CA State Thespian Festival 2026

Jonathan Dorf has authored more than 60 plays, including 4 A.M., The Magic Hour, Declaration, After Math, Dear Chuck, Harry's Hotter at Twilight and Me, My Selfie & I, with over 3000 productions worldwide. A finalist for the Actors Theatre of Louisville Heideman Award, his focus shifted to writing for teen performers during a six-year stint running the theatre program at The Haverford School and subsequently being commissioned to write shows for Philadelphia's Walnut Street Theatre and the Choate Rosemary Hall Summer Arts Conservatory. In addition to YouthPLAYS, the publishing company he co-founded, his plays make their homes at Broadway Licensing, Stage Partners, Brooklyn Publishers/Heuer and Original Works. He is chair emeritus of the Alliance of Los Angeles Playwrights (ALAP) and the former managing director of the Philadelphia Dramatists Center (PDC). He taught in the Playwright's Lab at Hollins University, served as US Cultural Envoy to Barbados, spent 15 years as a voter in LA's Ovation Awards, created Playwriting101.com and authored the book Young Playwrights 101. He's been a longtime teaching artist at ITF and at festivals and schools from Alabama to Singapore. He serves as a script consultant for writers worldwide and is a proud member of The Dramatists Guild (where he serves on the Education Committee) and the Teaching Artist Alliance, as well as a life member of both ALAP and PDC. BA in Dramatic Writing and Literature, Harvard University; MFA in Playwriting, UCLA. https://jonathandorf.com