“In the past few months Mr. LaRuffa has been working with me as script consultant on my latest full-length play. We take as much time as is necessary and review every line, punctuation mark, go scene-by-scene and from time to time . . . Come up for air to look again at the overall structure and flow of the play.
The play is now better in several ways. The characters voices are more distinct. Their characterizations have been more fully fleshed out. The pacing is far better both in terms of overall play and scene structure.
It’s been an educational joy working with Dominick, wise beyond his years.”
-Tim Woods, Playwright
Santa Cruz, CA
“I’m a NYC based playwright with a play, "St. Anthony's Bread", that was workshopped and professionally read with very strong audience response. Then the theater killing pandemic stopped everything. In my renewed search for creative producers, I was led to Dominick LaRuffa. I heard him on the podcast “Cocktails at Table 7 - Inside NYC’s Joe Allen” and knew immediately he was a genuine theater person who could offer knowledgeable insight for my play. Arranging a virtual meeting was quick and easy and his unique perspective as both actor and producer makes him an extremely perceptive script reader. His creative insight and knowledge of the business have been invaluable to me on my play’s journey.”
-Robert M Tamburino, Playwright
New York City, NY
“I met Dominick during the spring of 2021 - one of the most tumultuous times in my life to date. I had recently begun a new career as a theater artist, and was facing several imminent challenges: a global pandemic, a dearth of jobs and opportunities for growth, a recent break up. My writing group had dissolved, the theatre company I worked for was stuck on Zoom, and I had bought into some pay-to-play talent rep racket in the hopes of finding anyone who could help me. I was having an absolute crisis of confidence. Dominick met me where I was. He recognized something in me that was hungry, and he knew how to feed it. First and foremost - he took me seriously.
I came on as his client and began working with him before every audition and callback. He helped me reformat my resume to highlight my strengths, and connected me to an film editor to build me a killer reel. We focused on choosing monologues for my audition portfolio that displayed my versatility with both classical and contemporary texts. He shared invaluable insights from his experiences as an actor and producer for stage and screen. But all of that coaching pales in comparison to Dominick’s most important quality as a mentor - his belief in me.
This man’s encouragement, guidance, and counsel over the last 2 years has been nothing short of transformative. He has helped me cultivate true confidence - not only as an artist, but as a person. I understand now that the gifts I have to offer the world are worthy of respect and attention. And I can’t thank him enough for that. If you take your work seriously, then Dominick LaRuffa Jr. will take you seriously. And it will pay off in spades.”
-Derek Powell, Actor
Syracuse, NY
“I engaged Dominick LaRuffa Jr. as a dramaturg and script consultant. His services are outstanding—he makes sure time with him is efficiently used. Dom’s dramaturgical observations on my script were nothing-short of astonishing. Session after session he challenged and questioned everything about my writing—not to force change, but to encourage me to understand and polish my own work. I felt Dom really took ownership of the process alongside me, and helped me make a good piece into something infinitely better. I have learned a lot about my own writing process through working with Dom, and that is already making me a better writer.
Dom comes at this from a long career on-stage. He understands character development from an actor’s point of view, and that is exceptionally useful. He has always been transparent and fair in our financial dealings, and that is truly appreciated. Highly recommended!”
-Randall Huskinson, Playwright & Producer
SanDiego, CA
Dominick is someone who teaches by example. He’s an actor and producer who not only knows what his students are going through but helps them navigate their path through his own experience. He will call you out when you’re not giving your 100% and listen when you feel like you’re not moving fast enough because he has been there. He wants you to succeed and carve your own artist journey. If you’d asked me a year ago I’d say I want to be an actor but today I say with confidence I am an actor, a writer and soon to be a producer. He teaches you not just the technique but about what the life of an artist calls for. He mentors you to create a strong foundation in which a lasting career is made. There are a lot of charlatans out there peddle quick paths to stardom but Dom is the real deal for true artist wishing to create something truly lasting.
-Tracey Evans, Actor & Screenwriter
Long Island, New York
“Write what you know,” they say. I wrote my first play and entered it into a 10 minute fringe festival organized by professional theater group in Connecticut. It was called “One Bad Day.” I’d read an article in The Wall Street Journal about hormonally enhanced designer chickens needing massages to break down the sinewy fibers on their overgrown breasts. I grew up quietly privileged in New York City near the Bronx Zoo. Certainly nowhere near chickens. After watching community actors flub the lines I’d written and seeing with my own eyes how my stage directions were unworkable , I joined a playwriting workshop led by a known Director/Story Development coach.
With his guidance I wrote the book for a musical about two 50 year- old hillbilly, North Carolinian farmers, toiling on a a hundred-year- old small family owned cucumber farm. I’d been admitted to the Dramatists Guild in 2014 for a social satire musical review I created along with a composer/lyricist, When that collaboration turned sour after a staged musical reading in a masked studio during Covid, the music director resigned, stating he sensed a troubled road ahead for the play.
I put the project away. For good. I dove into a serious historical drama. Enter Dom, a guy more than half-my-age, from Brooklyn. A friend had recommended I at least have him assess the musical. Dom is remarkable. He makes no promises. He’s blunt and truthful. Those Brooklyn smarts! I could put the script away or I could perhaps make it better, at least. I went in doubting every assertion he made.
But I pushed myself to listen, because the only way a senior creative can stay alive and relevant means “respecting” the voices and fresh vision plus experiences of the next generation(s). Dom was a big brother and no nonsense coach to my insecurities about revising the play on my own, and, perhaps, ditching the existing music and finding another collaborator. I doubted it could work.
Dom gently coerced me into giving another young man, Brett Ricci , a chance to create three songs on specs. The song ideas blew me away. They were that good. Line-by-line over a period of a little more than a year we’ve got a whole new play with a new title that spins the original concept into a poignant, cockeyed, yet insightful musical about growing older, embracing change, and surprisingly finding romance where you least expect it.
One of the greatest lessons I’ve learned working with Dom? How the system of theater works. He knows the business. He doesn’t brag. He doesn’t sell services just to add to his bottom line. I have no illusions about what will happen next as we get the demo reels mastered soon. But I do know I’ve loved every minute of working with Dom and with Brett Ricci, a composer/lyricist who Dom instinctually knew was the right one. That’s a gift, Dom’s instincts. You can’t put a price tag on that quality.
-Ina Chadwick, Playwright, Librettist & Poet
Westport, Connecticut
“I first met Dominick when acting together on a web series. We stayed in touch as I watched his producer journey. IN the past few years, he began calling me to do readings of projects he was "working on". It took me a while to realize that "working on" meant he was shepherding writers, functioning as a dramaturg.
So when my overlong script was accepted into a theatre festival with the understanding that I needed to get from 1 hour 24 minutes to a 45 minute presentation, I turned to Dom. I knew I would like working with him. I had no idea just how astute he is as a dramaturg.
Dom never said "do this, cut that". He questioned me about my vision of the show, asked me to tell him stories, and would say things like "that could really help this section" or "put in that line you just said to me". Invariably, he was right. And he shepherded a rambling piece that too often told the audience what to think into a tight story that allowed the audience to hear my tale and relate to their own life experiences and emotions in a vivid way. How did he know that's exactly what I wanted and needed?
I don't know, and I don't care. I just know that he is now my go-to guy. And Dom, if this acknowledgement and endorsement is too long, I know you will shepherd me into making it better.
