Jackson Whitter weaves together complex symbolism within a deeply allegorical plot to tell the story of Idola, a young woman faced with the realization that she has committed suicide. Jouska utlized a non-convential seating arrangement for it's audience, giving viewers the choice between watching actors engage with intensely cathartic staging designed to be tonally contradictory; or sitting on the other side of a division in the stage to simply listen to the piece while observing various paintings by Mark Rothko. Both experiences were crafted to be symbiotic, and reflect the almost spiritual, emotionally charged introspection associated with Rothko's work. Read less

Based on Jackson Whittier's adolescent experiences living in children's hospitals as a near terminal epilpetic, Fourth Floor Angels follows the lives of Jamison, Amelia, Hunter, Michaela, Ophelia, and their favorite nurse, Katie, as we peek into their lives on the fourth floor of Barnes Children's Hospital. The play seeks to challenge the tokenizing idea that sick and disabled children are hopeless, and makes the fundamental statement that children, regardless of the cards--or rather puzzle pieces--they have been dealt, deserve to have joy and curiosity encouraged in every aspect of their lives. Read less

dandelion. was written for Jackson's directing final presentation in December of 2023, and depicts the narrative of The Narrator, as they grapple with the ways in which they are emotionally, and physically, tethered to the memory of their experiences being groomed and sexually abused. Red thread attaches The Narrator to physicallized representations of their own memories, as well as every member of the audience, via a promise ring on their pinky finger. Poems from the book are explored as we see The Narrator's journey towards reclemation; suggesting their experience may be represented by a Dandelion, which is destroyed for a wish, but has the seeds for it's regrowth blown into the future. Read less