Hometown: Philadelphia, PA.
Education: BA/English: Temple University. MFA/Dramatic Writing: New York University
Favorite Credits: I danced for 5 years with Laurie DeVito’s She-Bops and Scats, a concert Jazz dance company and taught dance as well.
Why theater?: To the Greeks, orchestra meant “dancing place.” The theater, to me, is physical and alive.
Tell us about Suddenly, A Knock at the Door: This is a play based on stories by celebrated Israeli author and filmmaker Etgar Keret. I have translated and adapted 8 of Etgar’s stories and put them in a story of their own, one that features a writer and highlights the act of storytelling itself.
What inspired you to write Suddenly, A Knock at the Door?: I love Etgar Keret’s stories—the clarity, the imagination, the humor and the rhythm. When I read the first story in his latest collection, I thought “This would make a great 10-minute play.” It turns out that a group of them make a great full-length play, too.
What kind of theater speaks to you? What or who inspires you as an artist?: The theatre, like the best art, is an act of imagination. It can be simple on the surface (real simplicity is not easy to achieve) but has great depth underneath. Practice inspires me—artists in any discipline who show dedication, perseverance and commitment.
If you could work with anyone you’ve yet to work with, who would it be?: Bette Midler. Or it would be enough to have her come see my play.
What show have you recommended to your friends?: Fiasco Company’s Cymbeline. I saw it three times and took friends. It was beautiful: the music, the simplicity, the clarity, the humor—we really heard the play.
Who would play you in a movie about yourself and what would it be called?: Dick Van Dyke, and he would dance (like in the chimney sweep scene in Mary Poppins). Maybe I’d call it “Writer with a Dancing Problem.”
If you could go back in time and see any play or musical you missed, what would it be?: I’d like to be at the opening of My Fair Lady. My parents were there and it would be nice to sit next to them again.
What’s your biggest guilty pleasure?: Tea and cookies. What would an afternoon be without them?
If you weren’t working in theater, you would be _____?: Teaching. But I do that anyway. And dancing again.
What’s up next?: I want to restage The Ethics of Rav Hymie Goldfarb, the solo play that David L. Carson helped me develop and directed for The Midtown International Theater Festival in summer 2005. I wrote it for myself, but now there are other actors I’d like to see in the role.