Elliot is the worst best man ever. He tries to fall out of love with the bride but falls out of an airplane instead.
In “Raindropped,” Scott Greenberg, a senior in Arts & Sciences, explores the idea of tumbling from grace, both figuratively and literally. This weekend, “Raindropped” will receive its world premiere staged reading at Washington University in St. Louis as part of the annual A.E. Hotchner New Play Festival.
In this Q&A, Greenberg discusses “Raindropped” and the playwriting process.
You’re an acting major and recently landed your first professional role. What drew you to theater?
I’ve always been a writer, but acting captured my heart when I was cast as Rocky in a high school production of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show.” I’d never acted, so starting with a raunchy musical was terrifying. But it also introduced me to a Scott I’d never met. It was otherworldly fun.
Tell us about “Raindropped.” What inspired you to write it?
“Raindropped” started as a question. Imagine you’re on an airplane with God. What do you ask?
I was so curious. I asked everyone I knew and got lots of insightful answers. But ultimately I decided on … nothing! I thought I’d be too afraid of knowing anything so huge and absolute. And so I wrote the scene: a man on an airplane with God.
Around the same time, two of my best friends graduated. They moved away, happily dating, to start a new life. And I was ecstatic for them but also torn up. Sure, we have phones and planes, but what happens when the people at our core accelerate away?
So what’s the play about?
The skinny is this: Elliot’s an exile, and trying to atone for a grave transgression. Now he’s best man at a destination wedding between two old friends, Liz and Beth.
But maybe he and Liz have history. And maybe he has a mysterious attraction to Liz’s sister. And maybe he’s running away from his dying brother, Charlie. And maybe, just maybe, the universe is doing everything in its power to help him stop messing up.
I want people to think about what they’re running from and where they’re running to. Is home your biological family? The family you make? Or is it something more spiritual? And how does where we’ve been haunt what we allow ourselves to believe?
