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Justin Pierce

​​​P l a y w r i g h t

Justin Pierce

​​​P l a y w r i g h t

Justin Pierce is a passionate playwright, New Play Dramaturg, and Artistic Director for The Burrowers Theatre Company. His plays have been read, performed, and produced by a fantastic group of small theaters and theatre companies throughout Midwest America. In addition to his theatre work, Justin acts as the founder of both UGLI Games and UGLI Artwork, as well as the creator behind the UGLI Games Youtube Channel. 

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ARTISTIC STATEMENT

Simply put, the things I create are the way that I communicate and reach out to people. I realized that fact far too late in life, however. Growing up, I always had doubts about whether I had anything of substance to add to a conversation. I was often afraid to start conversations with people, fearing they wouldn’t join in – or god forbid they did and I would quickly run out of things to talk about. This led me to be in my head a lot and, if I was noticed for anything in a social situation, it was for being quiet. But all that time in my own head wasn’t wasted.

 

See, I’ve known that I wanted to write since I was young. It started with a fake newspaper I wrote with a friend in elementary school. That developed into short stories, comics, and novels - all featuring heroic and outrageous characters going through perilous adventures and performing amazing acts. I realize now that all those stories were an attempt to evoke the feeling that the books and movies that I loved evoked. I would share each story with a parent or a school friend, watching their face as they read, and judging whether or not I had done what I was trying to do.

 

My passion for playwriting started in what I think, looking back, seems to be a pretty unexpected place - church. When I was in High School, I began to show an interest in theatre at school. I auditioned and got a role in one play and I quickly had a new passion. When the pastor of my church heard that fact, he offered me the opportunity to write and direct that year’s Christmas play. Without a second thought, I threw myself into the project and, with heavy assistance from a bunch of enthusiastic church kids, we put on a show. A real “Start, Middle, and End” show. Despite the improvised lines, misplaced actors, and the cast’s general short attention spans, the lights came up, the story was told, and the lights went back down.

 

I was positive that we had failed in what we were trying to do, even when the clapping started. But then… the lights went up and I saw that there were people- multiple people- with tears running down their face. We had somehow, with our flawed yet earnest production, evoked emotion from our audience. We had started a conversation and the audience had joined in.

 

I say all that to say this: I’ve left the church and lost that play in the years that have followed, but I’d say I’ve been trying to capture that little bit of magic with my work ever since

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- Justin Pierce

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