Jay Ruttenberg
Jay Ruttenberg, who uses the pronouns they, became involved with theater the summer before sixth grade at theater camp in Grand Lake, Colorado.
“I immediately fell in love. Because I grew up in such a small town, there weren’t very many opportunities for me to get formal training, so I continued to do summer theater camps and plays and musicals at school, but I have truly been able to hone in on my craft in college. I’m currently a senior BFA musical theater major at Emory & Henry University, and I could not be more grateful for my time there. Because of my professors in the theater department, my love for theater has only grown, and I have grown exponentially as a performer,” Jay says.
They always loved acting and singing and grew up dancing but really found a love for it while at Emory & Henry.
“I don’t think I could say that I prefer any of them over the other, but I have recently been getting more and more into dancing, and it is something I’ve wanted to start honing in on. I also found a love for carpentry during my time at Emory & Henry, and I was able to put that into use after my freshman year, and I had the opportunity to work my first professional job as a carpentry intern. I love everything about theater whether that be singing, acting, dancing, or being behind the scenes. I think all of it is so beautifully creative and incredibly important,” they say.
Jay’s influences are their best friend, Henry, Aubin Jefferson and good friend and mentor Zoë Velling.
“These people have helped me and pushed me through so much, and I could not have asked for a better group of people to be surrounded by. They all are amazing human beings and artists, and I feel so lucky to have met each and every one of them. They have taught me so much in a frankly short period of time, and I genuinely feel like a better performer, artist and person because of them. I love them all so much, and I want to thank them for everything they have done for me,” they say.
Some of Jay’s favorite roles are Mary Poppins in “Mary Poppins,” Georg Zirschnitz in “Spring Awakening” and #46 in “The Wolves.” Their favorite play is “In the Next Room” by Sarah Ruhl, and Shakespeare is their favorite playwright. Their next project is Marmee in “Little Women.” Jay recently understudied for “A Christmas Carol” (Caroler #8 & #9) at Barter Theatre in Abingdon, Virginia.
“What interests me most about performing is the fact that I have the opportunity to make someone feel something and feel something so real and profound and, to me, that’s the most beautiful part of what we do. We get to make people laugh or cry, we get to make them feel hope or sadness or pure joy and we get to do that for a living. What is cooler than that?
“Theater is such a beautiful thing to me. It is a way of expressing myself while also getting to live the lives of other people. I know it’s a cliche, but you create a family with the people you work with. Most of my closest friends are people I met through theater, and it is such a special bond. Getting to be creative with other people is such a massive part of my life and theater gives me that. It is such an accepting and loving group of people to be around, and it has helped me through some of the hardest times of my life. Theater is absolutely everything to me and while it is such hard work, it is so much fun.
“While I love straight plays, my first love is definitely musical theater. That’s how my love for the theater started, and it’s why I’m getting a degree in it. There is just something about getting to sing, dance and act all in one show that makes me so happy and gives me such a giddy feeling. I also feel like there is so much power in singing and dancing, and it’s a different kind of force that you can’t always get when you’re just acting as well as it being so versatile. There is always something for any kind of performer,” they say.
Jay plans to audition for “anything and everything” after graduation. Their parents are Deb and Dane Ruttenberg and hometown is Granby, Colorado. They are a senior at Emory & Henry University.
“While I love straight plays, my first love is definitely musical theatre. That’s how my love for the theatre started and it’s why I’m getting a degree in it! There is just something about getting to sing, dance, and act all in one show that makes me so happy and gives me such a giddy feeling. I also feel like there is so much power in singing and dancing and it’s a different kind of force that you can’t always get when you’re just acting as well as it being so versatile. There is always something for any kind of performer!
