top of page

Director

CHH%20Poster%20original_edited.jpg

The Amish Project

January 2019 - Star Center Theatre

Director & Designer: Jesse Desrosiers

Associate Director: Noah Seppanen

Photographers: Noah Ponte & Eric Vogel

Bare stage, low-tech, ensemble-based: My step towards a Poor Theatre. This production's central focus was community - how it can be torn apart by tragedy and brought together to heal. We devised movement-based storytelling to fluidly construct and flow between scenes. A paint-delineated, floor-level thrust served to bring the action right up to the audience.

Speech & Debate

October 2018 - Florida Players

Director: Jesse Desrosiers | Asst. Director: Laura Chiarello

Scenic Designer: Peta McKenna | Lighting Designer: Erica Siri

Costume Designer: Rebeka Clow | Sound Designer: Noah Denker
Photographer: Noah Ponte

Why are teenagers expected to behave like adults and yet also acquiesce to the will of real grown-ups? What if the adults don't have your best interest in mind? What if they just don't know what's best? Lighting - except in performative moments - was flat, plain, "oppressive." The performative scenes sprinkled throughout were the few times characters could express themselves with explosions of costumes, lights, and sound.

Women & Wallace

May 2019 - Tampa International Fringe Festival

Director, Designer, Photographer: Jesse Desrosiers

Stage Manager: Kali Ashurst

This fever-dream of a play toed the line between absurdist comedy and Freudian drama. Utilizing a fringe-friendly minimal set, distinct areas of the stage were established for Wallace to explore his memories. All 8 women were bravely played by the same actress, creating fascinating opportunities for unique scene changes and subtle nods towards Wallace's somewhat Oedipal obsession.

Can't Happen Here

April 2018 - Florida Players (Staged Reading)

Director, Playwright, Producer, Designer: Jesse Desrosiers

Stage Manager: Jo Evangelista

I wrote this modern adaptation of Sinclair Lewis's It Can't Happen Here in response to the 2016 election. It was rehearsed over a two month period, included basic costume, scenic, and sound design, and live musical performances. I explored both plot-driven and non-linear approaches to storytelling. The actors were also invited into the creative process to develop their characters' arcs and motivations.

Assistant Director

...And Jesus Moonwalks the Mississippi

January 2020 - UF School of Theatre + Dance

Director: Dr. Colleen Rua | Asst. Director: Jesse Desrosiers

Scenic Designer: Samantha Lewis | Lighting Designer: Ryan Bailey

Costume Designer: Kami Lagrosa | Sound Designer: James Dennis Stage Manager: Julia Schack | Photographer: Suzanna Mars

This play presents a version of the myth of Demeter as an allegory for racism, identity, and family in Louisiana during the Civil War. Stylized movement, moments in slow-motion, song, dance, and rap were all utilized to showcase the other-worldly nature of the characters. The set emphasized the importance of the River and the quilting-together of the many stories within and without the play.

Raised in Captivity

October 2018 - Florida Players

Director: Raul Duran | Asst. Director: Jesse Desrosiers

Scenic Designer: Ryley Valenti | Lighting Designer: Jordan Lindquist

Costume Designer: Rebeka Clow | Sound Designer: Hilary Cheren
Photographer: Noah Ponte

The human need for connection; the loneliness and desperation one can feel even when surrounded by others. Based in realism with a decidedly surrealist twist, this tragi-comedy was a therapy session of a production which asked audiences: Is loving another even possible? Or is love simply a screen onto which we project?

bottom of page