Joel is a 30 yr-old African American currently splitting his time between London, England, and Philadelphia in the US. In November, 2004, his latest full-length play, "Hearts & Minds", received a staged reading at the Union Theatre in London. In June 2004, another full-length, "Walk Away Crow",received a staged reading at the Kings Head Theatre in London.
He has written, performed and directed theatre in Chicago (Deeprooted, Links Hall Art Center), Atlanta (Before Night Falls, Goethe Institute), and in London (Greenwich Studio Theatre). Recent workshops include Arts Council Midlands, Arvon Foundation, Paines Plough. He studied directing at Swarthmore College (US) and has a MA in performance studies from Northwestern University (US). Joel also studied theatre at University of London, Goldsmiths.
He is a former editor of Theatre Journal, and co-founder of MotherTongue, an international playwriting group, and a Philadelphia theatre, Dodgy Company.