ABOUT

Jacqueline Goldfinger is a playwright, poet, and librettist.

Her plays have been produced by The Kennedy Center, Contemporary American Theatre Festival, Court Theatre (New Zealand), École nationale de théâtre (Canada), Urbanite Theatre, Theatre Exile, Vortex Rep, Perseverance Theatre, among others.

Her opera, choral and art song libretti have been performed at Sydney Opera House (Australia), Opera Columbus, Resonance Works, BBC Radio 3 (UK), Voces8 (UK), Oberlin Opera, Chor Leoni (Canada), Chiesa di Ognissanti (Italy), San Diego Opera/Without Walls Festival, and others. The filmed version of her short opera, Letter to Our Children, with Composer Justine F. Chen has screened at film festivals around the world.

Her work has been developed at Maryland Opera Studio, The National Theater (UK), New Georges, La Mama, Disquiet (Portugal), Drama League, Lark Playwrights Week, National New Play Network, among others. Her work has been supported by organizations including Yaddo, National Endowment for the Arts, Millay Colony, Sloan Foundation, and the Orchard Project. 

Her plays have won the Yale Prize, Generations Award, Smith Prize, among others. Her opera Alice Tierney won the Opera America Discovery Award with Composer Melissa Dunphy. Her short opera film Letter to Our Children with Composer Justine F. Chen won Best Music Video at the Paris Short Film Awards.

Her plays and libretti have been published by Yale Press, Theatrical Rights Worldwide, Concord Theatricals, Dramatists Play Service, Edition Peters, and others. Her poetry has been published by literary magazines including La Piccioletta Barca, Poetry Wales, and Beyond Queer Words Poetry Anthology.

As a dramaturg, she specializes in new work and has worked with La Jolla Playhouse, Philadelphia Theatre Company, Arden Theatre, and others.

As an educator, she has taught playwriting and dramaturgy at University of Pennsylvania, UC Davis, and others. Her academic writing includes two books, Playwriting with Purpose and Writing Adaptations and Translations for the Stage published by Routledge. She was the Guest Editor for the Special Issue of the Journal of American Drama and Theatre themed “Revolutions in New Work Development.”

Education: BA English Literature-Theatre at Agnes Scott College. MFA Screenwriting at University of Southern California.