Portrait: Damien Frost
JORDAN STOVALL / WANDA WHATEVER (they/them) is a writer, arts/education leader, and drag artist operating at the intersection of administrative strategy, performance, and queer cultural organizing. Grounded in a deeply relational approach to arts leadership, their career spans institutional advocacy, independent producing, operational transformation, shared value creation, and a lifelong commitment to uplifting expansive stories as well as the people behind them.
Jordan served as Director of Outreach & Institutional Partnerships at The Dramatists Guild of America (2016 - 2024; previous roles including Regional Programs Manager and Creative Affairs Manager). During this tenure they formulated nationwide program strategy for over 11,000 members, scaled regional networks through volunteer stewardship, and co-designed advocacy initiatives that grew total membership by 38%. They were at the forefront of launching national programs still in existence today like End of Play® and Playwrights Welcome, and developed strategic alliances with organizations such as the Kennedy Center, TCG, LMDA, ATHE, EdTA and Candid.
Highlights from this time included serving as Program Manager for the New Visions Fellowship alongside National Queer Theatre, co-producing the Jubilee for a New Vision showcase at MCC Theater as part of Carnegie Hall's Afrofuturism Festivall, stewarding the DG's Regional Representatives program, and serving on the committees producing the Devised Theatre Resource Manual and Best Practices for Contests and Festivals. These evergreen theatrical industry documents have gone on to inform international industry practices, through coordinated work with the Writers Guild of Great Britain. They presently serve on the Partnerships team with Kaplan International Pathways, where they lead on 3 university partnerships and support on 4 others to aide international students in accessing new educational programs and opportunities.
As a queer producer and drag artist (performing as Wanda Whatever), they were the founder of the Time Out London Award–nominated Boulangerie: A Queer Variety Show (2018 - 2022) and the bi-monthly party Fussy at Dalston Superstore (2019 - 2024). Over the last 8 years, they've performed regularly in venues across London, New York, Germany and Florida.
As a playwright, Jordan’s work has been shortlisted for the Eugene O’Neill National Playwrights Conference and the Relentless Award. Recent highlights include a reading of Bat Queen! with The 24 Hour Plays and the premiere of Stun at London’s Cockpit Theatre following developmental iterations across New York, Maine (Barn Arts Collective), and Florida. Their craft is shaped by study with Tina Howe, Tanika Gupta, Ola Animashawun, Deborah Zoe Laufer, Michele Lowe, Stefanie Zadravec, Sarah Grochala, among others. A published contributor to American Theatre Magazine and The Dramatist, Jordan frequently spoke and moderated on panels for AWP, TCG/HowlRound, and EdTA on queer storytelling, emotional honesty, and theatre writing.
Jordan holds a PMP certification, an MFA in Writing for Stage and Broadcast Media from the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, a Postgraduate Certificate in Project Management (Distinction), a CELTA (Distinction), and a BA in Theatre Arts from the University of Tampa. They are presently an MBA candidate with the University of Liverpool (expected 2028).
Jordan served as Director of Outreach & Institutional Partnerships at The Dramatists Guild of America (2016 - 2024; previous roles including Regional Programs Manager and Creative Affairs Manager). During this tenure they formulated nationwide program strategy for over 11,000 members, scaled regional networks through volunteer stewardship, and co-designed advocacy initiatives that grew total membership by 38%. They were at the forefront of launching national programs still in existence today like End of Play® and Playwrights Welcome, and developed strategic alliances with organizations such as the Kennedy Center, TCG, LMDA, ATHE, EdTA and Candid.
Highlights from this time included serving as Program Manager for the New Visions Fellowship alongside National Queer Theatre, co-producing the Jubilee for a New Vision showcase at MCC Theater as part of Carnegie Hall's Afrofuturism Festivall, stewarding the DG's Regional Representatives program, and serving on the committees producing the Devised Theatre Resource Manual and Best Practices for Contests and Festivals. These evergreen theatrical industry documents have gone on to inform international industry practices, through coordinated work with the Writers Guild of Great Britain. They presently serve on the Partnerships team with Kaplan International Pathways, where they lead on 3 university partnerships and support on 4 others to aide international students in accessing new educational programs and opportunities.
As a queer producer and drag artist (performing as Wanda Whatever), they were the founder of the Time Out London Award–nominated Boulangerie: A Queer Variety Show (2018 - 2022) and the bi-monthly party Fussy at Dalston Superstore (2019 - 2024). Over the last 8 years, they've performed regularly in venues across London, New York, Germany and Florida.
As a playwright, Jordan’s work has been shortlisted for the Eugene O’Neill National Playwrights Conference and the Relentless Award. Recent highlights include a reading of Bat Queen! with The 24 Hour Plays and the premiere of Stun at London’s Cockpit Theatre following developmental iterations across New York, Maine (Barn Arts Collective), and Florida. Their craft is shaped by study with Tina Howe, Tanika Gupta, Ola Animashawun, Deborah Zoe Laufer, Michele Lowe, Stefanie Zadravec, Sarah Grochala, among others. A published contributor to American Theatre Magazine and The Dramatist, Jordan frequently spoke and moderated on panels for AWP, TCG/HowlRound, and EdTA on queer storytelling, emotional honesty, and theatre writing.
Jordan holds a PMP certification, an MFA in Writing for Stage and Broadcast Media from the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, a Postgraduate Certificate in Project Management (Distinction), a CELTA (Distinction), and a BA in Theatre Arts from the University of Tampa. They are presently an MBA candidate with the University of Liverpool (expected 2028).
