Theresa Rebeck

{{Infobox person

| name = Theresa Rebeck

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1958|02|19}}

| birth_place = Kenwood, Ohio, U.S.

| education = University of Notre Dame (BA)
Brandeis University (MA, MFA, PhD)

| occupation = {{flatlist|

Playwright
writer
novelist}}

| children = 2

| spouse = Jess Lynn

}}

Theresa Rebeck (born February 19, 1958){{cite web | url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0714246/ | title=Theresa Rebeck | Writer, Producer, Director | website=IMDb }} is an American playwright, television writer, and novelist. Her work has appeared on the Broadway and Off-Broadway stage, in film, and on television. Among her awards are the Mystery Writers of America's Edgar Award. In 2012, she received the Athena Film Festival Award for Excellence as a Playwright and Author of Films, Books, and Television.The Athena Film Festival: http://athenafilmfestival.com/ She is a 2009 recipient of the Alex Awards. Her works have influenced American playwrights by bringing a feminist edge in her old works.

Early life and education

Rebeck was born in Kenwood, Ohio, and graduated from Cincinnati's Ursuline Academy in 1976.Kiesewetter, John. [http://www.enquirer.com/editions/2001/11/18/tem_kenwood_native.html title = Kenwood native delves into criminal mind on Law & Order]. Cincinnati Enquirer. November 18, 2001.{{cite web | url = http://www.ursulineacademy.org/page.cfm?p=489 | title = The Women of the Years | publisher = Ursuline Academy | quote = Theresa Rebeck '76}} She earned her undergraduate degree at the University of Notre Dame in 1980,[http://ftt.nd.edu/ftt-events/events-archive/2008-2009-events-archive/ FTT Talks presents Theresa RebeckAuthor, playwright, and screenwriter“Writing for the Stage, Screen and Page] {{webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20120708120518/http://ftt.nd.edu/ftt-events/events-archive/2008-2009-events-archive/ |date=July 8, 2012 }}. University of Notre Dame Film, television, and Theatre Department. September 18, 2008. "ND '80". and followed that with three degrees from Brandeis University: an MA in English 1983, a MFA in Playwriting in 1986, and a PhD in Victorian era melodrama, awarded in 1989.{{cite web |url = http://www.brandeis.edu/magazine/2011/summer/class-notes/GRD1980s.html | title = Class Notes: 1980s | work = Brandeis Magazine | publisher = Brandeis University | date = Summer 2011 | quote = Theresa Rebeck, M.A.'83, M.F.A.'86, Ph.D.'89}}

Career

Past New York productions of her work include Mauritius on Broadway at the Biltmore Theatre in a Manhattan Theater Club production; The Scene, The Water's Edge, Loose Knit, The Family of Mann and Spike Heels at Second Stage Theatre; Bad Dates and The Butterfly Collection at Playwrights Horizons; and View of the Dome at New York Theatre Workshop. Omnium Gatherum (co-written, finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2003) was featured at the Humana Festival, and had a commercial run at the Variety Arts Theatre in 2003.Brantley, Ben.[http://theater.nytimes.com/mem/theater/treview.html?res=9d04eedd153df935a1575ac0a9659c8b63 "Theater Review; A Feisty Feast Of Wicked Wit"]. The New York Times. September 26, 2003. Her play The Understudy, premiered at the Williamstown Theatre Festival in the summer of 2008, with a cast including Reg Rogers, Bradley Cooper and Kristen Johnson, and ran in New York at the Roundabout Theatre from October 2009 – January 2010, featuring Julie White, Justin Kirk, and Mark-Paul Gosselaar in the cast.[https://web.archive.org/web/20100118090541/http://www.roundabouttheatre.org/pels/index2.htm Laura Pels Theatre]. Roundabout Theatre Company. The off-Broadway and regional theatre hit comedy premiered in 2015 at Artists Repertory Theatre in Portland.[http://www.artistsrep.org/learn-about-us/our-201516-season.aspx Artists Repertory Theatre]. Rebeck was attached as a book writer for the new musical Ever After, based on the Drew Barrymore movie of the same name.[http://m.playbill.com/news/article/165992-Kathleen-Marshall-Will-Direct-Broadway-Debut-of-Ever-After-Based-On-1998-Cinderella-Film "Kathleen Marshall Will Direct Broadway Debut of 'Ever After' Based On 1998 Cinderella Film"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140104034153/http://m.playbill.com/news/article/165992-Kathleen-Marshall-Will-Direct-Broadway-Debut-of-Ever-After-Based-On-1998-Cinderella-Film |date=January 4, 2014 }} playbill.com That show was expected to start pre-Broadway tryouts in San Francisco in April 2009, but was postponed. Her play, Mauritius, ran at the Pasadena Playhouse in California from March 27 through April 26, 2009.McNulty, Charles. [http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/culturemonster/2009/04/review-maruitius-at-pasadena-playhouse.html "Review: 'Mauritius' at Pasadena Playhouse"]. Los Angeles Times. April 5, 2009.

Her play Seminar played on Broadway starting in October 2011, and starred Alan Rickman.Jones, Kenneth. [http://www.playbill.com/news/article/154278-Broadways-Seminar-Starring-Alan-Rickman-Available-in-Presale-Sept-6-16-General-Sale-Starts-Sept-17 Broadway's Seminar, Starring Alan Rickman, Available in Presale Sept. 6–16; General Sale Starts Sept. 17"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110928023644/http://www.playbill.com/news/article/154278-Broadways-Seminar-Starring-Alan-Rickman-Available-in-Presale-Sept-6-16-General-Sale-Starts-Sept-17 |date=September 28, 2011 }}. Playbill.com, September 6, 2011. In May 2014 Seminar premiered in San Francisco at San Francisco Playhouse receiving outstanding reviews.{{cite news|title=San Francisco Playhouse|url=https://www.sfplayhouse.org/sfph/seminar/|access-date=June 22, 2020}} Her play Fool premiered at the Alley Theatre, Houston, Texas, in February 2014.Hetrick, Adam. [http://www.playbill.com/news/article/188063-Theresa-Rebecks-Fool-Opens-at-the-Alley-Theatre-Feb-26?tsrc=hph "Theresa Rebeck's 'Fool' Opens at the Alley Theatre Feb. 26"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140302062334/http://www.playbill.com/news/article/188063-Theresa-Rebecks-Fool-Opens-at-the-Alley-Theatre-Feb-26?tsrc=hph |date=March 2, 2014 }} playbill.com, February 26, 2014 The theme of the play Seminar was women empowerment through sexuality and the struggles of what it is to be a female in an industry dominated by men.

Her play Poor Behavior opened Off-Broadway at Primary Stages in August 2014. The play premiered at the Mark Taper Forum in 2011.Hetrick, Adam.[http://www.playbill.com/news/article/194579-Ethics-and-Infidelity-Theresa-Rebeck-Comedy-Poor-Behavior-Opens-Off-Broadway-Tonight?tsrc=nx "Ethics and Infidelity: Theresa Rebeck Comedy Poor Behavior Opens Off-Broadway Tonight"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140819084850/http://www.playbill.com/news/article/194579-Ethics-and-Infidelity-Theresa-Rebeck-Comedy-Poor-Behavior-Opens-Off-Broadway-Tonight?tsrc=nx |date=August 19, 2014 }} playbill.com, August 17, 2014

In an article in The New York Times in September 2007, she said that her plays were about "betrayal and treason and poor behavior. A lot of poor behavior."Simonson, Robert. [https://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/23/theater/23simo.html?_r=1&ref=arts&oref=slogin "An Acute Interest in Bad Behavior"]. The New York Times. September 23, 2007.

Rebeck's other publications include Free Fire Zone, a book of comedic essays about writing and show business. She has written for American Theatre magazine and has had excerpts of her plays published in the Harvard Review. Rebeck's first novel, Three Girls and Their Brother, was published in 2008 by Random House/Shaye Areheart Books.

She has received awards including the Mystery Writers of America's Edgar Award, the Writers Guild of America Award for Episodic Drama, the Hispanic Images Imagen Award, and the Peabody Award, all for her work on NYPD Blue. She has won the National Theatre Conference Award (for The Family of Mann), and was awarded the William Inge New Voices Playwriting Award in 2003 for The Bells. Mauritius was originally produced at Boston's Huntington Theatre, where it received the 2007 IRNE Award for Best New Play as well as the Elliot Norton Award. In 2010, Rebeck was honored with the PEN/Laura Pels International Foundation for Theater Award for an American playwright in mid-career.

In television, Rebeck has written for Dream On, Brooklyn Bridge, L.A. Law, American Dreamer, Maximum Bob, First Wave, and Third Watch. She has been a writer/producer for Canterbury's Law, Smith, Law & Order: Criminal Intent and NYPD Blue. Through March 2012 she was one of the executive producers for the NBC musical series Smash, which she created, and which also debuted on February 6, 2012. Her produced feature film screenplays include Harriet the Spy, Gossip, and the independent feature Sunday on the Rocks.

Academic

Rebeck is a board member of The Dramatists Guild and the Lark Play Development Center in New York City, and has taught at Brandeis University and Columbia University. From 2014 through 2023 she was a Distinguished Professor of Playwriting and the Lyndall Finley Wortham Chair in the Performing Arts in the [https://www.uh.edu/kgmca// McGovern College of the Arts] at the University of Houston.[http://www.uh.edu/news-events/stories/2014/June/0602Rebeck Acclaimed Playwright Theresa Rebeck Joining UH School of Theatre & Dance] by Mike Emery. University of Houston News & Events, June 2, 2014. Retrieved June 9, 2014.

Personal life

Rebeck is married, residing with her husband, Jess Lynn, and two children, Cooper and Cleo in Park Slope, Brooklyn. Three Girls and their Brother is dedicated to both Cooper and Cleo.

Works

=Theatre=

Her other work as a playwright includes:

class="wikitable sortable" \|+ !Year !Title !Venue !class=unsortable\|Ref.
2007	Mauritius	Biltmore Theatre, Broadway	[http://www.pasadenaplayhouse.org/2008_mainstage_season.htm#MAURITIUS] {{Webarchive\|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080321010358/http://www.pasadenaplayhouse.org/2008_mainstage_season.htm#MAURITIUS \|date=March 21, 2008 }} pasadenaplayhouse.org
2007	The Understudy	Williamstown Theatre Festival; World Premiere	{{cite web \|url=http://timeoutboston.com/arts-culture/theater/43879/review-the-understudy \|title=Review: The Understudy\|author= \|date=n.d.\|work=Time Out Boston \|access-date=January 22, 2014}}
2011	O Beautiful	University of Delaware	Healy, Patrick. [https://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/14/theater/theresa-rebecks-play-o-beautiful-at-university-of-delaware.html?pagewanted=all Staging the Politics of Abortion]. The New York Times. April 13, 2011.
2011	Poor Behavior	Mark Taper Forum; World Premiere	{{cite web\|title= Theresa Rebeck\|url= https://www.abouttheartists.com/artists/3136-theresa-rebeck\|access-date= May 15, 2024\|publisher= Abouttheartist}}
2011	What We're Up Against	Magic Theatre, San Francisco
2011	Seminar	John Golden Theatre, Broadway	{{cite web\|url= https://www.playbill.com/production/seminar-john-golden-theatre-vault-0000013759\|title= Seminar (Broadway, 2011)\|website= Playbill\|accessdate= May 15, 2024}}
2012	Dead Accounts	Music Box Theatre, Broadway	Hetrick, Adam.[http://www.playbill.com/news/article/168221-Katie-Holmes-to-Return-to-Broadway-in-Theresa-Rebecks-Dead-Accounts-This-Fall "Katie Holmes to Return to Broadway in Theresa Rebeck's 'Dead Accounts' This Fall"] {{webarchive\|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121230045944/http://www.playbill.com/news/article/168221-Katie-Holmes-to-Return-to-Broadway-in-Theresa-Rebecks-Dead-Accounts-This-Fall \|date=December 30, 2012 }} playbill.com, July 19, 2012
2016	The Nest	Denver Center Theatre Company	[https://www.denvercenter.org/news-center/rebecks-the-nest-flies-in-face-of-national-gender-trends/] Denver center.org, January 7, 2016
2016	Seared	San Francisco Playhouse; World Premiere	[http://sfplayhouse.org/sfph/2016-2017-season/seared/ "Seared \| World Premiere at San Francisco Playhouse"] sfplayhouse.org, August 19, 2016
2018	Bernhardt/Hamlet	American Airlines Theatre, Broadway	[https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-production/bernhardt-hamlet-518406 Bernhardt/Hamlet] ibdb.com
2019	Dig	Dorset Playhouse; World Premiere
2022	Mad House	Ambassadors Theatre, West End	{{cite web \|url=https://www.londonboxoffice.co.uk/news/post/mad-house-ambassadors-theatre \|title=World Première - Mad House - Stars announced!\|author= \|date=n.d.\|work=London Box Office \|access-date=March 17, 2022}}
2023	I Need That	American Airlines Theatre, Broadway	{{cite web\|url= https://www.playbill.com/production/i-need-that-broadway-american-airlines-theatre-2023\|title= I Need That\|website= Playbill\|accessdate= May 15, 2024}}

=Television=

class="wikitable sortable" \|+ !Year !Title !Director !Writer !Producer !Notes !class=unsortable\|Ref.
1990–1991	American Dreamer	{{no}}	{{yes}}	{{no}}		{{cite web\|title= Theresa Rebeck\|url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0714246/\|accessdate= May 15, 2024\|publisher= IMDB}}/
1992–1994	L.A. Law	{{no}}	{{yes}}	{{no}}	2 episodes
1991–1992	Dream On	{{no}}	{{yes}}	{{no}}	4 episodes
1991–1992	Brooklyn Bridge	{{no}}	{{yes}}	{{no}}	2 episodes
1997	Total Security	{{no}}	{{yes}}	{{no}}	Also Creator; 2 episodes
1998	Maximum Bob	{{no}}	{{yes}}	{{yes\|Executive}}	Episode: "Bay of Big's"
2000	Third Watch	{{no}}	{{yes}}	{{no}}	Episode: "Demolition Derby"
2001–2003	Law & Order: Criminal Intent	{{no}}	{{yes}}	{{yes\|Executive}}	41 episodes
2007–2008	Law & Order: Criminal Mind	{{no}}	{{yes}}	{{yes}}	4 episodes
2007	Smith	{{no}}	{{yes}}	{{yes\|Consulting}}	Episode: "Six"
2008	Canterbury's Law	{{no}}	{{yes}}	{{yes\|Executive}}	5 episodes
2012–2013	Smash	{{no}}	{{yes}}	{{yes\|Executive}}	Also Creator; 32 episodes	{{cite magazine\|url= https://ew.com/books/2017/03/31/read-smash-creators-essay-about-being-fired-from-her-own-show/\|title= Read Smash creator's essay about being fired from her own show\|magazine= Entertainment Weekly\|accessdate= May 15, 2024}}
2013	Copper	{{no}}	{{yes}}	{{no}}	Episode: "Think Gently of the Erring"
2014	The Divide	{{no}}	{{yes}}	{{no}}	Episode: "I Can't Go Back"
2015	Hand of God	{{no}}	{{yes}}	{{no}}	Episode: "A Flower That Bees Prefer"
2016	Of Kings and Prophets	{{no}}	{{yes}}	{{no}}	2 episodes
2018	The Russian Cousin	{{yes}}	{{no}}	{{no}}	Television Movie
2020	For the Record	{{yes}}	{{no}}	{{no}}	Episode: "Autumn Elegy"

=Film=

class="wikitable sortable" \|+ !Year !Title !Director !Writer !Producer !Notes !class=unsortable\|Ref.
1995	Harriet the Spy	{{no}}	{{yes}}	{{no}}
2000	Gossip	{{no}}	{{yes}}	{{no}}
2004	Catwoman	{{no}}	{{yes}}	{{no}}	Story by	{{cite web\|url= https://www.ign.com/articles/2001/02/05/catwoman-movie-still-alive-and-purring\|title= Catwoman Movie Still Alive and Purring?\|website= IGN\|date= February 5, 2001\|accessdate= May 15, 2024}}
2004	Sunday on the Rocks	{{no}}	{{yes}}	{{no}}
2010	Seducing Charlie Barker	{{no}}	{{yes}}	{{no}}	Based on her play The Scene	{{cite web\|url= https://www.villagevoice.com/seducing-charlie-barker/\|title= Seducing Charlie Barker\|website= Village Voice\|date= December 7, 2011\|accessdate= May 15, 2024}}
2016	Poor Behavior	{{yes}}	{{yes}}	{{no}}
2016	Walk	{{no}}	{{yes}}	{{no}}	Short film
2017	Trouble	{{yes}}	{{yes}}	{{yes}}
2019	Date	{{no}}	{{yes}}	{{yes}}	Short film
2022	Spike Heels	{{no}}	{{yes}}	{{no}}	Short film
2022	The 355	{{no}}	{{yes}}	{{no}}		{{cite web\|url= https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/355-movie-screenwriter-theresa-rebeck-spy-genre-gender-1235073576/\|title= How 'The 355' Rewrites Spy Tropes for Female-Fronted Action Thriller\|website= The Hollywood Reporter\|date= January 12, 2022\|accessdate= May 15, 2024}}
2022	Glimpse	{{yes}}	{{yes}}	{{no}}
2024	Eco Village	{{no}}	{{no}}	{{yes}}

Awards and nominations

class="wikitable sortable" \|+ !Year !Association !Category !Project !Result !class=unsortable\|Ref.
1996	Edgar Award	Best Television Episode	NYPD Blue (episode: "Torah! Torah! Torah!")	{{won}}
1996	rowspan=2\|Primetime Emmy Award	rowspan=2\|Outstanding Drama Series	NYPD Blue (season three)	{{nom}}	{{cite web\|url= https://www.emmys.com/awards/nominees-winners/1996/outstanding-drama-series\|title= 48th Primetime Emmy Awards\|website= Television Academy\|accessdate= May 15, 2024}}
1997	NYPD Blue (season four)	{{nom}}	{{cite web\|url= https://www.emmys.com/awards/nominees-winners/1997/outstanding-drama-series\|title= 49th Primetime Emmy Awards\|website= Television Academy\|accessdate= May 15, 2024}}
1997	Writers Guild of America	Episodic Drama	NYPD Blue (episode: "Girl Talk")	{{won}}	{{cite web\|url= https://www.sun-sentinel.com/1997/03/18/diana-thrilled-to-meet-mandela-in-south-africa/\|title= DIANA 'THRILLED' TO MEET MANDELA IN SOUTH AFRICA\|website= Sun-Sentinel\|date= March 18, 1997\|accessdate= May 15, 2024}}
2005	Razzie Award	Worst Screenplay	Catwoman	{{won}}	{{cite web\|url= https://screenrant.com/dc-lowest-rated-movie-catwoman-razzie-win-halle-berry-celebrate/#:~:text=Catwoman%20was%20made%20for%20%24100,Worst%20Screenplay%2C%20and%20Worst%20Director.\|title= DC's Lowest Rated Movie Ever Celebrated By Star 19 Years After Notorious Razzies Win\|website= ScreenRant\|date= February 27, 2024\|accessdate= May 15, 2024}}

Bibliography

=Fiction=

I'm Glad About You (2016)
Twelve Rooms with a View (2011)
Three Girls and Their Brother: A Novel by Theresa Rebeck (2009)

=Non-fiction=

"Free Fire Zone: A Playwright's Adventures on the Creative Battlefields of Film, TV, and Theater" (2007)

Volumes

{{citation

|last=Rebeck

|first=Theresa

|title=Theresa Rebeck: Complete Plays Volume I, 1989 – 1998

|publisher=Smith & Kraus

|year=1999

|edition=1st

|isbn=1-57525-172-8

|url-access=registration

|url=https://archive.org/details/theresarebeckcom0001rebe

}}

{{citation

|last=Rebeck

|first=Theresa

|title=Theresa Rebeck: Complete Plays Volume II 1999 - 2007

|publisher=Smith & Kraus

|year=2007

|edition=1st

|isbn=978-1-57525-444-9

}}

{{citation

|last=Rebeck

|first=Theresa

|title=Theresa Rebeck: Complete Plays Volume III Short Plays 1989 - 2005

|publisher=Smith & Kraus

|year=2007

|edition=1st

|isbn=978-1-57525-447-0

}}

References

External links

{{Official website|http://www.theresarebeck.com/}}
{{IMDb name|0714246}}
{{IBDB name}}
[https://web.archive.org/web/20061105002234/http://www.playbill.com/celebritybuzz/whoswho/biography/8672.html Who's Who entry] from Playbill
[https://web.archive.org/web/20050208201318/http://www.playbill.com/news/article/83844.html Channeling Theatre: A Chat with Theresa Rebeck], a January 2004 Playbill article
[http://classic.archives.nd.edu/cgi-bin/theatre.pl?keyword=Theresa+Rebeck Her Notre Dame study theatre work in the late 1970s]{{dead link|date=March 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, from the university's website
[http://www.randomhouse.com/author/results.pperl?authorid=76610 Theresa Rebeck] at Random House
[http://www.thelmagazine.com/newyork/theresa-rebeck-i-am-a-populist/Content?oid=1468608 Theresa Rebeck: "I Am a Populist"], an L Magazine article from December 11, 2009

{{Navboxes

|title = Awards for Theresa Rebeck

|list =

}}

Category:1958 births

Category:Living people

Category:21st-century American novelists

Category:20th-century American dramatists and playwrights

Category:Screenwriters from Ohio

Category:Television producers from Ohio

Category:American women television producers

Category:American television writers