Jennifer Blaine
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Jennifer Blaine, Philadelphia’s acclaimed solo performer, comedienne, and playwright “whose comic genius is like Lily Tomlin and Tracey Ullman” (Philadelphia Daily News), has performed with Chris Rock, George Carlin, and has brought her smart, irreverent humor to premier venues and festivals nationwide. Jennifer has been creating and performing one-woman shows for 30 years, and these shows are known as a balm for those craving comedy, community, creativity and connection. Her original writing, performing, and comedy delve into serious and socially relevant issues and give audiences the opportunity to unite in laughter. A dedicated creative herself, she is passionate about sparking creativity in others.
Jennifer has performed in the Philly Fringe since its inception in 1997. She is a Philly Fringe Festival favorite, creating 20 original solo works for previous festivals—including a sold-out run of both “Dirty Joke” (“comedy with a conscience”) in 2013, and “Vicissitudes of Travel” (2017), a collaboration with Barrymore award-winning Philadelphia theater artist Karen Getz. Acknowledged as “brilliant,” (Chestnut Hill Local), the “Vicissitudes” show tracks a family’s journey through the brain surgery of their loved one and has toured to medical facilities and universities such as Jefferson University, Tufts Medical School, and Wesleyan University.
Jennifer was the resident Theatre Teaching Artist at The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts from 2013-2018, where she created original plays on topical issues, from bullying to civil rights. She is also the producer of the 5,000 Women Festival, showcasing women artists and social activists, first staged at The Center for the Arts at Wesleyan University in 2011 and 2012 and in Philadelphia in 2014.
Some of her other solo shows include “Sorry” (why women can’t stop apologizing for their existence), “White Flight” (about growing up in Brooklyn, NY), and “Ridiculous” (how to overthrow the patriarchy once and for all). Her play “Dirty Joke,” about women activists (directed by Vashti Dubois, founder of The Colored Girls Museum), was featured at the Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts and at the Annenberg Center for the Arts. Her solo musical “Mannequin,” about a defunct fur store in South Philly, its elderly Jewish owner, a teenager, a mafioso, and a political activist, explores whether we can truly be inclusive, despite the rise of intolerance and white nationalism since the U.S. 2016 election. Her “Getting Creative” series is a transformative, interactive performances, where Jennifer assists the audience in deepening the connection to their creativity. You can catch Jennifer reading aloud from memoirs of such iconic figures as Arnold Schwarzenegger, Katherine Hepburn, and Bernie Sanders on her social media platforms. For more info, visit www.jenniferblaine.com
