I’m crazy about all types of art—performance, literary and visual. I love the creative process and I’m intrigued by every artist’s unique approach. I love to bring inspiring people together and to prepare a meal for them. I love to exchange and nurture ideas. I believe travel is crucial for inspiration—whether communing with nature or exploring a different city, a change of scenery always reinvigorates. I find that maintaining a clean work environment and creating an ambiance conducive to artistic expression is an art in itself. “Creating space” is both the mission and the final product of this venture. In other words, to create space for creating.
Who am I?
My name is Jerry Marsini. I’m a creative professional and theatre artist living in New York, and co-founder of Jupiter Highway, a collaborative of creative professionals who produce film, theatre and digital content.
I am also a photographer, baker, dancer, painter, interior designer, francophile, volleyball player, tarot card reader, costumer, make-up artist, yoga practitioner, and both an outdoor and a karaoke enthusiast. I like my scotch neat.
A bit of history
I moved to New York in 1995, and landed a job at a fantastic creative consultancy called The Abelson Company, led by the sublimely talented Danny Abelson. I was tremendously fortunate to work among and to learn from an array of inspiring colleagues and friends, and to grow from junior designer to design director in just a few years. The experience provided me endless lessons in collaboration, leadership, administration and creative communication that are central to my ethic and philosophy today.
Over my career, I’ve helped create positioning strategies, collateral, communications and produced corporate events for clients across a wide range of industries, including The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Body Shop, MTV, Scudder Investments, Chase, Delta, The Independent Film Channel, La MaMa ETC, Seagram, Signature Theatre, Second Stage Theatre, Eleni’s Cookies, Hungry Man Productions, Svedka and Ann Taylor.
I left my full-time employment so I could pursue a life in the theatre. I began my training as an actor and worked regularly in NY’s downtown indie theatre scene and appeared in a handful of independent films. In the wake of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, I was executive producer of and acted in Inside Art Theatre Company’s inaugural production, “Drinks Before Dinner” by E.L.Doctorow, which was a benefit for the Twin Towers Orphan Fund. More than 80% of the production costs were covered by securing in-kind donations, and all net proceeds from ticket sales were forwarded to the fund. Those years showed me the healing power of art and confirmed for me its importance as a human endeavor.
In 2011 I appeared off-Broadway at Classic Stage Company in Unnatural Acts: Harvard’s Secret Court of 1920, a play I also co-wrote with members of Plastic Theatre led by director Tony Speciale. The work on this profound piece of theatre is another highlight of my artistic life. During the three years of development, I also helped produce the numerous developmental workshops and backer’s readings, contributed to grant writing, designed the website, and assisted in the production’s fundraising campaign. The play earned a GLAAD Media Award Nomination for Outstanding New York Theatre: Broadway and Off-Broadway and three Drama Desk Nominations, including Best Play.
We were over the moon, of course, and I came away with a strong desire to continue to explore arts development and leadership, but also to merge all my varied abilities and interests in my work. So I went on a retreat to the Arizona mountains to think about how I could translate that craving into the next phase of my career, and that first step became the seed of inspiration for this project.
Some details
I’m currently practicing Bikram yoga. In the past I studied or trained at the following fine institutions:
Duke University, Durham, NC — B.A. French Literature
Sarah Lawrence College — Semester in Paris
The Portfolio Center, Atlanta, GA — Visual Communications
The Actors Center, NYC — Actors’ Conservatory