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Eric Trules

Last updated 10/11/2021

Professor “Eric Trules” (or just “Trules”, as he was known to students and colleagues) is a native of New York City, and he was a USC School of Dramatic Arts faculty member from 1986 – 2017. He was twice a Fulbright Scholar – in Malaysia in 2002 and Romania in 2010, and he won USC’s prestigious Phi Kappa Phi “Faculty Recognition Award” in 1999 for his feature-length autobiographical documentary film, “The Poet and the Con”.

He taught Improvisation and Theater Games, Solo Performance, “A Life in the Theater with Gordon Davidson “, Clowning, and Freshman Seminars entitled “Self Expression and the Arts” and “Bob Dylan, the ’60s, and You”. All his classes focused on self-expression and creativity, where he believed that college could be about the discovery of one’s self, one’s voice, and one’s passion. He taught ways of thinking and living outside the box, following one’s own calling, and taking the road less traveled.

Trules has blogged for the Huffington Post and the Cultural Weekly since 2014, and he gave a TEDx Talk in 2015 at the TEDxFulbright Conference at the Broad Stage in Los Angeles.

Internationally, he has twice been to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival as a solo performer; brought his clown company to Europe; his film to the Documentary Film Festival in Nyon, Switzerland; taught the Beijing LDTX Modern Dance Company; and met his Indonesian wife on the mythical island of Bali in 2000.

Since retiring from USC in 2017, Trules has a new full time job: being “Mr. Mom” to his 12 year old, adopted son from Indonesia. He likes the job!
He continues to blog for the Huff Post and the Cultural Weekly, and he created an original travel podcast called “e-travels with e. trules” in 2017 – with a Capstone grant from USC.
Listen here: https://erictrules.com/podcast

He went to Moscow in 2018 to teach theater, and does occasional theater residencies around the world.

When asked what lessons he has learned so far in his life after retirement, Trules replied:

-Stay healthy
-Enjoy each day. Live in the moment.
-Plan for, but don’t worry too much, about the future
-Find routines that work for you
-Enjoy all the free “downtime” – listen to books, learn history, stay mentally & creatively alive
-Try to not judge yourself too harshly
-Stay connected to friends
-Walk the dog 7 days a week
-Enjoy your son while he’s still young and developing. He’s a gift.

Learn more at www.erictrules.com.