Shara Ashley Zeiger has been acting since she was a child. Shara started in camp and school-plays then dabbled in some regional and community productions when she was a teenager. She moved to New York City after college and has been working professionally ever since. Shara began doing downtown theatre with Student films and has since transitioned into doing more on-camera than off-camera work over the years (although she still loves all of it). Today, Shara works as an actor, filmmaker, theatre-maker, and teaching artist. We talk to Shara about her work and the future as an artist. Hello Shara!
indieactivity: Did you study acting?
Shara Ashley Zeiger (SAZ): I did! I was a Thespian in High School and then went to Ithaca for my undergraduate in Drama with a double minor in Dance and Anthropology. While there I studied abroad in London and also did a semester with The National Theater Institute (with time at The St. Petersburg Theatre Arts Academy in Russia). I also did internships with The Hanger Theatre, Philadelphia Theatre Company, and The O’Neill Center during my college career. In NYC I’ve continued taking classes and workshops at various on-camera studios, mask privately with Per Brahe, Clown with various teachers, went through the improv program at UCB, studied stand-up with Linda Smith, and voice-over with Abacus. Acting is like ballet. You’ve gotta keep going back to the bar.
What acting technique do you use?
Shara Ashley Zeiger (SAZ): So, it is all tools that go in your toolbox. I’ve studied most of them. I hate when people say they’re method because that could mean a million and one things. Often I gravitate to Stanislavski’s later physical work. Sometimes I’m working inside out. It all depends on what I’m doing. I’m not into the Strasberg stuff. It never works for me to think about my dead dog.
You are an experienced actor, how much work: creative, energy or focus do you put into your scenes?
Shara Ashley Zeiger (SAZ): It depends on how much time I have! Sometimes you’re working on something and you get the luxury of taking your time, doing research, and dedicating a lot to crafting a character. Sometimes you get hired for something tomorrow and need to trust your instincts and fly by the seat of your pants. Obviously, more time is better. There are always more layers to explore.
You have worked on popular shows, and films, how has each show impacted your work as an actor and your career?
SAZ: So I’ve worked on Bull, The Plot Against America, The Last OG, etc. I worked on an MTV show years ago for a summer. I’ve done a ton of indie films. It is funny when you do something people have heard of and all of a sudden it validates you, ‘cause it’s like hi! I’ve been here the whole time doing the work. Booking a major show doesn’t magically make you a better actor, but it does help people notice you more, and for that I’m grateful.
How does the work you do on one show, compared to another?
SAZ: Every set is different. I’ve been on really stressful sets and really easy going ones. I love the relaxed ones. It makes it easier to do my job. The stressful ones stretch me and challenge me though. They prepare me to handle stressful situations easier. I also make a lot of my own work and I know all too well that time is money. Usually, on my projects, we don’t have the luxury of a lot of takes so it prepares me to nail stuff right away on other people’s sets. This usually helps to make friends with the crew. I love sets when the world is so different from my own reality. Those are the best, and when you really get to play.
Let’s take a show you’ve done, how did you prepare for such a role?
SAZ: I read everything available to me, as much as I can. Sometimes the script isn’t available. Sometimes things can change day of so the more you’re prepared, the more ready you are to roll with the new punches. Once I was working on a show and two days before I got to set production emailed me two extra paragraphs. I had to be ready. Sometimes prep involves walking in certain shoes, looking stuff up on Google, practicing a dialect. Often with big shows you don’t have much time to develop so whatever you do in the audition is what they want so it’s more prepping for that and then getting to do it again. The physical demands of the show are just bringing what you need for set and to be successful. I have curly hair. I usually talk to production prior on how to come to set that day. I get oily skin. The makeup people usually love that I bring a setting spray that I know works well with my skin. Be proactive.
How do you create that character from a script into a person?
SAZ: When I worked on The Plot Against America for HBO, I was told the character had a Jersey accent. I’m from Philly and live in NYC so I did some listening of the in-between. At the audition, I asked if they wanted North Jersey or South Jersey and prepped to do either. It was North. I did some research on the time period and used that to inform how to wear my hair and what to wear. I didn’t audition in costume, but it was suggestive. I knew the character was Jewish so I made sure to wear a Jewish star. I did my homework. When I played the scene I thought about the moment before and what I was doing, not any lines, just the beat before, and let it swing me into the scene. I thought about who I was talking to and placed them in the scene. This made going on set a breeze and we could just play cause I already thought about the whole scene, not just the words I was saying. The hardest part of that roll was they wanted to write in cursive on the board while talking and write something different than I was saying. It was like rubbing my belly and patting my head. Sometimes the most random things are what is difficult.
How did you stay fresh on a production set?
SAZ: For me, it’s staying out of the way, staying quiet, staying warm, and staying hydrated. This keeps me where I need to be and ready to jump in
Explain one creative choice you took on set?
SAZ: Sometimes you get a director that really lets you partner with them and build the character together. I played a role once where the director and I came up with the vision together as to who this woman was. She had lots of phobias and was socially off. I asked if I could tease out my hair and shape my eyebrows a certain way and the volume of my hair informed my tics and the way we did my makeup informed her awkward resting face which added to her vocal choices. That role was so much fun.
Describe a memorable character you played?
SAZ: One of the most memorable roles I played was when I played Linda in ‘Savage in Limbo” Off-Broadway. I worked with a dialect coach to help hone my Italian Bronx accent (which has come in handy later for so many roles). I got acrylic nails and hung out on Arthur Avenue to get a sense of the character and had the space to dive fully in. I felt so supported to play and the role required tears throughout the whole show and it was the most transformative exercise I’ve ever worked on. I’m really proud of that run.
What do you want most from a director?
SAZ: Essentially, communication. If there’s stuff I should know, tell me. If you want me to be collaborative, tell me. This stuff just helps me come to work and support their vision as best as I can. At the end of the day, I want directors to hire me, and when directors think of me and ask me to work on stuff it’s the biggest compliment. I’m a plus-sized actress and sometimes we’re overlooked because we don’t fit the Hollywood norm, and I make a lot of my own work so sometimes my indie peers don’t think to cast me, but my greatest joy is stepping into shoes and telling a story.
What actors do you long to work with?
SAZ: Patricia Arquette, Sacha Baron Cohen, Meryl Streep, Fiona Shaw, Jonah Hill, Margo Martindale, Michael Shannon, etc. So many
Why this actor?
SAZ: I love actors that use their whole body to create a character.
What advice would you give actors around the world?
SAZ: Play. Study. Make stuff. Make friends. That’s sorta how everything works.
Briefly write about your career?
SAZ: Shara Ashley Zeiger is an award-winning writer, filmmaker, and actress. Her work has screened at close to 60 film festivals around the world and achieved many nominations and awards for her acting, writing, and her films as a whole.
Some highlight festivals include Newport Beach Film Festival and Sedona International Film Festival. Her films include JOE (25 festivals, 3 awards 11 nominations, distributed on Amazon/SofyTV/Tubi), The Red Lotus, short film (15 festivals, 7 wins, 6 nominations), Secret Feminism (15 festivals, 1 nomination), Faustess (6 festivals), and I Mustache You (awaiting its premiere).
She created the digital series The Homemade Sketch Show (season 1 available on Tubi) and has been greenlight by Rizzle to create micro-series for their platform. Shara is the creator of Roughly Speaking, a critically acclaimed play with a rap about the homeless that ran in NYC. It was hailed by Broadwaybox as one of the top 6 plays to see after the election (included with Hamilton & Sweat) and one of the top 6 shows to see with a limited run by Playbill. Her feature script for The Red Lotus placed in quarterfinals in The Script Lab competition (top 1k scripts out of 13k), and finalist at Sacramento Film Festival and Oaxaca Film Festival.
As an actor, Shara has played roles in The Plot Against America (HBO), The Last O.G. (TBS), and Bull (CBS). She’s worked on projects for ABC, MTV, VH1, National Geographic, CollegeHumor, etc. and has been in many festivals running films. Shara played Linda in an Off-Broadway run of John Patrick Shanley’s Savage in Limbo, Toinette in a National Tour of Imaginary Invalid, and many roles in productions around NYC and regionally. Shara is the founding artistic director of The Platform Group where she produces her work and has devised dozens of new works with students in various residencies include an adaptation of Alice in Wonderland for children in Chengdu, China. Shara is an alumnus of Ithaca College, The O’Neill Center‘s National Theater Institute, and The Upright Citizens Brigade. She is a proud member of AEA, SAG-AFTRA & NYWIFT.
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