Branden Jacob-Jenkins is a Brooklyn-based playwright. His writing credits include the 2014 Obie Award winning plays Appropriate and An Octoroom, as well as Gloria, for which he was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize in 2015. Many of Jacob-Jenkins often cerebral plays take on themes of race, others the incessant drive to succeed in today’s fast-paced world. In 2017, he participated in The Kitchen’s two-week open work period Half Straddle: Here I Go, pt. 2 of You by giving a talk entitled "THINGS FORMERLY LOCATED ON MY CHEST."

Half Straddle: Here I Go, pt. 2 of You