J.S. Puller: 2025 Hitchcock Christmas Playwright Spotlight

Playwright Spotlight series continues – Holiday Edition! Today we’re featuring PlayGround-Chicago alum J.S Puller and her play How the Bates (Almost) Stole Christmas (Inspired by Psycho), one of five plays being presented as a part of PlayGround’s 4th annual A Very Hitchcock Christmas, running at Potrero Stage and Simulcast, December 6-7 at 7pm.  Advance reservations are required: visit playground-sf.org/hitchcockchristmas for details.

Give us a teaser for How the Bates (Almost) Stole Christmas (Inspired by Psycho):
All the people down in Fairvale liked Christmas a lot. But Norma Bates, town pariah, really did not. Based on Psycho.

Did you start writing any other scripts before you submitted that one?
Actually, yes!  I originally tried to write a parody of THE BIRDS, using the song, “The Twelve Days of Christmas.” The song has SO MANY BIRDS in it. But the dialogue just wasn’t coming together. And, at the time, I hadn’t actually seen any Hitchcock movies besides PSYCHO. I realized I needed to stick with something I knew!”

Generally speaking, are you more of a Hitchcock fan or Christmas fan? Tell us why!

Honestly, I’m not. Which isn’t to say I’m a Grinch myself. My time to shine is definitely Halloween. I spend months ahead of time planning out my costumes. I’m a theatre person, and a cosplayer, so I have lots and lots of supplies to use throughout the process.

What’s your favorite film? Tell us what you love about it!
Without a doubt, my favorite movie in the whole world is THE MUPPET MOVIE. I grew up with the Muppets. Kermit has always been my role model, and Gonzo is a character I feel a close kinship with. I love how the movie seamlessly plays on multiple levels (one for the kids, one for the adults), without breaking the magic or jarring one half of the audience. I love the characters who feel so real. And it’s my dream to one day write an adaptation of THE NUTCRACKER for the Muppets. Also, the songs are all bangers! Seriously, who doesn’t love Rainbow Connection? No one I want to know!

If you could pick the next iconic director/holiday mash-up as a prompt for PlayGround, what would your combination be? Tell us why!
Halloween is definitely my holiday of choice, and I think there’s so much you can do with it. I’m not sure I have a director in mind, but I would hope it wouldn’t be Wes Anderson. I like some of his movies, but that tone would feel extremely limiting, somehow. Maybe Frank Oz? Get some puppetry up in our theatres.”

Describe where you were when you wrote this play. Did that location influence how and what you wrote?
I actually wrote this script in my childhood bedroom. I was house- and cat-sitting for my parents, so I was in the scene of many high school crimes. My creativity always flows well in this space, probably because I spent so many hours daydreaming about what my incredible future was going to be, while simultaneously playing all sorts of role-playing games. An interesting combination.

What do you do creatively other than writing?

I’m a huge fan of role-playing games, and lately I’ve been doing a lot of Dungeons & Dragons. That may be kind of a cheating answer, since there is a bit of writing involved. But what makes it special for me is the fact that the storytelling eventually becomes a group effort. I tend to play characters who are also very “against type.” My current Paladin, named Rusty, has a minus-one modifier to her strength and is absolutely hopeless in a battle. She just tries! She tries so hard! I refer to her as “Steve Rogers without the serum.

J. S. Puller is a playwright and author from the Windy City, Chicago. She has a master’s degree in elementary education and a bachelor’s degree in theatre from Northwestern University. She is an award-winning member of the American Alliance for Theatre and Education and has written about the social-emotional benefits of arts education with the University of Chicago Consortium on School Research. When not writing, she can usually be found in the theatre. She is the author of two novels, Captain Superlative and The Lost Things Club, both published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. She also has several published plays, including: Women Who Weave (Playscripts, Inc.), Perseus And Medusa – It’s All Greek To Me! (Lazybee Scripts), and The Death Of Robin Hood (Stage Rights).

A VERY HITCHCOCK CHRISTMAS was created from submission by playwright alumni in each of PlayGround’s four regions (SF, LA, NYC, and Chicago). Over the last three years, A VERY HITCHCOCK CHRISTMAS reached nearly 2,500 audience members, in person and online. The 2025 production includes two audience favorites from previous years, The Birds is Coming by Jonathan Josephson from 2024 and How the Bates (Almost) Stole Christmas by J.S. Puller from 2023; and three world premiere short plays: Dial M for Merry by Christian Wilburn, Fool Proof by Kimberly Ridgeway, and Shadow of an Uncle Nick by Mark Sherstinsky. The plays are in conversation with the Hitchcock films The Birds, Psycho, Dial M for Murder, Strangers on a Train, and Shadow of a Doubt. Visit playground-sf.org/hitchcockchristmas for details.