author | educator | theatre artist
Jere Van Patten is an author, educator, and theatre artist whose work explores the intersection of faith, identity, healing, creativity, and the beautifully unfinished nature of being human.
He is the author of Living in the And: Finding Christ in the Unfinished Places of Our Lives, a spiritual memoir about learning to hold faith and uncertainty, joy and grief, healing and hurt—and discovering that God is present in the middle of it all.
With degrees in Theatre, Education, and Theatre Directing, Jere has spent more than two decades as an educator, actor, and director. He is the founder of The Actor's Ink Studio and has worked with theatre organizations throughout the Phoenix area, including The Phoenix Theatre Company, Southwest Shakespeare Company, East Valley Children's Theatre, Hale Centre Theatre, Theatre Works, and Don Bluth Front Row Theatre.
Across the classroom, the stage, and the page, Jere uses storytelling, humor, and hard-earned experience to explore what it means to live fully when life doesn't resolve the way we expected. His work invites people to make room for questions, find meaning in the unfinished places, and recognize that joy and grief, faith and uncertainty, healing and hurt can all be true at once.
Jere lives in Mesa, Arizona, with his wife Allyson and their three MVPs: Maggie, Max, and Mayzie.
living in the and
What happens when faith doesn't fix what hurts?
Living in the And: Finding Christ in the Unfinished Places of Our Lives is a Christ-centered spiritual memoir about learning to live faithfully when life refuses to resolve neatly.
Through deeply personal stories of faith, identity, family, loss, love, pain, and unexpected grace, Jere Van Patten explores what happens when seemingly contradictory truths occupy the same space—when we are grateful and grieving, faithful and questioning, healing and hurting.
Because life rarely gives us the clean resolution we want. Sometimes faith isn't about escaping the tension or finding the perfect answer. Sometimes it's about discovering that Christ is already there—in the unfinished places, in the questions, and in the middle of it all.
Currently seeking literary representation.
current & upcoming projects
Don Bluth Front Row Theatre
The comical, charming, and romantic elements that have made She Loves Me such a beloved musical comedy since it debuted over 60 years ago are on full display in Don Bluth Front Row Theatre's extremely likable production. Warmly directed and well cast, the musical captures the sweetness and humor, as well as the many complications of falling in love with a wonderfully appealing ensemble of actors who play the comical characters surrounding the show's central romantic couple. The result is a production that entirely embraces the show's old-fashioned charm.
Jere Van Patten's direction makes good use of the in-the-round venue with staging that surrounds the audience with humorous moments while also creating an intimate atmosphere that works especially well for the show's romantic story.
Read the full review here.
