29 Jul OOB Final 30 Countdown – Alex Rubin
For day twenty one of our Final 30 countdown we’re excited to introduce Alex Rubin!
Alex Rubin is a New York-based writer for stage, TV, and film. Alex’s plays and songs have been produced in readings and concerts at The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, The Dramatists Guild, The Snapple Theater, Theater for the New City, Primary Stages, The Steinhardt School at NYU, Temple University, Hofstra University, 54 Below, The Davenport Theater, The Rep Group, Little Black Dress INK, and more. She is the recipient of the Francis Ford Coppola Award, a SPACE on Ryder Resident, a SoYoCo featured writer, a finalist for the 2015 Davenport Songwriting Competition, a semi-finalist for The O’Neill Summer Conference, a semi-finalist for Red Women’s Theatre Award, a semi-finalist for ONSTAGE, a selection for Lama Theater Co.’s Fest of the Best, and the 2013/14 Big Vision Empty Wallet Playwriting Fellow.
1. When did you start writing plays? If you had a moment where you realized you wanted to write, what was it?
I wrote my very first play when I was 17 years old after spending the summer at Rutgers Summer Acting Conservatory. I wrote about what I knew (being a misunderstood teenager) and received some encouraging feedback from the head of the program, Marshall Jones III. Then, I stopped writing and pursued acting.
2. How did you come to write your OOB play? Was there a particular inspiration behind its creation? How has it developed?
I was challenged by my friend and the literary manager of RAL Productions, Christopher Johnston, to write something that scared me and was totally out of my comfort zone. Post-apocalyptic violence has never been a part of my cannon! He put together a bunch of photos together for me to spark inspiration, and somehow my thoughts wandered to a bomb shelter in New Jersey. Today, it is part of a larger work called The Apocalypse Plays. I guess I did have a darker, more graphic facet to my writing after all!
3. What are 5 words that describe who you are as a playwright?
I love what I do.
4. What/who are some of the major influences on your writing?
There are so many theatre artists I admire, but most of my influences come from the literary world.
Katherine Dunn’s novel Geek Love influenced me greatly. It tells the story of a family of sideshow freaks. The way Dunn handled those complex, unique characters sparked something in me. Dunn’s work helped shape my artistic mission to write about people on the outside of society in a way that makes them accessible to everyone.
Novelist Tamora Pierce has written dozens of incredible heroines. Her strong, intelligent female characters teach young readers what it means to be a professional woman in an industry dominated by men.
Most recently, I read Crucial Conversations, a how-to book on better communication. The book explains how people interpret the words and actions of others. It has expanded my understanding of humanity and opened my eyes to the stories I tell myself about the people in my own life.
5. What’s one fact someone would never guess about you?
It took me four days to come up with an answer for question #3.
6. What are some of your favorite plays?
The Hallway Trilogy by Adam Rapp, Desire Under the Elms by Eugene O’Neill, Blasted by Sarah Kane, Waiting for Lefty by Clifford Odets, Other Desert Cities by Jon Robin Baitz, Proof by David Auburn, The Pitchfork Disney by Philip Ridley, The Pride by Alexi Kaye Campbell.
7. Any new projects you’re working on or shameless plugs?
– My west coast premiere will happen this summer at Group Rep with my play Only You. Check out www.thegrouprep.com for information.
– My original webseries Air BFFs will start production this year.
– And of course, the most shameless plug of all: You can see all the latest on my website! www.AlexRubinWrites.com
Her play Dust and Ash will be performed on August 9th at 6:30pm. Set years from now, a woman sits in a bomb shelter as the world falls apart outside, considering whether or not to open her door. Dust and Ash features the meeting of three refugees of the former United States, each going to extremes to protect what they have left. Each wanting a little more.