Actor, Director, Playwright, Dramaturg, Educator, and Evil Genius
CURRICULUM VITAE
Career Objective
Career Objective
To continue to motivate students as part of a dedicated faculty team by creating opportunities for my students to discover and develop their artistry, to nurture their development as cognizant human beings who make a contribution to their art and to help them contribute their talents to the world with confidence, commitment, humor and passion.
Professional Summary
-
Ph.D. in English/Creative Writing/Playwriting: Western Michigan University
-
M.F.A. in Playwriting: Ohio University
-
10 years teaching experience at the university level
-
20+ years professional acting, directing, playwriting and dramaturgy experience
-
Award-winning, published playwright: Mark Twain Prize for Comedy Playwriting (Kennedy Center/Next Stage Press)
-
Former students are award-winners, professional actors, directors, playwrights, dramaturgs and/or attending graduate programs.
"He is a great professor who adds humor to his class and asks us to evaluate ourselves and the choices that we make. 10/10 would recommend."
"Dr. Zorn is an amazing playwright who demonstrated awesome knowledge during this course in how to write plays."
“Uniquely among his peers, he combines an analytical understanding of history and society with a creative and insightful understanding of human experience, and this combination is equally evident in his work as a scholar and as a theater artist.”
Education
Ph.D. - English/Playwriting - Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI
Dissertation Area: Use of the Paranormal in Autobiographical Plays by LGBT Playwrights
December, 2013
M.F.A. - Playwriting - Ohio University, Athens, OH
Playwriting Thesis Project: Original Play, "Metropolis Has No Superman"
June, 2009 (2009 Mark Twain Prize Winner, Publisher: Next Stage Press)
B.A. - Theatre - Eastern Illinois University, Charleston, IL
Director’s Thesis Project: "The Diary of Adam and Eve" by Bock & Harnick
Areas of Concentration: Acting, Directing, Vocal Music
Minor: Creative Writing
June, 1998
A.A. - Communication - Illinois Central College, East Peoria, IL
Director’s Thesis Project: "Talking With..." by Jane Martin
Areas of Concentration: Theatre, Music, Speech Communication
July, 1990
Memberships, Affiliations, and Certifications
-
North American Drama Therapy Association (NADTA) - Member
-
Association for Theatre in Higher Education (ATHE)– Member
-
Dramatist Guild of America (DGA)- Member
-
Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas (LMDA)- Member
-
Musical Theatre Writers’ Workshop (MTWW) - Alumnus
-
Paranormal Investigation - Certificate - Flamel College
-
MS Office Specialist – Certificate – MSO Boot Camp
-
Massage Therapy - Certificate - Discovery Center
-
Ballroom Dance - Certificate - Midwest School of Dance
-
Culinary Arts - Certificate - The Proper Pan
Literary Management and Dramaturgy
-
American College Theatre Festival Outstanding Dramaturgy for Ten-Minute Play (Region III, Saginaw, MI) - RONDO RUBATO by Jason Lenz and DERBY DEBRIS by K. Frithjof Peterson (2010)
-
Literary Manager, Bailiwick Repertory Theater (2008)
-
Literary Manager, Fancy Pants Theater (2010–2011)
-
Drama Editor, Third Coast Magazine (2012-2013)
-
Theatre Critic, Normal Community News (1993-1995)
Courses Taught
Lincoln Land Community College (2015-pres)
-
HUM101 Introduction to Humanities – 1 section
-
Literature, music, philosophy and the fine arts are integrated in this course, which is focused on the creative aspects of Western culture. Significant works reflecting the complexities in the development of the human spirit, are examined in depth. Documents, records, films, slides, reproductions and local resources are concrete examples of the materials covered in the course.
-
EGL098 Basic English – 4 sections
-
This course is the first of two-course sequence that prepares students for college-level writing. Students learn to write well-developed and clearly organized paragraphs and short essays through a "process-based" instruction method. Rhetorical skills, such as developing an awareness of audience and purpose, is emphasized as well as the use of standard, formal English. This course is not designed for transfer credit, nor will credit be given toward an associate's degree.
-
EGL099 Basic Writing Skills – 5 sections
-
This course is the second of a two-course sequence that prepares students for college-level writing. Students learn to write well-developed and clearly organized essays through a "process-based" instruction method. Rhetorical skills, such as developing an awareness of audience and purpose, is emphasized as well as the use of standard formal English.
-
EGL102 Composition II – 3 sections
-
This course is designed to enhance and deepen the critical skills of argumentation and academic writing introduced in EGL 101. Students continue to write essays that demonstrate their ability to analyze and evaluate the ideas of others and integrate them into their own writing. The course reinforces student experience with the conventions of standard written English and the conventions of documentation while developing student ability to conduct research and present research within academic discourse communities. Students learn to join one of the many conversations that exists within that specific community in an ethical, accurate and critical manner.
Millikin University (2014-pres)
-
IN250 Political Theatre – 3 sections
-
This course explores questions by reading plays which played a significant role in the politics of its time in U.S. culture and history. Among the topics addressed: 1. What makes theatre political? 2. How has the politics of theatre been imagined and practiced in different times? 3. What hopes for changing the world does theatre dramatize? 4. What does the study of theatre teach us about politics? 5. How does the theatre become a productive site for representing, and even enacting, political change?
-
EN170 Playwriting – 2 section
-
An introductory workshop course in the writing of drama, with class discussion and criticism of each student's writing, and including study of selected examples of drama in print and in production.
-
TH131 Play Analysis – 1 section
-
Through the study of selected works, students learn techniques for analyzing play structure in a manner vital for performing artists, directors, and designers. Plays shall be selected from a variety of periods in theatrical history. The genres of tragedy and comedy and various stylistic approaches to interpreting theatrical works will be closely studied.
-
IN151 Critical Writing/Reading/Research II – 16 sections
-
This course will continue to meet the following goals: 1. Read critically to comprehend, analyze and evaluate texts; 2. Write polished, informed essays for personal, public and/or specialized audiences; 3. Conduct research to participate in academic inquiry; 4. Reflect formally on engagements with critical reading, writing and research to acquire, examine and present self-awareness about those engagements. Topics have included: Cultural history of American television situation comedies, American attitudes on death and dying.
-
IN150 Critical Writing/Reading/Research I – 16 sections
-
This course will meet the following goals: 1. Read critically to comprehend, analyze and evaluate texts; 2. Write polished, informed essays for personal, public and/or specialized audiences; 3. Conduct research to participate in academic inquiry; 4. Reflect formally on engagements with critical reading, writing and research to acquire, examine and present self-awareness about those engagements. Topics have included: Race and gender in American popular culture, found art, film and the outsider movement, personal politics.
Richland Community College – Undergraduate (2014-2015)
-
ENGL101 Composition I – 1 section
-
A basic course in college writing. Students write and revise essays using a variety of rhetorical methods. Through extensive writing and careful reading, students cultivate their ability to think critically and improve their ability to compose acceptable and effective academic papers. Special attention will be paid to persuasive writing.
-
ENGL102 Composition II – 2 sections
-
The conclusion of the first-year, college-level writing program. The course continues the study and practice of composition begun in English 101 with the major focus on source-based arguments. Students learn to recognize various levels of formality and to develop a style of writing appropriate for a formal research paper. All elements of research are taught: choosing a topic, focusing on a thesis, locating and evaluating varied sources, organizing materials, writing and documenting the text, and revising.
Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts (2014-pres)
-
Faculty/Director for summer theatre workshop. Students from fourth grade to high school seniors receive detailed instruction on acting, vocal music, dramaturgy, and technical theatre which then culminates in a full production of a musical alongside adult actors.
Western Michigan University – Graduate (2009-2013)
-
ENGL 6110 Dramatic Forms: One-Act Play – 1 section
-
A study and workshop of the form, structure and technique of short-form drama: one-page play (micro-drama), ten-minute play and one-act play (under sixty minutes).
-
ENGL 5970 Studies in English (New Play Project) – 2 sections
-
Students write, direct and perform new works for the stage over an entire semester while learning valuable skills in dramaturgy, collaboration, editing and production. The final staged-readings are presented to a live audience.
Western Michigan University – Undergraduate (2009-2013)
-
THEA 4440 New Play Project – 2 sections
-
Focuses on the collaborative process of mounting original works. Students will directly collaborate with playwrights from the English Department’s graduate and undergraduate playwriting program and stage their original work for the first time. Attention is paid to not only the dramaturgical needs of this process, but to the challenge of staging and creating original characters. All productions have a final performance for a live audience.
-
ENGL 1050 Thought and Writing (First-Year Writing) – 4 sections
-
A writing course in which the students will work closely with the instructor to develop their sense of language as a means of shaping and ordering their experience and ideas, and to develop imagination, thought, organization, clarity and creative use of modern technology and communication.
-
THEA 2720 Musical Theatre History and Script Analysis – 1 section
-
An historical overview of the development of musical theatre from its earliest beginnings to 1943. Respective scripts will be analyzed within their historical context.
-
ENGL 2980 LGBT Drama Survey – 1 section
-
A survey course in the history of LGBT drama from “Twelfth Night” to “Hedwig and the Angry Inch.” Examine and study each work within its historical and societal context.
-
ENGL 3680 Playwriting – 5 sections
-
An introductory workshop course in the writing of drama, with class discussion and criticism of each student's writing, and including study of selected examples of drama in print and in production.
-
ENGL 2660 Creative Writing (Poetry & Fiction) – 2 sections
-
Workshop, study and practice in writing of fiction and poetry, intended to develop the student's understanding of formal techniques and skill in the use of these techniques.
Ohio University – Undergraduate (2006-2009)
-
THAR 151 Playwriting Fundamentals I – 6 sections
-
Beginning workshop in the fundamentals of playwriting. Students discuss material from a workbook which elucidates the basic principles of playwriting, do exercises designed to help them put those principles into creative practice, and are guided through the various stages of the playwriting process which culminates with in-class readings of the short plays they have completed.
-
THAR 250 Playwriting Fundamentals II – 2 sections
-
Writing workshop in the theory and practice of dramatic writing with an emphasis on craft and control through revision and focusing on the playwright's voice and style.
-
THAR 113 Acting Fundamentals I – 1 section
-
An introduction to the theory and practice of acting, as explored through exercises, scenes, and viewing plays. The exercises will explore the uses of imagination, concentration, relaxation, intention, and physical and vocal freedom through improvisation.