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Erik Gernand’s play The Totality of All Things won a Jeff Award for Best New Work for its 2024 production at Redtwist Theatre in Chicago where he is the playwright in residence. His plays have been produced around the country, including at The Barrow Group (New York City), Actors Theatre of Louisville, The ROAD Theatre Company (Los Angeles), City Theatre (Miami), and Premiere Stages (Union, NJ), and have been published by Dramatic Publishing and Smith & Kraus.
In rehearsal at Redtwist Theatre in Chicago.
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THE TOTALITY OF ALL THINGS
A full-length play by Erik Gernand
SYNOPSIS: Judith Benson is “teacher-famous” for the award-winning student newspaper she proudly oversees at her small Indiana high school, a program that extols truth and integrity in journalism. But when an anti-gay hate crime occurs one fall, everything Judith believes about inspiring the next generation of reporters, and the definition of truth itself, is called into question.
***Winner of a 2025 Jeff Award for Best New Work
Full script available at New Play Exchange.
***Winner of a 2025 Jeff Award for Best New Work
Full script available at New Play Exchange.
YEAR ONE
A full-length play by Erik Gernand
SYNOPSIS: Anna struggles to keep her family afloat during the rise of political extremism all around her, and is forced to choose between family and country.
Full script available at New Play Exchange.
Full script available at New Play Exchange.
"A compelling dive into extremism's creep... It leaves audiences with the difficult task of recognizing the seeds of evil concealed in otherwise perfectly pleasant people. This point of view ensures that 'Year One' is not a history play exploring specific events of 1933, but rather a valuable meditation on the unseen or—worse— willfully overlooked origins of violent extremism."
--The Star Ledger
"A gripping, thought-provoking drama... finely crafted play by Erik Gernand."
--Broadway World
“'Year One,' in fact, evokes some of the worst aspects of modern life so effectively that it’s painful to watch. Though not devoid of humor, it’s a heartbreaker. It’s one of those rare plays that not only tackles big, important, difficult issues, but does so in a consistently absorbing way."
--NJ Arts
THE BEAUTIFUL DARK
A full-length play by Erik Gernand
SYNOPSIS: A woman must confront her darkest fears when she suspects that her teenage son may be planning an act of violence.
Published by: Dramatic Publishing.
Published by: Dramatic Publishing.
"Affecting, thought-provoking...Mr. Gernand has created complicated, recognizable people who are, like most of us, victims of their own flaws."
--The New York Times
"An untenable situation, spiraling out of control. This is what it looks like from the inside, when a family is coming apart at the seams."
--Chicago Tribune
"Gernand quickly stakes out his own turf, plunging his characters into ethical turmoil...Gernand ingeniously navigates a world of increasingly murky morality."
--Chicago Reader
A PLACE IN THE WOODS
A full-length play by Erik Gernand
SYNOPSIS: A gay man living in Chicago is forced for return to the small Indiana town he has all but forgotten when his mother falls ill.
Full script available at New Play Exchange.
Full script available at New Play Exchange.
“A topical family drama that reaches its true heights in its comic moments… Gernand’s script is an endearing mix of desolation and humor.”
--NewCity
THE KNEELING POSITION
A full-length play by Erik Gernand
SYNOPSIS: A man confronts his high school bully twenty years later upon learning that the other man is running for Congress.
- Finalist: National Playwrights Conference at The O’Neill Center, 2015
- Semi-Finalist: PlayPenn, 2015
- Play Lab Selection: Last Frontier Theatre Conference, Valdez, AK, 2015
- Reading: Luna Stage, West Orange, NJ, 2015
THE KNEELING POSITION in a staged reading at Luna Stage, West Orange, NJ, 2015
SHORT PLAYS
"A thoughtful work that feels timely without being exploitive...Erik Gernand’s dialogue is natural and the characters are realistic."
--DC Theatre Scene
My short plays have been produced around the country, including City Theatre in Miami, Actors Theatre of Louisville, American Theater Company in Chicago, Source Festival in Washington DC, and Stage Q in Madison, WI, as well as been nominated four times for the Heideman Award given through Actors Theatre of Louisville.
SKETCH COMEDY
“#1 Don’t Miss…Full of innovative satire and spotted with tender moments...It’s believably twisted writing-meets-grounded comedic acting.”
--Timeout Chicago (about Mantabulous!)
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I've also co-written sketch comedy revues that have been produced at Donny's Skybox Theatre at Second City in Chicago including Do These Pants Make Me Look Fake?, North Polar Disorder, and Mantabulous!.