JOHN DRIVER
EDUCATION:
Thornridge High School, Dalton, IL – Best Actor Award, National Merit Scholarship Winner
Northwestern University, Evanston, IL – Bachelor of Science in Speech with a Major in Theatre and Honors in Directing
Smith College, Northhampton, MA – Master of Fine Arts in Theatre
BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theater Workshop, New York, NY (Considered the “Harvard” of musical theater writing) – Advanced Workshop Composer/Lyricist, 1999-2001; Librettist’s Workshop, 2000-2001; member in good standing on leave of absence.
PROFESSIONAL AND OTHER ASSOCIATIONS:
DGA – Directors Guild of America
WGAE – Writers Guild of America (East Coast)
SSD&C – Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers
AEA – Actors Equity Association
AFTRA – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists
SAG – Screen Actors Guild
BMI – Broadcast Music Incorporated
American Mensa
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EDUCATIONAL/TEACHING EXPERIENCE:
The Lee Strasberg Institute, Hollywood, CA, 1985 – Screenwriting
Bronxnet, Lehman College Campus – Recruited by J.J. Gonzalez and Jim Carney as staff coach and trainer. Over a three-year period conducted dozens of one-on-one coaching sessions with Bronxnet reporters and interns teaching on-camera reporting skills and teaching Bronxnet camera personnel and interns both the fine points and basic skills of video journalism.
Weist-Barron Professional Acting School. Established in 1957, Weist-Barron is one of New York City’s oldest acting schools. From 1999-2007 taught an acting class with the following description: “Five sharply focused, exciting and challenging sessions delivering what it takes to work in Primetime Television and feature and independent film. Students get a hands-on understanding of real shooting situations and work from actual shooting scripts. The class covers both the art and the practical - auditioning to get a role, camera blocking, hitting marks, etc. Enrich your most essential and fundamental acting skills. Recommended for stage actors wanting to deepen their technique.” Mr. Driver currently has former students working as recurring guest stars on such series as “Law & Order,” “Bones,” and “Prison Break.”
Iona College. Adjunct Professor. Fall 2004 through present. Courses: Advanced Writing for Television and Film MCO 449. Advanced Video Production MCO 448. Advisor for independent graduate study in political communication. Member Iona Mass Communication Professional Advisory Board.
Lehman College. Adjunct Lecturer in Television and Theatre, Spring 2004 through present. Courses: Fundamentals of Writing for Mass Communication, Art of the Theatre, Broadcast Journalism, Foundations of Broadcasting, Advanced Audio Production, Video Production. Lehman “College Now” program: Cinema II and Video Production. Created and currently teaching the online courses "Globalization & American Media" and "Public Relations & New Media."
CUNY Graduate Center, the School of Professional Studies, Adjunct Lecturer, Spring 2007 through present. Courses: Communication & Media (upper-level course). Redesigned multiple sections and Summer section. Designer of 300 course: Writing for New Electronic Media. Senior project thesis advisor.
PROFESSIONAL AWARDS
Theater World Award for Best Actor for the role of Bill in the Broadway production of “Over Here” starring opposite the Andrew sisters.
“Shakespeare’s Cabaret” directed the Broadway production that earned a Tony nomination for best score by Lance Mulcahey.
“Scrambled Feet” won a Show Business award for Best Off-Broadway Production.
Los Angeles Drama Critic’s Award for Best Play for “Chekhov in Yalta.”
“Puss ‘n Boots” and “Alice in Wonderland” directed for MCA/Universal won a VIRA Award and 2 ACE Awards for outstanding productions.
“The Immigrant” at the AJT won an Obie for Best Actor for the performance of Lonny Price.
“The Trapped Family Singers” for the New York Fringe Festival 2003 won the Best Actor Award for the performance of Alex Gemignani.
PROFESSIONAL VIDEOGRAPHY and JOURNALISM EXPERIENCE
CAMERAMAN:
Freelance cameraman and news photographer for News 12, Westchester, NY, and News 12, Norwalk, CT, shooting over a hundred stories, some involving newsworthy personalities such as the Dalai Lama, David Cone, Al Sharpton and Alex Kelly.
BronxNet, Lehman College – Had the privilege of shooting and collaborating with Mr. Larry Seiler on his first 23 stories as a reporter, covering issues that concern the disabled. Major contributor to the development of the program “Special People, Special Issues.” Directed, photographed and edited the episode submitted for consideration which contributed to Mr. Seiler’s winning the Americans with Disabilities Act Achievement Award of 2000.
BronxNet – Executive Producer and creator of the first season of the MLJ/Bronxnet co-production of news in Japanese and Italian.
BronxNet – Recurring Anchor/Host of the weekly news and talk show “Open” for BronxNet. 2007-8.
Mr. Driver is familiar with the Sony PD15- and PD170 digital video cameras, and until recently owned the Panasonic DVX100A. He works with AVID Express Pro and Final Cut Pro as primary video editing tools.
PROFESSIONAL DIRECTING EXPERIENCE
STAGE, BROADWAY:
Shakespeare’s Cabaret – Bijou Theater, NYC. Tony-nominated Production.
Teddy & Alice – Minskoff Theater, NYC, also Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center, FL and Mechanic Theater, Baltimore, MD. Starring Len Cariou.
STAGE, OFF-BROADWAY:
Scrambled Feet – The Village Gate. Successful two year run.
The Prisoner of Second Avenue – AJT. First NYC revival.
Last of the Red Hot Lovers – AJT starring Tovah Feldshuh and John Ethan Phillips.
Puppet Master of Lodz – AJT. USA premiere.
The Immigrant – AJT. Winner Obie Award for Lonny Price as Best Actor.
The Trapped Family Singers – The New York Fringe Festival 2003. Winner Best Actor Award for Alex Gemignani.
STAGE, REGIONAL THEATER:
Scrambled Feet – Productions at the St. Nicholas Theater, Chicago, IL; Drury Lane Watertower, Chicago, IL; The Charles Playhouse, Boston, MA; Westwood Playhouse, Westwood, CA.
Chekhov in Yalta – Walnut Street Theatre.
Lisa and David: The Musical– Lee Strasberg Institute. Premiere production.
TELEVISION:
Guardian Angels – Director/Co-Creator/DP. Abrams/Gentile Entertainment. Promo for series.
Jelly Bean Jungle – ABC syndicated children’s television series. Pilot and 14 episodes.
YaHoo BugaBoo – Director/Series Creator. Realm Entertainment. Pilot and 2 episodes.
Scrambled Feet – RKO/ShowTime. Available on video starring Madeline Kahn.
Edge of Night – ABC. 12 episodes.
Texas – NBC. 50 episodes.
Alice in Wonderland, The Red Shoes, Puss’n Boots, Wind in the Willows, The Land of Oz – MCA/Universal. VIRA Award, 2 ACE Awards.
FILM:
The Gift of the Magi – Pan Am Pictures. Narrated by Anthony Quinn, starring Robby Benson and Martin Balsam.
One Thousand Dollars – Pan Am Pictures. Narrated by Anthony Quinn, starring Frankie Quinn.
TELEVISION PRODUCER/HEAD WRITER
TELEVISION:
America’s Most Wanted – FOX Broadcasting. Coordinating producer and Executive in Charge of producing and writing all recreations of crimes - 63 episodes, 187 recreations. There were 67 captures made during the time. Also managed a staff of five writers responsible for all show copy.
Pinky Dinky Doo – Sesame Workshop and Cartoon Pizza (the creators of "Doug"). Former Head Writer of the second season of "Pinky Dinky Doo" for the educational animated television series in reruns on the Noggin network. The program has been the focus of a prestigious study by the Annenberg Center and is shown around the world on a large sampling of Sesame Workshop's 150 international co-producers. "Pinky" is essentially an early-learning initiative designed to foster literacy and enhance the vocabulary of pre-school children.
PROFESSIONAL WRITING & COMPOSING EXPERIENCE
STAGE:
Ride the Winds – Book, lyrics and music. Produced on Broadway at the Bijou Theater. Revival Spring, 2004 by Laurel Mill Playhouse, Laurel, MD.
Chekhov in Yalta – Co-author. Winner Los Angeles Drama Critics’ Award Best Play. Productions at the Mark Taper Forum, Cleveland Playhouse, Alliance Theatre, Gratz, Austria, etc. Produced for British television by Thames Ltd. Published by Samuel French. The play has been presented in dozens of theaters across the United States and other English speaking countries.
Scrambled Feet – Co-author/director/actor. Village Gate, Westwood Playhouse, St. Nicholas, etc. Published by Samuel French. The work has been performed in dozens of theaters all over the United States.
Lisa and David: The Musical – Book and lyrics. Produced at the Eugene O’Neill Foundation, 1984, and the Marilyn Monroe Theatre at the Lee Strasberg Institute. Revival March, 2004, at the University of Wisconsin in Cedars Point.
Shogun: The Musical – Book and lyrics. Produced on Broadway at the Minskoff Theatre and The Kennedy Center, Washington, D.C.
Bite – New play about a learning disabled reporter. Based on my experience working with Larry Seiler at Bronxnet. Has been given readings by Hypothetical Theatre, Rattlestick Theatre, Fleetwood Stage and Westchester Playwrights.
Space Pirates – Animated Feature Film. Wrote screenplay, lyrics and score. Based on Treasure Island.
Blood & Kisses – Co-author, composer. New four-character vampire musical. Developed at BMI Workshops. First public presentation at Innovative Stages in Westchester, March, 2004.
FILM:
Cops’R’Us – Co-writer. Optioned by Dino DeLaurentiis.
PUBLISHED NOVELS:
Undercover Cleo – Co-author of young adult mystery series for Berkley Publishing Group. Three book series.
Hunger of the Beast – Putnam Berkley. Zen-Horror fiction.
ELECTRONIC COMPOSER –
Mr. Driver wrote the score for Ride the Winds, co-wrote the music for Scrambled Feet and wrote the score including lyrics for Space Pirates and wrote music and lyrics for Blood and Kisses (see above for more information on each project). He began writing on piano, then the KORG I-3 and currently writes using the KORG TRITON STUDIO as his primary compositional tool. He works in CAKEWALK and various music editing programs available as part of the software with AVID and FINAL CUT PRO.
CORPORATE EXPERIENCE
Stage and video director working personally with CEO level top management for a number of fine corporations.
Directed the recent multi-million dollar launch of Nexium in Hawaii for AstraZeneca at the Honolulu Convention Center.
For Pfizer directed the stage production of the multi-million dollar launch of Aricept including a production of a powerful stage play starring Charles Durning at the Atlanta Convention Center.
For Merck directed 4 videos for the multi-million dollar launch of Fosamax at the Atlanta Convention Center.
Directed numerous events for the Chase Private Bank during the series of mergers that led to Chase becoming JP Morgan Private Bank. These include multimillion dollar events at the MJM Grand Las Vegas, Orlando, FL, the Silverado Ranch in Napa, CA, the Doral Arrowwood in Rye, NY, and recently an event at Claridge’s in London including a sit-down dinner for 150 at Kensington Palace.
Responsible for all content and delivery for JP Morgan Private Bank event in Prague. This included personal coaching and writing for the CEO of JPM PB and the Head of Marketing. Also worked on content and delivery with JPM PB Heads of Asia, Latin America, Europe, United States. Worked on content and delivery for JPM US Chief Economic Officer. JPM Chief Global Economic Officer. ON site worked with the President of Coke, the President of Avon. Senator Michael Margelov of Russia and key advisor to President Putin. Keynote speaker of this event was former President of Czech Republic, Vaclav Havel.
Directed the gala “Up Front” season launch productions for Court TV of 1999, 2000 and 2001 presented at the Supper Club in New York City for 1000 plus ad-buyers. Performances included appearances by Regis Philbin.
Directed the USA Roadshow for Nick at Nite and TVLand to launch their 2003 season.
CORPORATE PRESENTATION COACHING AND CONTENT REVISION
Coached various CEOs and high level intellectual strategists from major corporations working one-on-one on content and presentational style to prepare speakers for closed door presentations to audiences of the caliber of David Rockefeller, Lee Kuan Yew and Henry Kissinger.
PROFESSIONAL ACTING CAREER
Mr. Driver is a long standing member of all three professional acting unions. His acting credits include:
TELEVISION:
Law & Order - Dr. Charles Weller (2007); Marc Levin, director
Law & Order - Dr. Timothy Harrington (2003); David Platt, director
Law & Order: SVU - NYC Police Commissioner Lyle Morris, (Recurring guest star, 1999-2001); Ted Kotcheff, director
Law & Order - Asst. US Attorney General, Bob Gervitz, (Recurring guest star, 1998-99); Constantine Makris, Christopher Misiano, directors
Law & Order - NY State Attorney General, (1997 season finale, opposite Stephen Hill); Constantine Makris, director
Law & Order - Phillip Keenan, Advertising Executive (opposite Jerry Orbach); David Platt, director
Law & Order - Mark Levinsohn, Federal Prosecutor (opposite Michael Moriarty); Ed Sherin, director
Remington Steele - Guest Star; Gabrielle Beaumont, director
New Love American Style - Guest Star
The Edge of Night - Kevin Jamison (four years); Proctor & Gamble
Search For Tomorrow - Gary Walton (one year); Proctor & Gamble
Captain Kangaroo - Frequent Guest Star; Syndicated
Scrambled Feet - Lead (opposite Madeline Kahn); RKO/Showtime
FEATURE FILMS:
Follow Me Outside - Neil Newman; John Sullivan, director
Dirty Laundry - Dr. Stoller (opp. Jay Thomas); Bob Sherwin/Mike Normand
Don’t - Joel Vine; Dani Levy, director
Gardens of the Heart - Mr. James Graham; Livinia Currier, Arthur Ornitz, directors
Gross National Product - Corporal Richards; Paul Pauliny, director
BROADWAY:
Grease, Original Broadway Production - First male understudy (Kenickie, Roger, Eugene, Vince, Sonny); Tom Moore, director
Over Here - Created role of Bill (Theatre World Award for role); Tom Moore, director
Shogun: the Musical - Father Alvito; Michael Smuin, director
OFF BROADWAY AND REGIONAL:
Golden Boy - Eddie Prince (second lead) Coconut Grove; Jeffrey Moss, director
The Traveling Squirrel - Bart (lead); Long Wharf Theatre, John Tillinger, director
The Sea Gull - Trigorin (opposite Tom Hulce); South Coast Repertory Theatre, Sharon Ott, director
Internal Combustion - Michael (lead); Papermill Playhouse, Tony Stimac, director
Scrambled Feet - Original cast; Village Gate, NYC, also LA, Boston, Chicago
Innovative Stages – Co-founder and Co-Artistic Director of this Westchester Theater company dedicated to the development of dramatic works. In its first season 2000-2001, Innovative presented staged readings of new plays as Westchester Playwrights. The group is now a 501 (c 3) non-profit corporation registered under an educational charter with the Federal Government and the State of New York. In its third season, Innovative has presented 90 readings of 45 plays-in-progress by emerging and professional dramatists. The dramatist gets to see his/her work presented by professional actors in book-in-hand staged readings. Personally staged 70 readings and moderated 85 audience critiques which have followed these presentations. Co-drafted the mission statement and did all necessary legal work to earn the company non-profit status. Innovative Stages is supported by the Mamaroneck Council on the Arts, the Westchester Arts Council, the New York State Council on the Arts and is the first group invited to present on a recurring basis in the newly-renovated Bronxville Library.