Jeffrey Essmann was a fixture on the New York downtown performance scene in the 80s/early 90s. His one-man show Artificial Reality was nominated for a Drama Desk Award, and he was featured in the video New Wave Comedy. His cult hit Triplets in Uniform at La MaMa marked his transition to playwriting. In the early 90s Essmann left New York for Chicago, where he was a featured performer in a performance series at Steppenwolf, and became a regular contributor to the Chicago NPR affiliate. 2005 saw the production of his short piece Johannes, Pyotr & Marge at the Humana Festival, as well as his return to New York. His one-man show Skin Deep was commissioned for the 2006 HOT! Festival, which, along with The Usual Freak Show at La MaMa a year later, marked his successful return to the New York theatre scene.
