John DiDonna

JOHN DIDONNA received his Bachelor’s Degree in theatre from Syracuse University and his Master of Fine Arts from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. With hundreds of credits in directing, acting, production, playwrighting, and teaching, John brings over 22 years of individual theatrical experience to the table, with work that has been seen throughout New York, New Jersey, North Carolina, Florida, Georgia and California as well as shows that have toured through various states of the US.

Getting his start in acting before moving into directing, John has continued performing in leading roles in such productions as A Lie of the Mind, Fool for Love, Extremities, Romeo and Juliet, Chicago, Frank N. Furter in The Rocky Horror Show in New York and Florida, Endgame, Conduct of Life, The Crucible’s John Proctor, Blackpool and Parrish, A Conduct of Life, Lord Byron in The Tragic Prometheus, Oberon in Midsummer Night’s Dream, Saturinus in Titus Andronicus, True West, Macheath in Three Penny Opera, and Vinnie Black and Nunzio in Tony n Tina’s Wedding. Most recently John celebrated his 20^th anniversary playing Frank N. Furter in Theatre Downtown’s Marilyn Manson-esque Rocky Horror Show, as well as playing the role of Philip the porn director in Obscenity, the title role in POE, George in Edward Albee’s scathing Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, and the instructor John in David Mamet’s amazingly complex play Oleanna.

DiDonna has directed a variety of productions ranging from comedy to classics. He has called Orlando home base for 16 years now, where he has directed such representative productions as The Tragedy of Frankenstein, Glass Menagerie, 12 Angry Men, The Iceman Cometh, Quills, The House of Yes, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, The Tempest, As Is, The Mystery of Irma Vepp, Burn This, Suburbia, The Blue Room, Long Day’s Journey into Night, as well as a full staging of the controversial suppressed original draft of Anne Frank by Meyer Levin. His industrial directing credits includes two events for Dick Clark Corporate Productions which have toured the US including Texas, Georgia, Florida, California, New York City, and Michigan. For the SoulFire Traveling Medicine Show John has directed Faith Healer, Killing Time (co-director) and Killer Joe. Most recent directing credits include his adaptation of Oedipus the King, The Good Doctor, his original works Nothing Happened and STRIPPED, the 2006 Red Chair Affair at the Bob Carr Auditorium, and his adaptation of UBU ROI.

John’s affiliation as co-head of PaPow Productions for three years kept him busy directing their Fashion/Performance Art shows throughout at various theatres and clubs around Central Florida, including shows at The Club at Firestone and Club Z. His fashion show directing for other designers has also brought him to the stage at The Sapphire Supper Club, and Barbarella’s Night Club for and most recently, a reunion with his PaPow collaborator for a fashion show at the AKA Lounge in March 2006 and ongoing shows.

As a playwright John has had numerous plays and one-acts produced, including the bizarre comedy The Kiki the Clown Show, and his DocuDrama trilogy, (as both playwright and director), which includes The Square, 33rd, and AIDS: The Human Face in Central Florida. His Rivership Romance Comedy Wedding Dinner Show has entered its third year on the waters of the St. Johns River, and his Halloween Ghost Cruises play ever year. His most recent original works include his previously mentioned adaptations of Oedipus and UBU, and the original pieces Birthday, 5,4,3,2,1, Nothing Happened, and Stripped. Currently he is working on an edit of Romeo and Juliet, as well as two original pieces for premier in 2007.

In the production field, John has worked extensively over the years with Arbour Animated and MultiFX – two related production houses both in NY and FL where John designed, sculpted, and realized special effects, makeup effects, props and sets for clients such as New Line Cinema, the Burnett Park Zoo, various haunted attractions, Walt Disney World, Universal, and the series SwampThing, Superforce and Superboy. His years with ASI Production Services here in Florida introduced him to the Convention market of staging/drapery/sets where he helped provide and design for an extensive client list including Universal Studios, Walt Disney World, MTV, Philip Morris, and others.

While in his undergraduate years John held the position of artistic director for the Syracuse University Musical Stage, as well as it’s offspring group, The Experimental Theatre. Once moving to Florida he founded and was Producing Artistic Director for Eola Theatre, where he directed up to 11 productions a year, including Bloody Poetry, Fool For Love, Hamlet, Extremities, the original musical Subterranean Bliss, as well as continuing director for The Downtown Comedy Players in its various incarnations. In past years he has served on the board of Theatre Downtown from 1994 - 2001, the board of the Central Florida Theatre Alliance, and was named to the Technical Advisory Board of Valencia College Theatre. John has held the position of Co-Producing Artistic Director (along with Co Founder Rus Blackwell) of The SoulFire Traveling Medicine Show and The SoulFire Dinner Theatre which for over a year presented the Central Florida premier of Tony n Tina’s Wedding. Currently, John is the Co-Producing Artistic Director of the Empty Spaces Theatre Company, a consulting member of the Board at Theatre Downtown, as well as producer and director for the Rivership Romance Dinner Shows.

As an instructor John teaches Acting 1 and 2 for both VCC and SCC, as well as additional instruction at those colleges in Public Speaking and Theatre History. For the Orlando Shakespeare Festival Intern Program he teaches Film Acting, and he returns yearly to Barry University to teach their Creative Dramatics Class. Beginning in March 2006 John began teaching Advanced Acting at the L.A. Acting Workshop, in addition to his ongoing work as a private coach for actors.

Upcoming productions the direction of Romeo and Juliet for a February 07 premier, Playfest 2007 in March, The Red Chair Affair 2007 in August 07, and three more events planned through Oct 2007..

(For further credits please see acting / directing / teacher / playwright resumes)