In my first blog I talked about the hazards of doing theater in Los Angeles, and here are 5 THINGS I LEARNED that will help anybody producing a play, web series or film to stay sane! 1) Actors may leave. This happened twice during rehearsals! So here’s what I learned: when an actor leaves, it is rarely about the show, they leave for emergencies, or for a job that pays better. You can’t fight it. You should never take it personally, and there are always other actors in this city! 2) The theater (or studio) may limit what you can do…
Author: Susan Rubin
Susan Rubin
I am primarily a playwright. My work’s been performed in Cuba, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Baltimore, and New York. The World Premiere of my newest play, “eve2” opens at LA’s Bootleg Theatre in July, 2013. It’s a surreal take on Eve and Adam, only this time, Eve gets a second bite at the apple! I write documentaries on subjects from women's reproductive rights, to the rise of the radical right wing, to violence against women. The documentaries tell brutal truths; they are balanced for me by my plays that are comedic, magical, musical and surreal. Telling stories with a different voice. I write for Ms Blog - part of Ms Magazine, founded by Gloria Steinem, and currently the longest existing feminist magazine in the US. Blogs let me talk to a large audience about difficult issues with irony and humor. Six of my Ms blogs are now a web series, “Vagina Dialogues” on Funny or Die.
Does having a woman Run the Show mean that women writers will be better represented on stage? You be the judge. Here’s a snippet from a live interview with the male Artistic Director of one of the most prestigious theatres in New York City. The interviewer asked the Artistic Director why his upcoming season had no women playwrights represented. And the Artistic Director replied, “it’s my job to give my audience the best plays I can find — those plays are mostly written by men.” Luckily for him nobody in the audience had a rotten tomato to throw! Cut to…
I am a playwright living in Los Angeles. That might sound like an oxymoron. “Playwright” means New York City. Right? To make things more complicated, I am a woman. Shouldn’t I be a man? Given the statistics on male-to-female produced playwrights I have been a very lucky “little lady.” Why? Because I’ve had residencies at two major LA theatres since the beginning of my playwriting career. The great thing about making theatre in LA (for male or female writers) is that the majority of actors in the United States spend some of their time here. Many of them like to…