“Veteran theater provocateur Erik Patterson stings once again in One of the Nice Ones ... Patterson’s play is an exemplar of rudeness whose near-surreal vulgarity elicits torrents of laughter from his gobsmacked audience.” – LA Times A paraplegic woman plays outrageous power games to get something she desperately wants in this dark, twisty, sexy play that takes office politics to new extremes. WINNER , Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award: Best Playwriting WINNER , Arts in LA Sage Awards: Best Playwriting NOMINEE , LA Stage Alliance Ovation Awards: Best Playwriting NOMINEE , Stage Raw Awards: Best Playwriting Play Details One of the Nice Ones is a 90-minute play with no intermission. Cast: 2 female, 2 male Genre: dark comedy, satire, workplace comedy, modern classic, dysfunction, dramedy, edgy, new plays, subversive, provocative, radical, bold Keywords: office politics, sexual politics, me too, mean people, revenge, blackmail, culture wars, hot topics, social issues, intimacy, body image, eating disorders, diet culture, body dysmorphia, BDD, Body Identity Integrity Disorder, sexual harassment, Me Too Movement, self-image, self-esteem, patriarchy, power plays, power dynamics, disability, identity politics, ethics Character Breakdown TRACY, a woman in a wheelchair, any race. She is a shark who smells blood in the water. ROGER, her boss, a cis straight white male. The epitome of privilege. NEAL, a co-worker, a man of color. Genuinely nice, honest, good. COLLEEN/WANDA, a client, a woman of color. Done being nice. Fuck nice. “This world premiere comedy, despite pre-show warnings of crass situations and adult language, turns out to have a delicate heart reminding us we are our brothers’ keepers.” — Time Out LA 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. Praise for One of the Nice Ones "Veteran theater provocateur Erik Patterson stings once again in One of the Nice Ones ... Patterson's play is an exemplar of rudeness whose near-surreal vulgarity elicits torrents of laughter from his gobsmacked audience." —F. Kathleen Foley, LA Times "This world premiere comedy, despite pre-show warnings of crass situations and adult language, turns out to have a delicate heart reminding us we are our brothers' keepers." —Dany Margolies, Time Out LA "Fast moving entertainment of substance that will keep you laughing and cringing in spite of yourself. Office politics at its worst and we can't stop laughing." —Suzanne Birrell, Discover Hollywood "Unflinchingly profane, Patterson has brought the language that we all may use from time to time bubbling to excess with twists and turns that keep us guessing and gasping... Highly recommended for those with a skewed sense of humor and a high threshold for the language of Henry Miller or maybe Christopher Durang on acid. It's a shocking and a totally unexpected rush." —Michael Sheehan, On Stage Los Angeles "Recommended. Scabrously funny... a comedy that deserves to be experienced with its upending twists and turns left undisclosed." —Deborah Klugman, Stage Raw "This isn't 'feel good' theater, it's essential theater. It asks us to listen differently, to feel deeply, and to reconsider the world around us. It's begging for a difficult empathy for stories and characters we might rather avoid. One of the Nice Ones isn't easy or perfect but it is important." —Anthony Byrnes, KCRW "It is Patterson's mischievous mind and unsanitized wit that makes One of the Nice Ones infinitely nicer than the socially damaged characters he has invented." —Travis Holder, ArtsInLA "Erik Patterson's intense, outrageous and profane One of the Nice Ones is black comedy at its very best."