe they’ll change their minds and hearts for the better because of it.
Pricing:
- $25 tickets to The Bridge Club performances
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-bridge-club-a-play-in-one-act-tickets-1250758144279
- Other: https://gofund.me/cb1b8632
