Dr. John Newman is an associate professor of theatre at Utah Valley University and is the director of UVU’s Noorda Theatre Center for Children and Youth.
He  taught  and  directed  theatre  at  Highland  High School in Salt Lake City for eighteen years and devel- oped  and  premiered  new  plays  by  playwrights  from throughout the United States. Dr. Newman earned his Ph.D. at New York University, his MA at the University of Texas at Austin, and his M.Ed. and BFA at the Uni- versity of Utah. He teaches elementary and secondary teachers how teach the Utah Core State Standards in Fine Arts for Drama and how to use drama as a tool to teach other academic subjects.
Dr. Newman also coordinates the Playwrights In Our Schools program for the American Alliance for Theatre and  Education,  which  brings  national  award-winning playwrights to Utah secondary schools for play devel- opment  residencies.  Newman  performs  a  one-man show called The Man Behind the Curtain, suitable for ages 10 and up, about L Frank Baum, the author of The
Wizard of Oz.