INTERVIEW: Lois Robbins on life, love, sex
Photo: Lois Robbins wrote and stars in L.O.V.E.R., now playing in New York City. Photo courtesy of Joan Marcus / Provided by The PR Canvas with permission.
Lois Robbins has something to say, and audience members at the Pershing Square Signature Center are benefitting from her testimonial.
Robbins is the writer and star of the new play L.O.V.E.R., a deeply personal show about life, love and sex. Performances run through Nov. 2 at the Signature’s Alice Griffin Jewel Box Theatre in New York City.
The comedy, which premiered in 2018 in Los Angeles, finds Robbins speaking to the audience about her life, and in particular some of the headlines from her relationships over the years. She covers her first kiss and how she found herself many years later.
Recently Hollywood Soapbox exchanged emails with Robbins, who has starred in the films The Aspern Papers, Shepherd and One Nation Under God. She is also known to audiences for her recurring role on TV’s Younger, One Life to Live, Loving, Ryan’s Hope and All My Children. Questions and answers have been slightly edited for style.
What inspired you to write and perform in L.O.V.E.R.?
I had started writing a book. After a chance reading with a psychic, I was told that it wasn’t a book; it was a play, and I needed to write it. I hadn’t mentioned anything about writing at all, so I was awed by the message. I started writing the play outline in the middle of the night after that reading. The first draft took four weeks.
How did you decide which details to include and which details to keep private?
It was a very organic process. Things came to me, and I wrote them. Throughout the different incarnations of the play I have shifted, removed and added material as the play evolved.
What’s it like to work with director Karen Carpenter?
Let’s just say that it will be hard to work with anyone else. She’s smart, thoughtful, creative, gentle … a true visionary. It has been a total and utterly joyful experience.
What do you believe the audience takes away from the performance? What do you hope they learn?
I can only tell you what people say to me after they’ve seen the show. Things like, ‘Wow, I feel like I watched my own life.’ Or, ‘Your journey feels like my journey.’ Or, ‘Parts of your journey remind me of so many parts of my life.’ Men and women and people of all ages seem to come away feeling like my honesty has allowed them to reflect on their own lives. They also feel that the candor and rawness of it makes it OK for us to remember none of us are perfect … and that’s OK.
Do you believe the theater world and Hollywood are still lacking when it comes to the number of powerful, interesting roles for women?
Yes, that need will always be relevant.
When did you realize you wanted to be an actor?
When I was 5 years old after doing a school play about the months of the year. I got to play the month of April, which was a very dramatic role. After all, April showers bring May flowers, and I had to cry on cue. I was a natural!
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
L.O.V.E.R., written and performed by Lois Robbins is currently playing the Alice Griffin Jewel Box Theatre at the Pershing Square Signature Center in New York City. Click here for more information and tickets.
