Roger Q Mason
Dramaturg | Untitled Musical
Roger says, “I am a multi-racial, plus-sized, gender non-conforming, queer artist of color. My birthplace is Santa Monica, California - a town whose battles with race, place, and belonging influenced my own relationships to geography, history and identity. Through my veins runs the blood of a Black and Irish father with roots in Texas and a mother from the Philippines who emigrated to the United States in the 1980s. Living in a fat body has, by turns, taught me about the dangers of silencing and the resilience of self love…
Reconciling the complexities of my individual identity with the history that's made it establish the core of my artistic practice as a writer, performer and thought leader.
As a theatre artist, my plays have been seen on Broadway (Circle in the Square Reading Series), Off/Off-Off Broadway, and regionally. I'm the recipient of the Chuck Rowland Pioneer Award, a nod on the Kilroys List, the Fire This Time Festival Alumni Spotlight and the Primary Stages Access Grant Award.
It's always a bonus when the press catches up to the good work you've been doing. And recently, I was dubbed by Theatre Mania as "a major voice in the theatrical vanguard." And the LA Times lauded the world premiere of my play LAVENDER MEN as "a daring theatrical talent on display...evoking the mingled visions of Suzan-Lori Parks, Jeremy O. Harris and Michael R. Jackson."
On the strength of my theatre work, I've ventured into film, television, and streaming media. My play LAVENDER MEN inspired the short film TAFFETA, which has now premiered in the US, UK, Eastern Europe, South America, and Asia. And I'm in post production for the film adaptation of LAVENDER MEN. Further, I was on the creative teams for Discovery+'s GLAAD Media Award nominee THE BOOK OF QUEER and Freeform/Disney's "How We Got Here."
But perhaps the most fulfilling part of my professional journey is the communities I join along the way. I'm a proud member of the Dramatists Guild of America and Ma-Yi's Writing Fellowship, as well as an alumnus of the Page 73 Writers Group, Primary Stages Writing Cohort, and Skylight Theatre's Skylab. Furthermore, I've served as a mentor with the New Visions Fellowship, Shay Fellowship, and Marsha P. Johnson Institute's Starship Fellowship.
While experiential education is our greatest teacher, I'd be remiss not to acknowledge Princeton University, Middlebury College, and Northwestern University where I trained formally to share my brand of storytelling with collaborators and audiences alike.