Name: Justin Krebs
Title/Occupation: Artistic Director, The Tank; Executive Director, Living Liberally
Organization/Company: The Tank
URL: thetanknyc.org / livingliberally.org

1. Where did you grow up and how did you end up where you are now?

I grew up in Highland Park, NJ. From an early age, my parents exposed me to theater (went to shows all the time) and politics (a Mondale rally at age 6). The rest was preordained.

2. Which performance, song, play, movie, painting or other work of art had the biggest influence on you and why?

Kurt Vonnegut novels blew me away. He somehow probed the deep questions that lurked around my teenage mind, and also made me laugh, and also was sort of sci-fi-ish and also didn’t take himself too seriously yet also was successful.

3. What skill, talent or attribute do you most wish you had and why?

I wish I could speak Spanish. There are so many more people I could speak to then.

4. What do you do to make a living? Describe a normal day.

I make a living by producing political projects, often bringing experience in culture, performance, social organizing and event coordination to progressive organizations and activities. It usually involves a lot of email. And a lot of coffee, slowly going cold throughout the day.

5. Have you ever had to make a choice between work and art? What did you choose, why, and what was the outcome?

I’ve been fortunate to not have to choose, to find ways of bringing culture and creativity into my “work life” and finding enough flexibility to keep doing what I love even when it doesn’t pay.