I Wanna Hold Your Hand

The play chronicles the bittersweet connections that are often sparked between strangers at the time of unimaginable tragedy and the fragility of that condition that can also lead to frustrating missed connections. Patterson has created a touching and often humorous journey through the struggles that befall—and mostly strengthen—the lives of those afflicted.—Arts In LA. Our lives can change in an instant. One moment you’re getting engaged and a few surreal moments later you’re sitting with strangers in an ICU waiting room praying your fiancé will survive a brain aneurysm. While waiting for Frank to wake from a coma Ada meets Julia Paul and Josh who are waiting for their mom to wake up. A tenuous friendship is born. I Wanna Hold Your Hand looks at life death and recovery and what it means to try your hand at living again.... NOMINEE Stage Raw Awards Best Playwriting. Play Details. I Wanna Hold Your Hand is a full-length play in two acts with one intermission.. Cast: 3 female 3 maleGenre: comedic dramaKeywords: stroke recovery family infidelity health care love. Character Breakdown. JULIA 30s an actress.PAUL 30s a good son.MARY JEAN 60s their mother. Recovering from a brain aneurysm.JOSH 30s also an actor.ADA 30s a book editor.FRANK 30s engaged to Ada. Recovering from a brain aneurysm and a stroke suffers from aphasia.. I Wanna Hold Your Hand contains so much hope and love and new beginnings and is absolutely comforting. Well-thought out rooted artistic writing capturing the laughable and sometimes dark complexities of human nature.— Gia On the Move. About the Author. Erik Patterson's plays include He Asked For It Sick One of the Nice Ones Handjob and I Wanna Hold Your Hand. His theater work has been produced or developed by Playwrights’ Arena the Los Angeles Theatre Centre Theatre of NOTE the 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. His plays have been nominated for 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. Along with his writing partner Jessica Scott Erik has written films for Warner Bros. Universal 20th Century Fox Disney Freeform MTV Paramount Hallmark and Syfy among others. Film and TV credits include: Abandoned (starring Emma Roberts and Michael Shannon) R.L. Stine’s The Haunting Hour Another Cinderella Story (starring Selena Gomez and Jane Lynch) Deep Blue Sea 2 Radio Rebel and many more. Erik is a graduate of Occidental College and the British American Drama Academy. He hosts a gently-guided writing sprint online called “Sunday Sprints” that attract writers seeking community and inspiration to do their best work.