jad jacob
Hi! welcome to my site.
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I am a creator in the worlds of film, television, music, and theatre.
You may know me as the composer & lyricist behind Beethoven: Live In Concert, a new rock musical about Beethoven's revolutionary life. We had our first concert presentation in 2023 at The Green Room 42, and a staged production at Fort Salem Theater in April 2024, where we were awarded the Al Budde Playwright Scholarship. Elsewhere in the theatre world, I made my 54 Below debut in February 2025, with a sold-out concert of my original works.
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As filmmaker, my short Benson's Playground premiered at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, and was award-winner and finalist in a dozen festivals internationally. My documentary on Syrian refugees living in Germany, I Am Syria, screened at Harvard University and at campuses across the Northeast. My feature and television screenplays have been recognized internationally, most recently as finalist for the Michael Collyer Memorial Fellowship in Screenwriting.
In addition to scoring my own films, I recently scored Christopher Grant's Never Can Say Goodbye, starring and produced by Tony-nominated Crystal Lucas-Perry; I also contributed an original musical number to the upcoming feature Concessions, starring Michael Madsen, Steven Ogg, and Josh Hamilton.​
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I have performed as Dueling Pianist and piano bar entertainer on cruises across the Mediterranean and Caribbean, and in venues across New York; I have been Music Director for numerous productions in the last ten years, including serving as Resident Music Director at Yaya Theatre Academy in Shenzhen, China.
My name's Jad.
I'm a writer, composer, and filmmaker.
RECENT WORK
RECENT WORK
Oliver Richman sings 'Starry Night' at 54 Below:
'Concessions': Film featured in Deadline:
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MY WORK
BEETHOVEN, FORT SALEM THEATER
CONCESSIONS, FILM SCORE
MSC SEASHORE, CARIBBEAN
GREEN ROOM 42 DUELING PIANOS
BEETHOVEN, GREEN ROOM 42
NEVER CAN SAY GOODBYE, FILM SCORE
2024
2023
​LOSING HOPE: PILOT
THE GREAT CAROLINA HOTEL
BENSON'S PLAYGROUND
2020
MSC SEASHORE, MEDITERRANEAN
BEANS AND RICE, NYTF
2022
2018-19
SOMETHING STUPID
BEANS AND RICE
AN IMPERFECT CURE
TUESDAY NIGHTS
WAITING FOR JERRY
2012-17
AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS
Beethoven: Live In Concert (Musical)​​
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WINNER, Al Budde Playwright Scholarship
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SELECTION, EAT Spark Theatre Festival
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FINALIST, Musical Theatre West's New Works Reading Festival
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SEMIFINALIST, Syracuse's New Works, New Voices
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SEMIFINALIST, 2025 CreateTheater New Works Festival
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SEMIFINALIST, CreateTheater Development Partnership w/SUNY Cortland
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Beans And Rice (One-Act Play, 2022)​
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BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS (Sarah Sinclair) - New York Theater Festival
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PREMIERE, New York Theater Festival
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The Great Carolina Hotel (Feature Screenplay, 2020)​
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FINALIST, Michael Collyer Memorial Fellowship in Screenwriting
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SEMI-FINALIST, Goldman Award, SWN Screenplay Competition
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8/10 EVALUATION, The Black List
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7/10 EVALUATION, The Black List
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7/10 EVALUATION, The Black List
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Benson's Playground (Short Film, 2020)
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FINALIST, BEST ORIGINAL SCORE, Lonely Wolf International Film Festival
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FINALIST, BEST STUDENT DIRECTOR (MALE), IndieX Film Fest
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FINALIST, BEST STUDENT SHORT, New York World Film Festival
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FINALIST: The Cutting Room Int'l Short Film Festival, JellyFEST Film Festival
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SEMI-FINALIST: New York No Limits Film Series, Student LA Film Awards
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AWARD OF RECOGNITION: LEAD ACTOR (Paul Albe) - IndieFEST Film Awards
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AWARD OF RECOGNITION: FILM SHORT, IndieFEST Film Awards
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OFFICIAL SELECTION, Golden State Film Festival
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OFFICIAL SELECTION, Int'l New York Film Festival
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OFFICIAL SELECTION, New York Lift-Off Film Festival
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OFFICIAL SELECTION, Tisch Fringe Festival​​​​​
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Losing Hope: PILOT (Television Screenplay, 2020)
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SEMIFINALIST, 2021 Scriptation Showcase Script Competition
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QUARTERFINALIST, 2021 ScreenCraft TV Pilot Script Competition
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QUARTERFINALIST, Page Turner Screenplays 4th Annual First 15 Competition
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Something Stupid (One-Act Play, 2019)
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PREMIERE, 2019 Brandspankin' New Works Festival
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Tuesday Nights (Short Film, 2018)
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OFFICIAL SELECTION, Sight & Sound Showcase Fall 2018
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Waiting For Jerry (Short Film, 2018)
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BEST COMEDY SHORT, Avalonia Festival II
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OFFICIAL SELECTION, Motion Pictures Int'l Film Festival
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I Am Syria (Documentary, 2017)
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OUTSTANDING EXCELLENCE, Docs Without Borders Film Festival
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GOLD AWARD, International Independent Film Awards
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BRONZE AWARD, Spotlight Documentary Film Awards
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NOMINATED, RALPH F. BOYD AWARD, Schenectady Human Rights Commission
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DR. JOHN YOUNGBLOOD MEMORIAL BOOK AWARD IN THE FINE ARTS
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The Phantom Of The Opera (Performance as The Phantom, 2017)
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NOMINATION - BEST ACTOR, Proctors High School Musical Theatre Awards, 2017
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WINNER - BEST MUSICAL, BEST SET CONSTRUCTION, BEST TECHNICAL EXECUTION
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OFFICE (Web Series, 2017)
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OUTSTANDING FILMMAKER OF THE YEAR, NHS Short Cuts
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OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL SCORE, NHS Short Cuts
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SILVER AWARD, International Independent Film Awards
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OFFICIAL SELECTION, 3rd Annual Web Series Festival Global
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AWARD OF EXCEPTIONAL MERIT: WEBISODE PILOT | ORIGINAL SCORE
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AWARD OF MERIT: SCRIPT/WRITER | COSTUME DESIGN
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OFFICIAL SELECTION, WRPN.TV Global Webisode Competition
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CERTIFICATE OF MERIT, Niskayuna HS Art Department
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It's Not What It Looks Like (Short FIlm, 2017)
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BEST FICTION/STORY, Rod Serling Film Festival
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OUTSTANDING DIRECTING, Media Arts Festival 2017
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OUTSTANDING COMEDY, Media Arts Festival 2017
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OUTSTANDING DIRECTING, NHS Short Cuts
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OUTSTANDING COMEDY, NHS Short Cuts
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OUTSTANDING ACTRESS - HANNAH DAVIS, NHS Short Cuts
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SILVER AWARD, International Independent Film Awards
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OFFICIAL SELECTION, Orlando Film Festival
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OFFICIAL SELECTION, Ballston Spa Film Festival
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OFFICIAL SELECTION, The Set NYC Short Film Screenings
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Why God? (Original Score, 2017)
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BEST ORIGINAL SCORE, Ballston Spa International Short Film Festival
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Doodle (Original Score, 2017)
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OFFICIAL SELECTION, Ballston Spa International Short Film Festival
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Opus 12 (Web Series, 2015-2016)
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MOST PROMISING NEW YOUNG FILMMAKER, NHS Short Cuts
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OUTSTANDING DIRECTOR, NHS Short Cuts
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OUTSTANDING ACTOR - ETHAN SCHALEKAMP, NHS Short Cuts
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OUTSTANDING ACTRESS - HANNAH DAVIS, NHS Short Cuts
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RIT INNOVATION & CREATIVITY AWARD, Niskayuna HS
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CERTIFICATE OF MERIT, Niskayuna HS Art Department
