A 1977 alumnus of Connecticut College, Jaffe was a faculty member in the theater department from 1989-1997. He returned in 2011 as an associate professor and chair of theater, and was promoted to full professor in 2016.
After earning his bachelor’s degree in theater studies, he attended the National Theater Institute at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center and the Actors Theater of Louisville Apprentice Company before earning his M.F.A. in acting at Yale University School of Drama.
During his training he was deeply influenced by his work with Morris Carnovsky, Estelle Parsons, Jon Jory, Earle Gister and Lloyd Richards. As an actor, Jaffe worked in New York City and in regional theaters such as the American Shakespeare Theater at Stratford under the direction of Zoe Caldwell, the Long Wharf Theater, the Yale Repertory Theater and the National Playwrights Conference at the O’Neill Center. He had the honor of narrating the Jerome Robbins’ ballet “Fanfare” with the New York City Ballet for three seasons at the New York State Theater and the Saratoga Performing Arts Center.
During his first appointment at Connecticut College, Jaffe’s directorial efforts included Jim Cartwright’s “ROAD,” Howard Korder’s “Boys’ Life,” OyamO’s “The Resurrection of Lady Lester,” and Brian Friel’s “Dancing at Lughnasa.” After obtaining permission from Elie Wiesel, Jaffe received support from the Jew Hatred: Paradigm for Racism Symposium for his stage adaptation and direction of Wiesel’s first novel “Dawn.”
Jaffe then served as Director of the O’Neill Center’s National Theater Institute for eight years, establishing collaborative relationships with the SITI Company, The Wooster Group, Theater Complicite and The St. Petersburg State Theater Academy. He created the O’Neill Theatermakers Summer Intensive, a six-week program for young actors, directors and playwrights that parallels the O’Neill Center’s professional programs. At NTI he taught advanced acting classes, audition technique, improvisation, ensemble process, mentored the directing lab, and directed the NTI Final Project in thirteen of his sixteen semesters. Jaffe led the student companies in adaptations of such material as Homer’s “Odyssey”; Ted Hughes’ “Tales from Ovid”; Clifford Odets’ “Waiting for Lefty”; and with Maria Goyanes, Marjane Satrapi’s graphic novel “Persepolis.” In addition to these adaptations, he led the companies in the collective creation process, developing and performing the original works “Civil/War” and “The Dream Project.”
| Credit Type | Production | Season |
|---|---|---|
| Actor | December 7th | 1985-86 Season |