Jonah Avraham Blander is a Montréal born storyteller, writer, and performer.

(Keep scrolling for biography)

Photo Credit: James Monterde

Thinking Tools, Primal Man

Jonah is the latest in a family of Yiddish theatre artists and skilled craftsmen. His first piece was an epic poem, to which he wrote for his Elementary school crush at the age of ten.

Writing became more of personal endeavour afterwards, with most of his time being spent in high level sports, musical practice, and Liberal Arts study at John Abbott College. 

Late into cégep, he started taking writing and theatre more seriously. Only after graduation and a travel stint in South America, did he realize his calling. With perseverance, he became a recipient of the Ethel Harris Scholarship; and was awarded the funding needed to study at Glendon College and York University. It was here where he honed his skills as an artist and where he served as a reservist in the Royal Canadian Artillery.

At university, Jonah performed in the main cast for Théàtre Glendon’s Lionheart Productions in shows: The Little Shop of Horrors, Mamma Mia!, Trifles, and Cabaret. In October of 2021, Jonah graduated with an Honours B.A. in Creative Writing.

He has worked to sharpen all styles of interest to him, including poetry, prose, non-fiction, playwriting, screenwriting, performance, devised theatre, improv comedy and oral storytelling etc.

In the short time since, he has worked as a narrator for Passengers Press, a Narrative Designer for Questo, and he’s created three short films to date.

The first is a co-creation entitled “Body of Water,” which became a finalist in the Let’s Talk About Water International Short-Film Competition (2021). This film discusses the symbiotic relationship between humanity and the earth.

The second is a performance short-film entitled “The Pretender,” (2022). Through writing and performance, this film focuses on topics of inner-conflict and interpersonal honesty.

The third is an experimental drama entitled “I Dream of Poultry Cottages,” (2023). This featurette dives into topics of inner dialogue and suicidal thought. It works with elements of fantasy, mythology, and anthropomorphism. Jonah headed this film as its writer, producer, director, and main actor.

In June 2023, Jonah left his job working full time as a bar manager and joined up with Morgan Fics and Geoff Norris out of Toronto to create a Dark Fantasy/Drama called “The Dendrill.” Jonah spent the entire Summer constructing the creature costume out of raw materials with the Director, Geoff Norris, as well as developing its personality and movements. Jonah was a Co-Producer on this project, which filmed in Chertsey in October, 2023. He handled everything from Production Management, to Transport, Crew hiring, Location scouting, Catering, as well as being part of Set Dec.

Since then, Jonah has worked as a script doctor and development producer on a few local projects, and most recently, as a Producer’s Assistant on the Canadian Indie feature, “Bury the Devil.”

Jonah is working hard to finish his first feature screenplay, a Sci-fi Drama about the future of love and loneliness among young people, as well as an anthology of poetry, stories, and dispatches.

Jonah is an ideas man. He is unafraid and open to working on new projects and meeting new people wherever life takes him. This website serves as his first public collection and means to connect with fellow peers and artists.