Friends creator to receive alumni award in 2004

Released on September 05, 2003
Contact: Donna Desrochers 781-736-4204

Marta Kauffman, '78, is no stranger to awards. Her enormously successful television show, Friends, has earned 44 award nominations, including five for outstanding comedy series - and that's just the Emmy's.

But it's not every day your college selects you for one of its top awards. And so it was "a special honor," said Kauffman, to get the nod for a 2003 Brandeis Alumni Achievement Award.

"I really, truly have such strong affection for Brandeis and I feel that none of this [success with Friends] would have happened without it,B said Kauffman in a recent telephone interview from her home. BItBs where I met David.B

David is David Crane, B79, her creative partner of 26 years and co-executive producer of Friends. The two met during rehearsals for Camino Real, and went on to perform in a number of student-run productions. BIt was hard to get roles in Theater Program shows if you were an undergraduate,B said Kauffman. They belonged to Tympanium Euphorium, a theater club still active on campus.

ThereBs a legend the two wrote Friends at Brandeis. But the idea actually came later, said Kauffman. BWe were living in New York with a group of friends, and the show was vaguely based on our experiences there,B she said.

When they weren't on stage, Kauffman and Crane were writing plays, books, and music. And it wasn't long before their work created a buzz in the theater world.

In 1978 Kauffman co-wrote with Crane the book and lyrics for the widely acclaimed musical Personals, which went Off-Broadway. Personals received an Outer Critics Circle Award and a Drama Desk Award nomination. They also wrote Waiting for the Feeling, another original musical. Both plays were showcased for two years in a row at the American College Theatre Festival in Washington, D.C. The New England Theater Conference also honored the pair and gave special credit to Brandeis "for its part in encouraging the talents of the authors and in providing them with a place, the opportunity, and support and guidance to produce both shows."

Brandeis' recognition of Kauffman's achievements comes at an auspicious time for the Philadelphia native. With her famous TV show in its 10th and final season, she's not sure what's going to happen next. But Kauffman said she's looking forward to the challenge of "reinventing" herself. "I feel I need to find another path for my work. I don't want to repeat myself."

That path may be teaching, along the lines of the rigorous theater training Kauffman received at Brandeis, but tailored for television actors.

She's also developing a project about her late mother, a woman "with a fascinating history," said Kauffman.

Whatever lies ahead for Kauffman, it's likely Brandeis will never be too far from her mind.

"When I think of the things I learned even outside the theater program - it's where I learned to be a human being.

BI have enormous respect for the school."

She credits President Jehuda Reinharz for keeping the flame alive for her alma mater. "He's extraordinary. He's so bright. He loves his job. And he loves the students.B

Brandeis under his leadership "reminds me of the Brandeis I went to."

Kauffman lives in Los Angeles with her husband, composer Michael Skloff and their three children.