John Blaylock holds an MFA from the Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. He has written for theatres across the country and is currently a resident writer and literary manager for Broadway On Tour Youth Theatre (BOT) in Santa Ana, CA. Together with BOT, he has workshopped nine new musical theatre pieces over the past twenty years, all with the help of young Orange County actors and their families. In 2017, John helped open California School of the Arts – San Gabriel Valley (CSArts-SGV) and served as the Director of Creative Writing for six years. He now continues to teach creative writing at CSArts-SGV, Orange County School of the Arts (OCSA), and Chapman University.

 

In the summer of 2014, John worked as William Finn’s assistant at Barrington Stage Company in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. In 2015, he again worked as Finn’s assistant, this time at Encores! Off-Center, on their production of “A New Brain.” Following “A New Brain,” John returned to Barrington Stage to present a songwriter cabaret of his own material. His musical “Northanger Abbey,” with collaborator Jonathan Fadner, was runner up for the Pallas Theatre’s New Works Festival, 2017, in Washington DC, and his holiday musical, “A Christmas Show,” played on and off for over ten years in various Southern California theatres. He has also had work produced by La Jolla Playhouse, Blindspot Collective, Surflight Theatre, Sesame Street Live, Common Man Musicals, McCoy Rigby Arts, Orange County School of the Arts, and Phoenix Theatre Company.
 

John is a proud member of the Dramatists Guild.