Jess Wright Buha is an internationally produced, award-winning playwright and audio dramatist.

ABOUT

Jess Wright Buha is an internationally-produced playwright and award-winning audio dramatist. As a playwright, she has written over 40 plays including Wake: A Folk Opera, Circle House, and an adaptation of Leo Tolstoy's Anna Karenina, which have been produced at theaters like Goodman Theatre, The Gift Theatre, Lifeline Theatre, Filament Theatre, South Africa's National Children's Theatre, and the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. 

As an audio dramatist, she has experience writing in many genres, including kids/family (Macho’s Eggcellent Adventure), comedy (the X-Men season 1 radio mode for Marvel Move), historical adventure (Nellie Bly), and drama/mystery (Unwell: A Midwestern Gothic Mystery). 

She also co-created and wrote the Soundlab series, four informational videos produced by the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra that have been used by elementary music educators around the world. 

She grew up in St. Louis, cut her teeth in the storefront scene in Chicago, and recently moved to Oak Park with her spouse, her two wild and whirling kids, and her two rescue huskies.

PRESS

Recent Works

  • X-Men: Age of Orchis, Radio Mode

    an immersive audio drama produced by Marvel and Six to Start

  • STARDOG

    an intimate theatrical experience about grief, hope, and the power of storytelling, featuring interactive gameplay

  • Powell Hall Playlist

    a rollicking show featuring a hopeless usher, a time-travelling streetcar conductor, and the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra

Featured Works

  • Unwell: A Midwestern Gothic Mystery

    “'Cause if you're not going away, then I will make you go away because I'm not running.”

    The winner of the 2021 BBC Best Podcast award, with over 9.5 million lifetime downloads

    Explore more Scripted Audio

  • Anna Karenina

    “We could be happy, if you wish. But it involves that word you hate: love”

    The critically-acclaimed adaptation of one of the world’s most beloved novels.

    Explore more Stage Plays: Literary Adaptations

  • Sherlock Holmes and the Mystery of Portage Park

    “Come, neighbors, come! The game is afoot! Onto your bicycles and ride!”

    The sold out, beloved-by-audiences, promenade-style interactive mystery

    Explore more Stage Plays: Kids Shows

Ulysses production photo by Joe Mazza - Brave Lux

JWB portrait by Casey Richards