Jillian Walker Headshot

Jillian Walker

Birth Place: Detroit, MI

Get Jillian Walker Email Alerts

Be the first to get news, photos, videos & more.

Jillian Walker BIO

Jillian Walker is a playwright, performer, dramaturg, and thinker who is shaping culture through interdisciplinary forms of performance. Commissioned by Soho Rep and named “one of New York City’s most exciting playwrights” by the Bushwick Starr, her play, SKiNFoLK: An American Show, has appeared in ANT Fest at Ars Nova and the inaugural SPARK Festival for new small musicals at Pittsburgh CLO. Her first play, Sarah’s Salt., has received developmental support from Roundabout Theater Company, MCC Theater, and was chosen as an Honorable Mention for the 2017 Relentless Award (American Playwriting Foundation).

With dramaturgy as the core of her artistic practice, Jillian is theatermaker as archaeologist. She investigates the processes and workings of time, ritual, identity and structure to unearth the ways theatrical forms can impact the larger cultural landscape. She was the 2017-18 artist-in-residence at University Musical Society (University of Michigan) where she researched her new play, Tignon and a solo lecture/performance entitled Songs of Speculation which explores her challenges and encounters with and of the historical archive. She will perform Songs of Speculation at JACK in November 2018.

Jillian works actively on new play development around the United States. In addition to her work as an associate curator of the Starr Reading Series, she has dramaturged for Donja Love, Taye Diggs, Awoye Timpo, Andre Holland, P73, LIT Council, National Black Theatre, Ars Nova, The University of Michigan. She has devised theater in collaboration with the Anishinaabe Theater Exchange on the sacred lands of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians. She holds an MFA in Dramaturgy from Columbia University.

Jillian Walker News


Jillian Walker's THE WHITNEY ALBUM Comes to Soho Rep This Month


Soho Rep presents the world premiere of multidisciplinary theater-maker, musician, and composer Jillian Walker's The Whitney Album. Walker's ritual performance flows between incantation, love lecture, scene, and song as it considers the labor of performance itself and honors the legacy of Whitney Houston and so many other Black women beloved, and consumed, for their art.

World Premiere of GAS by Charles Cissel to be Presented at Theatre Row in May


Luke Wilson will present the world premiere of Gas by Charles Cissel. Directed by Felicia Lobo, Gas is a visceral exploration of war.

The Drama League Launches Digital Archive of 2022-23 International Directors Summit


The Drama League has launched its digital archive of the 2022-2023 International Directors Summit, which united eight world-class directors from around the globe for a series of conversations about the changing nature of their work.

Jillian Walker's THE WHITNEY ALBUM Premieres at Soho Rep in May


Soho Rep presents the world premiere of multidisciplinary theater-maker and “imaginary historian” Jillian Walker's The Whitney Album, a meditation on the artist's relationship to Whitney Houston's work and personal life, and perceptions of both in the American imagination. The production concludes a 2022-23 Soho Rep season consisting entirely of works commissioned by the organization

John Turturro, André De Shields & More to be Featured in LIVE FROM MOUNT OLYMPUS Podcast


The Onassis Foundation and PRX has announced a new season of Live from Mount Olympus, created in partnership with the Brooklyn-based theater collective The TEAM and premiering April 18.

PUBLIC OBSCENITIES Extends for a Second and Final Time at Soho Rep


Soho Rep and the NAATCO National Partnership Project have announced a one-week final extension of the world premiere production of Public Obscenities. See how to purchase tickets!

André De Shields Hosts The Team's 18th Anniversary Gala


Emmy, Grammy and Tony Award winner André De Shields (Hadestown) will emcee The TEAM's 18th Anniversary Gala at 26 Bridge on Monday March 27 at 6:30pm.

World Premiere of PUBLIC OBSCENITIES Extends at Soho Rep


Soho Rep and the NAATCO National Partnership Project have announced a two-week extension of the world premiere production of Public Obscenities, a bilingual play performed in Bangla and English from writer-director Shayok Misha Chowdhury, co-commissioned and produced by the two organizations.

Jaime Cepero, Amara Janae Brady & More Announced as Devised Theater Working Group's 2023-24 Cohort at The Public


The Public Theater has announced the six new artists for the 2023-24 cohort of the Devised Theater Working Group.

World Premiere of Bangla/English Bilingual Play PUBLIC OBSCENITIES to be Presented at Soho Rep in February


Soho Rep and the NAATCO National Partnership Project will present Public Obscenities, a bilingual play performed in Bangla and English from writer-director Shayok Misha Chowdhury, co-commissioned and produced by the two organizations, February 15-March 26, 2023.

WHERE WE BELONG to Begin Performances at The Public Theater Next Week


The Public Theater will begin performances for the New York premiere of WHERE WE BELONG, written and performed by Madeline Sayet and directed by Mei Ann Teo, with a Joseph Papp Free Performance on Friday, October 28.

Soho Rep Directors Sarah Benson and Meropi Peponides to Depart at the End of 2022-23 Season


Sarah Benson and Meropi Peponides, two of Soho Rep's three Directors, will step down at the end of the current season, after 15 and 8 years with the influential Off Broadway theater.

BALDWIN AND BUCKLEY AT CAMBRIDGE Extends at The Public Through Late October


The Public Theater and Elevator Repair Service will begin previews for the New York premiere production of BALDWIN AND BUCKLEY AT CAMBRIDGE with a Joseph Papp Free Performance on Saturday, September 24 in the Anspacher Theater.

New York Premiere of BALDWIN AND BUCKLEY AT CAMBRIDGE to Kick Off Fall Season at The Public Theater


The Public Theater and Elevator Repair Service will kick off The Public’s 55th anniversary season with the New York premiere production of BALDWIN AND BUCKLEY AT CAMBRIDGE. BALDWIN AND BUCKLEY AT CAMBRIDGE will begin performances in the Anspacher Theater with a Joseph Papp Free Performance on Saturday, September 24.

Roxane Gay, Sidney Madison Prescott & Carmelita Tropicana Join Soho Rep Board


Soho Rep has announced that writer and social commentator Roxane Gay, Global Head of Intelligent Automation at Spotify Sidney Madison Prescott, and artist Carmelita Tropicana have joined the organization’s Board of Directors.

Soho Rep Announces 2022-23 Season Featuring Three World Premieres


Soho Rep today announced its 2022–23 season, consisting entirely of large-scale works by early-career artists that have been commissioned by the organization.

BWW Review: THE REVOLUTIONISTS at Stage Left Productions


First, a bit of background. Prolific American playwright Lauren Gunderson is a Phoenix favorite; think SILENT SKY at Phoenix College (and the Hale Centre Theater in 2023), JUSTICE and THE HEATH at Arizona Theatre Company, THE BOOK OF WILL at Phoenix Theatre and THE REVOLUTIONISTS at Stage Left Productions through May 29 (adult cast).

Ars Nova Announces New Vision Residency Programming


Ars Nova has announced additional programming running between April 27 – June 24, 2022. All events will take place in-person at Ars Nova (511 West 54th Street, Manhattan) for $15 and online via Ars Nova Supra for $10.

Philadelphia Theatre Company First Stop on World Premiere Tour of WHERE WE BELONG


Philadelphia Theatre Company will present the world premiere of an insightful new work. Performed by Mohegan theatre-maker Madeline Sayet, Where We Belong  showcases an Indigenous theatre-maker’s journeys across geographic borders, personal history, and cultural legacies, in search of a place to belong.

TheatreWorks Partners With Stanford For NEW WORKS NEXT GENERATION, February 27-28


TheatreWorks Silicon Valley announces that it has partnered with Stanford University again to present New Works Next Generation, a play festival offering three dynamic new plays about race and identity, non-binary sexualities, and ethnic oppression in times of crisis.

Get Jillian Walker Email Alerts

Be the first to get news, photos, videos & more.

Videos