NEWS |PLAYWRITING | SCREENWRITING | AWARDS| MFA PROGRAM |LIST OF SCRIPTS|INQUIRIES | CONTACT JON
NEWS |PLAYWRITING | SCREENWRITING | AWARDS| MFA
PROGRAM |LIST OF SCRIPTS|INQUIRIES | CONTACT JON
Jon-Klein.com
Intro
Welcome to my first website. After years of hearing friends, family and reporters complain that I was living in the dark ages, I've decided to give this new webpage a try. Part of me still feels that this suggests a runaway ego ... but the other part hopes that you will find this useful and informative. Let me know if you have any thoughts or suggestions!
Personal Stuff
My playwriting career began in Louisville, Kentucky, where I was born and raised. After college in Nashville (and a year of aimless wandering after graduation), I returned for an internship at Actors Theatre of Louisville. ATL was led by the visionary Artistic Director Jon Jory, who encouraged me to try writing plays, and produced my first two ten-minute plays at the theatre. Naturally, it was with a profound sense of accomplishment and pride that I returned to ATL years later, with two plays produced at the renowned Humana Festival of New Plays: T BONE N WEASEL, and BETTY THE YETI. Since then, my playwriting career has taken me around the country, with residencies and major regional productions in Minneapolis, Seattle, Cambridge, Los Angeles and Washington, DC.
After establishing my writing career, I returned to grad school to receive an MFA in Screenwriting from UCLA. I've been teaching stage, film and television writing at various schools across the country ever since, recently becoming Head of the MFA Playwriting Program at Catholic University in Washington, DC.
I am married to Laura Annawyn Shamas, the noted playwright, professor and mythologist. (Back to Top)
Current and Upcoming News & Productions
The Einstein Project
Written by Paul D'Andrea and Jon Klein
Jun 30 - Jul 18, 2009
Berkshire Theatre Festival, Stockbridge, Massachusetts
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Playwriting
Jon Klein is the author of over twenty produced plays, produced Off-Broadway and at many prestigious regional theatres, including Actors Theatre of Louisville, Arena Stage in D.C., Arden Theatre in Philadelphia, Center Stage in Baltimore, South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa, Alliance Theatre in Atlanta, Alley Theatre in Houston, A Contemporary Theatre in Seattle, Seattle Children's Theatre, and many others.
He is probably best known for his play T BONE N WEASEL, which has received over a hundred productions at regional theatres throughout the US, and which he adapted for a TNT Network film, starring Gregory Hines and Christopher Lloyd. T BONE N WEASEL received several awards after its premiere at the Humana Festival at Actors Theatre of Louisville, including an HBO Playwrights USA Award. Jon is also the author of the only authorized stage adaptation of the famous children's book BUNNICULA by James and Deborah Howe, which has received over a hundred productions in the US and Canada, including a national tour.
DIMLY PERCEIVED THREATS TO THE SYSTEM (finalist for the American Theatre Critics' Association Award after its premiere at Arena Stage) and BETTY THE YETI (another entry at the Humana Festival in Louisville) also continue to be frequently produced. Two of his newest plays, SUGGESTIBILITY and WISHING WELL, recently premiered at the Victory Theatre in Burbank. A recent play, CHANCE AND NECESSITY, received an Alfred P. Sloan Developmental Fellowship in conjunction with the Ensemble Studio Theatre in New York, and was also read at the Victory Theatre in Burbank. His latest play is EARLY STAGES.
Other plays that have received major productions around the country include OCTOPUS (Contemporary American Theatre Festival, WV), PEORIA (Woolly Mammoth Theatre, DC), SOUTHERN CROSS (Alliance Theatre, Atlanta), THE EINSTEIN PROJECT (co-authored with Paul D'Andrea, produced at Berkshire Theatre Festival, Stockbridge), FOUR OUR FATHERS (A Contemporary Theatre, Seattle), THE RED AND THE BLACK (adaptation of the Stendhal novel, also produced at A Contemporary Theatre), and LOSING IT (winner of the Dramatists Guild/CBS New Play Award, produced Off-Broadway and at Wisdom Bridge Theatre, Chicago). (Back to Top)
Screenwriting
In addition to his film writing for T BONE N WEASEL, Jon has written an original feature script (DIAMOND LANE) for director Taylor Hackford, based on an idea by Billy Bob Thornton. His play BETTY THE YETI was optioned for a feature film. Awards for other (as yet unproduced) screenplays include the Zaki Gordon Memorial Award for BUTCHERTOWN, and the George Burns and Gracie Allen Comedy Award for DICK DANTE - AFTERLIFE INVESTIGATOR. (Back to Top)
Awards and Fellowships
National Endowment of The Arts Fellowships – received three times.
CBS/NEA Playwright-in-Residence (American Repertory Theatre, Cambridge)
HBO Playwrights USA Award
Dramatists Guild/CBS New Play Award
American Theatre Critics' Award (finalist)
Alfred P. Sloan Fellowship
McKnight Fellowship
Jerome Fellowship
Midwest Authors' Award
Zaki Gordon Memorial Award
George Burns and Gracie Allen Comedy Award
Aurand Harris Fellowship from Children's Theater Foundation of AmericaResidencies and Professorships
Jon has been a Playwright-in-Residence at the American Repertory Theatre in Cambridge, and the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta. He has taught Playwriting and Screenwriting at the UCLA Professional Program, the University of Texas, the University of Washington, Ohio University, and Hollins University in Virginia. (Back to Top)
MFA Playwriting at Catholic University
Jon is currently in his fourth year as the head of the MFA Playwriting Program at Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. For the last three years, his students have won three consecutive Kennedy Center ACTF Michael Kanin Awards in Playwriting at the National level, in these categories: Stephen Spotswood won the Mark Twain Comedy Award for his play MIRANDA IS MORNING, Stephen Lewis won the Mark Twain Comedy Award for his play WELL PLOTTED, and Stephen Spotswood won the Paula Vogel New Play Award for his play THE AARONSVILLE WOMAN. Information on the Playwriting Program at CUA may be found at http://drama.cua.edu/MFAPlaywriting/MFAplay.html.
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Complete List of Scripts - Jon Klein
(Alphabetical, with productions and workshops partially referenced)
Stage Plays
BETTY THE YETI (Humana Festival, ACT, Contemporary American Theatre Festival; others)
BLUEGRASS (One-Act; Minnesota One-Act Festival)
BUNNICULA (Adaptation, Music by Chris Jeffries; Seattle Children’s Theatre, South Coast Rep, Arden Theatre, others)
CHANCE AND NECESSITY (Ensemble Studio Theatre, Victory Theatre)
DIMLY PERCEIVED THREATS TO THE SYSTEM (Arena Stage, South Coast Rep, others)
EARLY STAGES
EDGAR (American Repertory Theatre)
THE EINSTEIN PROJECT (co-authored with Paul D’Andrea; Berkshire Theatre Festival, others)
FAULT LINE (Capital Rep, Playlabs, others)
FOUR OUR FATHERS (A Contemporary Theatre, New York Stage & Film, others)
THE HARDY BOYS IN THE MYSTERY OF THE HAUNTED HOUSE (Seattle Children’s Theatre, First Stage, Arvada Center, others)
THE HARDY BOYS IN THE SECRET OF SKULLBONE ISLAND (Seattle Children’s Theatre, Arkansas Children’s Theatre, others)
LIFE CLASS: THE LAST LESSON OF THOMAS EAKINS (One-Act; Art Institute Of Chicago, Philadelphia Museum of Fine Art)
LOSING IT (Alley Theatre, Wisdom Bridge Theatre, others)
OCTOPUS (Contemporary American Theatre Festival)
PEORIA (Woolly Mammoth, Illusion Theatre)
PRIVATE PLACES (Brass Tacks Theatre)
THE RED AND THE BLACK (Adaptation; A Contemporary Theatre)
RED LIGHT (Adaptation; American Repertory Theatre)
SILENT NIGHT (One-Act; Minnesota One-Act Festival)
SOMETHING TO DO WITH BOLIVIA (10-Minute Play, contribution to anthology play BACK STORY, Humana Festival, Berkshire Theatre Festival, others)
SOUTHERN CROSS (Alliance Theatre, Illusion Theatre, others)
SUGGESTIBILITY (Victory Theatre)
T BONE N WEASEL (Humana Festival, Alliance Theatre, Victory Gardens, Alley, others)
TOY SOLDIERS (Kennedy Center)
WISHING WELL (Victory Theatre, B Street Theatre)
Screenplays
BETTY THE YETI (Adapted from the Play)
BUTCHERTOWN (Winner, Zaki Gordon Memorial Award and UCLA Screenwriter Showcase)
THE COBBLER
CHANCE AND NECESSITY (Adapted from the Play)
THE DIAMOND LANE (Spec script, commissioned by Taylor Hackford, based on an idea by Taylor Hackford and Billy Bob Thornton)
DICK DANTE, AFTERLIFE INVESTIGATOR (Winner, George Burns and Gracie Allen Comedy Award)
T BONE N WEASEL (Adapted from the Play; TNT Film, directed by Lewis Teague, starring Gregory Hines, Christopher Lloyd, Ned Beatty, Rip Torn)
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Play and Production Inquiries
Judy Boals – Author's Representative
Judy Boals, Inc.
307 West 38th Street, #812
New York, NY 10018
Phone: 212-500-1424
Fax: 212-500-1426
E: Info@judyboals.comBETTY THE YETI
DIMLY PERCEIVED THREATS TO THE SYSTEM
SOUTHERN CROSS
T BONE N WEASELSUGGESTIBILITY
WISHING WELLBUNNICULA
FOUR OUR FATHERS
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©Copyright 2009 by Jon Klein, playwright, screenwriter. All Rights Reserved.