PERHAPS A GIFT VOUCHER FOR MUM?: MOTHER'S DAY
Erik Patterson recently won the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award for One of the Nice Ones, which had its world premiere at The Echo Theater Company in 2016. His plays have been produced or developed by Playwrights' Arena, the Los Angeles Theatre Center, Theatre of NOTE, Evidence Room, The Actors' Gang, the Echo Theater Company, the Lark Play Development Center, Moving Arts, Black Dahlia, Naked Angels, the Mark Taper Forum, and New Group. Nominations include the Ovation Award, the Stage Raw Award, the LA Weekly Award, and the GLAAD Media Award. His writing for TV has been recognized with the Humanitas Prize and the Writer's Guild Award, as well as two Emmy nominations. Film and TV credits include R.L. Stine's The Haunting Hour, Another Cinderella Story, and Deep Blue Sea 2. His play Handjob recently ran to sold-out houses at Echo Theater Company in Atwater Village. Erik is a graduate of Occidental College and the British American Drama Academy.
"""He Asked for It is a virally gay-centric play, very out there, and sometimes an eye-opener in its frankness and language. Despite the heated sex talk, unbelievable but apparently true practices, and porn-bespattered dialogue, its shock value is in the realization that rather than merely casual sex, most wish lists include a universal desire for identity, acceptance, and connection... Patterson's world premiere play is funny, wicked, and a bit shocking, moving quickly from comedy to drama."" -Madeleine Shaner, Back Stage West ""Patterson has accomplished quite a feat in writing a play that tackles tough issues around HIV while getting his audience to intermittently roar with laughter. Even though this play is nothing like Angels in America, I daresay that Mr. Kushner would be proud."" -Amita Parashar, The Advocate ""Frequent flashes of potent behavioral truth... Patterson's brightest gifts-authentic idiom, sharp humor, beautifully layered dialogue-are on display... This is a brave, worthy take on a difficult topic."" -David C. Nichols, Los Angeles Times ""A remarkably insightful view of urban gay life in the 21st century... A work with universal themes about loneliness in the big city and the fragility of the human heart."" -Frontiers Magazine ""Writer Erik Patterson has written an AIDS play with a difference. His take on the subject is fresh, provocative and unpredictable, his characters are engagingly human, and he finds plenty of comedy along the way."" -Neal Weaver, LA Weekly ""Gay-themed dramas charting thematic territory that feels truly new are rare, and those that pack a knockout dramatic punch are even harder to come by... Erik Patterson's gripping and intelligent new play feels like a watershed piece. This is a frank and eye-opening view of contemporary urban gay culture that's hard-hitting without being exploitative. It's as funny as it is tragic, eloquently reflecting the bittersweet contradictions of life... This is a vital new work."" -Les Spindle, IN LA Magazine"
