rudi goblen
// THEATRE //
// SOLO WORKS //
insanity isn't
fair welling
pet
// PLAYS //
littleboy/littleman //
Fíto and Bastian, Two Nicaraguan brothers, find themselves at odds when their views and dreams collide. At the expense of their relationship, both make life-changing decisions that put the pursuit of their American Dream and their future in peril. Alongside poetry and a rhythmic drive, we are invited into a space where live music, ritual, and reality intertwine in this fable about the bond between brothers.
fito: a concert play //
After 30 years in the United States, it is the day of Fito’s naturalization ceremony. As he raises his hand for the Oath of Allegiance, he is transported to a composition of musical snapshots that make up his tapestry in this country. Some are jaded, some moot, some filled with bodies of water, some disheartening—but none ever debilitating enough to keep him from chasing his dream to be the first American citizen in his family.
Fíto is an interactive concert-play incorporating songs, stories, and spoken-word poems that meld together to paint a soundscape of what it can take to be accepted in your own home.
Originally Commissioned & Presented by The Fisher Center for the Performing Arts as part of the 2019 Live Arts Bard Biennial: Where No Wall Remains.
while we wait //
A compilation of stories being interwoven through the theme of death, the dead, the dying,
and the shared experiences of those still mourning.
But also, a celebration; an ode, a poem; a slow dance with someone you don’t like—or your mother, father, or self.
A necessary ritual consisting of a string of comedic satires, late-night commercials inside a skilled nursing facility, gospel singing, dancing, and lip-synching.
green suga bloos //
Two ten-year-old Afro-Latinas, Belli and Siddi are being raised by their fathers, Pops, and Pa; while their determined mothers, Yovi and Yuli, who have recently transitioned are stuck between our world and death.
When things go awry because of pops' habitual ways, the girls decide to rob a bank and god shows up in the form of a drag queen to…help?
ser humano //
A barebones piece that focuses on the taleteller and the tale-telling. No seats. No risers. No wings. No set. No blackouts. Just lights and sound—bodies and costumes—words and worlds.
It is composed of monologues, poems, songs, and dance performed in circles; accompanied by live music, projections, and practical lighting. Drawing from a repository of human emotions, hopes, and dreams, Ser Humano explores the intricacies and shared experiences of being a human.
rise and beings //
In the last three days of the world; as life as they know it crumbles around them, a BIPOC community looks for love, money, and an escape before it all collapses.
in sweetwater //
A queer, high school wrestler, Lago, navigates his sexuality, father’s death, and mental health; amid the opportunity of being the dominant athlete in his state.
// WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING //
– Rudi is a multi-talented artist who draws inspiration from both his cultural identity and a lifetime of dedication to pursuing–body and soul–all genres of dance, music, and visual art. As such, he is a leader in a new generation of artists who embodies a truly contemporary aesthetic. His work is a powerful and authentic representation of what it is to be a multi-disciplinary generative artist–a fresh voice that represents the hybrid cultures that make up our contemporary society.
– The arts community of South Florida is fortunate to have an artist of the skill and humility of Rudi Goblen in its midst. His dedication to the art of performance, dance, hip-hop, music sampling, and human research have always served many other artists as an endless source of inspiration. He is a true hybrid artist that can float from the stage, into a think tank, to a performance installation at a gallery, nightclub to classroom in a University or homeless shelter with great care and ease.
– To watch a play by Rudi Goblen is to plunge yourself into a world where language–its tonality, its rhythm, its music–is a character as fully dimensional as the people on stage.
– His writing combines a sharp awareness of pop and hip-hop culture with a blunt, even startling emotional honesty that’s sometimes humorous, sometimes devastating.
– His poems pierce the veil in a different way–revealing the crazy behind the normal, and the constant longing for love.
– Purely making dance out of poetry.
– A permanent fixture in Miami’s performance art scene.
– Cordially interactive and comically insane–worthy of Chaplin.
– Leaping into the unknown each time, nailing his landing with talent and hard work.