Jess Barbagallo is a Brooklyn-based writer, performer, and director. A founding member of Half Straddle, an Obie Award-winning performance ensemble, he has performed with them in several works, and has also appeared in plays with Big Dance Theater, Theatre of a Two-Headed Calf, and The Builders Association. Barbagallo has written a number of plays, including Grey-Eyed Dogs, Saturn Nights, Good Year for Hunters, Karen Davis Does, and My Old Man (and Other Stories). Barbagallo’s plays often mine the depths of the trans experience while also never failing to incorporate more universal themes. In 2017, Barbagallo was a vital component of The Kitchen’s two-week open work period Half Straddle: Here I Go, pt. 2 of You, during which he gave a series of lectures as the keynote speaker of the proceedings.

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