CIRCLE JERK and THIS AMERICAN WIFE: The Internet Theater of Fake Friends

Join the artists of FAKE FRIENDS to dive into the cacophonous world of pop culture, politics, and personal testimony that we call the internet. We’re discussing their newly published plays CIRCLE JERK and THIS AMERICAN WIFE, and the process leading to their creation.

ABOUT THE BOOK

“Michael Breslin and Patrick Foley’s combined exceptional eye and ear makes something new in the American theater—something far more robust, outrageous, and inventive than anything we’ve seen in recent years, and I for one can’t wait for their future.” —Hilton Als, Pulitzer Prize–winning writer and theater critic for The New Yorker

In March 2020, the New York theater company Fake Friends was pushed off the stage and into the land of the internet. This book marks the first publication of two of their deliciously absurd and toxically serious internet plays, Circle Jerk (the first-ever work in digital theater to be shortlisted for the Pulitzer Prize in Drama) and This American Wife. Circle Jerk tells the social media–infused tale of gay white supremacists creating an AI-influencer to dominate the global discourse, and This American Wife spins a surrealist web of queer devotion to the stars and performance strategies of reality television; both plays are unapologetically theatrical and digitally native, born out of the exigencies of the pandemic. This collection features an electrifying visual archive as well as individual essays from each company member reflecting on the practical and interpersonal processes of bringing these award-winning plays to life in our ever-more online, political, and personal world.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

FAKE FRIENDS met at the Yale School of Drama and their work has been seen at Ars Nova, the New Group, New York Theater Workshop, the Exponential Festival, and on the internet.

IN CONVERSATION WITH

Patrick Zakem (he/him) – Creative Producer at Steppenwolf Theatre Company
Patrick Zakem is a director, producer, and presenter of performance across form. He is the Creative Producer at Steppenwolf, where he stewards the theater’s productions and presentations from inception to performance. He also directs Steppenwolf’s LookOut Series, which he co-founded in 2016, presenting hundreds of performances each year from Chicago-based performing artists across discipline. Outside of Steppenwolf, he has produced work at Ars Nova, Future Tenant and bubble:PGH. As a director, his video productions of the short plays Night Safari and The Old Country by Tracy Letts earned a NYTimes Critics Pick in 2021. Patrick serves as Board Chair at Links Hall, the 47 year-old dance organization currently winding down operations.