Portfolio

Recent original work and performance projects

Daybreak: a new play about awe

by Erin Lekovic & Jacob Watson
songs by Laura Stratford

Read more on New Play Exchange.

Listen to our song demos.

Public staged reading coming soon in February 2026.

Psychoanalysis!

A psychiatrist and a patient meet in a dream… but who is who?

Premiered at Artistic Home Theatre’s annual short play festival, Cut to the Chase 2025: What is Real?

Written by Siah Berlatsky
Directed by Jacob Watson

Anticipation (Lake)

A Socialite, a Residency Diva, an Inbox, and a Wisdom Dispenser relax on a lake at an artist residency. The audience watches from pool noodles.

Written and Directed by Jacob Watson

Created and performed at Swarm Artist Residency in West Branch, IA in 2023.

About Me

I’m an artist, educator, and facilitator working at the intersection of performance, learning, and community.

I grew up near Boston, where I first began acting in experimental plays, messing around in Photoshop, and creating imitations of my favorite T.V. shows. After earning my B.A. in Theatre from Northwestern University, I worked across Chicago as a director, designer, teaching artist, and program manager.

After college, my friends and I founded the FYI Performance Company at the Illinois Caucus for Adolescent Health, where we spent several years inventing and publishing on new forms of theatre-based sexuality education.

Through this work, I became interested in how artistic practices can inform our thinking and improve our communities.

These questions led me back home to pursue an Ed.M. in Arts in Education at Harvard University, where I focused on theories of learning, cultural change, and organizational systems. (Learning about learning is quite the trip!) Over the years, I’ve worked to infuse creativity in theaters, schools, universities, cities, and communities across the country.

I’m now back in Chicago, where I work as an actor, writer, director, and producer. I most recently performed in two world-premiere rock musicals. Beyond the stage, I continue to work as a researcher, facilitator, and consultant in the education sector through my creative consultancy The Practice.

If you’re looking for a collaborator, performer, facilitator, or creative partner—I’d love to connect.

Currently, I’m also the Senior Director of Experiential Learning at UpStart, as well as a Researcher and Education Specialist at Convergence Design Lab, and an organizer for the midwest-based Swarm Artist Residency.

Project media and documentation

Alone/Together, or Time Passes, or Isn’t it Interesting this Boredom? (Original Film)

Adapted and directed by Jacob Watson

Gray Area Promo Video

Lyric Opera: Chicago Voices (2016)

Lyric Opera: Chicago Voices (2017)

hi, you found my secret bonus content! (design archive)

while I mostly write/direct now, I also used to design sets, props, and lots of other things. and it’s still a big part of what guides my approach. to see cool projects I’m proud of from that era, click here. but shh…don’t tell anyone.

if this isn’t what you’re looking for, just scroll back up :)