Before moving cross-country with Portland-born spouse and collaborator Ben, J. C. teamed up with him in 2016 to found Grey Noise Theatre Company, a shoestring theatre that operated for four seasons in Rochester, NY. Grey Noise focused on queering classic works in the theatrical canon and bringing nuanced diverse perspectives to existing queer works. At Grey Noise, J. C. directed an updated version of Bert V. Royal’s Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead in collaboration with the playwright, a production that went on to win CITY's 2019 Best of Rochester award in the category of "Best performance produced by a local theatre group."

Other favorite directing credits include Strindberg classic Creditors and the scene cycle Homo Familiarus. Favorite performance roles include Brother Polycarp in At Swim, Two Boys; the title character in Aurora; Tranio in WallByrd’s Taming of the Shrew, and their own solo show about reclaiming ancestral grieving practices, Something Has to Die. J. C. has also seen several adaptations (Maid Julie, Sharks, Faust) and original works (Positive, Ephemera, Covenant) produced and/or workshopped and is a writer, performer, and lover of poetry and erotic fiction.

As an intimacy director and coordinator, J. C. is dedicated to spreading consent culture, actor agency, storytelling excellence, and LGBTQ+ love stories in the staging of intimate scenes for the theatre. Favorite intimacy projects have been an adaptation of Jamie O’Neill’s At Swim, Two Boys with DVC; Passion Play at Lewis & Clark College, Oklahoma! and Indecent at JCC Centerstage; Good Country at Queer Opera; Bonnie & Clyde and Polaroid Stories at Nazareth College; Queen at Geva Theatre Center; web series Dearest Eva with Kryptic Films, and Orchid Receipt Service with Asia Kate Dillon at Theatre Mitu. Their greatest love is teaching young people about consent and person-centered practice in the theatre, and they have been privileged to do so often through the lens of intimacy. Learn more about the growing field of intimacy for stage and screen.

Although J.C.’s intimacy training came from Intimacy Directors & Coordinators and its predecessor, Intimacy Directors International, they do not stand fully behind any mainstream intimacy education and “certification” program, as they are all based in systems of whiteness. Check out and amplify the work of Intimacy Coordinators of Color and The Intimacy Collective.

In addition to the performing arts, reproductive justice is another arena of life in which J. C. notices a lot of barriers to people telling their stories on their own terms, especially marginalized people. To integrate this crucial form of activism into their professional practice, they have trained and are certified as a full-spectrum doula with Birthing Advocacy, a queer- and Black-led birth work organization working to decolonize and transform the industry. Their grounding and validating presence helps people going through intense bodily and familial change begin to make meaning of their experiences.

Throughout the global pause initiated by the pandemic, J. C. has dedicated their energy to dismantling their own white supremacy, learning about sustainable living, playing in their beloved craft as a poet and playwright, participating in virtual and covid-cautious TTRPG campaigns, teaching virtual classes, speaking on various panels about gender-inclusive theatre-making, studying Torah, and making space for rest and community care even as the world rushes to return to normal. Rest is resistance, friends!

J. C. Meyer-Crosby of Myth Medics is based in Portland, OR and is available to travel with appropriate accommodations. Virtual engagements are always an option.