Neil Pepe
Tony Award-Nominated Director and Atlantic Theatre Company’s Artistic Director Neil Pepe join us On The Couch this week. An incredible career thus far, Pepe directed the original production of Hold on to Me Darling at the Atlantic back in 2016. He has travelled downtown to the Lortel with this new production starring the incomparable Adam Driver and has brought his incredible talent with him.
Other shows Neil has taken to Broadway include American Buffalo (Tony Nomination), Hands on a Hardbody, Speed-the-Plow and A Life in the Theatre. His off-Broadway credits are extensive and include A Play Is A Poem (CTG), Juno and the Paycock (Irish Rep), On the Shore of the Wide World, The Penitent, Marie and Rosetta, Hold on to Me Darling, Dying for It, 3 Kinds of Exile, Happy Hour and many (many) more.
Read our full interview below, where Neil tells us that one of his most successful collaborators is also the single greatest threat to his health.
What do you consider to be your best asset?
My guitar playing
What was your proudest moment?
Having my daughters
What is your favorite drink?
Apple cider (or a Vodka Martini up with olives. Very cold, very dry)
What is your favorite food?
Linguine Vongole
What is your favorite condiment?
Maple syrup
What is your current obsession?
Tammy Wynette
If you could give up one of your vices, what would it be?
Television
What is the one professional accomplishment you long for most?
To direct well
What is the one thing you waste too much money on?
Restaurants
What is the one activity you waste too much time doing?
Worrying
What do you consider to be the single greatest threat to your health?
Jez Butterworth
What’s the single best trait you inherited or learned from your parents?
Passion for artistic excellence
What’s the single worst trait you inherited or learned from your parents?
Worrying
What in the world most thrills you?
An extraordinary guitar solo
What current trend in popular culture most irritates you?
A.I
What was the most embarrassing moment you’ve ever experienced on the job?
Forgetting my lines
What is your favorite place in the world?
The top of a ski mountain
What is the most important trait you seek in a romantic partner?
Kindness
Do you prefer the company of dogs or cats?
Dogs
What would have to happen to make today the best day of your life?
That it continues to have possibility
What is your personal motto?
Negativity is poison (I actually stole that from Willie Nelson, but it has become my motto)