Today we’d like to introduce you to Serena Norr
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I grew up with a single mom and my sister in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn in the 80s/90s. I was always interested in creating – in some form – when I was kid where my sister and I made up songs, plays, and skits. While creativity was in the air – so was chaos, dealing with my mom’s wavering up and down moods and feelings of lack that filled the air as well as the unspoken about my father who left.
When I went to college, I didn’t have guidance of what I wanted to do. While I loved writing, I had no clue how to embark on this path, and really didn’t think I was any good. I thought maybe I wanted to be a teacher, which I pursued for 2 years. This shifted to acting and then english/theater after reading some plays where I feel in love with the beyond the scenes world of theater, specifically playwriting. This form was so distinct to me where I remembered my love of skits and creating as a kid. It was almost as if I was finding myself back to a verison of myself that was dormant but always there.
I became a mom when I was in my late 20s where this shifted again and I feel into blog writing/management, and really any form of writing/editing that I could do from home as my family grew. Writing plays was in the air but very distant where I tried (as much as possible) to write every now and again.
In 2018 I knew something was missing and feeling the urge to create again. I wasn’t writing plays at all but I missed it and felt a calling back to it after I saw a continuing education class. I signed up and that was the push I needed to consistently get back to plays/creative writing. It was almost as if there was a reconnection to who I have always been where I created 50 plays/monologues, including productions at the Omaha Fringe Festival, White Plains Performing Arts Center, the New Deal Creative Arts Center, Westchester Collaborative Theater, Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival, The Players Theater with the Rogue Theater Festival and the NYC Short Play Festival, The Tank, The Flea, the University of Alabama, and various productions over Zoom.
I am so excited for my upcoming production of “Agency for the Lost” at The Tank in 2025, which deals with the complexity of “losing” a parent as well as the demands of work culture, life/societal rules, and norms that are placed on us. It has a quasi Twilight Zone-vibe mixed with questions about life and examining life in a surrealist point of view! This play is extremely personal to me and I hope you can check it out – https://thetanknyc.org/calendar-1/2024/1/28/agency-for-the-lost!
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It has not been smooth but that is all part of the learning/growing process. To become an artist – in any medium- is incredibly hard. On top of that, if you don’t come from a “well-off” family or have support in some way, it can feel incredibly lonely and isolating. I went through so many years feeling like I didn’t know what I was doing, why I was doing it, and what’s the point. This was especially hard in my 20s when I was broke and trying to stay afloat in life while trying to be creative. When I became a mom, there was extended struggles with that change in my life as well as trying to fit/figure out how to write, and really how that could fit in. I had to learn not to be so hard on myself (easier said than done) and take small steps to write as well as network, learn, and market myself. For me, this started with waking up before my family (at 5am) to have time to focus and work on my characters as well as putting my work out there and saying yes to opportunities – even if they scared me. This includes being in my own plays, performing on stage, and simply writing topics that are uncomfortable. Overtime, all of this (writing and sharing) became less scary.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am a multifaceted writer. This includes being a content director for work, a playwright/director, and freelance marketer. Specifically, in my company (Let’s Make a Play) I focus on playwriting where I teach kids and adults how to write and perform their own plays. I love working with all types of writers to help them bring their stories to life in an accessible and affordable way. I believe I am also kind, gentle, and compassionate to my students and care about their stories to help them master the process. There are a lot of gatekeepers in theater but I believe everyone can – and should – tell their own story, and hopefully make friends and form a community in the process.
Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
I don’t think luck has anything to do with it. For me, it is about being a hard, persistent, and consistent worker as well as being a good person. I have had to push myself and show up for myself every single day. Maybe through this push and consistency, I have had certain opportunities but luck has nothing to do with it. It is my drive to want to more, to create, and to express myself through creativity.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://letsmakeaplay.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/serenanorrcreative/
- Other: https://www.serenanorr.com/
