Interview: Playwright Sandy Rustin and STRUCK at NJ Rep

STRUCK written by Sandy Rustin will have its World Premiere at New Jersey Repertory Company (NJ Rep) this summer. Directed by Don Stephenson, previews begin on June 30th and the show runs through July 31st. The cast includes Jenny Bacon, Adam Bradley, Susan Maris, Ben Puvalowski and Matthew Shepard.

In STRUCK, Vera Resnick was struck by a bicycle in the East Village. Now she feels a strange and out-of-character connection to the college-aged biker who hit her. Was the collision just coincidence, or did larger forces bring them together? Vera, her husband, and their hippy-chic Texan neighbor, seek truth in the face of deception in this surprising and soulful serio-comedy that explores fate, family and identity. Broadwayworld.com had the opportunity to interview Sandy Rustin about her career and the upcoming show.

Rustin is an actress, playwright, and mom. Her sketch comedy musical about parenthood, Rated P (for parenthood), opened to critical acclaim Off-Broadway and is in development for television. Her full-length comedy, The Cottage, a Reva Shiner Comedy Award Finalist, has been enjoying rave reviews regionally and is currently under option for an upcoming commercial production in New York. Her newest play, HOUSTON, is also in development. Sandy recently guest starred on Comedy Central's, Inside Amy Schumer and regularly appears at New York's The Upright Citizen's Brigade in Gravid Water. She is the Founding Co-Artistic Director of Midtown Direct Rep, an advocate the cowdenfoundation.org and makes a delicious gluten free/dairy free lasagna that her children will actually eat. Rustin is a graduate of Northwestern University. She is represented by Max Grossman at Abrams Artists and Matthew Lefferts at FWR&V.

When did you first realize you had a penchant for comedy?

When I was seven years old, my dad taught me the entire Abbott & Costello Who's on First routine. We memorized it and performed it for my Brownies troupe. I thought it was the greatest thing in the whole world. That was it for me; I was hooked.

Tell us a little about your education/training.

I grew up in Chicago, and took advantage of the Chicago improv comedy scene as a kid, studying at Piven Theatre Workshop and attending shows at Second City. After high school, I attended Northwestern University in Evanston, where I studied acting. During my junior year, I took a semester to study with the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London; that's where I had my first formal playwriting course. The second half of my senior year at Northwestern I spent doing an internship at the incredible Goodman Theatre in Chicago. By the time I graduated college, I was ready to give it a go in the big apple! I moved to NYC a week after graduation, and landed my first job (Sandy in the National Tour of Grease) a few weeks later. (That year on the road was the best grad school I could have asked for!). Since living in NYC, I've continued to learn and train with a variety of amazing teachers, including the amazing improv training and writing program at Upright Citizen's Brigade.

What performers have inspired your career?

Carol Burnett said that "Comedy = Tragedy + Time." I love math and that equation in particular seems like a true stand out. The theatre I am attracted to, the theatre I create, offers a reflection of that equation. When I was a kid, the babysitter was told I could stay up late to watch The Carol Burnett show. Thank goodness. Without Carol, perhaps I never would have learned the equation I spend my life trying to solve. I have always loved Carol Burnett, and continue to admire her and feel inspired by her today.

In addition, Nora Ephron has been, and continues to be, a huge source of inspiration for me. She said: "The tragedies of your life one day have the potential to be the comic stories the next." I LOVE THIS SENTIMENT. It's the ultimate in making lemonade outta lemons. I think of this quote every time I sit down to write.

What encouraged you to write STRUCK.

I wrote STRUCK about a month after I was struck by a bicycle on the corner of 14th Street and 1st Ave. At that time, the bike accident was the 3rd intense event in my life, in quick succession, and I found myself wondering about possible deeper, cosmic meaning. At the same time, in the news, there was a lot of talk about the recent return of Nazi looted art work. Jewish families were being reunited with long forgotten, long ago stolen, pieces of art, and I was fascinated by it. Somehow these two subjects got all mixed up in my imagination, and the result was the first draft of STRUCK.

How do you like working with NJ Rep?

Suzanne & Gabe are a gift to the theatre community. They've devoted their lives to developing new works and nurturing new playwrights. It's a total honor to have my new play produced at a theatre that has launched so many wonderful plays.

A little about the cast/creative team of STRUCK.

What a team! I am thrilled to be working with such an incredible, celebrated group of people. Don Stephenson, director, is a force to be reckoned with! I love working with Don, and am thrilled to be collaborating on another new play of mine with him. (We last worked on my play, The Cottage, at Theatre Aspen). The cast is comprised of five amazing performers, two of whom (Jenny Bacon and Matthew Shepard Smith) I know from their involvement in Midtown Direct Rep, the theatre company I co-founded with Jeremy Dobrish in South Orange, NJ five years ago. And actually, I know Jenny from a much much longer time ago, when we were both involved in a summer theatre program at Northwestern when we were students!

For the future?

It's my goal, always, to try to stay in the moment and enjoy the process of whatever I'm working on right now - so for now, I'm just thrilled to have the opportunity to work on and continue to develop STRUCK. But yes ... of course ... it's fun to look towards the future, and there's a lot right now to look forward to! Firstly, a musical I wrote (along with composer/lyricist team Dan Lipton & David Rossmer) called RATED P for PARENTHOOD (which ran Off-Broadway at The Westside Theatre and was subsequently optioned for TV development by ABC Studios and Kelly Ripa & Mark Conseulos) has just been licensed by Miracle or Two Productions, Inc. and is now available for licensing! (And we just released the cast album too!) So that's been exciting! Also, my play The Cottage, has recently been optioned for a commercial production in NYC ~ stay tuned for upcoming news! And my newest play, HOUSTON (a play with music) is in development as well, with some exciting news that will be ready to announce soon.

Anything else, absolutely anything you would like NJ audiences to know.

I'd love NJ audiences to learn more about Midtown Direct Rep - a theatre company comprised of the local Broadway professionals that make Maplewood/South Orange their home. This organization is an incubator of new, innovative works and shares NJ REP's passion for developing new writers and plays. It's exciting to me that the developmental work that MDR provided for STRUCK has resulted in NJ REP's decision to produce the play's world premiere. I love watching the efforts of the NJ theatre community intertwining and supporting each other. It's wonderful!

For more information about Sandy Rustin, visit her web site at www.sandyrustin.com.

STRUCK will be at New Jersey Repertory Company from June 30th to July 31st. The theater is located at 179 Broadway, Long Branch, NJ 07740. For tickets call 732.229.3166 or visit www.njrep.org.

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Sandy Rustin

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