Handjob
An encounter between a white, gay playwright and his black, straight "shirtless maid" goes disastrously wrong when signals are misinterpreted, lines crossed. Handjob explores the aftermath of their meeting, as it reveals deep layers of discrimination, discord, and discontent among people who should be allies. How can you know when you've gone too far if you completely ignore other people's boundaries?
An encounter between a white, gay playwright and his black, straight "shirtless maid" goes disastrously wrong when signals are misinterpreted, lines crossed. Handjob explores the aftermath of their meeting, as it reveals deep layers of discrimination, discord, and discontent among people who should be allies. How can you know when you've gone too far if you completely ignore other people's boundaries?
An encounter between a white, gay playwright and his black, straight "shirtless maid" goes disastrously wrong when signals are misinterpreted, lines crossed. Handjob explores the aftermath of their meeting, as it reveals deep layers of discrimination, discord, and discontent among people who should be allies. How can you know when you've gone too far if you completely ignore other people's boundaries?
“One of the most brilliant pieces of theatre I have ever seen… Tight and eloquent script. This is a play dedicated to drawing the audience in, making us laugh a bit uncomfortably and putting us on notice that there are issues to be discussed. It's about how liberal we, the audience, may think we are. It's about the discomfort of being faced with our own prejudices, no matter how hip and happening we may be.”
— On Stage Los Angeles
NOMINEE, LA Stage Alliance Ovation Awards: Best Playwriting
Handjob is a 90-minute play with no intermission.
Cast: 2 female, 4 male
Genre: dark comedy, dramedy, edgy, modern classic, dysfunction, new plays, subversive, provocative, radical, bold
Keywords: LGBTQ, Race, Representation, Consent, Sex Work, Meta Theater, Philosophical Debate, Hot Topics, Culture Wars, Social Issues, Nudity, Intimacy Coordinator
Character Breakdown
EDDIE, 20s, black, handsome, fit. Straight.
KEITH, 50s, white, a writer, disheveled. Gay.
BRADLEY, 20s, white, beautiful, fit, confident. Fluid.
KEVIN, 40s, white, a writer, disheveled. Gay.
SUSAN, 30s, a woman of color, passionate. Queer.
TREVOR, played by actor who plays Kevin.
JEFFREY, played by actor who plays Bradley.
KATE, 20s, a woman of color. Queer.
"Handjobis one of those rare plays that manages to surprise and startle as much as entertain – and this is a profoundly good thing. … I won’t reveal the twists and turns...except to say that they’re ingeniously done, and unexpected. The audience is lulled into thinking it’s seeing one kind of play for the better part of an hour, only to be turned around and led on a merry chase for the rest of the production’s 90 or so minutes… I used the word 'ingenious' earlier, and I’ll repeat it here: Mr. Patterson has ingeniously structured the play, and written it with delight: it’s laugh-out-loud funny until it isn’t, and when it stops being funny, it confronts us with ideas we really should think about seriously… Imaginative and funny and outrageous and startling.”
—The Los Angeles Post
