Fifty of Jonathan's plays have been produced at site-specific locations, schools, and theatres around the world including Actors Theatre of Louisville (Humana Festival), Milwaukee Rep (RepLab), the Samuel French Off-Off Broadway Play Festival (Festival Winner), Alternative Theatre Company (Altered Minds, Off-Broadway), San Jose Rep (SJREAL), Warner Theatre (International Play Festival), Chance Theater, Short+Sweet Dublin (Best Playwright Award), and Short+Sweet: Hollywood (Judges’ Choice Award).
Jonathan is the Artistic Director of Unbound Productions in Los Angeles and is one of the creators of the multi-award-winning immersive theatre events Wicked Lit, History Lit, and Mystery Lit which have welcomed over 30,000 patrons to site-specific locations throughout Southern California. Plays written for Unbound include The New Catacomb, Las Lloronas, The Grove of Rashomon, Anansi and the Demons (Mountain View Mausoleum and Cemetery); The Garden Party, The Girl Who Owned a Bear (Pasadena Museum History); and Holmes, Sherlock, and The Consulting Detective (Los Angeles County Arboretum). Jonathan has received two Individual Artist Awards from the Pasadena Arts Council, is a five-time Finalist for Actors Theatre of Louisville's Heideman Award, and has been named a Finalist for both the O'Neill National Playwrights Conference and the City Theatre National Short Play Award. His work has been named a Semi-Finalist by the CTG/Humanitas Prize, NuVoices at Actors Theatre of Charlotte, and Wordsmyth Theatre Company. His work has also been recognized by the William Inge Theatre Festival (Short Play Lab), Great Plains Theatre Conference (Short Play Lab), Smith and Kraus (Best 10-Minute Plays and Best Monologues for Women), Heartland New Play Festival (Festival Winner), Force of Nature Productions (Best of Rush), Playground-LA (Best of Playground-LA), and Stage It! 10-Minute Play Festival (three-time Finalist).
Twenty-six of Jonathan’s plays are published by Steele Spring Stage Rights, Original Works Publishing, Concord Theatricals, YouthPLAYS, PlayScripts, Applause Theatre & Cinema Books, and Stage It! He is a proud member of the Antaeus Playwrights Lab, the Dramatists Guild of American and a Lifetime Member of the Alliance of Los Angeles Playwrights. B.A. in Theatre: Playwriting from UCSD. [jonathanjosephson.com]
Seeking representation.
Plays
A mash-up of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s delightful “A Scandal in Bohemia,” “The Red-Headed League,” and “The Adventure of the Copper Beeches, this play will appeal to young audiences, theatre lovers and Sherlock super-fans alike.
Follow three different versions of Doyle’s iconic Baker Street detective through a literary labyrinth of clues and misdirection! "Holmes, Sherlock and The Consulting Detective" features Sherlockian mainstays, new characters, and a host of theatrical surprises.
Chris Maple Jr. is a fighter - MMA. When a tragedy gives her the chance to turn this pastime into a career - will she become a champion, or self-destruct?
A pixie. A salesman. A magician. A janitor…not your typical shopping mall.
The Giant and the Pixie is a contemporary fairy tale set simultaneously in a magical realm and a shopping mall. The story centers on Arthur – a conscientious Giant who works by day as a janitor – trying to win the heart of Cipriana, a Pixie who also works in the mall. Sebastian – the hotheaded Knight – is not happy with this and wants to get rid of Arthur, but Arthur’s homeless buddy Gregory (the “Troll with a soul”) won’t have anything of it. All the while Cipriana’s father, the Magician, watches from a distance with an agenda of his own.
The story of Ichabod Crane is well known - the schoolteacher falls for the blooming lass Katrina Van Tassel, and he would have won her heart too, had he not been run out of town by the Headless Horseman of Sleepy Hollow. But what really happened on the faithful night in the woods, and what is the true story behind Brom Bones' knowing looks? This new adaptation of the classic ghost story tells Washington Irving's tale as it is widely known in act one, but then follows up with the REAL story of Ichabod and the Horseman as retold by Gunpowder, Ichabod Crane's faithful horse.
One of Jonathan's favorite actors is sitting right over there. Just sitting there. He'd love to speak to him, but will he be able to build up the nerve? This "hilarious" uber-theatrical comedy was called a "2013 Humana Festival Hit."
Masago, a maiden, is missing and her samurai, Takehiko, is dead. As her mother investigates the brutal crime, she encounters numerous versions of what happened on that fateful night in a haunting cedar grove. Set in 12th Century Japan and written as a highly theatrical piece with mask work, dance, and Noh-inspired movement, "The Grove of Rashomon" is a reimagining of the iconic short story that inspired the Akira Kurosawa film "Rashomon.
The Mexican legend "La Llorona" tells the story of a scorned woman who drowns her children and then haunts the earth searching for their souls. The play "Las Lloronas" examines this myth as it has evolved through the ages - from the days of La Malinche and the conquest of Mexico through present day events. El Diablo guides us through five unique stories - some literal, some theatrical, some abstract - that reflect the horror and regret embodied by this timeless tale.
Four Jewish brothers find out that one of them is adopted, but they don't know which one. Inspired by the Passover story of the "Father and his Four Sons," this uplifting comedy shows that not even ten plagues can break the ties the bind.
Successes
My book "Seven Deadly Tens: A collection of sinful short plays" is now available from Original Works Publishing. The collection includes internationally-produced, award-winning plays (and personal favorites) that debuted from 2010-2019. Avialble for pre-order here: https://www.originalworksonline.com/sevendeadlytens
Grandpa and the Gay Rabbi is one of the six winners of the Samuel French Off-Off Broadway Short Play Festival! Of 1500 submissions, 30 were selected for production, of those 30, six were selected by festival judges and Samuel French staff as winners. Thanks again PWC for making me aware of this opportunity!
My short play "Grandpa and the Gay Rabbi" will make its world premiere as a part of the The Samuel French Off Off Broadway Short Play Festival. I've had 27 plays produced in 11 states and five countries and this will be my first in NYC. Thank you Playwrights Center for putting the OOB on my radar!
The Grove of Rashomon, adpated from "In A Grove" by Ryūnosuke Akutagawa, is in the final weeks of Unbound Productions' Wicked Lit 2015 at Mountain View Mausoluem and Cemetery. Over 3,300 patrons have seen the play along side adaptations of The Ebony Frame and The Fall of the House of Usher!
Jonathan Josephson's adaptation of the Mexican legend "La Llorona" entitled Las Lloronas is currently receiving it's world premiere as a part of Unbound Productions' newest immersive theatre event Wicked Lit 2014. The production is running Wednesday-Sundays at Mountain View Mausoleum and Cemetery through November 8 (many performances are sold out!). Details at WickedLit.org.