… I didn’t want to be told that.
I started looking at all the other
kinds of writing that I was
interested in. And all the other
kinds of work I was interested
in, as like an escape hatch - so
that if things got really too
exhausting to stand up too in
one area, I could go concentrate
on a different kind of work.
Sherman: So – when was the
first time that you felt validated
as a playwright?
Rebeck: It probably was when
Alan Rickman said he
wanted to do a reading of my
play, Seminar. And so we did it.
We did a private reading with
Alan in the central part. And I
had a group of younger actors
who I worked with on other
projects and we gathered and
read it at The Lark [Theatre
Company] in one of the rooms
and it was a powerful experience
for me. And then … for him to
say he wanted to do it and take
it to Broadway was truly extra-
ordinary. I learned a lot from
that guy.
Sherman: So what were some of
the things you learned?
Rebeck: He had a very rigorous
process. And he was constantly
pushing at things to see if it
could go deeper. And then there
would be moments where he
would stop himself and go,
“That was too far.” There was
one moment [in the play]. This
one thing thing he did.
And I asked him, “Why did
you stop doing this one thing?
I loved it!” And he said, (im-
personating Rickman’s deep
resonant voice and calculated
pace) “It’s a lot of work.” You
know, I mean, it was like four
words. And he finally just was
like, “I’m not doing that.
it was too much work. for
FOUR WORDS!” And I don’t
blame him. And I liked the way
he listened. I think I learned a
lot about listening from him
and about authenticity and
constantly going back and
standing on the most authentic
choice. …And I’ve [seen] many
productions of that play. And I
always want to say to everyone,
“Slow Down. You’re not going
as deep as you can. You are not
showing as much of the
interior life of these people as
can be shown - and still keep
it aloft and funny.” You know,
I always felt - even before that
- that the best comedy left a
lot of blood on the floor. And
then [Alan] actually said that.
…We’d never talked about
that [before], but he said, “You
know, comedy needs to leave
a lot of blood on the floor,”
and so, I felt like I was well
matched - and encouraged to
keep reaching for a kind of
excellence in the theater that
was both psychologically
rigorous and curious and
accessible. He really felt like a
lot of theater gets a little too
easy. And he was never one for
that.
“I think a writer is like a musician. You have to have an ear.”
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