Richard Greenberg
Richard Greenberg
Richard Greenbergis an American playwright and television writer known for his subversively humorous depictions of middle-class American life. He has had more than 25 plays premiere on and off-broadway in New York City and eight at the South Coast Repertory Theatre, including The Violet Hour, Everett Beekin, and Hurrah at Last...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionPlaywright
Date of Birth22 February 1958
CountryUnited States of America
aura catch wanting
I think I can be an intimidating energy in the room. I think I come in with an aura of wanting results because as the playwright, I know how it goes, and there's the thought, 'Why can't they catch up?'
came exactly stuff supposed
I came to New York, and it was fascinating and intimidating and yielding, and all the stuff it's supposed to be. But whatever the abstract essence I was seeking, I couldn't find exactly that.
audience dress experience file filing love moment peak people plays seeing start
Frankly, seeing my plays with an audience is something I do with gritted teeth; I find the experience very difficult. I love the moment when you have just the dress rehearsal, when no one's there; that's kind of the peak to me. When people start filing in, I like to file out.
formed seeing time
I was formed by 'The Forsyte Saga' marathon. There was something about seeing all those events telescoped that was unbelievably moving: that sense of time as something that can be tinkered with.
coast revise time usual
My usual route is, I do a play at South Coast Rep, then there's time between and I revise it, and then I take it to New York.
creep hard subtle tried understood
My mother wanted me to be a writer. But she was a child of the Depression and never understood that she wasn't poor. So, you know, the idea of not having a job, it would creep through. But she tried very hard to be subtle about it.
stopped
I thought if I stopped writing, ... the world would explode.
expected people time
I think I'm a writer, and it's my job. People in other professions are expected to do their jobs all the time. Why shouldn't I?
driven surface
Everything on and under the surface is driven by the tides,
life sort
You do think, if you have your druthers, 'I want to sort of be, not anonymous, but unknown'. But you don't have your druthers in life, do you?
feels standard time volition
When we watch a play under the standard circumstances, we've lost volition and time is passing. A still play feels like an existential threat.
believe closer possible
When you're writing plays, it's possible to believe you don't have any real world skill. When you're adapting, it is really all about the mechanics, so you feel closer to, I don't know, an accountant or someone who has a body of information. It's not all about temperament.
alienation extension people
People talk about alienation in the city. Diners are a place where you feel comfortable, an extension of your house.
dangerous family good less mean review trained
My friends and family have been so well trained that they know I really mean it when I say that I don't care if the review is good, because that can be as dangerous as when it's bad. It's less demoralizing, but it can be just as confusing.