Target Margin Theater(TMT):Tell us a little bit about yourself… where are you from, what makes you tick, and why are you interested in theater?
Robert Feffer(RF): Hello! I’m Robert Feffer. I was born and raised in New York City. Coming from a mixed-race family, I have always been interested in the blending and blurring of cultural boundaries. One of my favorite pastimes is exploring the city and seeing the transition between different neighborhoods. Theater really connects with me as such an engaging form of cultural commentary and criticism. Speaking to directly to an audience feels so powerful, in a way that I haven’t felt with other art forms.
TMT: What made you apply to Target Margin’s internship program?
RF:I was really attracted to Target Margin’s bold and experimental style. I love theater that isn’t afraid to be different and defy expectations. Learning more about the company’s commitment to engaging with the local community made me even more interested. Having such an invested relationship with a neighborhood like Sunset Park is something so unique, and I knew it was an opportunity I had to go after.
TMT: Was there a seminal production that led you to theater?
RF: When I was young my dad would take me to Shakespeare in the Park and other shows. I want to say that this was how I found out I loved theater, but in reality, I was incredibly bored and impatient and often fell asleep. I became interested in being a part of theater after I was cast as the cow Milky White in my sixth-grade production of Into the Woods. I was absolutely terrible. I messed up my lines (I moo’d three times before dying instead of four) and I never learned when exactly I was supposed to go onstage. But we made an absurdly cow costume using chicken wire and plaster that was on wheels. The technical production part of the show was so exciting to me, and I kept on doing theater afterwards (though I learned to stay backstage).
TMT: What was your Covid quarantine experience? Was there anything you learned or did that has created a change in your life or led to a new direction?
RF:COVID cut the end of my last semester of college. It was sad, getting ready for a final culminating experience with my friends and then spending the last few months practically alone in my apartment, with most of roommates having moved back home. But it also gave me a lot of time to reflect on what path I wanted my future to take. I had gotten so caught up in school and the expected processes of applying to jobs and following a traditional career path. In retrospect, I am grateful to have had the opportunity to reflect and make a choice to choose work that would make me feel happy and fulfilled.
TMT: You majored in digital design and theater at USC. Can you tell us more about your interest in digital design and the virtual nature of projections vs. physical world of theater?
RF:I love theater, but a lot of it can feel kind of old and outdated. The past couple of decades has seen such a rapid shift in how we communicate with each other, with the prominence of social media and other digital platforms. Even before COVID, so much of what we consume in our daily lives came through screens. I want to create work that explores our evolving nature with technology, and find ways to make digital art feel physical.
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Robert Feffer’s personal website : https://robbyfeffer.com
instagram @robbydoesart