By Ruth Ann Ruiz
The Post Newspaper Features Editor
Playwright, John Patrick Bray was touring Texas and made a point of attending College of the Mainland’s (COM’s) production of his play “Donkey.” The performance was lively, and the humor of his writing was acknowledged by laughter from the audience.
Bray hails from the Hudson River Valley of New York and came south to Louisiana and completed a PHD in Theater Studies at LSU. He currently holds a position at the University of Georgia, where he teaches in the theater arts and film department and writes his own plays.
Writing plays was a serendipitous experience for Bray. He shared that he and his twin brother intended to go into film making.
“During our first year at college, my brother and I co-wrote what we thought was a screenplay,” shared Bray. Their movie script was more of a play, so they rewrote it into a play, and according to Bray, it was produced at their college.
“From then I got the writing bug,” Bray said.
The actors had not been told the playwright was in the audience prior to the performance. Once they learned, they were eager to take selfies and chat a bit with him after their show.
Rocky Banks directed COM’s production of “Donkey.”
