A writer, director, producer, and designer, AJ Powell has been crafting originals for more than 40 years. His portfolio includes plays, performance pieces, novels, tabletop games, and original audiovisual illusions, crafted for himself and others.
I'm going to try to be careful about what I say here, but I'm too excited not to share. What if there was a way to bring all of the excitement, intrigue, and murder of the hit TV show THE TRAITORS into your home for a fully-produced weekend experience for you and 8-10 of your friends? Got a house in The Hamptons? Want a magical weekend you'll never forget? Stay tuned. This production team I'm working with is bold, brash, and fearless in their scope. We're talking lighting. Sound cues. Costume changes. Magic. A fully-produced TV show experience, filmed in your home. It's ridiculously over-the-top and I'm so excited to be able to lend my talents to this effort.
AJ Powell has signed an exclusive European manufacturing agreement
with Vestoland Games, to private-label and produce AJ's portfolio of tabletop games for sale and distribution across
Europe. We'll be working on refreshing the designs (and translating the instructions) for our full portfolio in the coming days, weeks, and months;
look for more details on this homepage (and find links to purchase them here).
I'm excited to be working again with my friends in the Midwest; if you find yourself in Grand Rapids, Michigan on June 14 or 15 be sure to head to The Pyramid Scheme and see The Lavender Vault, a PRIDE Cabaret being produced by my friends at Betka-Pope Productions. (Of course I'm talking about it because I'm involved. More details coming soon.) You can find details and ticket information on their website, or using the handy link I provided below.
What if there was a new show on Broadway, and what if it starred the incomparable Patti LuPone alongside the legendary Mia Farrow? That'd be pretty big news. It's called The Roommate, and it's the most-exciting project I've had the chance to (co)produce in a long, long time. It's funny. It's surprising. It's beautiful. Book by Jen Silverman. See it if you can.
An examination of truth in a post-truth era, The Connector stares deeply into the intersection between ambition and talent, and between objective and absolute truth. It's got some honestly 'magical' audio-visuals tricks, too. New music and lyrics by the incomparable Jason Robert Brown. Book by Jonathan Marc Sherman. This is why I produce live theatre.
One part lecture, one part magic show - Software is Magic examines how designers and engineers can apply the skills of magicians to make unforgettable user experiences. Delivered as a keynote at WebDevCon 2023.
What do you do if you're gay, proud, and only wear black? That's the dilemma the I went about solving with the (Wretched) Rainbow line. Launched in 2022; re-launched in June of 2024.
A high-energy secret role game set in the not-too-distant future and focussed squarely on defining what makes a human a human. Designed by me. (Absolutely NO robots involved).
A staged examination of the human experience, told through the lens of monsters (both real and fictional). Performed to sold-out audiences at The Comedy Project in Grand Rapids, MI.
A staged adaptation of my award-winning Unsettled lecture, expands the conceit to include elements of illusion, comedy, and audiovisual trickery to help to illustrate and illuminate our fascination with the unsettling. Featuring an amazing, international cast of performers to multi-night standing room only crowds.
A coming-of-age novel about a young girl who discovers the world is more magical than she'd ever have imagined, Grayson Rising is an action-packed adventure exploring what defines us, what control we have in who we are, and what it looks like to own the decisions that determine what happens next.
