Continental Who's Who

Jill Patrick

J ill Patrick is recognized by Continental Who’s Who as a Pinnacle Professional in the field of Entertainment. She is a Poet, Playwright and Producer of new plays. As Managing/Artistic Director of Working Title Playwrights (WTP) from 2006-2016, Jill took WTP from a small group of writers helping each other critique their own plays to a professional membership organization, now at the forefront of new play and playwright development in the Southeast. She assumed the mantel of Managing/Artistic Director of WTP in September 2006, aggressively growing the organization with greatly expanded member demographics in terms of age, race and sexual orientation. Significantly, WTP had a five-fold increase in African American playwrights under her management. Jill fostered ongoing, collaborative associations with professional Atlanta area theatres that have made community participation in WTP programming successful. As an added means of serving WTP member playwrights, she cultivated healthy relationships with the national playwright and actor unions, the Dramatists Guild of America and Actors’ Equity Association. Jill established a master class series, offering workshops with well-respected theater artists such as Margaret Baldwin, Susan Booth, Pearl Cleage, Erik Ehn, Lauren Gunderson, Celise Kalke, Carlos Murillo and Pamela Turner. In addition to focusing locally, Jill has put WTP-developed scripts in the hands of theatrical arts leaders and organizations as far away as California, Connecticut, New York and Texas. She designed, implemented and curated WTP’s signature series, The Ethel Woolson Lab (EWL). The EWL is a week-long developmental process for competitively selected playwrights to develop their scripts with the help of professional dramaturges, actors and directors. In a safe, encouraging environment, selected playwrights write their stories for the stage to the best of their abilities, without the worry of selling tickets, or the stress of producers placing demands on their scripts.

Each lab culminates in a staged reading for the public at Atlanta’s Tony-award winning Alliance Theatre. During Jill’s tenure, members of WTP received more than 500 awards, productions and publications, including the Eugene Gabriel Moore Playwriting Award, the Essential Theatre Playwriting Award, the M. Elizabeth Osborn Award and the Reiser Atlanta Artists Lab. Others went on to become finalists for the Alliance-Kendeda Playwriting Award, and The Eugene O’Neill Award. With ten years of experience in arts administration, Jill specializes in new play development, theatrical production and dramaturgy. Her poetry can be found in literary magazines such as Creative License, Cygnet, New Millennium Writings and Red Hills Review. She was the first-ever Moody Award recipient in 1986 for her one-act play If I Told You I Love You Would You Believe Me? In 2005, Jill received a grant from Poets & Writers, Inc., to develop her performance memoir Eating the Singletaries: Tales from a Tall Redhead, which had its debut in May that same year at Decatur, Georgia’s Seen Gallery. She recently received the 1st Place Cygnet Award for her poem Demon in a Pontiac. Jill’s latest play, The Meantime, was performed as a workshop production on May 3, 2016, at Clayton State University in Morrow, Georgia. To keep abreast of the latest in the industry, Jill remains an active member of the Dramatists Guild of America, the Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas, and the Association of Writers and Writing Programs. She serves on the Advisory Board for Atlanta’s Essential Theatre, on the Board of Directors of Working Title Playwrights and is a Founding Board Member of the Jo Howarth Noonan Foundation for Performing Arts, which is set to host the inaugural MoJo Fest in August 2016, at Atlanta’s Theatrical Outfit. Jill is currently building the position of Director of New Play Development for Out of Box Theatre in Marietta, Georgia. A veteran of the U.S. Navy, Jill is a member of the Non-Commissioned Officers Association, a lifetime member of the Disabled American Veterans Association and a member of the SALUTE National Honors Society for Veterans. A graduate of Clayton State University, Jill holds a Bachelor’s degree in Theater Arts, and is a member of CSU’s Alumni-Student Mentor Program. Outside of work, Jill enjoys film, music and cooking. Feeding people good food with love is a passion she has become renowned for in the Atlanta theater community. As a mentor, Jill lives by two mantras: “There is no greater danger than an artist without an outlet,” and “I say it’s crazy, but I say let’s try it!”