Theresa Rebeck
Theresa Rebeck is a prominent American playwright, television writer, and novelist, celebrated for her contributions to the arts through compelling storytelling and diverse themes. Born on February 19, 1958, in Kenwood, Ohio, she has an extensive educational background, including degrees from the University of Notre Dame and Brandeis University, where she earned a PhD in Victorian melodrama. Rebeck began her writing career in television and theater in the early 1990s, gaining recognition through her work on acclaimed series such as *NYPD Blue* and the Broadway play *Omnium Gatherum*, which was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in 2004.
Her significant achievements include multiple awards such as the Edgar Award, Peabody Award, and William Inge New Voices Playwriting Award. Beyond her stage successes, Rebeck has authored novels and nonfiction works, including her insights on the creative industries in *Free Fire Zone*. She is known for her ability to weave contemporary issues into her narratives, addressing themes of capitalism, feminism, and societal challenges. In addition to her prolific writing, Rebeck has also taught playwriting at prestigious institutions and remains an influential figure in American theater. She resides in Brooklyn with her family.
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Subject Terms
Theresa Rebeck
Playwright
- Born: February 19, 1958
- Place of Birth: Kenwood, Ohio
Contribution: Theresa Rebeck is an award-winning playwright, television and film writer, and novelist.
Background
Theresa Rebeck was born on February 19, 1958, in Kenwood, Ohio. She attended Ursuline Academy in Cincinnati, Ohio, a girls’ Catholic high school. She graduated from that school in 1976 and went on to receive her undergraduate degree in 1980 from the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana. For a time, Rebeck was a staff writer for the Cincinnati-based St. Anthony Messenger, a best-selling monthly Catholic magazine.
For her graduate studies, she attended Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts. From Brandeis she received her master’s degree in 1983, an MFA in playwriting in 1986, and a PhD in Victorian melodrama in 1989. Rebeck has stated that she enjoys melodrama because she is interested in people pushed into extraordinary states of mind and action.
Career
Rebeck began writing for television and the stage in 1990, only a year after receiving her PhD. In the mid-1990s she contributed to numerous television programs across multiple genres. She wrote for the television comedy series American Dreamer in 1990 and two episodes of the drama series Brooklyn Bridge in 1991 and 1992. Rebeck likewise wrote for the basic cable crime drama L.A. Law from 1992 to 1994. In her capacity as a writer for the acclaimed, long-running police drama NYPD Blue in 1995 and 1996, on which she was also a producer, she received a Mystery Writers of America Edgar Award, a Peabody Award, and a Writers Guild of America Award for Episodic Drama. While working on these shows, Rebeck was also successful as a playwright. After a series of one-act plays—including The Bar Plays (1990) and Drinking Problem (1991)—Rebeck’s play The Family of Mann (1994) won the National Theatre Conference Award.
Rebeck was propelled into more mainstream success in 2003 when she co-wrote the play Omnium Gatherum with Alexandra Gersten-Vassilaros. The play revolves around a dinner party where stand-ins for several American cultural icons discuss capitalism, terrorism, feminism, and a variety of other topics. The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, are a prevalent theme in the play. Omnium Gatherum premiered in March 2003 at the Humana Festival of New American Plays in Louisville, Kentucky, followed by an Off-Broadway run at the Variety Arts Theatre in September 2003. The play was highly acclaimed and was one of the three finalists for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2004.
Soon after, her 2005 play The Bells was awarded the William Inge New Voices Playwriting Award. Her 2007 play Mauritius received the Independent Reviewers of New England Award for best new play and the Elliot Norton Award, presented by the Boston Theater Critics Association.
Throughout the course of the 2000s, Rebeck published several works. Her nonfiction book Free Fire Zone: A Playwright’s Adventures on the Creative Battlefields of Film, TV, and Theater (2007) examines her career as a writer and the politics of the various industries she has been a part of. The book also acts as a writer’s guide for aspiring dramatists. She followed that with two novels: Three Girls and Their Brother (2009) and Twelve Rooms with a View (2011).
In 2011, Rebeck also wrote the pilot script for the television series Smash, a musical drama based on an original idea by film director Steven Spielberg. NBC picked up the show in May 2011, and Rebeck was credited as series creator. The series debuted on February 6, 2012, to positive reviews, but as the series progressed, reviews became less favorable. On May 2, 2012, Rebeck announced she would not be returning to the show due to creative differences. The series lasted two seasons and was canceled on May 10, 2013. While working on Smash, Rebeck also wrote the Broadway plays Seminar (2011) and Dead Accounts (2012).
Rebeck remained prolific throughout the remainder of the 2010s. She directed stage productions of Arthur Miller's All My Sons in 2015, her own plays The Way of the World and The Bells in 2016 and 2017, and Rob Ackerman's Dropping Gumballs on Luke Wilson in 2019. She also wrote for the television show Of Kings and Prophets in 2016 and published the romantic novel I'm Glad about You that year. Additionally, Rebeck wrote, directed, and produced the comedic movies Poor Behavior (2016), about marital fragility, and Trouble (2017), about sibling dysfunction. Her plays What We're Up Against, Downstairs, and Seared enjoyed Off-Broadway runs during this period as well, and Bernhardt/Hamlet (2018) became her fourth Broadway play. She also scripted the thriller 355.
In addition to her literary, dramatic, and cinematic output, Rebeck has also taught playwriting at Brandeis, Columbia University, and the University of Houston.
She continued to write plays into the 2020s. Among those were 2022's Mad House and 2023's I Need That. In 2022, Rebeck wrote and directed the film Glimpse, a psychological thriller about a group of people unknowingly being watched by a corporation.
Impact
Rebeck’s writing in the television, film, and theater industries have earned her several awards and made her a leading female drama writer. The success of her stage productions made her a renowned contemporary playwright.
Personal Life
Rebeck is married to Jess Lynn, a former stage manager, and together they have two children, Cooper and Cleo. They live in Park Slope, Brooklyn.
Bibliography
D’Addario, Daniel. “Rebeck Redux: Smushed by Smash, Playwright Bounces Back with Katie Holmes–Starring Play.” Observer, 27 Nov. 2012, observer.com/2012/11/rebeck-redux-smushed-by-smash-playwright-bounces-back-with-katie-holmes-starring-play/. Accessed 20 Sept. 2024.
Hart, Sarah. “A Date with Theresa Rebeck.” American Theatre 22.8 (2005): 26–28, 146. Print.
Rebeck, Theresa. “Why I Write for Television.” American Theatre 12.10 (1995): 7. Print.
"Theresa Rebeck." IMDb, 2024, www.imdb.com/name/nm0714246/. Accessed 20 Sept. 2024.
"Theresa Rebeck." Theresa Rebeck official website, 2024, www.theresarebeck.com/bio. Accessed 20 Sept. 2024.