John Wooten

John is the Vice President for Arts Programming at Kean University. He also serves as the Producing Artistic Director of Premiere Stages, Kean’s Equity theatre in residence, where he has developed and directed numerous critically-acclaimed productions of new plays, many of which were subsequently published, including Diversion, Scab, Dark Part of the Forest, ODD, Soldier’s Heart, The Beautiful Dark and The Good Counselor. The latter two productions were also honored by the American Theatre Critics Association, along with the sold-out run of Follow Me to Nellie’s, Dominique Morisseau’s first play. Plays he has authored have been produced commercially Off-Broadway, internationally and in regional theaters across America. Published plays include: Trophies (Dramatists Play Service), Humbug (Concord), The Role of Della (Playscripts, Inc.), and Kiss the Bride (Dramatic Publishing Company). John wrote the screenplays for The Role of Della (Toronto, Ft. Lauderdale, Cleveland and DC Film Festivals) and Cat in the Pan (Montreal Film Festival).  Awards: the 2023 Star Award from the New Jersey Theatre Alliance for his contributions to professional theatre; two NJSCA Playwriting Fellowships, a Best New Play Nomination from the American Theatre Critics Association for his play The Mission Home; and multiple Best Director nominations from the Newark Star-Ledger. John teaches Playwriting and Acting as a Profession at Kean.