Author: Claire Diggins
Zoe Rudman (senior), a theater major from Portland, Oregon, has dedicated the larger part of her life to studying acting. As graduation nears, Rudman has begun bringing her tightly honed acting, writing and directing skills to the world’s stage with her play “Hit.”
This past fall, Rudman enrolled in a playwriting course with theater professor Laural Meade, where she wrote a manifesto of personal beliefs and eventually her own play. In Rudman’s personal manifesto, she noticed a theme. “A lot of my manifesto was about how love should never hurt. I believe in a lot of things, but I was inspired to write the story of one of my close friends who experienced an abusive relationship,” Rudman said. Throughout the course of the semester, Rudman wrote the dramatic play “Hit,” about a young couple with an abusive relationship.
“Hit” offers an intimate look into a troubled and ultimately violent relationship. It aims to capture the emotional and psychological factors that lead to domestic abuse. With her play, Rudman is able to create a dialogue around a sensitive subject and has captivated audiences in high school classrooms throughout Eagle Rock and performances at Occidental.
The play is set in a dance studio that doubles as a boxing ring at night. “I wanted a play with the idea of how violence and love can be so related, and I wanted to play with the dance of violence and the fight of love because the characters are fighting out of love,” Rudman said. ” I didn’t want it to be a villain-victim story, I wanted it to be a look into the psychology of two people who didn’t know how to love each other the right way.”
Her two-character play was chosen for the New Play Festival and was performed in February by Lauren Tannenbaum (junior) and Michael Fontanesi (first-year). Professor Meade was so moved by Rudman’s play that she chose to direct it herself. “Usually a professional director from L.A. directs the New Play Festival plays, but Laural Maede felt so strongly about the piece that she said she wanted to direct it. That was a huge honor. She is the producer of the festival and has a lot of responsibilities, so that really meant a lot,” Rudman said.
The play was, at times, tasking for Rudman, who produced at least ten different drafts of the piece. Throughout the writing process, Rudman said several people around her opened up about their experiences with domestic violence and gave her personal insights into their experiences to help her write a realistic portrayal of an abusive relationship.
Another important thing to Rudman was creating an abuser the audience didn’t completely hate. “I do not want people to sympathize with what he does in any way, but I want people to think about why he does it,” Rudman added.
When the play premiered at New Play Festival, it evoked the interest of Franklin High School Spanish teacher Mauricio Cortez. Cortez contacted Rudman and shared with her how moving the play was and how important he thought it was that his high school students see the play.
“Hit” delivers a message highly important in the long run, and for High School students, its great characters, story and simplicity, all in one, will leave them breathless, mesmerized, and it may not be easily forgotten,” he said.
On March 30, Tannenbaum and Fontanesi enacted Rudman’s play to a group of 80 high school students. More than one student told Rudman after the performance that “Hit” was the first play they had seen. Some students even asked Tannenbum and Fontanesi for autographs.
“There was [a] Q&A after the play and the students responded amazingly. One very tough-looking boy came to me and said, ‘I almost cried, because this shit happens to my mom,'” Rudman said.
The success of the play at Franklin made Rudman realize that her piece speaks well to the high school demographic. She has since contacted Eagle Rock High School’s drama director, who has read her play and invited her to present it to 120 students in June. Rudman hopes to reach out to other LAUSD high schools and perform the play in schools throughout June.
“I never want to make preachy theater, I just want to make theater about things people are afraid to talk about,” Rudman said.
Rudman has also entered the piece in several play festivals all over the country and would like to produce the play in New York when she moves there to pursue a career in theater this fall.
Rudman has worked for the Performing Arts Facilities (PAF) since her junior year, learning the technical aspects of theater. Through PAF, Rudman works backstage and does technical work for on campus events in Keck Theater and Thorne Hall.
During the spring of her junior year, Rudman was admitted into the prestigious London Dramatic Academy, a theater program that only admits two Occidental students per semester. She spent nearly four months rigorously studying theater in this intensive conservatory program. Rudman says she grew immensely from this experience and appreciated the high esteem held for theater in London.
While she has a wealth of acting and dance experience, “Hit” was Rudman’s first venture into the world of writing. Rudman plans to pursue a professional career in theater and says she would be happy producing theater in any capacity. “If I find success in acting, that’s amazing, if it’s in directing, or even teaching, that would also be amazing,” she said. While her career may be just beginning, Rudman has already experienced success with her passionate play “Hit.”
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