Justin Poole

Justin Poole holds an MA in Theatre from Villanova University and a PhD in Theatre and Performance Studies from the University of Maryland. Poole spent time studying experimental performance in Europe thanks to the Ernst Mach Grant through the Austrian Academic Exchange Program. He and his wife also led a theatre and art-focussed semester-long study abroad program to Europe for EMU in the fall of 2016 and they plan to do it again in the fall of 2019. He founded Wanderlust Theatre Company and produced original work in Philadelphia, Washington D.C., and Harrisonburg. His research interests are devised theater/ensemble play development, contemporary European experimental performance, and contemporary performances of classical texts. Justin is a certified yoga instructor and the Artist-In-Residence for Asbury United Methodist Church. He is the adaptor and performer for “The Gospel project: A Theatrical Journey through the Life of Jesus Christ,” a two-person touring show, in which he embodies the characters while Jim Clemens performs a variety of instruments. The two are also developing an original piece on the life of the Apostle Paul. In the spring of 2016 Justin adapted and directed “Distant Witness: Social Media, the Arab Spring, and a Journalism Revolution,” which incorporated live actors and actual footage from the Arab Spring. His plays at EMU have consistently received special recognition from the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival, and his production of “The 39 Steps” was one of a few productions selected to appear at the Region II Festival in January 2018. He is always looking for compelling stories to translate into highly physical experimental performances.

“Performance Review: Live Arts Festival and Philly Fringe.” Theatre Journal, May 2010.

“Understanding the Ethics of Cross-Cultural Collaboration: A Western-Centric
Practitioner’s Approach to Developing Theatre for an Arab Culture Organization.” International Publics: Creating Theatre Away from Home. Mid-American Theatre Conference. Cleveland, Ohio, March 2010.

“Report on Informal European Theatre Meeting in Bratislava.” GIFT: zeitschrift für freies theater (Vienna’s journal for independent theatre), July 2009.

“Initiatives for Cross-Cultural Collaboration in the Performing Arts in Europe and the United States.” Philadelphia Theatre Research Symposium. Villanova, PA, January 2009.

“The Performance of Austria/Europe at the European Capital of Culture in Linz, Austria.” American Anthropological Association. San Francisco, CA, November 2008.

Directing/Devising Work (Selected)

The Spitfire Grill. (Certificate of Merit for Direction) Director. Eastern Mennonite University. Harrisonburg, VA. April 2018.

The 39 Steps by Patrick Barlow. (Certificates of Merit from the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival for Direction and Acting Ensemble) Director. Eastern Mennonite University. Harrisonburg, VA. April 2017 and the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival, Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Indiana, PA. January 2018.

Distant Witness: Social Media, the Arab Spring, and a Journalist Revolution. (Certificates of Merit from the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival for Adaption, Direction, and Video Design) Adaptor and Director. Eastern Mennonite University. Harrisonburg, VA. April 2016.

The Gospel Project: A Theatrical Journey through the Life of Jesus Christ. Adaptor, Performer, Producer. Wanderlust Theater Company Touring Production. January 2016-Present.

Twelfth Night: A Musical Remix by William Shakespeare. Adapted and Directed by Justin Poole. Original Music by Jim Clemens. Capital Fringe Festival. Washington, D.C. July 2015.

Distant Witness: Social Media, the Arab Spring, and a Journalism Revolution by Andy Carvin. Adapted for the Stage and Directed by Justin Poole. Eastern Mennonite University. Summer Peacebuilding Institute. Harrisonburg, VA. May 2015.

Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare (Certificates of Merit from the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival for “Imaginative and Groundbreaking Conceptualization, Score, Costumes, Lighting Design). Adapted and Directed by Justin Poole. Original Music by Jim Clemens. Eastern Mennonite University. Harrisonburg, VA. November 2015.

Into the Woods Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and Book by James Lapine. (Certificates of Merit from the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival for Directing, Ensemble Play Development, and Acting Ensemble). Director. Eastern Mennonite University. Harrisonburg, VA. April 2014

Children of Eden Music and Lyrics by Stephen Swartz and Book by John Caird. Director/Designer/Choreographer. Villanova University Student Musical Theatre. Villanova, PA. February 2011.

Macbeth by William Shakespeare (dir. Blanka Zizka). Assistant Director. Wilma Theater. Philadelphia, PA. October-November 2010

Everyman: an Avant-Garde Progressive Performance of the Old English Morality Play. Director/Producer/Designer. Wanderlust Theatre Company, Philly Fringe Festival. September 2009.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream-Tanztheater. Director/Producer/Designer. Wanderlust Theatre Company, Eastern University and King of Prussia, PA. September 2007 and July 2007.

A Russian Arts Festival (Included an environmental/interactive staging of The Wedding Reception, The Bear, The Reluctant Tragic Hero, and The Proposal by Anton Chekhov, live music, and staged poetry readings). Director/Producer/Designer. Wanderlust Theatre Company, King of Prussia, PA, July 2006.

On-Screen Acting Credits (Selected)
(Screen Actor’s Guild – Eligible)

Television: The Wire (HBO), The Jamie Kennedy Experiment (WB), Hack (CBS),

Commercial: Bosch Security, Time Warner, White Marsh Mall

Film: Time Elevator (prod. Declan Baldwin), In the City of Brotherly Love, Suspended (Reading)

Print: Military Helmet Advertising Campaign, Plymouth Yarn, Rascal Scooters, Elsevier Medical Company, Department of Veterans Affairs