JOSHUA SPAFFORD
THEATER * FILM * PHOTOS * MEMOIR
STORYTELLER
"He thinks outside of the box"
-NEWSWEEK MAGAZINE
The Creativity Issue
"Joshua's presence is propelled by an intense and sensitive passion. The clarity of his voice erases any guesswork"
-PULITZER PRIZE WINNER
Yusef Komunyakka
"Joshua Spafford brings to his roles a merriment, mordancy and mania unseen since the death of Raul Julia"
-THE NEW YORK TIMES
"Having worked with Joshua directly I can say he is a man of vision: He is not bound by the ordinary or mundane. His creativity exists both within and without the proverbial "box" and is inspiring to many, myself included”
-ACADEMY AWARD WINNER
Barney Burman
The world has never been a more divisive place. Now more than ever there seems to be a tug of war between an impulse to merge ourselves into one global village and the opposite primal impulse: to create distance and division from each other by retreating into societal tribes.
I help people connect and empathize with each other by sharing stories, both from my own life and those of others, as an actor, writer and creator of film & theater.
I'm intrigued by people, experiences, and communities from all walks of life, but I'm especially fascinated by those who conscientiously object to what's "normal" and who lead sometimes unconventional lives.
I'm Joshua Spafford, and I love to create and share stories.
THEATRE MAKER: NYC * MANILA
As Shakespeare's RICHARD 3rd,
Central Park, NYC
MEMOIR: A PIRATES' SON
Out of 1970's Miami, Joshua's parents took him on weekend sailing trips around the Florida Keys. Within a few years the family built their own boat by hand in the woods of Denmark and then, sailed around the world. They weathered storms, shipwrecks, coup e'tats and real life pirates. Or were they the pirates, young Joshua began to wonder? While real world dangers grew so did Joshua's awareness that the captain of the ship, his handsome and charismatic stepfather was a severe alcoholic and bipolar. After adventures repeatedly turn into disasters, Joshua and his father face off to take control of the family. -A true coming of age story about dreamers, gypsies and choosing your family.
WINNER! "BEST ACTOR" 2018
At the Philstage Gawad Buhay Awards
For his role in the Pulitzer Nominated Drama "In The Next Room' by Repertory Philippines
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RECENT WORKS
DIRECTOR, "Icarus & Aria" 2019, a modern version of "Romeo & Juliet" by Kirk Wood Bromley ('American Shakespeare')as a Radio Play podcast coming soon to Audible & iTunes
Recorded April 2019
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FEATURE FILM IN DEVELOPMENT,
Joshua writes & directs "Haciendero" an elevated psychological horror film-"set during the Philippine Revolutionary War against Spanish Colonial rule in 1898. Spoken in Spanish, Filipino and English (the language of the time), "Haciendero" is a study of tribal mentalities of race, class and the cyclical grip of generational patriarchy.
"MY GRANDPA GEORGE"
Part Memoir, part theater performance, part nightmare "My Grandpa George" is a metatheatrical performance piece inspired by Joshua's own life with his grandfather Dr. George Hodel, a prime suspect in the infamous Black Dahlia Murder. Cocreated with P. Seth Baeur.
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