AJ Palubinskas thrusts his sword.
Courtesy | AJ Palubinskas
What led you to become a theatre major?
I started doing theater when I was around 10 years old. It was community theater. Just something I did during the summer. I didn’t think too much of it, but then in eighth grade one of the artistic directors at the theater called me without me having done anything and said, “Hey, do you want to go to callbacks for a real show that we’re doing?” I said, “Yes.” And then it spiraled from there.
Past that, I did theater all throughout high school, then college came around and I spent a year at University of Arizona. I did not get into their BFA in acting program. And so then a series of events led me to Hillsdale and I love it here and theater seems to be a thing that I’m okay at. So I just kept doing it.
What’s your dream role?
Let’s see, so that first play that I mentioned that I got into in eighth grade, I can’t exactly do it anymore, because it’s a play about teenagers and going through the teenage years. It’s called “13: The Musical” and the lead for it is a guy named Evan Goldman. I would love to play that role, but I’m not 13 anymore, so it’s a little difficult. Outside of that there’s a play called “The Book of Mormon” that I would absolutely love to play the lead for as well. That is a much more challenging thing to do, because it requires tap dancing and singing outside of my range. So I can’t do either of those things, but I can dream.
What’s your favorite role you’ve performed in?
When we did “Henry V” here last year, I was Henry and also Captain Fluellen. I doubled both of those roles because Henry was played by eight people, I think. I was one, and that was definitely a favorite of mine. Also, in 10th grade I performed in a production of “Les Miserables” at that same community theater, and I was only an ensemble member, but it meant that I got to play about six or seven different characters throughout the course of the show.
What’s your favorite production to watch?
“The Book of Mormon.”, But I also saw, at the Arizona State University Gammage Theatre, a production of “The Play That Goes Wrong.” To characterize the entire play, when you get the program, the title goes off the end of the program, so it’s like everything about it is wrong. It was really fun.
Which professor at Hillsdale has impacted you the most?
Tory Matsos. Definitely. She is also the director of “She Loves Me,” which is the show that I have to lead in right now. Her style of directing is very collaborative in the sense that the final product is the result of work between the director and the actor, not just the actor taking direction from the director like they’re Jesus or something. So it’s been wonderful to sort of work on the same level as someone instead of themtalking down to me
What are your plans for after graduation?
Acting maybe, hopefully. I currently work in the scene shop at the theater where I built the sets that we use to perform and that’s gotten me a lot of technical construction experience. ]So the dream is to simply be able to act and live off of that, but the assumption is I’m going to be building things in order to make money to sustain acting. And then hopefully, it can just be acting at some point.
If you had to act in one play for the rest of your life, what would it be?
If I could also play any of the roles in the show, then probably “Shrek the Musical.” I think it’s underrated. I think it’s a wonderful show that, even though it is based on the movie and everyone knows the plot of “Shrek,” it still has a compelling story and the characters are deep, even though it’s a musical comedy and everyone really only sees the laughs in it. I think it still has a bunch of meaning behind it.
When I say favorite memory from your time in theater, what comes to mind?
I know exactly what comes to mind. When I was 13 or 14, I was in a summer camp production of “The Snow Queen” at my local community, and I was the prince of summer. Me and my acne-ridden face was supposed to be a very handsome figure, and I had all these fairies around me that are supposed to be just fawning over me. And at one point I say “I’m leaving now” and the fairies all rushed over and grab a part of my body and say “no, don’t go,” and one of them comes up behind me and grabs my waist, and she grabbed my waist and slipped and she pulled my pants down, I got pantsed on stage.
