Set in a Wisconsin high school circa 1985, Ruben Carbajal's The Gifted Program centers on four intelligent sophomores bonded by their love of Dungeons & Dragons and daily struggles at the bottom of the social food chain. When one of them is revealed to be the mysterious radio call-in Romeo courting the school's most popular girl, their simple pursuit of an education becomes a fight for survival.
Ruben Carbajal is a playwright and scriptwriter.
Set in his home town of Racine, Wisconsin, THE GIFTED PROGRAM, was developed at Soho Rep's Writer/Director Lab, produced in New York to some acclaim and published by Dramatists Play Service in 2004. It has since been included in several best-of anthologies available here.
Other plays include THE WOUNDED JOGGER, SUBDIVISION, and PORTLAND (Published by Next Stage Press). His plays HOLD, CAR & CARRIAGE COLLIDE and THE LAST READER OF BOOKS will be published in a collection by Next Stage Press later this year. His works have been presented by (to name a few) Umass-Lowell, Gorilla Tango Theatre, Pipeline Theatre, Armstrong Atlantic University, St. Joseph's College, Pace University, Brooklyn College, 11:11 Theatre Company, Stage Shadows at the Museum of Television and Radio and The Bridge Theatre Company.
He has been writer-in-residence at the Millay Colony and the New Jersey Shakespeare Festival, where his first play, THE MAN WHO STOPPED was produced.
If you've made it this far, you might consider visiting www.rubencarbajal.net.
When Ruben isn't writing for dying art forms, he writes for clients like the NBA and Fuse TV as well as several Nonprofits. He currently lives in the mouth of the Holland Tunnel with his wife and a furry son named Indiana Bones.
