News Update: J.J. Van Name ’77
From The Nurse in ROMEO & JULIET @Ripon to 5x professionally! Off Broadway and moved to the Bay area 2018 with a BATCC (Bay Area Theatre Critic’s Circle) Nomination for Best Principal Actress in San Francisco premiere of THE CAKE
J.J.’s passion and profession as an actress and a Text Coach is the Bard…and she still vividly remembers her very first Shakespeare, playing the Nurse in ROMEO & JULIET her junior year at Ripon. She has played the role 4x since, professionally, and was slated to play it again, her first West coast Shakespeare since moving to the Bay area in 2018 with Marin Shakespeare Company this Summer, but it has been postponed to 2021 due to the virus. Other work…
Off Broadway: Sinclaire/SEALED FOR FRESHNESS-New World Stages, garnering outstanding reviews and a caricature in The New Yorker and Bertie/MOTHER TONGUE-GayFest NYC, Abingdon Theatre. J.J. was a core company member of The Philadelphia Shakespeare Theatre for 20 years as character actress and Text Coach mentoring under former RSC (Royal Shakespeare Co, London) actor David Howey, and performed with him on stage in her favorite role and play, Paulina/THE WINTER’S TALE.) Also performed and Text Coached at Delaware Shakespeare, Commonwealth Classics and many others. FAVS of the Bard: Baptista/THE TAMING OF THE SHREW, Emilia/OTHELLO, Goneril/KING LEAR, Maria/TWELFTH NIGHT, Cerimon & Bawd/PERICLES, Witch/MACBETH. She has also worked with many contemporary companies and new works. Since moving to the Bay area, CA in 2018 primarily for the strong Shakespeare community, she has been cast in 5 plays, recently receiving a BATCC (Bay Area Theatre Critic’s Circle) nomination for Best Principal Actress in the San Francisco premiere of THE CAKE.