Meet the Playwright
John David Westby is a Chicago playwright and actor. His plays have been produced in the Chicago area and have had online readings with Chicago Dramatists First Draft Series.
Most recently his 10-Minute Play Just Checking In was featured in "Hilarity Ensues" a night of Short Plays at Steel Beam Theatre. His adaptations of the classic Charles Dickens tale, A Christmas Carol, have been popular holiday treats.
During COVID, John wrote, directed, and produced an adaptation of the letters of John and Abigail Adams called Dear Abigail/Dear John: An Incandescent Match. It streamed on Youtube in 2021 when theatres were still shuttered.
John's plays have had staged readings at Victory Gardens, Canongate Theatre, Borealis Theatre, Steel Beam Theatre, as part of the New Voices Festival and Saturday Series at Chicago Dramatists, and in New York City at the American Theatre of Actors.
A graduate of the creative writing program at the University of Illinois, John was a nominee for the J. Kerker Quinn Award for Fiction and he is currently at work on his MFA in Writing for Stage and Screen at Lesley University.
Why Do I Write?
I craft works that reveal secrets, heal wounds, nurture growth, bring insight, and explore the unknown with characters we want to love in spite of - or because of - their choices.
I bring passion to the stories I tell and strive to excite audiences to participate with their hearts and minds. I want them to "lean forward" and lean into the characters and actions from first moment to last.
Nothing intrigues me more than a doorway, especially one slightly ajar, which creates a suspense and an invitation to some other place. To me, it sets up a tension - and drama - between what we know on this side versus what could be possible once we step through this portal.
Whatever lies beyond the threshold offers so much possibility. Will you become the participant in the tale of the other room? Or will you simply observe the characters there or the setting there and record it?
Or, do you close it? And that leads to another story entirely.
Possibilities and potential make art.
Full Length Plays
Dear Abigail/Dear John - An Incandescent Love Story
John and Abigail Adams were the original power couple of the American Revolution. They spent many years apart and that distance produced a voluminous correspondence that shines a bright light on their incandescent relationship. This play covers the years 1774 - 1776 up to July 4th and the Declaration John has worked so hard to pass. The play was developed using the letters of John and Abigail Adams as a base and then adapted for stage and zoom screen . The play was streamed during the pandemic in 2021. 1W, 1M
Random Theft & Other Acts
Three college-educated, under-employed, and unlikely bank robbers find themselves where no suburbanites should - a seedy run down motel in the middle of nowhere - when their plans spin widely out of control and they must grapple with suspicion, kidnapping, and the universal laws of cause and effect. This Fargo-esque comedy thriller has been produced multiple times to audience and critical acclaim. 2W, 5M.
#Christmas Makeover - A Modern Christmas Carol
Dickens classic gets turned on its head as old Ebenezer becomes Ms CC Scrooge, an ambitious woman with a popular QVC Heart of Stone jewelry line and an online payday loan business that's just as heartless. Bobbi Cratchit is her beleaguered assistant while her ex-partner Marlene, chooses this year to pay a long-delayed visit to her old friend to give her the Christmas makeover she deserves. A female-focused ensemble. Cast 7-10 doubling/tripling possible.
Person or Persons Unknown
When a sensational multiple murder rocks a community, past and present collide as a media firestorm forces an estranged daughter to return home and confront her past and the amoral reporter who seeks to capitalize on the coverage. They seek the truth but become infamous in their own rights. This play premiered at Wing & Groove Theatre in Chicago. 4W, 4M.
The Ultimate Christmas Carol by E Scrooge, Esq.
This ensemble-driven, modern adaptation of the classic Christmas Carol puts Charles Dickens on stage with an ensemble cast of mismatched locals to enact a Christmas story written by his friend, Ebenezer Scrooge, Esq. Mayhem and misanthropy ensue as Dickens assumes the role of Bob Cratchit, the Ghosts play hooky, and Tiny Tim won't stop rapping in church. Cast doubles, triples roles. Cast size: 7 - 10, depending on resources and abilities.
Directly Into the Sun
A mother and daughter learn to deal with loss, love, and new discoveries when a not-so-brilliant private investigator brings to light the secrets long hidden by a diligent - and dead -insurance adjuster. When the family reluctantly takes a road trip in a mad chase to resolve its conflicts, all the claims from past disasters finally come due and must be paid one by one. This dramedy has had several staged readings and is seeking development opportunities. 3W, 2M
Short Plays & 10 Minute Plays
Just Checking In
Part of a series of short plays called Working Hard, Hardly Working, this 10-minute play for two people pits an old-hand at avoiding corporate meetings against the soon-to-be "unplugged" newbie who has yet to make a mark in the corporate jungle. 2 actors any gender.
Sky Full
In this 10-minute comedy one of the renegade poets from a literary terror group swallows the last remnants of a sunset and the government goes into action. Will the sky be restored to its former glory?
Elevated Heroes
What do two superheroes do on their way to see HR about a galactic screw-up that threatens their very superpowers when they can barely be civil to each other anymore. Then they face their greatest challenge.
Interested in Reading My Work?
If you'd like to read any of these plays or talk further about other work in progress, please complete this form for a consult.
A Midwest Playwright
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