Jane Martin, apparently from Kentucky, first came to the attention of American theatrical audiences with TALKING WITH…, a collection of monologues that premiered at the 1981 Humana Festival of New American Plays at the Actors' Theatre of Louisville. Ms. Martin's other collected works include VITAL SIGNS and WHAT MAMA DON’T KNOW. Her full-length plays include CEMENTVILLE, The Pulitzer nominated KELLY AND DU, which won the 1994 American Theatre Critics Association New Play Award, CRIMINAL HEARTS and MIDDLE AGED WHITE GUYS. There is some question as to the identity of this mysterious writer, however. She has been referred to as "America's best known, unknown playwright". The name Jane Martin is widely believed to be a pseudonym. She has never made any public appearances or spoken about any of her works. Nor has she ever given an interview. No biographical details are known about her. No photographs of Ms. Martin have ever been published. Jon Jory, Artistic Director of the Actors' Theatre of Louisville is the spokesperson for the playwright and some believe the playwright behind the pen name. This is, however, something that he has repeatedly denied. In an interview published on July 13, 1994 in the Seattle Weekly, Jory reportedly said, "that Martin feels she could not write plays if people knew who she was, regardless of her identity or gender." Jory proffers that: "The point in the end is the plays themselves. . . But if Jane's anonymity is a P.T. Barnum publicity stunt, it's one of the longest circus acts going." Despite his protestations, the most prominent theory still remains that Jane Martin is actually a pseudonym for Jory, who just happened to direct all of "Martin's" Louisville premieres.
