Happy new year! Best wishes for an happy, healthy and successful 2009. Below, read about yet another new play (and a bunch of plays that make great choices for your group), upcoming workshop appearances, production news, the Playwriting Tip of the Month and much more! As always, if your email client doesn't show love to this format, visit me on the web here: http://jondorf.com/news0109.html.

Need a wacky short for a one-act festival? Look no further than Vital Organs! Want to make an impact at your Thespian festival or other one-act competition? If you have previously enjoyed such plays of mine as After Math and Thank You for Flushing My Head in the Toilet and other rarely used expressions, then 4 A.M. will be right up your alley.

Vital Organs. Comedy. 15-20 minutes. 3 males, 2 females, with most roles gender flexible. A recovering transplant patient determined to stock up before he leaves the hospital. Doctors supplementing their salaries by selling an organ or two. A kleptomaniac kid on the loose. A soup-cooking candy striper right out of Sweeney Todd. Calling it a health care crisis would be an understatement... Premiered at Mill Mountain Theatre's Overnight Sensations, and ideal for actors of all ages.

4 A.M. Dramedy. 30-35 minutes. 3+ males, 3+ females, with flexible casting and an overall ensemble of 8-30+. What's it like to be awake when the rest of your world is asleep? Meet an early-morning jogger, a lonely short-wave radio DJ, a modern Romeo and Juliet, the monster under the bed and many others as a series of teen characters, through scenes and monologues, search for connection in the magic hour. Written specifically for teen actors.

Check out two monologues from 4 A.M. on my monologue page!

While there are a number of great publishers out there, as they say in Monty Python...and now for something completely different. YouthPlays is a coalition of award-winning dramatists dedicated to expanding the vocabulary of theatre for young actors and audiences--and we're green! That's right. At www.youthplays.com you'll find ten-minute, one-act and full-length plays that are ideal for young actors and audiences, as well as monologues and duets for competitive forensics--and you can read any script in its entirety as a non-printable PDF file. If you choose to use a play, we send you the script as a printable PDF--make only as many copies as you need! We're getting a brand-new website ready for February, but in the meantime, stop on by and take a look!

Have you produced one of my plays? Been in a production? I'd love to hear from you. Production photos and testimonials about your experience are one of the best ways to let others know about my work. So don't be shy-- today!

Are you a Thespian in Missouri, Tennessee or Alabama? Are you going to your state conference? If so, I'm headed your way! I will be teaching a series of playwriting workshops at each conference, so stop by, say hello, and pick up some new playwriting knowledge!

I'm also excited to be traveling to the Toledo School for the Arts, where I will participate in talkbacks after performances of Thank You for Flushing My Head in the Toilet and other rarely used expressions, as well as teach a number of playwriting workshops. So if you're anywhere around Toledo, OH from February 24-26...

Want to study playwriting with me online? Why not take Introduction to Playwriting, my course at Writers University? A new session begins on January 5th (Monday!), so don't delay! Click here to enroll or for more information.

Want to work with me in person? I'm available to visit your school, theatre, festival or writers' group to conduct playwriting workshops that can range from a few hours to a residency of a week or more. To learn more, click here, or . Of course, these visits are often done in conjunction with a production of one of my plays. Speaking of plays...

All of these titles have been successfully produced multiple times, and each has a flexible cast that can accommodate a range of performers. To learn more or to purchase a copy, click on the play title!

High School (non) Musical. Comedy. 75-80 minutes. Join Toy Boatin, Cryin, Shitzu, Gaberella and the rest of the gang in this outrageous parody of the Disney hit. Ideal for teen performers, college and community (or professional) theatres.

Thank You for Flushing My Head in the Toilet and other rarely used expressions takes aim at one of the worst problems affecting schools today: bullying. Written specifically for teen performers. Dramedy. 30-35 minutes.

"Bluebird" from Thank You for Flushing My Head in the Toilet and other rarely used expressions at Taft Union High School (Taft, CA)

Dear Chuck captures the lives of its collection of teen characters in moments that range from the ridiculousness of taking over the kiddie pool at the local swim club to the wrenching aftermath of a friend's suicide--as they all search for their "Chuck," that elusive moment of knowing who you are. Written specifically for teen performers with a flexible cast and running time. Dramedy. 35-55 minutes.

In After Math, my most produced play, a student mysteriously disappears in the middle of math class. What happened? As those left behind try to find some answers, they slowly realize that no one noticed him until he was gone... Written specifically for teen performers. Dramedy. 30-35 minutes.

After Math, Robinson High School (Tampa, FL; Jan 15)
High School (non) Musical, North Attleboro Theater Company (North Attleboro, MA; Jan 17)
Thank You for Flushing..., Mackenzie High School (Deep River, ONT, Canada; Jan 20-Mar 15)
TYFF, Lecanto High School (Ocala, FL; Jan 23)
TYFF, Montrose School District 43-2 (Montrose, SD; Jan 25-Feb 5)
Dear Chuck, Beatty High School (Beatty, NV; Jan 28)
After Math, South County Secondary School (Lorton, VA; Jan 30)
From Shakespeare with Love?, Hiawatha High School (Kirkland, IL; Feb 6)
HS(n)M, Osceola Middle School (Seminole, FL; Feb 9)
TYFF, Toledo School for the Arts (Toledo, OH; Feb 24-26)

How often do you remember watching a play in which a character announces he has to go to the bathroom, and the action stops until he has done so? Not too often. Why? Because plays take place in a highly edited form of real time, and there's not a moment to waste. So why do many inexperienced writers waste so much time on characters saying "hello" and "goodbye"? Instead, let each scene begin as late as possible in the action and end as early as possible--the same goes for the entire play. If two characters are sitting together talking, we can assume at some point they said hello. If one or both show up later in another scene, we can assume they said goodbye. The only time it's useful to have a "hello" of some kind is if the greeting itself is part of the dramatic action, or if the audience hasn't met the characters before and we need the information the greeting will give us. Otherwise, cut to the chase and start the scene in the middle of the action.

The beginning of each new year always feels like staring down at a giant buffet. There is every kind of food you can imagine, and you want to eat it all. This could be the year of the musical, as I have three that I'm excited to write, including a musical version of my stageplay War of the Buttons. No, I don't think I'm going to crank out three full-length musicals in a year, but one would be great. I also have a one-act parody of a classic Greek play in mind, a ten-minute duet or two, and a few other longer projects floating around my head. (I have lots of titles, concepts and images floating around my head right now.) Does your school or theatre group want to produce the world premiere of one of my new plays? Let me know, and perhaps we can work together...


Have a great start to the new year, and stay tuned for more news in the coming months...