Although I’m a staggering two full inches taller than Wolverine, I don’t have a healing factor, adamantium claws, or a super-human sense of smell. What I lack in mutant powers is made up by (for better or worse) a deep passion for theatrical storytelling. Based in Philadelphia, I’m a playwright, dramaturg, stage manager, and art historian. I love new work, queer escapades, green tea shots, and weekly Wednesday comic books.
My playwriting is grounded in autobiographical fiction, combining my real-life truth with the nostalgia-filled worlds of superheroes and alternate realities that I know best. By weaponizing pop culture and my own stories, I encourage audiences to take a deeper look into their personal histories, memories, and fantasies, all with the intent of brutal self-reflection. My genre-crossing work explores queer identity, growth, and uncomfortable circumstance. A good Will Vence Jr™️ play will have you empathizing with everyone and no one all at once, yourself included.
I’m team artist. I believe an artist’s best work comes when they are left to roam & explore freely, and/or/also aren’t being tied down by the business of artmaking or to the rigid guidelines of someone big and in charge. In my rehearsal rooms, I encourage all to make the work their own, in order to create productions that are personal to each member of the artistic team. Most importantly, I advocate for other artists to live as artists, not corporate machines working under office job bureaucracy. If you’re into that though, I think you should see if Merryl Lynch is hiring. I hear they have a much better 401K plan, which could be pretty cool.