Jeesun Choi is a transnational Korean playwright who also writes for the screen and opera. Her writings examine lives in migration.

1305 Mortmain Lane (Upcoming)

Two estranged sisters, Sandra and Candace, work to cover up a heinous crime. Isaac tries to help them through what he understands to be a family tragedy. Yire, an exchange student who never left, knows more than she lets on. A modern revenge tragedy. 3w, 1m.

To the Ends of the Earth / 땅끝까지

Two strangers - perhaps a mother and daughter, best friends, or even rivals - finally meet each other. They argue. They confess. They blame. They question. They tackle, again and again, stories from their lives. A bilingual play about the Korean diaspora and personhood. 2w.

JACK, 2023
NYC Women’s Fund for Media, Music and Theatre, 2023

BUST

Sein fights for the leadership of her Model United Nations team. An economist gives one last lecture. Fish Grandma goes to the bank. Meanwhile, the global economy teeters on the brink of collapse. BUST explores the money in our wallets, the illusions it buys, and the future it promises. 3w, 3m.

The Kilroys, 2023
O’Neill National Playwrights Conference Finalist, 2022
Soho Rep (workshop), 2020-2021

Lost Coast

Two friends on the outs, a bar owner, a married couple, and a cynical hippie wrestle with their unresolved quandaries in a coastal forest in northern California. A wildfire burns a nearby town, forcing another person into their refuge. His presence sparks an urgent need to grapple with their detained lives. 5w, 2m.

Playwrights Realm INK’D Festival, 2022
Nashville Rep Ingram New Works Lab & Festival, 2020
Ensemble Studio Theatre (reading), 2020
New York Theatre Workshop (reading), 2019

The Seekers

Ilhan, a Somali high schooler in Minneapolis, searches for an alternate reality as hers crumble all around her. Mysterious figures seep into her life, pulling her deeper and deeper into their shadowy dimensions. With deportation looming for her and her mother, Ilhan decides to negotiate for her freedom. A poetic drama on displacement, environment and freedom. 3w, 3m.

Bay Area Playwrights Festival, 2019
Bushwick Starr Reading Series, 2019 O’Neill National Playwrights Conference Semifinalist, 2019

Manuka

Sungho flunks out of college. His mother is worried. His business-savvy father turns up with the greatest idea he's ever had. This could be the answer to all of their prayers. 2w, 2m.

Ensemble Studio Theatre Youngblood Podcast, 2021

Influence (short opera)

When social media influencers Tommy and Sally reboot their account after a shocking fallout, their ex-partner Gorgo hijacks their livestream to jolt them out of their sponsored lifestyle.
Music by Paul Pinto, Libretto by Jeesun Choi. Watch here

American Opera Project Six Scenes, 2023

Membership/Alum

Soho Rep Writer Director Lab
Playwrights Realm Writing Fellowship
American Opera Project Librettist Fellowship
Ensemble Studio Theatre/Youngblood
New York Theatre Workshop Artistic Fellow/Usual Suspect
New Georges Affiliated Artist
University Settlement Residency
Governor’s Island’s Works on Water Residency
Red Eye Theatre’s Works-In-Progress Residency
Dell'Arte International School of Physical Theatre, MFA
Dramatist Guild of America
Writers Guild of America

Contact

Theater: Bonnie Davis / Bret Adams Limited
bdavis@bretadamsltd.net

TV/Film: Brandy Rivers / Amplified
brandyr@amplifiedm.com

All other inquiries:
hello@jeesunchoi.com