Alec Rubin

In his remarkable 66-year career in the performing arts, Alec Rubin was well known as a master teacher, celebrated therapist, innovative director and daring performer who pioneered work in the relationship between deep-rooted feelings and the creative process.

Alec Rubin was born in Leningrad on September 6, 1920 and emigrated with his family to the United States at the age of seven.

As a young artist Alec studied music at the Juilliard School and dance with Martha Graham. He was a member of the Chicago Opera/Ballet Company and the San Francisco Ballet. He later studied with Anna Halprin and Welland Lathrop and then founded Dance Associates, where he taught and performed with Paul Taylor, James Waring and Katherine Litz.

In the early 1960s, Alec was one of the artistic mavericks of the Off-Off Broadway movement, directing productions at the legendary Caffe Cino. He trained with Lee Strasberg at the Actors Studio, where he was a member of the Director’s Unit from 1965 – 1972 and again from 1995 – 2000.

In residence at the Master Theater, Alec directed the works of Chekov, O’Neill, Brecht, Genet, Ionesco and Shakespeare, as well as original plays by young playwrights. In 1965 he was invited by the Moscow Art Theatre to conduct a seminar on the Stanislavski method in America.

As an acting coach and teacher, Alec helped shape generations of actors. In 1962, he founded Theatre of Encounter and soon developed a simple and ground-breaking technique for artists to access deep feelings and create emotionally-charged work for the stage. As a performer, he appeared in many original solo shows, including Anatomy Of A Performance, which he presented in 1983 at the Spoleto World Theatre Festival.

Alec's study of psychology brought him into contact with Fritz Perls and the Human Potential Movement. He studied gestalt and neo-Reichian techniques, as well as sensory awareness. He worked with famed therapists Alexander Lowen, John Pierrakos and Arthur Janov and became a leading practitioner of Primal Therapy and one of the founding members of the International Primal Association. His dual skills as therapist and director empowered those who worked with him to break through psychological blocks and discover their creative voices.

Alec taught or directed Rod Steiger, Anna Sten, Maureen Stapelton, Ali McGraw, Valerie Harper and many other acclaimed performers. Under his innovative direction, Theater of Encounter produced many original theater and dance performances, including Why Is A Crooked Letter featuring a young Al Pacino. 

As a workshop leader, Alec taught at Yale, Cornell, NYU, Esalen, Topanga and in California, Hawaii, Europe and Australia. In the mid-1970s, to reflect his growing conviction that deep inner work was the key to unlocking the artist’s full potential, Alec changed the name of his company to Theatre Within. At his Center for Feelings and Creativity, he trained psychotherapists and taught ongoing classes in primal improvisation, while developing and directing provocative new theater and dance works.

In 1981, with his then student, satirist Joe Raiola, Alec created The Annual John Lennon Tribute, which he directed for 20 years. From then forward, he worked closely with Joe, co-leading workshops with him and directing his solo shows. During this period, Alec collaborated frequently with actress/director Barbara Pitcher in such productions as Celebrating Paddy Chayefsky and Chekov With Music. 

In the late 1980s, when a heart condition led Alec to winter in Florida, he established a seasonal Theatre Within company in Miami Beach and produced a long-running series of "authentic improvisation" workshop performances. He continued to maintain a private therapy practice and lead experiential seminars in Deepening Your Creative Process And Commitment and Shamanism, Healing and the Primal Path.

In 2001, due to growing health concerns, Alec established full-time residency in Florida while continuing to nurture actors, dancers and writers.  He died on November 10, 2005 from complications following a stroke, a month before the Annual John Lennon Tribute celebrated its Silver Anniversary at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts.

Alec Rubin is remembered with great affection as a gifted artist and teacher. Because his students trusted him so completely, they felt safe taking creative risks in his presence. By opening his heart, he inspired others to open theirs.