Newman Plays

The Newman Plays site is being restored as John Newman is finding more time to write plays, to write about playwriting, and to develop plays by other writers. While he had limited time to pursue playwriting projects as he chaired a theatre department during the pandemic, he was able to complete a number of projects and publish a number of books and plays, but neglected to post about them on this site. Nevertheless, a number of writers and producers have found out about his work through this site, which is now being updated. Here are some highlights from the “gap years.”

• In 2019, John Newman’s PLAYWRITING IN SCHOOLS: DRAMATIC NAVAGATION was published by Intellect Books. It depicts his play development projects at Highland High School and through AATE’s Playwrights In Our Schools Project as well as the playwriting and play development approaches of other AATE members. In 2020, the book received AATE’s Distinguished Book Award and, according to WorldCat.com, can now be found in some 240 academic libraries around the world. It is available through amazon.com.
• In 2021, Newman published NOORDA THEATRE YOUTH PLAYS, an annotated anthology of five plays developed and premiered through UVU’s Noorda Theatre Summer Camp. The collection includes two of the plays he wrote and developed for his young actors, based on their ideas and tailored to their needs and interests: GATHERING GRIMM and SUPERPOWERS. It also includes plays written by Wendy Gourley (THE HORNSWOGGLE JIG), Mahonri Stewart (THE TROJAN CHILDREN), and Drew Chappell (TIME MIRRORS), likewise inspired by and shaped by the young performers. The anthology and the individual plays are available through Leicester Bay Theatricals, a division of Premiere Theatrical Licensing, at https://leicesterbaytheatricals.com/
• Under the name of J.D. Newman, John Newman has published three novels and theatre adaptations of each in the Sandy Hunter Trilogy. These include SANDY & THE WEIRD SISTERS, SANDY & THE DANCE OF FAITH, and CLARA & THE MERMAIDS. All are available through Leicester Bay. The plays depict young people’s experiences with the performing arts.
• One of the several plays John Newman has developed at UVU is Claudia Haas’ MY BROTHER’S GIFT, published by Stage Partners, which received a 2022 AATE Distinguished Play Award. (available at https://leicesterbaytheatricals.com/) Other projects include Haas’ other plays REMEMBERING MARGOT and YOURS UNTIL NIAGARA FALLS; Joanna Kraus’ CHAMPION; J.S. Puller’s CRAYONS; and Andrew Geha’s CHRYSALIS.

John Newman has returned to service as a Playwriting Network Co-Chair for the American Alliance for Theatre and Education (AATE). He stepped down from that position to serve as Chair of the Utah Valley University Department of Theatre for three years (2019-2022), and for the last two years has focused on developing the Theatre for Youth and Education (TYE) Center which he directs at UVU. During that time, he has given less time to writing and developing his own plays, though he has continued to develop new works by other writers through UVU and AATE.

AATE held its 2024 National Conference in Chicago in July. The Playwriting Network connects writers with teachers and directors to develop and produce their work through its directories, conference sessions, Playwrights for Change contests, Playwrights In Our Schools residencies, and other programming. The Network has been gradually restarting programs that went in hiatus during the pandemic. For more information about joining the AATE Playwriting Network, see the website http://www.aate.com or contact John.Newman@uvu.edu.