From Theater To Politics. Steve Williamson and Karen McClelland welcome Jay Ruby, theater company director, actor, activist, and Democratic candidate for the Arizona State Legislature.
Ruby has experience in organizing people, beginning with his efforts to establish a theater company nearly 20 years ago. In addition, he previously worked behind the scenes to help other Democratic electoral candidates, including David Brill’s campaign for U.S. Congress against incumbent Paul Gosar. He says, “…I learned a lot from that campaign. And that campaign also vitalized people. And I think that’s the crossover for me between theater and politics is that you can create a place where people come alive and feel, I guess, more confidence in living.”
Ruby adds, “When you bring people together in a common experience where they see beauty and they see connection between people and they see trust…what it does for an audience when they see trust in action, they believe that they can trust the world more.”
As for why he’s running for office, Ruby states on the Clean Slate for Democracy website, “I am running for State Representative in Legislative District 1 to renew the art of dialogue in the Arizona State House to improve the quality of life for all of us.”