JOHN BAKER IS A NEW PLAY DRAMATURG & PRODUCER.

He has dramaturged world premiere productions Off Broadway and regionally with Steppenwolf, Lincoln Center Theater, Seattle Rep, Signature Theatre Company (NYC), Dallas Theatre Center, South Coast Rep, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, Clubbed Thumb, Ma-Yi Theater Company, Page 73 Productions, and Rattlestick Playwrights Theatre, among others.

For more than a decade, John has dramaturged new plays for The O’Neill National Playwright’s Conference by playwrights such as Christina Anderson, Neena Beber, Stephen Belber, Carla Ching, Julia Cho, Jason Grote, Steve Sater, and Zayd Dohrn. He has also developed new work at many other new play development organizations across the country, including The Lark, New Dramatists, New Harmony Project, Ojai Playwrights Conference, PlayPenn, and Seven Devils Playwrights Conference.

From 2016-2020, John was the Director of Artistic Programs at SPACE on Ryder Farm, where he grew the company’s multiple residency programs for artists, activists, and organizations on one of the oldest working organic farms on the East Coast. During his tenure, the company served hundreds of residents, including Academy Award winners, Tony Award nominees and winners, Pulitzer Prize winners, Guggenheim fellows, Obie Award winners and MacArthur “Genius” Fellows, among many others. 

Previously, John was the Artistic Associate at Williamstown Theatre Festival, where he spearheaded new work initiatives; Interim Literary Manager at Long Wharf Theatre in New Haven, CT; and Literary Manager and Interim Director of New Work at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company in Washington, DC.

He is the Co-Founder and Artistic Director of Sun Valley Playwright’s Residency, a nonprofit that offers playwrights commissions, development support, and retreats at Idaho’s historic Ernest & Mary Hemingway House through a unique partnership with The Community Library. The Playwright’s Residency has supported Obie Winner David Cale, Pulitzer Winner Martyna Majok, Pulitzer Finalist and two-time Obie Winner Rajiv Joseph, and Max Posner. 

John has taught at Rutgers University, Marymount Manhattan College, Fordham University, and NYU’s Tisch School of Drama, and he’s been a guest artist with the graduate playwriting programs at Hunter College, The University of Iowa, and University of Texas at Austin.

He holds a BA in English from Boston University, an MFA in Dramaturgy from the University of Iowa, and is a graduate of Boston Latin School.

John lives in NYC with his husband and frequent collaborator, playwright and screenwriter Samuel D. Hunter.