Jennifer Overton is an actor, educator, writer and playwright living in Halifax. Her acting career spans thirty years, and includes film, theatre, and television credits. Her award winning play, God’s Middle Name (Scirocco Drama pub.) produced by In Good Company Theatre, and inspired by her book, Snapshots of Autism: A Family Album (Jessica Kingsley pub) about life with her autistic son Nicholas, premiered in 2006 at Eastern Front’s (then named) On The Waterfront Festival in 2006. It earned the 2007 Robert G. Merritt Award for Outstanding New Play and Outstanding Production, as well as being twice shortlisted for the prestigious Lieutenant Governor’s Masterworks Award. It was invited to the Magnetic North Theatre Festival in Ottawa, and then went on to enjoy a highly successful national tour. My Titanic, co-written with David Overton, premiered at Eastern Front’s SuperNova Festival in 2011. Her new play, Spelling 2-5-5, intended for school and family audiences, premiered and toured southern Ontario with Carousel Players earlier this year and subsequently toured to Eastern Front Theatre’s SuperNova Festival. It is being remounted by Carousel Players for an extensive Ontario and Nova Scotia tour, as well as currently under consideration by several American TYA theatres. She holds an M.F.A. in Theatre Performance from York University, and spent ten years on faculty in the Theatre Department Acting Program at Dalhousie University. Jennifer is the proud recipient of Autism Nova Scotia’s 2007 Sobey’s Green Jacket Award in recognition of her commitment to the Autism community.
