John Powers

MFA in dramatic writing, USC. John Powers has been writing and searching for story content all of his career. He first made his living in polishing existing screenplays, eventually specializing in the “break out of prison” genre. Later, a rare opportunity presented itself to him at a new cultural arts center in the South Bay, and he returned to his performing arts background. In addition to producing festivals and concerts, he was responsible for creating a theater series. He adapted notorious trials and government hearings for the stage while casting professional actors to perform alongside local elected officials and community members. It is in this pursuit that he came to dramatize the Pentagon Papers and other significant texts from recent American history. For the past five years, he has been teaching students in various lifelong learning programs using these historical adaptations and other materials, many of them recently declassified, to reveal the shocking history of our nation.