Parallel 45 continues its dedication to our youngest theatre goers by launching our newest program: YouthQuake. Each year, Parallel 45 invites a nationally-recognized director to devise and direct an entirely new piece of theatre for young audiences in collaboration with the talented members of our apprentice company.

This year, our program will be heralded by director, Jesse Jou. Jou is from NYC and Texas and works primarily on new and contemporary plays. He has developed new work at the Lark Play Development Center; the New York International Fringe Festival; The Kitchen Theatre Co. (Ithaca, NY); and the Yale Cabaret. He was the Artistic Director of the 2010 Yale Summer Cabaret and served as the Staff Repertory Director of The Acting Company. He is an alumnus of the Cherry Lane Mentor Project, where he conceived and directed a four-person adaptation of King Lear; the Drama League’s Directors Project; the Soho Rep Writer/Director Lab; and the Civilians R&D Group. Jesse received his MFA in directing from the Yale School of Drama.