David Greenspan is an actor, playwright, and director. In 1990 Joseph Papp announced Greenspan would be one of three Directors-In-Residence (with Michael Greif and George C. Wolfe) at the Public Theater.  Greenspan is also known for his solo performances which he both writes and sometimes directs. One of these, STRANGE INTERLUDE (2017), a six hour performance piece directed by Jack Cummings, won an Obie for Performance. As an actor some of the plays he is known for are: BOYS IN THE BAND (1996),  SECOND HAND SMOKE (1997), BENITA  CANOVA (1998),  THE WAX (2000), FAUST, PARTS I & II (2003), SOME MEN (2007), CORALINE (2009), CORNBURY (2009), PLAYS (by Gertrude Stein) (2010),  THE METAL CHILDREN (2010), ORLANDO (2010), THE PATSY (2011, Solo), MELANCHOLY  PLAY (2012), MARIE ANTOINETTE (2012),  THE HAUNTED  INN (2013), CARCASS (2013), ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE RIVER (2014), a program of two Stein lectures and a playlet, COMPOSITION… MASTERPIECES…IDENTITY (2015), UNKNOWN SOLDIER (2015), MINOR CHARACTER: 6 TRANSLATIONS OF CHEKOV AT THE SAME TIME (2019). Plays Greenspan has written and/or  performed in and sometimes directed include:  JACK (1987), PRINCIPIA (1987), THE HOME SHOW PIECES (1988), 2 SAMUEL 11, ETC, (1989), DEADMOTHER (1990), SHE  STOOPS TO COMEDY (2003), THE ARGUMENT (2007), OLD COMEDY (2008), THE MYOPIA (2010), JONAS (2010), GO BACK WHERE YOU ARE (2011), I’M LOOKING FOR HELEN TWELVETREES(2015), THE BRIDGE OF SAN LUIS REY (2018), THE THINGS THAT WERE THERE (2018). He has worked with The Public, Target Margin Theater, HOME, The Bushwick Starr, Two Rivers Theater, The Transport Group, Abrons Art Center Playhouse, HERE, New Worlds Theatre Project, 13 P, The Foundry Theater, Rattlestick Theater, Primary Stages, Playwrights Horizons, WPA, and The Vineyard Theatre to name a few.

David Greenspan’s early memories of theater were based on musicals he heard on LP records and the reel-to-reel tapes his father made of radio and television shows. It was a while before Greenspan learned there was a ‘book’ attached to the songs and lyrics he had learned by heart.  

One of his earliest jobs was with The Great American Melodrama consisting of vaudeville like entertainment as the audience ate popcorn. Luckily, while at school, his teachers, connected to The Royal Shakespeare Company, provided a field trip to Stratford, England exposing him to Shakespeare and great actors at the beginning of their soon-to-be-famous careers. A frequent patron of a ‘silent movie only’ house with music, studying music and dance, and earning money as a singing busboy continued to  pave the way for Greenspan’s unique vision  of performance art  grounded in great literature and philosophical thought.

David Greenspan is the recipient of six OBIE Awards: BOYS IN THE BAND (1996); SHE STOOPS TO COMEDY (2003), FAUST and SOME MEN (2007), THE ARGUMENT (2008), SUSTAINED ACHIEVEMENT (2010), STRANGE INTERLUDE (2018). He has received Fellowships from The McKnight Foundation, The John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, Lucille Lortel Foundation, New York Foundation for the Arts, The Fox Foundation, NYSCA and The Ruthie Award, The Helen Merrill Playwriting Award, LAMBDA Literary Award, and the CAL Arts/Alpert Award in the Arts.