Your play, Genesis, is based on stories from the Old Testament. Where did the idea for this project come from?
While at Emerson College, I was looking for a project that excited me to direct and settled upon Abraham and Isaac, one of the mystery plays. After that project, and what I felt like it’s success, I had been looking to go further with that line. I was speaking to J. Scott Reynolds of Handcart Ensemble (fellow contributor to Plays and Playwrights 2002). He was looking for something new, and I proposed it to him. The project fell into place thereafter.
I would imagine that part of the inspiration came from your upbringing. Isn't your father a clergyman?
Well… that too. I think in every interview I’ve done for nytheatre.com I’ve mentioned it. My Dad would be so darn proud. Or offended. Or terribly concerned. Or all three.
How did growing up in a religious household influence you as a writer?
I didn’t actually grow up in a “religious” household, truth be told. Not in the sense I think that people envision when they pose the term “religious.” We were a normal family, a family that included divorce and adopted kids and going to play practice and arguing about stuff and trying to figure out how to have dinner together and watching a lot of TV. My Mother is a high school English teacher, which I’m sure has had no small influence on me.
Not to dodge the question, though, I’m sure my upbringing has brought me to think of the world as an essentially complex place, one that is in conversation with great mysteries, and that it is a place built on good things. That we are supposed to try to do good to each other in this world, and seek to find something better for ourselves. I’m sure that’s an essentially religious idea.
Genesis isn’t a religious work to me, it’s a social comment. I believe that religion should be a part of the public dialogue and shouldn’t be conceded to the lunatic fringe. If we allow religious conversation to be the unique field of fundamentalists, bigots and war-mongers, we’re letting them win an argument that they don’t deserve to win. With Genesis, I wasn’t trying to say that religion was bad or good… just to say “Here are some of the stories, told by a contemporary person, with contemporary actors, that are very, very old.”
Religion has lots of sinister motives and messages, but also some fundamentally beautiful ones. If we stop arguing about what’s literal, and let ourselves engage with these stories in a fresh way, maybe they can retain some relevance. If they fail to resonate… well… that’s something we should identify as well. In fact, if we take a long hard look at these things, maybe we can give ourselves, as a culture, a little Jungian analysis.
You've said that you were inspired to enter the theatre after discovering Samuel Beckett. How so?
I always loved writing and even performing. But I hadn’t truly considered Theatre as a primary interest until I discovered Beckett. Simple as that. I don’t think I actually understood what theatre had the potential to be until I read Endgame. I wanted to act because I thought that I’d like to play Clov. I’d still like to play Clov.
I have a copy of Worstward Ho in my bag right now actually. I think Beckett was a true master of language. Not of invention, but distillation. He’s a mathematician and a poet and a philosopher and a comedian and a master of the comma. He knows the difference between “I am standing in a field alone” and “I am, standing in the field, alone.”
You are one of several writers in this volume who first started out acting, then segued into playwriting. How and why did the transition happen for you?
I got my praise as a playwright than as an actor. Also, acting is harder. It’s a constant struggle to find work and a constant struggle for a sense of purpose and value. I love being on stage, but I think maybe I didn’t have the stomach for the life. Not really.
That’s the answer this week.
You work frequently with Blue Coyote Theatre Group, a company who keeps coming up in these interviews. How did you first get involved with them, and what do you like about working with them?
I met them through Sean Kenin, a friend and a great actor. He’d worked with them and handed them one of my plays. Kyle Ancowitz likes to upset his family, like me, so he got on board to direct The Great Escape. That’s three plays I’ve had produced with them and I’m happy to say I’ve been invited to be a “Repeat Offender” at Blue Coyote. I’m a Coyote now. God help us all.
What do I like about working with them? Gary, Stephen, Bob and Kyle like plays. They ENJOY theatre. And they’re organized and smart and driven. What else can someone ask for?
You are a very prolific playwright. Tell us what's in the works for you.
Well, I’m working on a few different things. Nothing official. An adaptation of The Shadow for a gent named Isaac Butler, a blogger. I have a blog as well, which keeps me entertained, but also distracted. I’ve got a play or two on the desk, waiting for a little time and attention. But hey, we’ll see… always more to do. Always more to say.
Interview with Matthew Freeman was conducted by Michael Criscuolo September 2006.