Was there a Julia Arbuck in your educational background? Is she an amalgam of many teachers?

I read a magazine article about New York acting teachers which made me laugh so hard I nearly started crying.  The insane things these people would get away with: torturing their students by saying the most shocking stuff, telling people to run into walls, making them say horrible things about each other.  And yes, I’ve had teachers who have been somewhat manipulative and cruel, but not to that extent.  But I guess I’ve always been fascinated by the kind of respect that cruelty inspires – whether it’s cruelty from a teacher, a parent or a political leader.  So, no, there’s no single person from my past who’s Julia.  She’s pretty much a fantasy.

I discovered a begrudging kind of respect for Julia by the end. Is this reversal of character interpretation/audience favor intended? To instill a prejudice in your audience then to flip it?

Well, to me, it’s not a reversal so much.  I mean, I never start out feeling wholly prejudiced against a character; I don’t think it’s my job to judge these people.  And certainly, Julia’s complicated – that’s established by her past love affair, her keeping pictures of children in her house, her genuine concern that her students get better (and, I think, her real, if veiled, affection for them), her passion for creating art and her fight against the onslaught of disease.  Yet, undeniably, she’s also kind of an emotional sadist.  And I think those things coexist within her throughout the play.  Of course, a lot of how she comes across is going to depend on how she’s played.

What is it about acting teachers that intrigued you enough to write an entire play about one?

I guess I could have done this with a Physics teacher or a Social Studies teacher, but I don’t know as much about either of those subjects as I do about acting.  So it was part convenience, part laziness, part my enduring love for the theatre.  Plus, in the world of acting, there’s plenty of opportunities to pry open someone’s heart and destroy whatever self-confidence or serenity might reside there.  When a person steps on a stage, he/she puts himself/herself in a horrifically vulnerable position, and that’s easy to exploit.  I think everyone knows that.  And I think we’re all secretly afraid of being similarly judged as we go about our lives.

The experience/humiliation/frustration of acting school is very particular to acting students. Are you concerned about the translation of this particular world to a greater audience, ie; people who haven’t gone to acting school?

I hope other people will get it.  I know it’s a big no-no to write plays about the theatre or to make films about filmmaking; but, to me, it’s like Julia says at the end of the play, this isn’t about acting, it’s about life.  If you write about a play about doctors, you sort of hope that the play won’t just appeal to surgeons.  Of course, there are some references in the play that may only be appreciated by people who have studied theatre – but I think the broader stuff – the desire for greatness, loss and suffering – is universal.

The students are quite cruel and critical with each other. Do you think that cruelty and criticism begets cruelty and criticism? That is, if a teacher teaches through emotional abuse and violence, that that is all that is actually being taught?

Absolutely cruelty begets more cruelty.  And typically, actors are capable of being quite cruel to one another.  The world of entertainment is ferocious, and often oddly elitist.  But, I do think there’s a little hint of everyone coming together throughout and especially at the end of the play.  Hopefully, that would come out in a production.  And I think they learn a lot more from Julia than how to be mean – for example, in a way, she’s the one key they have to entering this mad world of making great art.

Having known one of your scenes for a few years, did you build the play around a central scene or was the whole play in your head?

Okay, this is a weird crossover play for me.  A few years ago, I was writing a play called Shake and I needed an acting teacher and this Julia Arbuck character just popped up.  A year or so later, I was writing another play called The Invisible Worm and she popped up again.  An actress who did readings of both plays asked me if I couldn’t write a full-length about Julia.  So, I did, and incorporated the scenes from the plays I’d already written.  I wouldn’t be surprised if she comes back in another play.  I know, she’s dead, but never say never.

Have you ever been a teacher? Did you like it or hate it? Could you see the power teachers have over students manipulating you into a Julia Arbuck?

I’ve taught acting to college students.  I actually enjoyed it, but it was exhausting.  Teaching requires enormous patience, concentration and selflessness.  And, I think that anyone who teaches with the degree of passion Julia does must have a profound influence on her students.  I don’t agree with almost anything Julia says, by the way.  I do believe in character, I have enormous respect for actors and I think young actors need confidence far more than they need to be eviscerated in front of their peers.  If honesty wields a spiked club, there will be blood - and I get squeamish around blood.  So, no, I have no ambitions of becoming that kind of a person.  But I do feel for Julia and I empathize with her and I even admire her.

Who are your playwriting influences?

Pinter, Mamet, Shakespeare, Webster, O’Neill, Strindberg, Beckett, Brecht and Chekhov.  I also like Grand Guignol and there are certain musicalswhich I have a fondness for: The Rocky Horror Show, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, and Sweeney Todd.  I love movies, especially The Third Man and Harold and Maude.  I like Peter Grimes by Benjamin Britten.  I’m also inspired by people I know who have great reservoirs of talent: some of whom I’ve featured on the pages of this site.

Personally, I’m curious about your rewriting process. Especially in light of the upcoming reading at Theater of Note. Are you rewriting it as a result of information coming up while rehearsing the play or were you given notes by the director in preparation of the reading?