JEFF AUGUSTIN is a Haitian-American writer. His plays include Where the Mountain Meets the Sea (Manhattan Theatre Club, Humana Festival of New American Plays); The New Englanders (Manhattan Theatre Club); Little Children Dream of God (Roundabout Theatre Company); The Last Tiger in Haiti (La Jolla Playhouse and Berkeley Rep) and Cry Old Kingdom (Humana Festival). He translated Our Town into Haitian Creole for Miami New Drama’s multilingual production. Jeff was the Shank Playwright-in-Residence at Playwrights Horizons and the inaugural Tow Foundation Playwright-in-Residence at Roundabout. He is an alumni of the New York Theatre Workshop 2050 Fellowship; Rita Goldberg Playwright’s Workshop at the Lark; The Working Farm at SPACE on Ryder Farm; and Center Theatre Group Writer’s Workshop. Jeff is currently under commission from Manhattan Theatre Club and La Jolla Playhouse. TV Credits: Claws (TNT); The Morning Show (Apple); The Good Lord Bird (Showtime); and Saint X (Hulu). Current projects in development with Apple; Hulu; and Element Pictures. BA: Boston College, MFA: UC San Diego.

My family carried a tradition of storytelling with them from Haiti to America. I am the youngest of seven; my sister and I are the only two born in the states. I grew up listening to magical and fantastical stories, many based on Haitian folklore and vodou figures. I never knew what was real or supernatural, or if the supernatural was just as real as I. In these stories, characters were constantly running from their family and their land in search for a new identity. But in a world where spirits and God guide life, these characters were bound to their destinies.

These oral and mythical traditions have heavily influenced my writing. The other worldliness, the power of language, the poetry and rhythm are all integral ingredients in my work. I’m also interested in our collective and individual battles with history. How it defines us and how we embrace or try to escape from it.