Spotlight On...Robert Askins

Laura Barisonzi Photography

Name: Robert Askins

Hometown: Cypress, Texas

Education: BA Baylor University

Favorite Credits: Hand to God at EST, Mathew and the Pastor’s Wife at EST, Love Song of the Albanian Sous Chef Rite of Passage
 
Why theater?: Cause we can get away with anything. Cause the audience can’t lie. Cause you can make it with/for your friends.

Tell us about P.S. Jones and The Frozen City: PS Jones is a play about a kid whose life is shit and he goes in search of a better one. It just so happens that the he lives after the apocalypse and the world is a shattered hellscape inhabited by monsters. It is also a comedy.

What inspired you to write P.S. Jones and The Frozen City?: I like the adventure movies of my youth. Star Wars. Labyrinth. The Dark Crystal. I also like Henry Darger. I also like Candide. I also like Henry 5. I don’t think plays should just be about kitchen sinks and cocktail parties and couches. Court rooms. Dating. Rich people. Brooklyn. Politics. A theatre is an empty space. In it we can make whatever we want. WHATEVER WE WANT. Why do we make the same 3 or 4 plays over and over and over again? ARRRRRGGGGHHHHH. 

What kind of theater speaks to you? What or who inspires you as an artist?: I like aggressive theatre. I like funny theatre. I like Martin McDonagh. I like Josh Conkel and Lucy Alibar. I liked Sarah Kane. I like anger. I’m pissed off. This inspires me. I get upset at how dead and sad everything is. I think we can do better. I think we can laugh. I’m angry that we are not. Failure. Control. Climate change. A lack of options. Tired political parties. Boring celebrities. Commonplace complaints. Sea Punk. Adventure Time. Jiro Dreams of Sushi. 

If you could work with anyone you’ve yet to work with, who would it be?: Chris Ware. The man’s a genius.

What shows have you recommended to your friends?: I tell folks to come to the Youngblood Brunch. That’s the best. Also the Serials at the Flea. They’re awesome. Bushwick Starr stuff is pretty super too.

Who would play you in a movie about yourself and what would it be called?: Jonah Hill and the movie would be called “stop yelling stupid snob.”
 
What’s your biggest guilty pleasure?: Civ 5

If you weren’t working in theater, you would be…: still waiting tables at Poppa Rollo’s in Waco. Woot Woot.

What’s up next?: Reading of a musical called “Dave Koresh Superstar” at the Flea.