Being human is a confounding occupation. Plays are my way of grappling with the contradictions, absurdities, pain, and joys of being alive. If there's a through-line that connects all of my work, it's probably a mordant sense of humor. But I don't start by looking for one-liners. Each play has its own agenda. And, as strange as it sounds, I try to listen, get out of the way, and take notes as it arrives. The settings, themes, and ideas I explore are wide-reaching, as I move across different genres, often sticking to small canvases. Inspiration can come from anywhere: headlines, semi-autobiographical events, and dreams. I find that if I can surprise myself, there's a good chance I can surprise my audience. But to truly understand why I write, all you need to know is that my favorite sound in the world comes when I'm sitting in the back row listening to an audience laugh at something I've written.

Ruben Carbajal: Some Thoughts on Playwriting
(an ongoing project)

1
If all is right, the play is the statement.

2
If an essay can explain your play, you should have written an essay.

3
Plays are roadmaps to unfamiliar territory.

4
Plays are not answers; they're questions.

5
What aren’t we talking about? is a good place to start.

6
Hearing audiences laugh at something I wrote is one of my favorite sounds.

7
Even better: making audiences laugh at what they don't want to think about.

8
I ask myself: what can I give audiences that no other writer can offer?

9
More mileage out of fewer words.

10
Also: how much can I express on the smallest possible canvas?

11
Some things that have inspired my plays:
Transcripts of Air traffic controllers
The dog that mauled me as a child
September 11th
My paralyzing depression
Conversations with customer service reps
Auto accidents
Google searches
Craigslist
The need to be hopeful
A rocking chair
Recurring nightmares
Lynching postcards
The ambiguous moans from my neighbor's apartment
Covid 19
Bigfoot hunters

12
If someone envisions a play in their head as they read, it's not unproduced.

13
As long as there are humans, theater will never go away. But how much longer will we have humans?

14
I write plays for people who hate theatre. I understand the sentiment. And what they’re missing.

15
Writing a play is listening to something happen inside you. I step aside and take notes.

16
A full-length play is any play that is realized fully. It could be half a page or 600.

17
It's a slight exaggeration, but with nearly every new play, I must learn how to write all over again.

18
Some plays can't be explained. They can only be experienced.

19
Not knowing what's going on in real life is terrifying. In theatre, it's divine.

20
I try to avoid repeating myself, but I'm not always successful.
I try not to repeat myself.

21
I don't fully understand what drives me to create plays. It's likely the expression of an experience or emotion that can't get out any other way.

22
Sometimes, the playwright doesn't fully understand their own play. That's okay.

23
Some plays are written to exorcise a demon. Sometimes, they merely memorialize the demon.

24
Theatre is always dying while remaining immortal.

25
If someone can succinctly describe a play in a few capsule sentences, it’s a bad sign.

26
It's ideal if no one can agree on what your play is about.

27
When people asked Edward Albee what his play was about, he'd answer: about two hours and fifteen minutes.

28
I don't know what I'm doing. If I did, writing would be less engaging for me and my audience.

29
I’m like a nerve ending attached to a keyboard, processing my feelings by assembling words.

30
Stories written by AI are just the thing for Artificially Intelligent audiences to enjoy.

31
Human-made plays for humans.

32
Empathy and human connection are two things we desperately need. Theatre is one of the best delivery systems for both.

33
A play records the dynamics of interpersonal collisions. The characters aren’t the same people they were at the beginning of the play. Hopefully, neither is the audience.

34
Absurdism is just a deeper, truer level of realism.

35
I was raised by two penniless teenagers. Because I was loved and encouraged to run freely with my imagination, I never knew we didn’t have much.

36
Theatre is both sacred and profane. Humans communing with each other, sharing a story, is a transcendent and ancient ritual. Plays celebrate the human experience, warts and all, proudly, nakedly, for all to see.

--As of 12.10.2025