Open Forum

One of the main goals for our Theatre Education Community is to help theatre students and professionals from all over connect and identify with each other in order to build resources and support the theatre education field. We shine a spotlight on a different member every other week by conducting a simple intervie

Our latest Spotlight Member is Jonathan Dorf, EdTA professional member, playwright and Co-founder of YouthPLAYS. Many of you have probably met Jonathan in person at some point, he has taught workshops at numerous schools, state conferences, the International Thespian Festival and the EdTA National Conference. He’s been involved with the Community since the beginning and regularly contributes valuable advice on a multitude of subjects.

Ginny: When did you start writing plays?

Jonathan: I started writing plays as a junior in high school. As with many other "origin" stories, there was a teacher involved… I was the editor of my high school newspaper and literary magazine, and my mentor was this hippie English teacher—he'd actually been at the original Woodstock—named Thom Williams. Thom—at the time, I think he was Tom, but somehow as he got older he acquired an "h"—was an award-winning poet, as well as a musician and even occasionally a playwright. I'd already written short stories (and of course lots of news/editorial stuff), but under his influence I got heavily into writing poetry, as did many students. We also wrote songs together—I'd write the lyrics and he'd write the music and then we'd record them. Mostly he sang, but occasionally I did too. (We also played a lot of chess, as did all of the Mar Newsies, as we were called.) At one point, he told me that I'd written everything else, so why not write a play? I did, and the rest is history. Thom became one of my best friends—we'd hang out and laugh, play golf (he was very good, my tennis stroke wreaked havoc on my golf game), create music and even did a couple of online serial plays, in which people would "chat" based on a loose outline to create a script. It was spectacularly fun—in Xdrom I played a talking space monkey, and it doesn't get much better than that. I miss those days, but most especially I miss Thom. Unfortunately, we lost him to cancer far too early—there's not a day that goes by that I don't think of him.

Ginny: What is your greatest challenge?

Jonathan: Protecting my writing time. YouthPLAYS, the publishing company I co-founded, has grown to the point where we represent over 300 plays and musicals targeted at schools/youth theatres and also at professional theatres for young audiences and even universities—so of course it takes more time to manage it. Unfortunately, my business partner had a stroke several years ago, and while he's doing much better, he hasn't recovered to the point where he's really able to be active in YouthPLAYS. Of course, there are people who do some of the tasks (formatting, proofing, etc.), but the responsibility for the decisions falls squarely on my shoulders. I also co-chair the Alliance of Los Angeles Playwrights, one of the country's largest regional service and support organizations for playwrights. And on top of that, being a writer is so much more than just writing—there's a constant need for marketing and supporting your work. So when you add everything up, it's easy for business-oriented tasks to usurp time from the creative ones if you're not constantly vigilant.

Ginny: What does a typical day look like for you?

Jonathan: I wish I were better at keeping a consistent sleep schedule, but something typical might include waking up around 7:30 or 8 AM and getting on the computer to make sure there's no pressing email that's come in overnight (being on Pacific time means the East Coast has a three-hour head start) for me or for YouthPLAYS. I'll probably spend a bit of time on the computer and then it's time for breakfast, which usually for me is Greek yogurt sprinkled with cinnamon ("true" cinnamon, which is Ceylon cinnamon, as the other stuff isn't good for you in large quantities), topped with whatever fruit is in season (right now, that's a combination of berries and stone fruit), almonds or walnuts, and cocoa nibs (a superfood). I'll eat while watching a bit of streaming Netflix. At that point, I'm typically back on the computer for a little more business and if it's a gym day, that's where I'll go next. I tend to each lunch at home—unless I have a meeting. Some days I'll work at home until dinner, at which point I'll go out (I love writing in restaurants) and then go to a café after that to work for a few hours. Or I'll go to a café in the afternoon and then have dinner at home (and then maybe off to another café). My favorites are Ozero (downtown in Little Tokyo), Javista or Otus (both walking distance in Hollywood) or Susina (a short drive in Hollywood/Mid-City). Even when there's all kind of crazy going on, as long as I have my headphones on, I can tune out the world. I'll usually get home around 10, at which point I may finish up a few tasks on the computer or read a food or travel magazine to relax. If I'm going to write at home, I often do it in bed using a pad (yes, I write longhand for my first draft), working until I can't keep my eyes open. At that point, I put the pad down, turn out the lights, and do it all over again the next day.

Ginny: What is the resource you most recommend to others in your profession?

Jonathan: All playwrights should be members of The Dramatists Guild (the professional association of playwrights, lyricists and composers), both to be part of the community of playwrights and because their business affairs department can be invaluable if you get a publication or production offer and want someone to look over your contract before you sign it (they cannot help you after, so always go to them before you sign). They also have a resource guide with lots of submission opportunities, a magazine, and lots of online resources (the in-person events skew toward New York, but there are more national ones, like an annual conference, as well). They have a student membership—being a member shows that you're serious about your writing.

Ginny: Any tips for aspiring playwrights?

Jonathan: I'll give you four:

1. Write something else. When a play is new, it's kind of like that bright, shiny baby, and you think it's perfect or you're afraid to touch it. But once you start working on a new play, that first script turns into a teenager. You still love it, but occasionally you want to put it outside and change the locks. (Seriously, teenagers are awesome, but they don't have quite the angelic glow of babies.) The bottom line is that the new play helps you to be able to look at your first play as a play that may need some work, not your precious, perfect baby.

2. See and read as much theatre as you can. Expose yourself to lots of different styles and genres. I learn something every time I see or read a new show, even if it's not a great play or a great production. In fact, sometimes you learn more from failure than you do from success.

3. Understanding the business of being a playwright is just as important as understanding the craft. (Which is why if I'm ever teaching my Practical Playwriting workshop where you are, come!) You may write great plays, but if you don't know what to do next, they're going to be stuck on your hard drive.

4. Particularly for the young writers, criticism of your play is not criticism of you as a person. Don't take it personally. And just because someone gives you feedback doesn't mean you have to take it. I listen to feedback when it strikes a chord—maybe it was something I was already thinking but didn't quite want to admit until someone said it out loud. But be wary of feedback that pushes you in a particular direction ("you should do X"), as that's usually about the play that they would write, not the one you're trying to write.

Ginny: What is your favorite of the plays you have written? Why?

Jonathan: That's a hard question, because you tend to love different plays for different reasons. I love The Locker Next 2 Mine and Rumors of Polar Bears because we go on journeys with those characters and they deal with subjects (teen suicide and the environment, respectively, though of course they're about a lot more than that) that I think are important. I love Dear Chuck and After Math too—and those are always really fun to see. But…my most produced play is 4 A.M., a one-act about a group of teens awake in the wee hours as they confront their fears and dreams and the monsters under their beds, real and metaphorical. I'm very fond of its characters—there's even a full-length rock/pop musical version—and I've always felt that my time with them wasn't quite finished. So I wrote The Magic Hour, which picks up a year after the events of 4 A.M. with almost all of the same characters, though it stands on its own. It's premiering at the end of October (at Washington High School in WV directed by state chapter director Martha Louden), and who knows—maybe it's just my bright and shiny baby right now, but I'm really excited about it. It's a play about accepting change and learning to move on, and when I was writing the final scene, the one in which Jake and Frankie finally meet—up to this point they have only ever been alone—I just felt like I got it right.

Ginny: What was the first play you ever wrote? What was/is it about?

Jonathan: The first play I wrote was a knock-off of Eugene O'Neill's The Iceman Cometh called The Storm. From what I was told, it was the first student written play ever produced in my high school's one-act festival. As far as I can remember, a mysterious stranger walked into a bar during a storm…  I'd been reading a lot of O'Neill at the time, so it definitely had his style. The next year I wrote an equally derivative play called Death Without Parole, which was a rip-off of Sartre's No Exit. I even acted in it. All I can say is that I'm grateful cell phones and video recordings were not ubiquitous at that time. Neither of those plays is anywhere near what I'd consider to be a good play, but I think the thing to keep in mind when you're just starting is that you're learning, and the only way to get better is to practice. If you fail, that's completely OK. Just keep writing.

Ginny: How do you feel when you see a play you wrote performed live?

Jonathan: It's my favorite thing about writing plays: sitting in the back of a dark theater while you watch an audience watching the play. If I'm still working on the play, while of course I'm watching the performance, an equally important part is my job is watching the audience for clues on what's working and what's not quite there yet. When people start shifting in their seats or looking at their watches, I know that something may not quite be working as well as I'd hoped. (Tip for young writers: sometimes the problem that happens on page 25 isn't really page 25's fault—it's because you didn't set it up properly on page 10.) If I'm no longer working on the play (i.e. if it's published and has been around for a while), then I'm "off-duty" and it's just about enjoying the experience we're all having together. I still like to sit in the back—probably habit—but occasionally I'll sit closer, so I can be in the middle of the laughter, sniffling or cell phones going off.

Ginny: Name something on your bucket list.

Jonathan: I don't know that I've ever created an official bucket list, but I think going on a photo safari in Africa would be pretty darn cool. Just being able to see those beautiful animals not in cages or enclosures would be pretty special.

Ginny: If you could have a different career, what would you choose?

Jonathan: That's a no-brainer: I'd be a food critic or a food writer/blogger. I love talking to people about food and teaching them about it, so anything where I got to do that would be exciting. Even though I've never actually worked in the restaurant industry, being an inveterate eater and generally knowledgeable about food, I've always felt I would be a good consultant, helping restaurants fine-tune menus and policies.

Ginny: What is your proudest accomplishment?

Jonathan: It's hard to say that one accomplishment is "better" than another. Being named the United States cultural envoy to Barbados, for example, was exciting and a really cool way to spend a month and immerse myself in the literary and arts culture of another country. But if I had to pick a "first among equals," it would be California Thespians selecting me as the inaugural honoree for "The Journey - Visiting California Playwrights," a program that honors California playwrights who have made an impact on youth theatre in the state in which I live. To be selected first, particularly given all of the talented, accomplished writers here, is something I'll always cherish.

Ginny: Do you have any hobbies or interests outside of theatre/writing?

Jonathan: As much as I love theatre and writing, I have quite a few other interests, chief of which is food. In fact, I'm writing the first draft of the responses to these questions at a cute little Thai café/restaurant just a block away from where I live—they have one of the best green curries I've eaten, and they pair it with roti, a flaky bread that you'll see across southeast Asia (India, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, etc.) that is almost like an Asian version of fried Greek phyllo dough. As you can probably tell, I love to eat and to try new things (at this point, I'm very comfortable with almost any cuisine), and I tend to be knowledgeable about restaurants both locally—to the point where friends of friends have contacted me for recommendations—and in cities I visit. But I also love to make food at home, and I'm a regular at the Hollywood Farmers' Market on Sunday mornings when I'm in town. Friends keep telling me I should write about food—I have a little bit—and at some point in the coming year or so, a food blog is in the works. My love of food also combines with a love of travel. There's nothing like trying the local cuisine, whether I'm in Memphis or Singapore. In fact, when I went to Sydney, my sightseeing strategy was to make a list of all the restaurants at which I might want to eat and then walk pretty much the entire downtown checking them out. My feet—which were breaking in a new pair of shoes—didn't thank me after that, but it was both a great way to see the city and to see where I'd be eating while I was there. Another hobby that intersects my love of food is photography. I've always enjoyed capturing interesting moments or sights on camera—whether that's a bunch of Japanese school kids at the awe-inspiring Great Buddha in Kamakura (beware, American tourists—they will come up to you to practice their English and take their photo with you!) or pictures of my friend Isaac (whom I met at ITF some years back when he took a bunch of my workshops) taking pictures of other people. Lately, though, particularly as I think about the food blog, I've been taking pictures of food, both out at restaurants and at home, posting them regularly on Instagram (shameless plug for @jonplaywright) as well as on my Facebook feed.

Ginny: What is something we would be surprised to learn about you?

Jonathan: Probably that I used to coach tennis. I was actually the number one player on my high school tennis team for two years, and was a sectionally ranked tournament player in the juniors. I started teaching it at the end of high school, and eventually ran camps together with my old high school coach and the local pro with whom I had studied. I went on to become the head varsity coach at The Haverford School. There were a few times when I was coaching and directing there at the same time (I was the head of the drama program there for six years), which was a little brutal, as we'd finish practice at 5:30 PM and then I'd have rehearsal at 6:00.

Jonathan is a great example of the many wonderful people who contribute to the theatre education field who aren’t strictly teachers or students. Heading to Conference in October? Make sure you find him and say hello. If you enjoyed Jonathan’s interview as much as I did, add him as a contact in the Community!

Do you know someone who deserves a moment in the Spotlight? Tell me their name and why at gbutsch@schooltheatre.org. Want to read more Community Spotlights? You can find them here.

Photo of roti and green curry provided by Jonathan.