John Greiner-Ferris is a visual artist, writer, theater maker, and fine arts photographer. John refers to himself as a non-traditional playwright because he intentionally does not write plays that follow traditional structure and storylines. His intent is to present stories in the theater the way abstract painters explore and push the boundaries of a canvas; John tell stories by pushing the theater’s boundaries. He tries to raise questions, and actually leaves it to the viewer to answer them for themselves. He incorporate non-traditional elements, e.g. absurdity, farce, multimedia, magical realism, and movement because he thinks the absurdity, the craziness, and the inanity of today’s socio/political/economic situation demand them of the artist to better depict our world, and hopefully help audiences gain greater understanding of their own plight.
For years, John worked as a corporate and freelance photographer/writer. In 2007 he put down the camera and dedicated himself fully to the theater. He earned his MFA in playwriting from Boston University and founded two theater companies (Boston Public Works Theater Company and Alley Cat Theater.) Then at a residency in Vermont in January 2017 while working on a play, just as inexplicably, he again picked up the camera and picked up where he left off.
John has a BFA in photography and an MFA in playwriting. In 2014 Boston Public Works Theater Company produced his play, Turtles. In 2017, Alley Cat Theater produced Plank, garnering three nominations from the Independent Reviewers of New England (IRNE) for best new play, best set design, and best lighting design. His plays also have been produced in Provincetown, Massachusetts, New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Raleigh, North Carolina among other cities. His plays have been developed at the Inkwell and Great Plains Theater Conference. Highland Center and The Dancing Bear have both been semi-finalists at the Eugene O’Neill Playwriting Conference. John twice has been a resident at Vermont Studio Center, both times having been awarded an Artist Merit Grant. His plays have been supported by the Bob Jolly Charitable Trust, Eastern Bank, and The Boston Foundation LAB Grant for daring new theater.
Since once again focusing on fine art photography in August 2017, John’s images have been accepted around the world. In two group shows: in 2018, Serlachius Residency, Finland and in 2019, in the Bromfield Gallery, Wet, juried show, Boston; a solo show at the Thomas Crane Library has been postponed due to the current pandemic. Publications include Magazine 43, A5 Magazine, Tiny Seed Literary Journal, and The Woven Tale Press (Fall/Winter 2019); and online at L’Oeil de la Photographie, LST Online Gallery, and as a finalist in Fusion Art 4th Cityscapes Competition (June 2019) Juried Art Exhibition. He continues to work as freelance photographer/writer concentrating on reporting on the arts and sustainability issues.
