Been at this long?
You could say that. As an NYC metro-area kid, I grew up on a steady diet of on- and off-Broadway plays and musicals and was thoroughly bitten by the acting bug by age ten.
In the sixth grade, I made a deal with my teacher to write the class play in exchange
for being cast in the lead. More leads followed in middle- and high-school renditions
of Our Town, The Crucible, and other standard student fare. As a theatre major at
Hamilton College, I played a wide range of roles from Viola in Twelfth Night to Estelle
in No Exit. Three seasons of summer stock expanded my repertoire in period and contemporary comedies and dramas. After graduation, I returned to New York City to pursue a professional life in the theatre. It’s been a big adventure, and it’s not over yet.
Here are some highlights to date:
Theatre
The Memory of Madness
Returning to live theatre at Secret Stage in NYC was a joy, particularly when playing an Altzheimer’s-addled woman recounting a murder she may or may not have committed as a teenager.
My work received kind accolades on social media, including:
“I was so fortunate to come home to the stage again with the likes of the endlessly brilliant Jill Maynard, whose subtly devious and heartbreaking portrayal is an actor’s gift.”
– Co-star Emily Battles
“This is theatre as it should be….Watching Emily and Jill Maynard was like taking a master class. I was entranced.”
– Actor/audience member Robert-Louis Maisonett
Crazy Quilts
Ah, where would we have been without virtual theatre during the pandemic? I appear in the top center square playing the principal role of an abused wife named Susan in this Spark Creative Works production of Karen Fix Curry’s award-winning play.
Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre
A casualty of the pandemic, this now-shuttered former high temple of improv comedy in New York City was a proving ground for SNL hopefuls. Performing on the same stage as many comic luminaries who passed this way before me was an exhilarating professional experience.
Through November Moonlight
Rehearsal break: Through November Moonlight. I played a challenging leading role in this new drama addressing the subject of assisted suicide.
“As Taffy, Jill Maynard … breathe[s] life into her character, a woman caught between two men she loves.”
- The Journal News
The Conversation at Choctaw Junction
Rocking a red-headed role in The Conversation at Choctaw Junction.
“Jill Maynard as Mamie delivered her comic lines to perfection.”
- Cue Review
“With her outrageous costumes, blue eye shadow and wig, she skillfully inhabits the character.” - More Sugar
Film/Television/Video
Some1Speaking/Getting Back to Switzerland
Here I am recording my one-woman show, Getting Back to Switzerland, on this web-based platform with a YouTube channel featuring solo performers.
This Can't Be Happening
In this pilot webisode, I play Natalie Houska, a women’s fiction writer whose own marriage has hit the rocks.
Doc
In this long-running television series, I originated the role of Bunco enthusiast Mavis Davis.
Committed
This feature film was shot at the infamous Creedmoor Psychiatric Hospital in New York City, where I played Frances Farmer’s nurse/confidant during her involuntary confinement.
