Debra Eisenstadt
About
Biography
Biography
This intense young stage actor "walked in off the street" (as playwright David Mamet tells it) to audition for the understudy's position for his blistering, complex, two-character drama of sexual harassment, "Oleanna." Eisenstadt not only got the role, but impressed Mamet and company enough to be signed for the national company of the play. When Mamet began adapting his play for film, he planned to use his wife, actor Rebecca Pidgeon, to recreate her original stage role, but her pregnancy required a replacement. So Eisenstadt left the touring company of another play, "The Sisters Rosensweig," to make an impressive feature debut as a troubled college student who becomes immersed in a personal power struggle with one of her professors.
Except for the occasional TV appearance (most notably the 1995 TNT adaptation of Wasserstein's play "The Heidi Chronicles"), Eisenstadt seemed to disappear. In 1999, she drew attention for her assured first short film, "The Guest," which screened on the festival circuit. Two years later, Eisenstadt made an impressive feature debut with "Daydream Believer," a digitally-shot tale of a small-town girl who heads to the big city with aspirations for a career as an actress. The film was screened at a number of festivals, including the 2001 Slamdance Festival, where it won the top prize as Best Dramatic Feature. Originally planning a documentary, she instead turned the idea into fiction, serving as producer, director, writer, cinematographer and editor on the project.
Filmography
Director (Feature Film)
Cast (Feature Film)
Cinematography (Feature Film)
Writer (Feature Film)
Producer (Feature Film)
Editing (Feature Film)
Life Events
1992
Became understudy for the female role in David Mamet's two-character drama, "Oleanna" at the Orpheum Theater in NYC
1994
Made feature film debut in David Mamet's film adaptation of his play, "Oleanna"; replaced Rebecca Pidgeon, Mamet's wife, who had originated the role onstage, when she became pregnant; Eisenstadt had been signed up for the national touring company of Wendy Wasserstein's play, "The Sister Rosensweig" but left the company to make the film
1999
Wrote, produced and directed the comedy short film "The Guest"; screened at the New York Women's Film Festival
2001
Produced, wrote, edited, shot and directed the feature "Daydream Believer"; screened at Slamdance Film Festival
