Welcome to the May 2009 update. There is plenty of news, as well as word about upcoming productions, a discount on Young Playwrights 101, the Playwriting Tip of the Month and much more. As always, if your email client doesn't show love to this format or (if you want to see a prettier navigation menu), visit me here: http://jondorf.com/news0509.html.

HS(n)M THE HEADLINER! Late last week I wandered over to the website of Playscripts (www.playscripts.com), the innovative publishing company that publishes plays for schools and professional theatres alike. and represents many, many distinguished playwrights. Much to my surprise, High School (non) Musical was (and is currently) the featured play on the front page of the website! I am honored to follow the likes of David Ives and Jeffrey Hatcher in that spot.

4 A.M. PREMIERES! Congratulations to Edwin Parr High School (Athabasca, AB, Canada), which staged the world premiere of 4 A.M., my one-act about a group of teen characters navigating the magic hour, at the Zone 2E One Act Festival in Edmonton, Alberta. They won Best Play, as well as awards for Outstanding Technical Merit and Outstanding Ensemble Acting. Now it's on the provincial festival. Until the play is officially released by Playscripts, non-printable perusal copies are available through YouthPlays here. To sign up to be notified by Playscripts the moment it's available, or to order performance royalties, click here. I am extremely excited about this play. Give it a look!

SOMETHING'S COOKING... The Cooking Gene, my new 10-minute play about a teenager who throws a new wrinkle into a high school home ec class "family planning" assignment when he selects his boyfriend for a husband, has been selected for the Alliance of Los Angeles/West Hollywood Gay & Lesbian Playreading Festival on June 10 at Celebration Theatre, and then will have its official premiere in New York City in late June at NativeAliens Theatre Collective's Short Stories 10. Thanks again to Rosie Best and the students of Toledo School for the Arts for their assistance in developing the play.

GUEST ARTIST! In April I was a guest artist at both the California Thespian Festival and the Florida Thespian Festival, teaching playwriting workshops and giving out a free copy of Final Draft, the industry leading scriptwriting software, at each one. This past Friday and Saturday, I was at Foley High School (Foley, MN) to see their production of Thank You for Flushing My Head in the Toilet and other rarely used expressions and conduct a playwriting workshop. Next stop: the International Thespian Festival (Lincoln, NE) in June. Will you be there? Be sure to stop by and say hello--and stay for a workshop! I'll be teaching four different workshops (and signing plays at the Playscripts booth), and I'll be bringing another Final Draft gift certificate with me!

Me with Ashley Chang (L) and John Wikstrom, winners of a copy of Final Draft at the California and Florida Thespian Festivals, respectively.

Want me to visit your school, theatre, festival or writers' group? I'm available to conduct playwriting workshops worldwide, whether in conjunction with a production of one of my plays, or on their own. To learn more, click here, or .


Of course, you can also study playwriting with me in the comfort of your home or office. You can even do it in your pajamas! The next session of Introduction to Playwriting, my course at Writers University, begins on May 11th, so don't delay! Click here to enroll or for more information.



Can't get to a workshop and can't afford to bring one to you? The cheapest way to learn about playwriting is my complete course in a book: Young Playwrights 101. Click on the picture to order your copy today. Enter the special code JONSLIST and get 20% off! Teachers, ask me about substantial discounts for ordering a classroom set.

The YouthPlays.com website redo continues to progress, and we're keeping our fingers crossed for a June relaunch. In the meantime, we're reading scripts to add to our collection of plays for young actors and audiences.

We still have a few openings for interns (official or unofficial). If you're a high school or college student or early-career playwright, here's your chance to get mentoring for your writing and writing career in return for research and other work you can do from your home computer. Send a bio or resume, along with a writing sample (one-act play preferred--if you have one for young people, great, but if not, any play is fine) to info@youthplays.com, attn: Internship.

Don't stay silent like Shitzu and her identical twin brother Cryin in the Durant High School (Plant City, FL) production of High School (non) Musical. Pictures and testimonials can make the difference between plays that get produced, and plays that don't. If you've had a good experience producing one of my plays, please take 5 minutes, and some photo or testimonial love today!

For a full list of plays available for production, click here. But check out these hotties!


4 A.M. 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 search for connection in the magic hour. Written specifically for teen actors. Dramedy. 30-35 minutes. Flexible cast of 6-30+ actors. Non-printable perusal copies are available through YouthPlays here. To pay performance royalties or to be notified immediately by Playscripts when printed copies are available, click here!

High School (non) Musical. Join Toy Boatin, Cryin, Shitzu, Gaberella and the rest of the gang in this outrageous parody of the Disney hit. Perfect for teen performers at the high school and middle school level, but just as fun (if not more so) having older actors play the teen roles--so why not stage the play at your college or community (or professional) theatre?! Comedy. 75-80 minutes. Flexible cast of 14-50+ actors.

Gaberella's singing voice causes widespread suffering
in the Durant High School (non) Musical production.

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, as a pair of bullied students wrestle with whether the only way to escape their situation is to turn into bullies themselves. Written specifically for teen performers. Dramedy. 30-35 minutes. Flexible cast of 10-50+ actors.

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 begin to realize that no one noticed him until he was gone... Written specifically for teen performers. Dramedy. 30-35 minutes. Flexible cast of 8-40+ actors.

From Shakespeare with Love? Four of the Bard's characters wait for an overdue flight to London. When Romeo reveals that he plans to revenge himself upon Shakespeare by killing him in a duel, it's up to the others—Titania, Viola and Antipholus—to save Shakespeare by convincing Romeo that Shakespeare “does indeed love love.” Comedy. 35-40 minutes. Flexible cast of 4-12+ actors.

Dear Chuck Through a series of scenes and monologues--everything from taking over the kiddie pool at the local swim club to dealing with a skinhead classmate--the play's eclectic assortment of teen characters, caught between being children and adults, search for their "Chuck," that elusive moment of knowing who you are. Written specifically for teen performers. Dramedy. Flexible running time of 35-55 minutes. Flexible cast of 10-30+ actors.

Thank You for Flushing..., Hampton High School (Hampton, NB, Canada; May 6-8)
TYFF, Foley High School (Foley, MN; May 6 and other touring dates)
4 A.M., Edwin Parr High School (Alberta Provincial Drama Festival, Canada; May 7-8)
4 A.M., Brandywine High School (Wilmington, DE; May 8)
TYFF, Harrison School for the Arts (Lakeland, FL; May 9)
High School (non) Musical, Lomax Junior High School (La Porte, TX; May 12-15)
After Math, Maplewood Richmond Heights Middle School (Maplewood, MO; May 14)
TYFF, Staley Middle School (Frisco, TX; May 14)
TYFF, Belmonte Middle School (Saugus, MA; May 14-16)
From Shakespeare with Love?, Wahkiakum High School (Cathlamet, WA; May 15)
4 A.M., School for the Talented and Gifted (Dallas, TX; May 21)
After Math, Cannon School (Concord, NC; May 26)
HS(n)M, Capital Area Productions (East Greenbush, NY; May 28-29)
The Cooking Gene, ALAP/West Hollywood Gay & Lesbian Playreading Festival at Celebration Theatre (Los Angeles, CA; June 10)
The Cooking Gene, NativeAliens Theatre Collective (New York, NY; June 24-27)

Monologues, used wisely, can be a great asset to your play. They can provide a change of pace, or allow a character to transport the audience to a time and place beyond the stage without the necessity of a set change. While monologues can take many forms, one popular form is that of a story: a character tells us about an event that has happened. While such stories can be engaging, they're set in the past, and events in the past, by their very nature, are static. After all, they've happened already. Here's a trick to pump a little life into them: begin the monologue in the past, but then after an establishing sentence or two, switch to the present tense. Here's an example from 4 A.M., part of a monologue called "Fire Kid" that you can find on my monologue page:

"I was awakened by a "boom" at 4 A.M. At first, I thought I just dreamt it, but then I see some light seeming to dance against my wall when the blinds flutter from the fan. I look outside and it turns out a car is literally on fire across the street."

See how it begins in the past and then shifts into the present after a sentence and a half? By doing so, it endows the monologue (and therefore the play) with energy, and gives the audience the feeling that they're right there with the character as it happens. Give it a try. Happy writing!

Tiny Tim Runs the Marathon. An abandoned set of crutches. Tiny Tim in training to run the marathon. A chance to inspire millions, unless...somebody else already has that job. With the powers-that-be backing Oliver Twist, once lowly orphan and now panic attack-ridden pitchman for juicers and cereal who is forced to endlessly reenact his walk to London and his days in the workhouse, Tiny Tim may not make it to the starting line. If you're interested in staging the premiere of this play when it's ready (and it's looking like a 70-80 minute comedy at this point), let me know!

4 A.M. the musical! That's right--I'm at work on a full-length rock musical for teens based on my one-act play, 4 A.M., collaborating with accomplished composer/lyricist Mark Governor. Look for it either in late 2009 or early 2010.

Stay tuned for much more news in the coming months... Have a great May!