John Olive

John is a widely produced and award-winning playwright. His plays include Minnesota Moon, Standing On My Knees, Killers, The Voice of the Prairie, The Ecstasy of St. Theresa, Clara's Play, The Summer Moon, God Fire, et al. Producing theaters have included: The Manhattan Theatre Cub, Wisdom Bridge, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Oregon Shakespeare Co., Old Globe, South Coast Rep, Steppenwolf, ACT/Seattle, and many others. John has won fellowships from the Bush Foundation, the McKnight Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts. The Summer Moon won the Kennedy Center Award for Drama. In the past twelve years, John has written many plays for young audiences including Sideways Stories From Wayside School, The Magic Bicycle, Jason and the Golden Fleece, Pharaoh Serket and The Lost Stone of Fire, Johnny Tremain, and others. Producing theaters have included Seattle Children's Theatre, South Coat Rep, The Arden, Nashville Children's, Oregon Children's, First Stage Milwaukee, et al. John's latest at Seattle Children's (his 6th), Art Dog, opened in April of 2014. John has also written YA novels, including Smartass and Deep River (in-progress, in collaboration with David Grant) and screenplays (Amblin' Entertainment, ShadowCatcher, etc). John is presently writing an immersive adaptation of Crime and Punishment, with Live Action Set. He writes theater reviews for HowWasTheShow.com and lives in Minneapolis with his wife Mary and their son Michael.

John Olive's Titles

Tell Me a Story in the Dark A Guide to Creating Magical Bedtime Stories for Young Children

Tell Me a Story in the Dark

Tonight, don't read your child a story. Instead, dim the light, lie down, and create storytelling magic. Weave a spell that will enchant your...