We recently connected with Eliana Rubin and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Eliana thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Are you happier as a creative? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job? Can you talk to us about how you think through these emotions?
I do have a job outside of the arts! My full-time work is in Jewish educational consulting, focusing on diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEI+B). I help organizations, institutions, and individuals lift up the voices of marginalized communities within the larger Jewish population and affirm all identities (both dominant and marginalized) to foster cultures of belonging for all.
I love that I get to create in both artistic and academic spaces. I also love that my full-time job (which is a 9 to 5, unfortunately without Dolly Parton) gives me the ability to intersect these two passions through an educational modality I’ve created called “Jewsicals”, or Jewish musicals, which are short musical numbers based around sacred texts. It’s inspiring to help others explore their artistic sides, even if they’ve never stepped foot onto a stage before.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
I am a lot of things. A musician, a writer, curious, a cat-lover, vegan, tall, trans, silly.
I release music under the name “Ellie”. I predominately make pop music with lyrics that tell stories. My upcoming project, out at some point in the next six months, is dark-pop- and rock-tinged.
As a playwright, I focus on telling queer and trans stories. My play, Tides, went up at The Tank in NYC as part of its PrideFest. It exists in a USA where being LGBTQ+ is outlawed and follows people as they navigate through this existence. My musical, “Frizzled: A Magic School Bus Musical Parody”, is currently up at The People’s Improv Theatre in NYC on the first Friday of each month at midnight. There’s a built in drinking game!
I’m most proud of my growth. I love creating and changing through that creation. Letting my art affect me as I hope it does o thers.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
Connection. I love getting to listen to an artist, whether new or old, and feel a heart pathway between us. Listening to Joni Mitchell’s “Blue” after a breakup. Listening to ITZY’s “Wannabe (English Version)” and remembering that “I ain’t got time for your meaningless opinions). Reading Elliot Page’s memoir and recognizing that my trans experience is not a lonely one.
I adore getting to meet other creatives with open hearts and minds and supporting their work as they support mine in various capacities. Making connections runs parallel to making art for me.
Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?
Read “The Four Agreements” by Don Miguel Ruiz. This book helped me continue to untangle the false ideas that the world is out to get me.
Contact Info:
- Website: elianashirarubin.com
- Instagram: @elianashirarubin
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elianashirarubin/
- Other: TikTok: @elianashirarubin