“My first, ever, role was as Stanley Kowalski in A Streetcar Named Desire, directed by Jeffrey Puukka, in September of 2019. Anyone who is familiar with ‘Streetcar’ is aware that it is a powerful and exceptionally well written play. Stanley is a dream of a role. Poor but hardworking, intelligent but uneducated, brutish, controlling, and abusive, Stanley is an intense character in an intimate and intense story which was famously censored in its film adaptation due to its heavy subject matter.
Jeffrey was intent from the start to present the story in its full, placing the audience firmly at the window of this tragedy. Jeffrey’s skillful and insightful understanding of building the audience experience coupled with his keen understanding of how to help his actors to reach emotional truths, made for a show that never failed to strike a visceral emotional chord in our audience. Reviews for the play were invariably glowing, ranging from statements of it being the best production of ‘Streetcar’ they had ever seen to a simple, tear stricken ‘Thank you.’
I have also had the pleasure of being one of Jeffrey’s students in his Monday Night Acting Lab. I have found him to be highly professional, knowledgeable, thoughtful, insightful, kind, open, respectful, and caring with his cast, his crew, and his students.”
(Daniel Donlon, Portland, OR)
JEFFREY PUUKKA 