John has spent the last 18 months in several workshops and developments as the dramaturg and director of Let's Kill Grandma This Christmas by Brian Gianci. He recently directed Neil LaBute's Romance at the Turtle Shell Theatre with Eddy Out and Tiny Bliss Productions, but his directing journey humbly began with Ralph Pape's Soap Opera, and Jane Willis's Men Without Dates, the latter of which John was also the lead actor.

John eventually became a successful playwright and director of his own works which includes his signature play Killer Midgets, an absurdist black comedy set in a surrealistic New York City apartment. The play won John recognition; Martin Denton of NYTheater.com stated "You don't expect a play called Killer Midgets to be good, let alone profound; but this one, written and directed by a strikingly talented fellow named John Dapolito, is both. www.johndapolito.com/reviewdenton.html

John later directed Kevin Anderson (Hoffa, Sleeping with the Enemy and Orphans) in several workshops in California and New York City for a 2013 updated version of Killer Midgets. After Killer Midgets original run, John penned, An Act of Kindness and Augie's Ring, which he has directed on four separate occasions in both Los Angeles and New York City. The Los Angeles Times voted his production its "pick of the week". "These extraordinary one acts from writer/director John Dapolito aren't steak tartare, they're the cow fresh from the abattoir served on your plate with a spike through its head…taut writing, tough direction, and brilliant…a primordial vortex so regrettably rarely found elsewhere." www.johndapolito.com/reviewgreen.html

The sixth production of Augie's Ring was most recently produced by Robert Nicotra in his one-act-trilogy of Italian Playwrights titled: MEN WITHOUT MYTH; Robert also starred in the title role under John's direction. John's last play, Baptism by Fire was produced and directed by Emmy Award Winner Michael Imperioli (Christopher of the Sopranos) at Studio Dante as the inaugural production; John was also a silent co-director of the production. The play sold out its entire run and was reviewed by Howard Kessel, "a surprisingly gripping play about a tough, quirky father and his emotionally overwrought son…the play its self is very solid, especially the startling speech Curatola (Johnny "Sach" of the Sopranos) gives just before the end." www.johndapolito.com/reviewkissel.html

John then turned his gaze to the big screen and penned a gritty and nostalgic urban drama called When Tough Guys Were King, (co-authored by Dominik Tiefenthaler), based on an actual true story spanning three generations and six decades, the material is based on the video testimony and recordings of John's estranged father, August Dapolito, a native of Jersey City who struggled with heroin addiction for 25 years, and eventually lost his life to AIDS in 1993.

His Other Notables: He is the founder of "Actors! Where Are You Going?" (www.JohnDapolito.com), a revolutionary new approach to acting using psychological profiling techniques to illicit the actors "A-Game Niche"; he also seminars these workshops in Los Angeles and New York City year round. John is a professional acting teacher as well; his "Master Class for the Working Actor" has been an advanced scene study class to some of New York's finest actors since 2003. On the Personal: John grew up guided and daily quizzed by his grandfather who was a "big film buff"; his love of acting, art, and cinema he owes to "Popa".