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Playwright
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Lauded by critics and theater artists alike for his prolific output of exciting theater,
Goldberg is known to Vermont and NYC audiences for theater that is edgy, gritty and fast moving. Digging deeply into the pathos of human nature, complemented by sharp, yet witty and poetic dialogue - his work has been compared to that of Mamet, Shepard, Ionesco and Williams.
Born in Queens, Goldberg began his creative life as a jazz trumpet player. His first stage pieces were influenced by the 60's "happenings". His early, somewhat abstract stage pieces were called Assemblages and performed around NYC during the time he was musical director of the Nimbus Dance Theater Company.
In his forties he began to take writing in a serious way. First, volumes of rough poetry, then discovering playwriting, to bring the subconscious to the living stage.
He is co-founder of the Off Center for the Dramatic Arts in Burlington, VT.
His book "Screwed, Five Plays" by Stephen Goldberg, is published by Fomite Press.
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Musician
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Stephen began playing trumpet in his early teens, influenced by his older brother and mentor Jay, who played tenor saxophone.
Stephen's first gigs were playing dances in Forest Hills, then in the Catskills, playing shows and dance music, a wonderful experience for a teenage trumpet player. He studied at Manhattan School of Music and with trumpet teachers John Costello, Carmine Caruso,
jazz legends Donald Byrd and Art Farmer.
He played in the backup bands of Stevie Wonder, Little Richard, Chuck Berry,
The Band of Gold with Charles Neville, Brownies Revenge, The Brooklyn Bridge, then
a year at the Barbados Hilton. This was followed by a year in Montreal with a quartet with saxophonist Bryan Barley and drummer Charles Moffet. With his late wife Rachel Bissex
and their band Airborne, they toured opening for Ray Charles.
Goldberg continues to perform as a jazz musician/composer with his own groups, including the experimental No Walls, With Bass and cello player Bill Gagnon and Bariton sax player Charles Papasoff, which includes the spoken word. He performs with brilliant guitarist Stephen O'Conner and with the band Los Olvidados, performing mostly in Mexico. He also plays flugelhorn, valve trombone, baritone horn and cornet.
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