Jean Ciampi
she/her/hers
Spring, TX
Jean Ciampi is a playwright, columnist, Dramatists Guild member, scuba diver, actress, baseball fan, director, Texan, humorist, Jesus lover and cilantro hater.
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Biography

Jean Ciampi is a playwright, columnist, Dramatists Guild of America member, scuba diver, actress, baseball fan, director, Texan, humorist, Jesus lover and cilantro hater. She also plans to play roller derby and use her passport more. Her first play, “Potato Gumbo,” written while living in Saudi Arabia, won a Robert J. Pickering Award for Playwriting Excellence but did not win the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. She still has sour grapes with “Hamilton” about that. Her comedy “The Bold and Bob” won the Michigan's 2022 ArtSpeaks Festival and was a Finalist for the 2022 New Comedy Festival at B Street Theatre in Sacramento. Other works are scheduled for production in 2023 in Toronto and Houston. She is part of the Kennedy Center’s Playwriting Intensive 2022 and uses her superpowers for conjugating verbs to write magazine features and corporate communications. 

Plays

A Very Holly Moosemas
by Jean Ciampi

It’s August in Atlanta but Holly Anderson, with a deep passion for the holidays that could put Hallmark to shame, is convinced she can transform a movie set into a wooded, mountain Christmas masterpiece. With the blessed assistance of a scotch-drinking retired nun and a resourceful Bear, she has to navigate the crotchety host of her AirBnB, an unexpected case of salmonella, and a Scrooge of a boss. If she could only convince her new husband and find her phone! Joy is not where you find it, but where you create it – even unconventionally – in this high energy, off-season holiday comedy.

Cast:
BERT MATTHEWS (older male) A crusty and sometimes cranky old dog, there's a real kindness under his shell. He has a good heart but a cynical outlook. Loyal and devoted but also snarky and cantankerous. BEAR MATTHEWS (male, early to mid-20’s) Bert’s grandson. Good-natured and easy-going despite having lost both parents. He's a bit of an old soul and can be protective of the people he loves. HOLLY ANDERSON (female, 30's) She’s effervescent and high energy. She embodies the youthful, unbridled joy and wonder of Christmas all year long. Her spirit animal is a Labrador retriever puppy. JAKE ANDERSON (male, 30's) Holly’s husband. A salt-of-the-earth guy, solid, dependable and hopelessly in love with Holly. He's caught a tiger by the tail and has no idea what to do. As a newlywed, he's prone to rookie errors. FRANCES GRIFFIN (older female) A retired nun. She is the foundation of faith they all depend on and the glue that holds them together. She is wise, funny and fun-loving, sees the best in almost everything -- especially a good scotch. TRACE McALLISTER (flexible casting) Holly’s boss. Produces Hallmark-type movies without an ounce of holiday spirit. Corporate, hard- driving, a bit Scrooge-ish.
Potato Gumbo
by Jean Ciampi

Touchingly honest and, sometimes, zany look at the challenges of aging, "Potato Gumbo" tells the poignant story of Gretchen and Thomas, her dream,  ill-gotten handcuffs, a diagnosis, and adult children who must parent parents. Gretchen could create the ideal recipe if she could get to the New Orleans School of Cooking. Her whimsical and light-fingered ways draw Thomas into her schemes, but an impromptu road trip ends with return under police escort. Darkly serious issues begin bubbling up: Is Gretchen’s “whimsy” declining mental faculties or worse? How much can one old heart endure? When must elder care end and control begin? 

Cast:
GRETCHEN NELSEN (older woman) Delightful lady with a propensity to acquire things that don't actually belong to her. THOMAS TRAHAN (older male) An active, older widower who's not quite ready to give in to just being old. BARBARA WINTER (middle aged female) Gretchen's responsible daughter trying to balance the challenges of becoming a parent to her parent. JACK TRAHAN (middle age male) Thomas's easy-going and supportive son. JIM CAPPAZOLLI (older male) Gentleman with a cane, an outrageous wardrobe and the recipe for an assortment of cocktails. GAIL JOHNSON (older female) A true lady and the friend we all wish we had. DONNA HOLBROOK (flexible casting) Administrator for Casa della Vecchia. Can be rather two-faced and neither face is pretty. * Can be cast as a male/Don
The Bold and Bob
by Jean Ciampi

“Bob-O”, a high school teacher with the spine of a jellyfish, returns to Normal, Illinois to find that nothing is normal after the sudden passing of his mother, Mariam O’Kineski. Forced to face the responsibilities of planning her funeral, he must navigate the Vietnam vet angling for Mariam’s corner apartment and the building manager angling for a wedding ring. The aging flower child across the hall is hell-bent to steamroll the funeral plans (which may or may not include the funeral director’s taco truck, the Rolly Guacamole), but when Mariam’s boss arrives, everything Bob-O thought he knew about his mother quickly unravels. 

Cast:
BOB O’KINESKI (Male, mid-50s) Never married high school teacher. His spirit animal is a jellyfish. ARNE JORDAN (Older male) Vietnam vet who believes personal boundaries are for pansies. MONICA GIBSON (Female, 40's) Apartment building manager who clings to her Brides Magazines. THELMA GOODWIN (Older female) A neighbor. The late 60's in San Francisco were a good and bad thing for her. STAFFORD MILLER (Male) Discount funeral director who also operates a food truck. DANIELLE MERCEDES (Flexible*) Mariam's elegant boss who is full of surprises. * Cast as a male who can convincingly play a woman or with a woman who can convincingly play a man. MARIAM O’KINESKI Bob's mother and dead from the get go.