BIO

JOHN OLIVE is a widely produced and award winning playwright, a novelist, a screenwriter and a popular teacher of creative writing.

John’s plays include: STANDING ON MY KNEES, MINNESOTA MOON, THE VOICE OF THE PRAIRIE, EVELYN & THE POLKA KING, KILLERS, THE SUMMER MOON, THE ECSTASY OF ST. THERESA, CARELESS LOVE, among others.  Producing theaters include: the Manhattan Theatre Club, Old Globe, Steppenwolf, Wisdom Bridge, South Coast Rep, Aley Theater, the Guthrie, Actors Theatre Of Louisville, the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, ACT/Seattle, and many others.

Lately John has written many plays for young audiences, both adaptations and originals: SIDEWAYS STORIES FROM WAYSIDE SCHOOL, JOHNNY TREMAIN, JASON & THE GOLDEN FLEECE, THE MAGIC BICYCLE, PHARAOH SERKET AND THE LOST STONE OF FIRE, WATER BABIES, among others.  These plays have been widely produced, at Seattle Childrens Theatre, First Stage Milwaukee, Stage One Louisville, Oregon Children’s, the Arden Theatre, People’s Light and Theatre Co., Dallas Children’s Theatre, Main Street Theatre, and others.

Awards include: Jerome Fellowship, 2 McKnight Fellowships, National Endowment For The Arts Fellowship, 2 Bush Fellowships, Society of Midland Authors Award For Drama (STANDING ON MY KNEES),  Kennedy Center Award For New Plays (THE SUMMER MOON), Rockefeller Residency (Wisdom Bridge).

John has writen screen and teleplays for: Disney, Amblin Entertainmet, ShadowCatcher Entertainmet, Yorktown Productions, Lorimar Television, among others.  He has developed material at the O’Neill, Sundance, New Harmony Project, PlayLabs, etc.  John has two prose projects going: a YA novel called Smartass and a nonfiction book about bedtime stories, Tell Me A Story In The Dark.  Currently, John teaches screenwriting at the University of Minnesota.

John lives in Minneapolis with his wife Mary and their son Michael.

Contact John