Janine Sobeck Knighton is an award-winning, internationally-produced playwright. Her plays have been seen at Westport Country Playhouse, Plan-b Theatre, Purple Crayon Players, the TYE Center, Academy of Children’s Theatre, Ghostlight Ensemble, Kibo Productions at Baron's Court Theatre, Eclectic Full Contact Theatre, Cellunova, Premiere the Play, Gateway Arts, Le Moyne College Summer Arts Institute, Brigham Young University, Utah Valley University, and more.
Her play, "Scaredy Kat Presents" is published with YouthPLAYs and her "The Edge of Play" was the 2025 National Winner for the Playwrights for Change national playwriting contest, sponsored by the American Alliance for Theatre and Education. She is a member of the Writing Lab at Plan-b Theatre and is honored to be a 2025 Utah Artist...
Janine Sobeck Knighton is an award-winning, internationally-produced playwright. Her plays have been seen at Westport Country Playhouse, Plan-b Theatre, Purple Crayon Players, the TYE Center, Academy of Children’s Theatre, Ghostlight Ensemble, Kibo Productions at Baron's Court Theatre, Eclectic Full Contact Theatre, Cellunova, Premiere the Play, Gateway Arts, Le Moyne College Summer Arts Institute, Brigham Young University, Utah Valley University, and more.
Her play, "Scaredy Kat Presents" is published with YouthPLAYs and her "The Edge of Play" was the 2025 National Winner for the Playwrights for Change national playwriting contest, sponsored by the American Alliance for Theatre and Education. She is a member of the Writing Lab at Plan-b Theatre and is honored to be a 2025 Utah Artist Fellow for the Performing Arts.
Beyond the stage, Janine is a 2024 Fred Rogers Writers' Neighborhood Fellow, a Second Round finisher at the 2024 Austin Film Festival, and writes for shows with PBS KIDS and Moonbug. She was the host of the "Once Upon a Weirdo" podcast, where she explored the misunderstood, forgotten, and overlooked characters in fairytales and folktales (Found on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Substack). She was the recipient of a 2-year SEED Carrot GEL Grant to write and produce two web series, AN OPEN LETTER TO ISABELLA BECK and BACKSTAGE BERNIE, both of which can be found on the JSK Stories YouTube Channel.
Janine is also a sought after dramaturg, starting her career as the Artistic Associate: Literary at Arena Stage in Washington DC. She has worked as a dramaturg for Arena Stage, The Royal Theatre Drury Lane, The Kennedy Center, Pioneer Theatre Company, Tuacahn, Brigham Young University, Utah Valley University, Salt Lake Acting Company, several independent films, and more. Other artistic adventures have included being a member of the Artistic Council for the O'Neill Theatre Center, a Reader for the Sundance Theatre Lab, and a Developer of the New Play Exchange for the National New Play Network.
Janine has a BA in Theatre Studies, an MA in Theatre History, Theory, and Criticism from Brigham Young University, and an MFA in Theatre: Dramatic Writing from the University of Idaho. She is the former Associate Professor of Playwriting, Screenwriting, and New Play Development at Utah Valley University.