This Is Only a (Giant, Scary, Career-Determining) Test
As we are training to become fully fledged scientists, we ourselves are the test subjects.
Spark: Fringe Wilmington: Adam Ruben, Human Target
The 2011 Fringe Wilmington Festival runs Sept. 21-25, and we’re chatting with some of the artists, starting with Adam Ruben and his one-man show.
Gather the Jews: GTJ Featured Entertainer Opens at DC Improv
I had the pleasure of attending Adam’s one-man show, Please Don’t Beat Me Up, at the Capital Fringe Festival in July. Hilarious, insightful, and even sometimes poignant, Adam’s stand-up involves reclaiming awkward childhood and teen moments by turning them into comedy. Likewise, Adam’s book, Surviving Your Stupid, Stupid Decision to Go to Grad School, is unequivocally one of the funniest books I’ve ever read.
The Gray Pride Parade
Walk through the corridors of many scientific institutions and you’ll see the results of decisions made by the hiring committee of 1962.
Maryland Theatre Guide review of Please Don’t Beat Me Up
This play is so polished, funny, and truthful that I could easily see Adam Ruben performing this off-Broadway or live on HBO! Or maybe there is a spot for him on Saturday Night Live!? Lorne Michaels, are you listening?
Washington City Paper review of Please Don’t Beat Me Up
In his one-man show Please Don’t Beat Me Up: Stories and Artifacts from Adolescence, “comedian, writer, scientist” Adam Ruben is finally getting the laughs he strived for as a child. With tales of pre-teen bed-wetting, third-grade love affairs, and emo-esque diary entries, this self-proclaimed nerd paints a pathetically detailed picture of “dorkdom.”
Washington Post review of Please Don’t Beat Me Up
The young Ruben’s verbal precociousness and detailed strategy for How to Get That Girl are really endearing. He also has the complex mathematical chart he used to calculate his odds of edging out two rivals. You don’t see that every day.
DC Theatre Scene review of Please Don’t Beat Me Up
Witty, smart (he’s a molecular biologist) and friendly, he doesn’t hide the man he has grown up to be or how that man derived from the awkward boy he was. While many one-man shows feature portrayals of multiple caricatures, Ruben is unique in his introspective, almost cathartic focus. It feels honest as he ridicules his kid self. Ruben tries to connect to the audience as if he’s holding a one-on-one conversation with them, a one-way swap of old, hilarious stories. And the approach works.
DCist: Capital Fringe Review: Please Don’t Beat Me Up
It’s easy to laugh with and empathize with Ruben. If you ever feared the four-person relay at field day, made an earnest list of what you need to assemble a robot (a VCR, one flashlight, four screws), extensively deliberated over a crush and read into fate assigned you the roles of hydrogen and oxygen atoms, respectively in science class, you’ll find laughs here. Most people will be able to see parts of themselves, recalling embarrassing moments of childhood through his eyes.
Washington Post Going Out Guide: Get to Know a Capital Fringe Show
A preview of my one-man show in the 2011 Capital Fringe Festival.
Gather the Jews: Featured DC Entertainer: Adam Ruben
Adam Ruben – molecular biologist, stand up comedian, and author of Surviving Your Stupid, Stupid Decision To Go To Grad School – speaks with Gather the Jews about getting into comedy and his upcoming one-man show at the Capital Fringe Festival.
Including “exclusive video content”:
What Happens in the Lab Stays in the Lab
Our labs are science-based mini-societies — so why do we run them in the same arbitrary and bureaucratic way as the rest of the world?
So What’s the Allure of Princeton University Reunions?
Patch.com
Adam Ruben ’01 explains what draws him back to campus year after year.