Jonathan Turner Smith

I recently retired from the Los Angeles Unified School District as a high school English/theatre teacher. I loved teaching and won several awards during my career. I was named the Texas Classroom Teacher Association Representative of the Year and was a Finalist for “You’re the Best Teacher” Award. I was also twice nominated for Teacher of the Year for the Los Angeles Unified School District and was selected for inclusion in Who’s Who in American High Schools.

Now, however, I have decided to continue where I left off 36 years ago and pursue my love of acting, writing, and producing.

As part of my Master of Arts Degree, I wrote a one-act play, The Losers’ Club, that has been published by Eldridge Publishing and has been produced over 100 times by 60+ junior high and high schools from across the country.  Productions of the one-act play have garnered more than 15 area and state high school theatre awards. I have also written two other award-winning one-act plays, Aftermath and The Election, both also published by Eldridge Publishing. My full-length play, Whose High School Is It Anyway? Is published by Heartland Publishers.

I adapted The Losers’ Club into a screenplay, and it has been optioned as a major motion picture with a start date in 2024. The Screenplay has generated a great deal of enthusiasm and has been honored by more than 100 Screenplay and Film Festival Competitions from around the world.