Taylor Rubin

Taylor has been performing with Rapid Fire for three seasons now, and as an RFT improvisor, she has had the pleasure of being part of the WildFire Festival, Kidprovisors, GeriActors and Friends workshops, Beyond the Frame and more! Taylor performs at Theatresports as much as she can and at Chimprov with RomCom and The Gallery. She has also been involved in other theatre and film productions with High Wire Films, Nextfest, the Walterdale Playhouse, the Edmonton Fringe, and the University of Alberta. Taylor is currently studying Elementary Education at the University of Alberta to become a teacher named Miss Rubin. Whether she be doin’ improv, teachin’ it, or watchin’ it, Taylor loves that improv is such a big part of her life.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE:

TV show: I used to love the Office, but now I don’t because Steve Carell is gone. I started watching Extras which is great. I also like 8th Fire which is a CBC documentary.

Music: Tame Impala, Fleet Foxes, Beirut, Grizzly Bear, Sufjan Stevens and Mitchmatic!

Video game: I’m really good at Diddy Kong Racing on Nintendo 64.

Piece of clothing: My fleece onesie. My sister bought it for me for Christmas and if I could never take it off I wouldn’t.

Actor: I have very talented friends and love to see them up on stage. Also, Ricky Gervais.

Films: I'm really into documentaries, like Miss Representation and Planet Earth. Also, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. I have never seen Star Wars or Lord of the Rings in full.

Plays: I see more plays than movies, and my favourites are Chris Craddock's BASH'D, August: Osage County and Fuddy Meers.

Favourite place in Edmonton: In my backyard on my trampoline at night with my buddies.

Restaurant: Café Mosaics. I’ve been a vegetarian for almost 13 years. I’m technically a lacto-vegetarian. I don’t like eggs because of a traumatic childhood experience. The mom of my then-best-friend had me over for lunch one day for a play date and they were having egg-salad sandwiches, and it was so smelly and slimy and she made me eat all of it. She made me cry. It was awful. The High Level Diner is not awful, it’s great.

TELL US ABOUT YOUR UPCOMING TRIP:

I'm volunteering with International Student Volunteers, which is a non-profit organization that’s run out of the States. I’m going to Ecuador for five weeks from May 25th to June 29th, and I’m going there to do some community development. For the first week I get to stay with a host family and learn Spanish, and get accustomed to their culture. Then I'll be volunteering to do community development for two weeks. Hopefully I’ll get to do a lot of work with kids. The last part of my trip will be a big tour of the country.

HOW MUCH MONEY ARE YOU TRYING TO RAISE THROUGH YOUR CAMPAIGN?

My goal is to raise $3,000, but my trip including everything like flight, food and accommodation will cost $5,000 or more.

HAVE YOU DONE ANYTHING LIKE THIS BEFORE?

I haven’t been on a volunteer trip like this before, but I have travelled. I went on a big European trip where I also toured around the Mediterranean, Egypt, Israel and Turkey.

TELL US A FUNNY TRAVEL STORY:

I just got my open-water scuba diving certification this summer in the Cayman Islands. It took me a long time to get down into the water because I kept throwing up. So that’s gross. But I did it. I would get really excited, and want to show my scuba buddy everything I saw. I was like, “Oh look there’s a turtle!” I kept moving around trying to take everything in and I would get too excited and give myself motion sickness under the water.

ANY TIPS ON SUCCESSFULLY THROWING UP UNDER WATER?

It’s the worst! The first time I did it I was coming up the line and as soon as I took my regulator out of my mouth I threw up. They warned me, in case I had to do it again, that I had to keep my regulator in my mouth. The regulator is a one-valve which allows oxygen from your tank to pass into your lungs while keeping the water out. So when you throw up you pretty much have to blow it through the regulator like you’re exhaling. It’s actually quite dangerous because the chunks could clog the valve.

WHAT ARE YOUR MUST-PACK ITEMS?

My toothbrush, I love brushing my teeth. I always bring a blanket on the plane, and I always need my journal, camera and sunscreen. I can’t survive without sunscreen.

DO YOUR IMPROV SKILLS EVER COME IN HANDY WHILE YOU’RE TRAVELLING?

When I was travelling around Europe I was pretty shy, so I got ripped off a lot just because I wasn’t trusting my instincts, which is a big improv skill. I think it’s important to put yourself out there. In the fall I’ll be studying abroad in France and I’m going by myself so I won’t know anyone there. I think it’s important for me to really learn about the culture, and to make the best of the experience I’ll really need to put myself out there. That’s a big risk and risk is also a big part of improv.

If you would like to help Taylor get to Ecuador you can visit her Indie Gogo campaign here: http://www.indiegogo.com/Student-to-Aid-Deserving-Communities-in-Ecuador