Jessica Lynn French
Director. Actress. Singer. Teaching Artist.
About
Jessica Lynn French began performing professionally at the age of eleven in the National Tour of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat starring Donnie Osmond. Favorite performance roles include: Mother Abbess in The Sound of Music, Miss Hannigan in Annie, Augusta Tabor in The Ballad of Baby Doe, La Zia Principessa in Suor Angelica, and Ruth in The Pirates of Penzance. After completing her studies at Interlochen Arts Academy, she received her Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from The Boston Conservatory of Music. She went on to do a fellowship with the Nashville Opera while getting her Masters of Music in Vocal Pedagogy and Voice Performance from Belmont University. In 2020, Ms. French added a Master of Arts in Education degree to her resume, focusing on trauma informed theatre education. She has created unique theatre curriculums for three different school districts as well as college theatre courses for two universities.
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As a director, Jessica has helmed two world premieres, several regional productions, and countless educational productions all over the US in the K-12 arena and collegiately. In 2019, she one of a select few female directors hired for the New York Musical Festival workshopping the staged reading of a new musical at Playwrights Horizon. Ms. French is also a sought after clinician. She travels the US and Internationally performing and teaching vocal masterclasses raising awareness of vocal health. She helped to facilitate The Metropolitan Opera's National Educator Conference and was a masterclass instructor for The Carnegie Hall Association. In the summer of 2017, Ms. French taught a music theatre masterclass at the newly opened Studio Paulsen, the first ever Meisner Technique training center for actors in Guayaquil, Ecuador. She also enjoys voice over work, recording for MTI (Music Theater International) and serving as a vocal coach for Sockeye Media's Mother Goose Club, a YouTube sensation with over 9 million subscribers which became a series on Netflix.
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During her time in Detroit, Boston, Nashville, and New York City she has performed with and coached artists managed by: Sony, Curb Records, Word Records, William Morris Agency, Simeon Studios, and Graffiti Records to name a few. In order to better understand the demands on her recording artist clients, she recorded a Be My Voice, a contemporary Bilingual EP with a full band. In 2016, Ms. French launched a musical theatre album entitled "Songs I Can Sing from Roles I'll (Probably) Never Play" on iTunes and Spotify. She performed a Cabaret style album release concert at The Laurie Beechman Theatre on 42nd Street.​
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During her time as a New York City resident, Ms. French served as Teaching Artist for Broadway Bound Kids and The Metropolitan Opera Guild. In 2015, she became a proud union member of AGMA (American Guild of Musical Artists). From 2017 to 2021 she was the Artistic Director of the LCA Summer Musical Theatre Intensive. Jessica and her family now call Nashville home where she is the Director of Theatre4All. She runs a private studio offering training in voice and acting, serving as a consultant for young artists applying to performing arts collegiate programs and/or looking to start auditioning professionally. Her students have been in Broadway productions, national tours, on stage at the Metropolitan Opera, in major films, and featured on shows like The Voice and American Idol.
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She also is a freelance writer about all things theatre and music. Check out her published writing samples: