Most recently, Grape Jelly received production at Mt. Vernon High School in Missouri and The Amazing Theatre premiered For God and Country in June and Mr. Bloopers in November of 2023. Life and Death: The Game Show, which premiered in June at the Old Opera House, Charles Town, West Virginia, was a semi-finalist in the 11th Warner International Playwrights Festival and chosen for the Bunbury Players’ Festival of One-Acts. His most recent plays include Father John, Behind Closed Doors, News Around America, An Italian Folktale and Situations, all one-acts, and three full-length plays, For God and Country, Goodfellow’s and A New Life. These works follow a collection of ten-minute plays and a full-length comedy The Open Stage, depicting a day-in-the-life of a summer theatre troupe. His most recently produced plays are The First Thanksgiving at the Player’s Guild of Leonia, NJ, The Concrete Wall at the National Cathedra School, Washington D.C., The Deluxe Package at the Old Opera House, The First Thanksgiving online in Bonita Springs, Florida and at the Marco Players Theatre, Marco Island, Florida. Additional productions include A Catered Affair in Modesto, California, Christmas Shopping at Attic Productions, Fincastle, Virginia, Fall Guys at the Vintage Theatre, Boulder, Colorado, The Bloody Cow at Festival 56, Princeton, Illinois, A Catered Affair at Flagler College, St. Augustine, Florida, The Eclectic Café at the University of Idaho and The Day After Christmas also at The Old Opera House in Charles Town, West Virginia. Aftermath, a collection of one-acts about the afterlife, was the most recent New York production which premiered at the New York Planet Connections Festivity with an additional, limited New Jersey run.
J.C.’s plays A Cordial Invitation, Small Bites: A Smorgasbord of One-Act Comedies, A Play on Words, The Bedsitter, Portraits, Meetings in a Wooded Area, HAPPY HOLIDAY$ and Information, PLEASE! have had New York premieres. New Jersey premieres include The Concrete Wall and 10+: An Evening of Ten-minute or More One-Acts, encounter and Working From Bell to Bell. Outside of the NY/NJ area, a number of J.C.’s plays have been produced nationally. Rebecca and Erin and Valerie and Theresa, two one-acts from the Portraits collection, were translated and produced by the Representation Theatre in Taipei.
As a writer, producer, director and designer, J.C.'s independent films, short form videos, graphic designs, screenplays and plays have been honored with 113 national and regional awards, including fourteen prestigious Telly Awards, the latest for the 2016 short form video, Something Wicked. His movie scripts for Frankie, Alone, Baker’s Dozen, All That We Know, You Couldn’t Pay Me Enough, Darkness Falls, In Storage and Postcards from the Road have all received national recognition.
His World War II drama, War’s End is available at stageplays.com, and Grand Slam, HAPPY HOLIDAY$, and Small Bites are available online through Heartland Plays. The War’s End novelization is available through amazon.com. along with six collections of one-act plays: Otherworlds, A Play on Words, A Cordial Invitation, Working From Bell to Bell, Christmas Presents, Hat Trick, and two full-length plays The Home Front and Lilly’s Room. Additional full-length plays may be found at The New Play Exchange website.
J.C. is a proud member of The Dramatists Guild, a Silver Council Judge for the Telly Awards and an alumnus of the University of Idaho M.F.A. program in Dramatic Writing concentrating on play and film scripts. In addition to J.C.’s work in the arts, he has spent forty years as a teaching professional in New Jersey at Rutgers, Kean, and William Paterson Universities. J.C. currently teaches communication, theatre and film courses at Raritan Valley Community College and Union County Community College.
Additional information can be obtained by visiting jcsvec.com.
Successes
All American Girls - February 2024 - St. Paul’s – Concord, NH
The Day After Christmas - December 2023 - Union College– Cranford, NJ
The Body - December 2023 - Union College– Cranford, NJ
Decisions – Decisions, Decisions – Decisions, Decisions - December 2023 - Union College– Cranford, NJ
Mr. Bloopers - AmaZing Theatre Company – Sandy Spring Museum – Sandy Spring, MD - November 2023
For God and Country - AmaZing Theatre Company – Greenwich Town Hall – Sandy Spring, MD - June 2023
Life and Death: The Game Show - O.O.H. Theatre Company - Old Opera House - Charles Town, WV - June 2021; Semi-Finalist 2022 Warner International Playwrights Festival
All-American Girls - Pearland H.S. – Pearland, TX - May 2021
A Catered Affair - Jeffersontown H.S. – Jeffersontown, KY - May 2021
The Concrete Wall - National Cathedral School – Washington D.C. - April 2021
A Catered Affair - Summerville H.S. – Summerville, SC - December 2020
The Deluxe Package - O.O.H. Theatre Company - Old Opera House - Charles Town, WV -September 2020
Grape Jelly - The Hartsbrook School, Hadley, MA - May 2020
The First Thanksgiving - Social Distancing Short Play Festival – Online; Frank Blocker, Prod. – Bonita Springs, FL - April 2020
A Catered Affair - Modesto H.S. Performing Arts – Modesto, CA - April 2020
The First Thanksgiving - Marco Players – The Marco Players Theatre - Arts Center – Marco Island, FL - December 2019
Christmas Shopping - Attic Productions – Lawson Performing Arts Center – Fincastle, VA - November 2018
The Bloody Cow - Festival 56 New Plays Festival – Grace Performing Arts Center - Princeton, IL - August 2017
Fall Guys - One Night Stand – The Vintage Theatre – Aurora, CO - August 2017
A Catered Affair - Flagler College, St. Augustine, FL - April 2017
The First Thanksgiving, A Day in November and A Bad Idea - Deetjen Theatre, Montclair, NJ - November 2015
Aftermath - Deetjen Theatre, Montclair, NJ - September 2015
Soul Searching, The Deluxe Package, Friends, Visitation, The Graveyard Shift
The Day After Christmas - O.O.H. Theatre Company - Old Opera House - Charles Town, WV - June 2015
Aftermath - Planet Connection Theatre Festivity, Gene Frankel Theatre, NYC - June 2015
Soul Searching, The Deluxe Package, Friends, Visitation, The Graveyard Shift
The Eclectic Café - Mamet Play Festival - Hartung Theatre – University of Idaho - May 2015
Working from Bell to Bell - New Play Wednesday – Arena Theatre - University of Idaho - Staged Reading - September 2013
The Understudy - O.O.H. Theatre Company - Old Opera House - Charles Town, WV - June 2013
The Day’s Last Appointment - 2nd Annual Tri-State Theatre Festival - South Street Players – Spring Lake, NJ - April, 2013
The Understudy - 2nd Annual Tri-State Theatre Festival - South Street Players – Spring Lake, NJ - April 2013
Rose Terrace - Chamber Reading Series – Kiva Theatre - University of Idaho - March 2013
The Day’s Last Appointment - 10-Minute Play Festival - Hartung Theatre – University of Idaho - December 2012
The Girl and Mrs. Meyers - 10-Minute Play Festival - Hartung Theatre – University of Idaho - December 2012
The Understudy - Hit & Run VI, Play Makers, Spokane, WA - October 2012
The Understudy - Inland Northwest Theatre Arts Festival, Mead High School, Mead, WA October 2012
The Guy - New Play Wednesday – Kiva Theatre - University of Idaho - Staged Reading - November 2012
10+ - An Evening of Approximately Ten-minute One-Act Plays - Encore Weekend – Deetjen Theatre – Montclair, NJ - September 2012
The Bloody Cow, Mr. Bloopers, Have a Holly Jolly, 3:38, The Day’s Last Appointment
’72 - Chamber Reading Series – Arena Theatre - University of Idaho - September 2012
Working from Bell to Bell - Deetjen Thetare, Montclair, NJ - September 2012
Duck and Cover, Finger Paints, The Substitute, The Understudy, The Poetry Contest, So Long, Farewell and Good Riddance, Crimson Moon, The Student Draft, Tap Dancing, Unplugged
The Girl and Mrs. Meyers - Encore Weekend – Deetjen Theatre – Montclair, NJ - September 2012
The Understudy - Encore Weekend – Deetjen Theatre – Montclair, NJ - September 2012
Valerie and Theresa - City Theatre Finalist, Miami, FL - May 2012
Lilly’s Room - Chamber Reading Series – Kiva Theatre - University of Idaho - March 2012
3:38 - New Play Wednesday – Arena Theatre - University of Idaho - Staged Reading - January 2012
Wild West City - New Play Wednesday – Arena Theatre - University of Idaho - Staged Reading - January 2012
Fifi - 10-Minute Play Festival - Hartung Theatre – University of Idaho - December 2011
A Cordial Invitation - Deetjen Theatre, Montclair, NJ - September 2011
John and the Three Bridesmaids, … and Guest, Today’s the Day, Here’s Looking at You
A Cordial Invitation - Planet Connection Theatre Festivity, Paradise Theatre, NYC - June 2011
John and the Three Bridesmaids, … and Guest, Today’s the Day, Here’s Looking at You
Small Bites: A Smorgasbord of One-Act Comedies - Deetjen Theatre, Montclair, NJ - September 2010
A Catered Affair, All You Can Eat, Decisions, Decisions-Decisions, Decisions-Decisions- Decisions, Grape Jelly, Mama Marie’s, The First Thanksgiving
The Concrete Wall - Samuel French OOB Festival, Lion Theatre, NYC - July 2010
The Ancient Mariner - The Curtain Players – Playwrights Festival, Galena, Ohio - July 2010
Small Bites: A Smorgasbord of One-Act Comedies - Planet Connection Theatre Festivity, Gene Frankel Theatre, NYC - June 2010
A Catered Affair, All You Can Eat, Decisions, Decisions- Decisions, Decisions-Decisions- Decisions, Grape Jelly, Mama Marie’s, The First Thanksgiving
A Bad Idea - A Reasonable Facsimile Theatre Co., The Conservatory, Chicago, IL - December 2009
Valerie and Theresa and Rebecca and Erin - Around the World Festival/Representation Theatre, LaGuardia P.A.C. - NYC - November 2009
Valerie and Theresa and Rebecca and Erin - The Internationalists Directors Collective/Representation Theatre, Taipai - October 2009
The Concrete Wall - Strawberry One-Act Festival, Theatre at St. Clements, NYC - August 2009
A Play on Words - Planet Connections Festivity, The White Box, NYC - June, 2009
The Guy, The Line, The Body
Have a Holly Jolly - A Reasonable Facsimile Theatre Co., The Conservatory, Chicago, IL - December 2008
The Concrete Wall - O.O.H. Theatre Company, Old Opera House, Charles Town, WV - June 2008
Post Game Interview - Playwrights Express, First Stage, Los Angeles, CA, Staged Reading - May 2008
The Home Front - William Paterson University, Hunziker Theatre, Paterson, NJ, Staged Reading - October 2007
Lilly’s Room - Deetjen Theatre, Montclair, NJ - September 2007
Fall Guys - O.O.H. Theatre Company, Old Opera House, Charles Town, WV - June 2007
Valerie and Theresa - Playwrights Express – First Stage – Los Angeles, CA, Staged Reading - June 2007
Peggy and Bill - Playwrights Express, First Stage, Los Angeles, CA, Staged Reading - May 2007
Grand Slam - Deetjen Theatre, Montclair, NJ - May 2007
All American Girls, Fall Guys, Post Game Interview, The Concrete Wall, Valerie and Theresa
encounter - Deetjen Theatre, Montclair, NJ - September 2006
The Guy - O.O.H. Theatre Company - Old Opera House - Charles Town, WV - July 2006
The Home Front - The Montclair Kimberley Academy, Deetjen Theatre, Montclair, NJ - May 2005
The Ancient Mariner - Spotlight On Festival, Greenwich Street Theatre, NYC - October 2004
Information, PLEASE! - Bergenfield High School, Bergenfield, NJ - October 2004
HAPPY HOLIDAY$ - Spotlight On Festival, Chashama Theatre, NYC - October 2003
Information, PLEASE! - Spotlight On Festival, Chashama Theatre, NYC - March 2003
The Bedsitter - Spotlight On Festival, Raw Space, NYC - October 2002
Portraits - Spotlight On Festival, Raw Space, NYC - March 2002
Stephanie, Valerie and Theresa, Fifi, Peggy and Bill
War’s End - Weiss Auditorium, Montclair, NJ - November 2001
War’s End - Weiss Auditorium, Montclair, NJ, Staged Reading - May 2001
Meetings in a Wooded Area - Spotlight On Festival, Raw Space, NYC - March 2001