Stephen Fife

Playwright, dramaturg, screenwriter, nonfiction writer, humorist

Stephen Fife
My writings have appeared in The Sunday New York Times, Village Voice, New Republic, New York Newsday, American Theatre, and many other publications. I am a graduate of Columbia's MFA Playwrights program, and my plays have been produced in NYC at Jewish Rep, Playhouse 91, Primary Stages, Circle Rep Lab, La Mama, Theater for the New City, the Samuel Beckett Theater, and many other venues. "Break of Day," my play about Van Gogh's early career, was given a Hollywood production that prompted one critic to write: "It leads lovers of theater to have hope that there is a future for brilliant writers." Regarding my most recent play, "New Day," New York Magazine wrote: "This play is primed for Broadway." (Number of calls from Broadway producers: zero.) I am a member of the playwrights/directors unit of the west coast wing of the Actors Studio.

Other Plays of mine include:

MICKEY'S HOME A suspenseful comedy about an older Jewish couple who may or may not have had a son, and the stranger who comes to interview them about their longtime neighborhood. (Two OffBroadway productions, NYC)

SAVAGE WORLD In postWatergate America, a young Jewish reporter tries to prove that an outspoken black athlete has been framed for murdering a Jewish couple. (Twice optioned for Broadway; still unproduced)

THIS IS NOT WHAT I ORDERED Six romantic comedies set in restaurants or bars, six chances to scale the heights of love or fall down the bottomless pit..
(Reading at Theatre J, 1997. Will be produced MayJuly 2004, at the Zephyr
Theatre, Hollywood CA.)

GOD OF VENGEANCE My adaptation of Sholem Asch's drama about a brothelkeeper who tries to make a bargain with God. (Produced by the Jewish Rep at Playhouse 91, 1992; revived by Jewish Theatre of the South, Atlanta, 1998, and by several others. Published by Cune Press in my memoir, "BEST REVENGE...")

I am also the coArtistic Director of Pacific Stages, a new LAbased theatrical venture, starting up in the Manhattan Beach area. Our mandate is to produce the lesserknown works of the great American playwrights.

I have written screenplays, teleplays, essays, poems, I'm working on a novel, and I am also the proud Dad of a young daughter. I have recently published a memoir, titled "BEST REVENGE: How the Theater Saved My Life And Has Been Killing Me Ever Since." It is currently available from Amazon or from my website, www.stephenfife.com. You can also have your local bookstore order it from the distributor Ingram.

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Early Reviews

"A humorous, cautionary tale of a struggling playwright… Fife shares keen insights into [the play] God of Vengeance and lovingly portrays the brilliant but disabled Joe Chaikin… This is an amusing look at backstage antics for theater lovers." PUBLISHER'S WEEKLY

"Most of the time, theater looks like a mutual admiration society. But Stephen Fife's new memoir Best Revenge gives voice to all the insecurities and petty feelings that go on behind the scenes in theater… In Best Revenge Fife offers a dirtythoughtsandall selfportrait in extreme closeup… Best Revenge [also] calmly explores the craft of blocking and directing stage plays." CREATIVE LOAFING (Atlanta)

Brief Description

A middleaged playwrightin conflict with his exwife, his current girlfriend, and a legion of creditorsjourneys from Hollywood to Atlanta to work with his youthful idol, legendary avantgarde director Joseph Chaikin. Thus begins a roller coaster ride of a very unusual sort, combining personal revelations with theatrical obsessions, a stepbystep disclosure of a master director's rehearsal process with a search for spiritual truth (and a decent night's sleep). Just hop aboard and get a backstage pass to the "holdingonbyyourfingernails" reality of the contemporary American theater.

Professional Comments

"If you're thinking of a career in playwriting, this book is both primer and guide." John Bishop, playwright/director, Circle Repertory Company

"… hysterically funny yet deliciously heartbreaking … I laughed 'til I wept 'til I laughed again. Should be required reading for any aspiring artist."
Mark Rydell, film director, "On Golden Pond," "The Rose"

"… a mordantly witty reminiscence from the killing fields known as the OffBroadway and Regional American theater… A sweetly funny object lesson on all that can go wrong on the yellowbrick road to theatrical glory."
David Garfield, author of "The Actors Studio: A Player's Place."

"...By turns funny, angry, naughty, honest, poetic, witty, insightful ... but always unique." Jane Marla Robbins, author of "Acting Techniques for Everyday Life"

"A funny and sweet take on today's theater." Robert Klein, Comedian
Published by Cune Press. www. Cunepress.net

For further info, please call press reps: Ron Lasko in NYC (2125051700, x. 11) or Judith Borne in LA (3103057888).

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