playwright
John Patterson
MISSION STATEMENT
I create theater that is a vehicle for community and connection between queer males. I create work that allows us to see one another.
We live in a society defined by toxic masculinity. As queer males, we exist at the intersection of privilege and oppression, residing both within masculinity and outside of it. This results in posturing and bravado, objectifying ourselves and others, hyper-achievement and status signaling, and a guardedness as we seek love and friendship. I have observed this to be nearly universal, yet we often feel alone in it. I seek to change that.
My work is intellectual because we use our intellects as a defense mechanism. It is physical because we build our bodies up as armors, even as we try to give them over to one another. It is steeped in pop culture because that is often the safest language we have for connection.
Over the course of a play, I peel back these layers one by one, to reach a spiritual and emotional core. My hope is that by the end, the audience will see themselves, their lovers, and their friends with more clarity, more openness, and more generosity.
works
A semifinalist of the 2017 New York New Works Theater Festival and an official selection of the 2017 New York Summerfest Theater Festival.
When Jack meets someone who speaks his language, he questions the life he was taught to want.
Verisimilitude is an abstract expressionist exploration of one man’s escape from heteronormativity.
Verisimilitude has been performed Off-Broadway at The Duke Theater and Off-Off-Broadway at The Hudson Guild Theater. It is now available for licensing. Contact John for more details.
When country singer Grant Collins is publicly outed, he struggles to reinvent himself as a gay pop star.
MASK4MASK explores what happens after coming out. How do we create (and re-create) ourselves, given the limited scripts provided for us? How do these narratives inhibit real growth and prevent true connection? And what is the psychological toll of being in a constant state of reinvention?
MASK4MASK received a developmental reading at The New School in Spring 2019 and an industry reading at The Tank in Fall 2022.
In Spring 2024, TOSOS presented a reading of MASK4MASK at The Flea.
In an effort to save their relationship, Ethan and Patrick invite all of their exes over for a dinner party. But when none of them show up, the couple must decide whether to step into their future or remain stuck in their past.
The Last Supper received a developmental reading at Ripley Grier Studios in Fall 2023.
ABOUt
John Patterson is a writer, director, and performer originally from New Jersey. All of his work extends from his love of language and his passion for queer storytelling. He is the writer of Verisimilitude, MASK4MASK, and The Last Supper, along with notebooks of lyrics and poetry. He has directed his own work, as well as the web series PIPE Dreams. As an actor, he has performed at The Duke on 42nd Street, Playwrights Downtown, and Theater for the New City. As his burlesque alter ego SWIFT, he has also performed at Club Cumming and Stonewall. John's other interests include astrology, pop music, literature, and theory. He currently resides in Hell’s Kitchen, along with his collection of Taylor Swift vinyls. John is a graduate of The New School.
