John Wayne Shafer

Associate Professor
john.shafer2@ucf.edu
407-823-0871
Campus Location: PACT217

John Wayne Shafer's work has been reported in English, Hungarian, Mandarin, German, Russian, French, and Spanish languages. He was a Fulbright-Hays Scholar to Bolivia and has presented in North America, South America, Asia, Eastern Europe, and Western Europe. He has been a leader in theatrical projects that have won the ORION Award and the IDEA Award. He is a past Iben Lecturer, past Director of Theatre for Tarrant County College. He was Area Coordinator of BA Theatre Studies for UCF and aided the overhaul and improvement to the track. He is an active member of Actors' Equity Association, the Screen Actors Guild/American Federation of Television & Radio Artists, and a Dramatists' Guild Member.

John collects Shakespeare Festivals. He has worked for the Orlando, Kentucky, Alabama, North Carolina, and Fort Worth Shakespeare Festivals. A sample of professional performance contracts includes KFC, Home Depot, Ford, IBM, EDS, and Fujitsu. He has appeared in The Rookie opposite Dennis Quaid, Serving Sarah opposite Matthew Perry, and Mohammed Ali: King of the World directed by John Sacret Young. John is represented by The Brevard Talent Group. His most recent television appearances include ABC's The Middle and ABC Lifetime's Devious Maids. He will appear in the yet-to-air television series, David Makes Man. The script was written by Oscar-winning Moonlight co-writer Tarell Alvin McCraney. Michael B. Jordan and Oprah Winfrey are Executive Producers. Phylicia Rashad stars. It will debut on OWN in 2019.

Mr. Shafer's historical women's play, Hunting the Basilisk, has been most recently performed by The Ford Foundation, National Endowment for the Humanities supported Looking For Lilith Theatre. The Association of Theatre in Higher Education selected his play, The Secret Sea for publication. He is proud of Go Ask Alice published by Live Design Magazine. Other publication includes Distance Theatre: How Digital Technology is Revolutionizing Drama for Southeastern Theatre Magazine, Un Vendor de Libros que no Sabia Leer (The Bookseller Who Could Not Read) in Bolivia's La Petra Viva, and Arts Go the Distance, published in EDUCAUSE Quarterly. His work has been cited in Discovery Channel News, The New York Times, Back Stage, Time Out Magazine, Live Design Magazine, MPR, and ABC Australia. His anthology, Theatre Provocateur: When Drama Isn't Sanitized may be found on Amazon and at Barnes & Noble. His most recent article appeared in The Dramatist, Magazine of the Dramatists Guild. It was entitled Project Spotlight: Arts Incubator and Creative Writing Lab and was Co-Authored.

John's favorite directing credits include an award winning production of A Delicate Balance, Bell Book & Candle, All in the Timing, and the award winning Alice Experiments in Wonderland. His most recent directing efforts were; The Side Show and We Carry the Dream.

John was Certified a Williamson Movement Technique Instructor by theatre legend Loyd Williamson- originator of Williamson Movement Technique. John is an Associate Professor of Theatre at the University of Central Florida. He earned his terminal degree at Rutgers University's Mason Gross School of the Arts.

Course Number	Course	Title	Mode	Date and Time	Syllabus
19345	THE2000	Theatre Survey	World Wide Web (W)		Available
No Description Available
10995	THE3082	Theatre Careers	Face to Face Instruction (P)	Tu,Th 03:00 PM - 04:15 PM	Available
No Description Available
11258	TPP2110C	Acting I - Introduction	Face to Face Instruction (P)	M,W,F 12:30 PM - 01:20 PM	Available
No Description Available
19359	TPP2185	Acting for Non-majors	Face to Face Instruction (P)	M,W,F 12:30 PM - 01:20 PM	Available
No Description Available

Course Number	Course	Title	Mode	Date and Time	Syllabus
81079	THE2000	Theatre Survey	World Wide Web (W)	12:00 AM - 12:00 AM	Available
Course Description It can be argued that most live entertainments developed from theatre. This course is an introductory overview of the arts and crafts of live theatrical venues. We will begin with, 'what is theatre and how did it begin?' What kinds of shows and styles of theatrical live entertainment can I see and how have they evolved? What kind of theatre space is this? Who are the people in my theatre program? What are their roles? Who decides if a show is good or bad? How do I assess the quality of a show? How do they pull it all together? What goes on in behind and in front of the curtain? Whose voices do American playwrights represent and what are their backgrounds? The class will examine the major elements of theatre and answer each of the previous questions.
80816	THE3383	Taboo Theatre:sex & Violence	Face to Face Instruction (P)	M,W,F 02:30 PM - 03:20 PM	Available
COURSE DESCRIPTION: Our collective shadowed subconscious has summoned darkly fascinating dramatic characters to life in our theatres time and time again. The villains; the incestuous, the murderers, the vile, and the profane abound in our dramatic literature. But, not all sex and not all violence are painted as horrific or criminal. Many are presented as the ‘normal’ or appropriate actions for the circumstances. Our heroes indulge in sex and violence as well. Drama has therefore been dead center in the debate about sex, gender, violence, and taboo as far back as our records exist. This class shall discuss the societal need for these presentations, their communal context, common human themes, and their impact on the storytelling and entertainments of today. Class time will consist of a mix of lecture, discussion, scene reading, student presentation of class projects, and video. Students may expect announced tests and unannounced Quizzes. Students are expected to have completed all assigned material in a timely fashion. Students should be prepared to participate in class discussion and activities. Reading assignments will be plentiful. MATURE THEMES will be discussed.
81400	TPP2110C	Acting I - Introduction	Face to Face Instruction (P)	M,W,F 12:30 PM - 01:20 PM	Available
COURSE DESCRIPTION: This course is designed to introduce the young actor to broader acting vocabulary. The student will work very specifically to discover and develop his/her acting technique through exercises that induce strength and flexibility in the voice and body, increase imagination and concentration and encourage trust. We will also work on “talking and listening,” focus, packing, playing actions, and releasing your emotional life, as well as sharing the space with other actors without losing your sense of self critical behavior in the imaginary world.
81401	TPP2110C	Acting I - Introduction	Face to Face Instruction (P)	M,W,F 08:30 AM - 09:20 AM	Available
COURSE DESCRIPTION: This course is designed to introduce the young actor to broader acting vocabulary. The student will work very specifically to discover and develop his/her acting technique through exercises that induce strength and flexibility in the voice and body, increase imagination and concentration and encourage trust. We will also work on “talking and listening,” focus, packing, playing actions, and releasing your emotional life, as well as sharing the space with other actors without losing your sense of self critical behavior in the imaginary world.