John Becker

The survivors could not be more different. A liberal gay Hispanic man, deeply invested in empathy and progress, a liberal straight Black woman with a sharp intellect and a pragmatic sense of justice, a gay white Jewish woman whose wit and skepticism mask deeper fears, and a straight, right-wing white man who believes order, hierarchy, and tradition are the keys to survival. Each arrives with firm beliefs about how society should function—and each is convinced they are the most qualified to help rebuild it.
As the four negotiate food, shelter, leadership, and the basic rules of their new existence, it becomes clear that the old world hasn’t disappeared as completely as they hoped. Political ideology, cultural assumptions, and personal trauma resurface almost immediately, turning even simple decisions into battlegrounds. Attempts at cooperation devolve into power struggles and well-intentioned conversations spiral into absurd—and often hilarious—conflict.
Told as a dark comedy, A New World uses humor to explore urgent questions about identity, governance, and human nature. Is it possible to create something truly new, or are we doomed to recreate the systems that failed us before? Can people who fundamentally disagree learn to listen, compromise, and coexist when there is no one else left?

By forcing its characters to confront both their differences and their shared vulnerability, A New World ultimately asks whether connection—not ideology—might be humanity’s last and most necessary survival skill.

When Booker T. Washington, a former slave, was invited to dinner at the White House by Teddy Roosevelt, it sent shock waves across the nation. In many ways, we are still Torn.

This full-length play concerns the dramatic, little known events that inspired Charles Dickens to write A Christmas Carol. The triumphs and struggles of Dickens' life are set within the framework of A Christmas Carol. (This play was awarded an Individual Artist's Award through the Maryland State Arts Council.)

Jack Long is a philosophy teacher whose pregnant wife is shot at random by a confused teenager. He becomes convinced that society has snapped. In order to advance the cause of civilization, he decides to literally attack what he deems to be the most egregious aspects of society. He targets the NRA, an obnoxious day-time talk-show host, and a right-wing politician who killed programs Jack felt would have, in their way, advanced evolution.

A wanted man, he contacts a small-town reporter for an exclusive interview.

Awarded an Individual Artist's Grant by the Maryland State Arts Council, produced by Company 13, and received a staged reading with Amnesty International Human Rights Arts Festival.

karlmarx.com concerns Ella Kennedy, a grad student struggling to finish her dissertation on Karl Marx's suicidal daughter, who turns out to be Ella's doppelganger. She takes a job for an eccentric man named The Colonel at a D.C. think tank, whose sole client is a shady Russian group that wants her to set up a web site hawking Karl Marx merchandise.

She meets Nigel, a charming but emotionally vulnerable ornithologist who's writing an existentialist play set in Ella's father's discount store. To her horror, Nigel asks her parents to portray Ella and himself in this play. Everything slowly falls apart. Nigel turns out to be married, the Colonel is a foul-tempered slob, and the Russian group is discovered to be a front for a Slavic prostitution ring.
This play was adapted from Susan Coll's wonderful novel of the same name, which the New York Times called "wryly funny."