About This Show
Wings Theatre presents The Jocker, a new drama by Clint Jeffries. Jeffrey Corrick directs.
In a hobo jungle, 1931, the jealousy & desperation of an abused young runaway leaves the lives of all around him changed forever.
Based on historical fact, The Jocker explores relationships between men riding the rails during the great depression. It is 1931. In a hobo jungle near Flagstaff, Arizona, hobos and tramps begin to congregate, lured by the promise of work on a nearby rail spur. Early arrivals include Biloxi Billy, a tramp in his late 40’s, and Nat, around 16 — a Jocker and his ‘Gunsel,’ (combination servant, apprentice and catamite, a common and amazingly well documented relationship among hobos and tramps of the period.) They soon encounter ‘Bama Boy and Shakespeare, two men in a very different sort of sexual relationship. It’s the men’s conflicting and ever-changing dependence on one another that help them survive – but when Nat makes a desperate move to get away from his abusive jocker, he sets in motion a devastating chain of events that leaves two dead and other lives shattered. Nat may ultimately get what he wished — but not at all in the way he could of imagined.
“The story takes some sad and unexpected turns before arriving at its surprisingly affecting conclusion. I found myself caught up in and caring about these men, genuinely touched by some of the tender moments.” — Martin Denton, NYTHEATRE.COM
The Jocker was awarded First Prize in the John Gassner Memorial Playwriting Awards, was named a finalist in the Pacific Northwest Writer’s Conference Competition, and was a finalist in the South Carolina Playwrights’ Festival, and a semi-finalist in the Bloomington Playwrights’ Project.
