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  • BUCKET BOY

    A storyteller returns to her home town to recapture a relationship with the girl she loved in high school ... a relationship that may or may not have ever existed.
  • full play

    TOM WAITS FOR NO MAN

    The story of Bobby Ace; semi-professional third-rate road musician half-way between last call and last chance, playing the songs of Tom Waits.
  • full play

    SOLOS

    The Jazz Romance of trumpeter Ben "Blue" Miller and Ellie Grace
    Winner: 2014 BroadwayWorld Orlando Awards, Best Lead Actress - Desiree Perez

  • ALL ABOUT THE SOUND

    Joseph Reed Hayes reading at the Timucua White House, March 2015. Collaboration with Alejandro Arenas, Mark Feinman, John O'Leary, Whitney James and LaRue Nickelson.
  • full play

    WEST FARMS

    A worn-down man looks back at his childhood, his family, and the almost legendary bar the Bronx that still keeps its hold on him, from childhood on.

  • IF I HAD MY WAY (excerpt)

    The illogical logic of relationships and the threat of war in a small Florida citrus town in 1945

  • A LITTLE CRAZY- "when I was 17 ..."

    Scene from "A Little Crazy", performed at the 2002 Orlando International Fringe Festival.

  • With 34 productions and readings of his plays from coast to coast and in three countries since 2001, playwright, freelance writer, jazz advocate and performance artist Joseph Hayes pioneers the cause of local, sustainable art.

  • "A play by Joseph Reed Hayes is a welcome oasis of cultured smarts."

    Orlando Weekly

freelance writer

  • As a writer on assignment, I've traveled to Italy, Scotland, England, New Orleans, California and New York City, with a specialty on all things Orlando. Whether it's a story about Arts & Crafts houses in Florida or new styles in computers, a Mounted Police squad or alien abduction insurance, I've written it. Environmental issues, music, movie and theater reviews and in-depth conversations with legends in jazz. Interviews and personality profiles are my specialty.

A full-time freelance writer since 1996, I've written for national and international publications about food, travel and the arts, and am currently the Dining Critic for Orlando Magazine. With 32 productions and readings of my plays from coast to coast and in three countries since 2001, and producer of the Jazz On Edge series since 2008, I advocate the cause of local, sustainable art.

food writer

  • Florida Magazine Association Award winning food writer and Orlando restaurant critic, currently for Orlando Magazine. James Beard Foundation judge, knowledgable champion of world cuisine and avid advocate of undiscovered chefs. I can write about the front of the house of a restaurant as well as the kitchen with equal expertise. Founding member, goFLA/SunshinePlate Central Florida.

playwright

  • My plays take place on buses and in bars, in hotel rooms and government offices, farmhouse kitchens and jazz stages. 32 productions and readings of my plays from coast to coast and in three countries since 2001; creator of House Theater Project and the year-long 13in13 series of shows. "Best local playwright - Joseph Hayes" - Orlando Sentinel

jazz producer

  • Producer of the Jazz On Edge series, spotlighting new and original jazz from Central Florida since 2008, showcasing the best that Central Florida has to offer in jazz to appreciative audiences, giving creative hometown and nationally-known musicians a place to perform their own music, without boundaries, in person and online. Board member, Timucua Arts Foundation.