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Looking for a play to produce? Click here to read synopses (complete
with casting information) and PDF excerpts of
my plays that are available for production. Click here to view
my monologues, available for use in class and for auditions.
They're organized by age and gender and include many monologues
for teen actors.
Looking for a screenplay? Click
here to learn more about my work available for production.
Check out some of my favorite lines from my plays!
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| "Jon Dorf is
the voice of this generation's high school student. He has
captured the inner and outward struggles that confront today’s
youth and brings light to those issues that we deem important
but are too afraid to broach. The significance of his work
is far beyond that of his writing genius. It speaks to everyone
on a personal level and gives a voice to a growing population
that has so much to say. His plays have proven vital, not
only to the growth of our young actors but also to the development
of their young minds. We continue to use Jon’s works here
at Choate Rosemary Hall and look forward to his next creation."--Paul
Tines, Executive Director of the Paul Mellon Arts Center and
Head of the Choate Rosemary Hall Arts Department. |
 AFTER MATH. A student
mysteriously disappears in the middle of math class. What
happened? Why? Those
left behind try to find some answers. Did anyone really know
who he was? And why is it they've only noticed him now that
he's gone? Written specifically for teen actors, with a flexible
cast and a length (35 minutes) that's ideal for school
festivals and competitions. Check out three monologues
from the play,
or click here to order AFTER MATH from Playscripts!
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MUSICAL!!! DAY ONE (music by James Balmer and Mary Nelson) is a full-length musical written for high school performers (cast size is flexible and can include an almost unlimited number of performers) and developed at the Choate Rosemary Hall Summer Arts Conservatory. Some people wish high school would last forever. Others would do anything to get it over with. Who will win out? Click on the title to read a synopsis, read an excerpt, and even listen to some of the songs! |
 HIGH SCHOOL (NON) MUSICAL is a full-length parody of the Disney hit, but it also stands on its own. Join Toy Boatin, Gaberella, Shitzu, Cryin and the rest of your favorites as the Roswell High bowling team competes for the state championship, young actors pursue their dreams of performing in the Winter Muse Cycle, and surgical decathletes perform in real surgery. But when Gaberella's singing voice turns out to be so bad it could cause mass casualties... |
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In FROM
SHAKESPEARE WITH LOVE?, four
of the Bard's characters wait for an overdue flight to London.
When Romeo reveals his plan to revenge himself upon Shakespeare
by killing him in a duel, it's up to the others to save Shakespeare
by convincing Romeo that Shakespeare does indeed love love.
Interwoven with real Shakespearean scenes, the play is available
from Eldridge
Publishing. You can read
the first half on the ProPlay website! |
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. What they all have in common is the
search for their "Chuck," that elusive moment of
knowing who you are. It has both a flexible length (35-55
minutes) and a flexible cast size (from 10-30+). Ready to
order a perusal copy? Click
here to order it from Eldridge Publishing! |
NOW
YOU SEE ME tackles the hot-button topic of school violence. Written for teen actors and using fast-paced, often comedic scenes, it examines what causes young people to slip through
the cracks and what drives them to violence. It has a flexible
cast size and is just the right length for festivals and competitions--and it's a great conversation starter to talk about a serious issue. Click here to order it from Brooklyn Publishers! |
TWISTING
CAROL is a one-act slaughter of the Dickens classic. Young
Ebenezer Scrooge dancing with a popsicle stick, a ghost named
Bob, another ghost who thinks his name is Bob and a Tiny Tim
who considers himself short but not tiny. Flexible cast size,
anywhere from 8 to 40+. Click here to order it from Playscripts! |
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WAR
OF THE BUTTONS is a funny, poignant full-length (based on
a French novel, the source for the 1994 Irish movie) about a "war" between the youth of a town on the edge of economic
ruin and the students of the nearby prep school that is buying
up the town. It's appropriate for audiences age ten and up,
and consists almost entirely of teen roles. It's mostly male,
so it's ideal for a boys school or a theatre group which finds
itself with lots of guys. (I'm working on a version that will
have a more balanced male-female cast.  to be notified when it's available...) |
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Can't figure out
why your script isn't working? I can help. For a reasonable rate,
I will give you detailed feedback to get your project back on track.
Click here for information. |
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Starting out as a writer? Get
help by clicking here (there's
also a big list of young playwrights contests). Don't forget to
check out its companion, the
Troubleshooter's
Checklist, a list of questions you should ask yourself about
your play. There's also the
Young Playwrights
Suggested Reading List, a list of plays developing
writers should read. Need help writing query and cover letters for
your scripts?
Click here to see samples.
 Young Playwrights 101 is the complete resource for young playwrights and those who teach them! Inside you'll find detailed instruction, organized in easy-to-follow lessons, including practice exercises: it's a full playwriting course, available as a paperback or as a downloadable e-book!
But what's even better about Young Playwrights 101 is that you don't have to be a student or drama teacher to benefit from it: no matter what your age or experience, if you’re looking for detailed, no-nonsense advice about the craft and business of playwriting, this is the resource for you. Click on the picture to order it now!
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JOIN ME AT HOLLINS UNIVERSITY! I am delighted to announce that I will be teaching at Hollins University in beautiful Roanoke, Virginia in summer 2008 as part of their Master of Fine Arts in Playwriting program. To learn more about this innovative new program, please visit their website here.
PUBLICATION NEWS! THANK YOU FOR FLUSHING MY HEAD IN THE TOILET AND OTHER RARELY USED EXPRESSIONS is now published by Playscripts, Inc. I'm also pleased to announce that SUDDEN DEATH DEBATING LEAGUE and LEAPERS, two ten-minute plays, and SUPERMODELS IN JEOPARDY, my one-act dark comedy, are now available from Brooklyn Publishers!
WORLD PREMIERE! Join Toy Boatin, Gaberella, Shitzu, Cryin and the rest of your favorites as the Roswell High bowling team goes for a state championship, students pursue their dreams of performing in the Winter Muse Cycle and surgical decathletes compete in their first real live surgery. I will again collaborate with director Mike Fisher (who directed the premiere of THANK YOU FOR FLUSHING...) to premiere my parody of the Disney hit, HIGH SCHOOL (non) MUSICAL, the first weekend in November at the Springfield Academy of Arts and Academics (Springfield, OR).
MORE UPCOMING PRODUCTIONS! AFTER MATH will be produced in October at Bothell High School (Bothell, WA), Cushing High School (Cushing, OK), T.C. Roberson High School (Asheville, NC), Carver High School (Winston-Salem, NC) and Centennial High School (Roswell, GA), in November at Illini Bluffs High School (Glasford, IL), Resurrection Lutheran Church (Cary, NC) and Genoa-Kingston High School (Genoa, IL), in December at Wayne High School (Huber Heights, OH), All Saints Episcopal School (Forth Worth, TX) and at Cirencester Performing Arts School (Cirencester, UK)! Also in October, THANK YOU FOR FLUSHING... will be produced at Manchester High School (Midlothian, VA), York High School (Yorktown, VA) and North Myrtle Beach High School (Little River, SC), and DEAR CHUCK will run at Peet Junior High School (Conroe, TX). In November, look for PEPPERONI APOCALYPSE at Boulder City High School (Boulder City, NV). Keep an eye on this space for the latest production news.
STUDY PLAYWRITING WITH ME! I teach Introduction to Playwriting for the Writers Store's Writers University. Stay tuned for the date of the next session. The course goes through all of the playwriting basics, and for each of its four weeks, you'll be assigned writing exercises on which I'll personally give you feedback--and you'll have the opportunity to interact with me online to ask questions about playwriting. To learn more or to enroll, visit Writers University.
I'M ON MYSPACE! Want to find out when new monologues or plays are available? Visit me on MySpace and add me as a friend (as long as you have acting, theatre or writing in your interests, I usually accept add requests). You'll also be able to read my blog, see me up on Mt. Sunday in New Zealand (holding a sword, no less), the site of Edoras in Lord of the Rings.
Jake River Fraser performs Stealing Saxophones from Homeless People in Canberra, Australia (photo by Pling)
GUEST ARTIST! I will be returning as a guest artist at the Missouri and Tennessee Thespian Festivals in January 2008!
COOL! Read the interview with me at AbsoluteWrite.com, an online magazine with over 75,000 writers subscribing.
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Tiny Tim Runs the Marathon. Comedy. After his crutches are found abandoned, it soon gets out that Tiny Tim is preparing to run a marathon. A true inspiration to every one of us, right? But what if the media machine already has its inspirational story? What if Tiny Tim running a marathon is just going to mess everything up? How far will they go to stop him?
Operation Hamlet. Comedy. Can three students save their class from certain tragedy at the hands of the crazed Mrs. Macbeth? No problem--but they're going to have to become part of Hamlet and turn it into a comedy from the inside, or risk becoming part of the body count. Lots and lots of roles in this one-act coming in 2008.
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