We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Anu Sahar a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Anu, appreciate you joining us today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?
My passion for acting was born when I was seven-years old and portrayed Nala in a local production of the Lion King. It was my very first time acting and although it was over a decade ago, the feeling remains fresh. It felt powerful to be able to use my voice and body to share a story that brought me immense joy. I remember bursting with excitement and longing for more. Ever since, I have been exploring the craft through community theatre, classes, camps, and majoring in theatre in high school and now college. During this exploration, I have realized that acting has not only made me feel good, it has made me feel heard. As I reflect on this, I am reminded of an acting experience that opened my eyes to the great importance representation has in my relationship with theatre.
During my sophomore year at Baltimore School for the Arts, an ensemble member and I were assigned a scene to perform from August Wilson’s Jitney. Unfamiliar with this work, I began to dig into the story with curiosity and was soon met with immense satisfaction. Finally, a story that illustrated me. My character, Rena, was a young mother learning to balance the circumstances life has thrown at her while trying to grasp onto the bits of sanity she had left. Although I couldn’t relate to the specific conditions she endured, I felt her emotions beneath it all and recognized them within myself.
Since this experience, I took inspiration from Rena and her creator, August Wilson, to continue this authenticity in my work. Whether it be writing my own plays, monologues, or short scenes, I knew I had to take action to satisfy my desire to be a vessel for stories untold.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
Hi! My name is Anu Sahar and I’m a creative from Baltimore, MD. Since my days as a six-year-old with boundless imagination, I’ve been guided to explore the art of storytelling. Now entering my second year of theatre studies at California Institute of the Arts, I can say the journey has been nothing short of fun. With growing interests in acting, writing, filmmaking and directing, I aspire to tell impactful stories and create new ones that highlight underrepresented voices. I find immense gratification in sharing stories that highlight the complexities of communities and individuals that are usually depicted in one light. Through my art, I hope to encourage a wider scope viewing of each other and make people feel seen, heard, and understood. From picking up my first script to now taking steps toward obtaining my Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theater, acting continues to be the best friend who never leaves my side. It has helped shape so many aspects of myself such as internal healing and self-discovery. Somehow, through putting on masks of characters nearly my entire life, I simultaneously shed thick layers to reveal my vibrant core to a new extent. The core that stretches to the various aspects of who I am. From being a six-foot Nigerian-American woman to being a model and actress, my whole self consists of different identities. This ability to identify within so many different communities is something that inspires me daily. My complexities have allowed me to relate to people of different walks of life which inspires new ideas and beliefs. A huge motivating force of my art is to bridge the many gaps between art and individuals. Whether it be the struggle to claim being an artist due to having no “credentials” or simply not being introduced to the possibility of being an artist because of the lack of inclusive representation in art. I want my work to show others that the feelings they wish to express are valid and are needed by someone else to feel safe. My mission is to use my passion for storytelling as a tool for positive change and reflection in our shared world.
Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?
If you know me, you know Issa Rae has a very special place in my heart. Her personal journey has displayed individuality, resilience, creativity, freedom, self-determination, and leadership which are all attributes I wish to embody myself. From the very beginning of her journey, Rae has shown herself to always nurture her ideas with the same amount of love and support no matter the size of the project. Especially during quarantine, I found myself in a rabbit hole of her interviews. In them, she has dropped many gems but there are two that I feel rewired my brain’s creative thinking process. One being “I found that every time I asked permission, the answer tended to be no, so I had to make my own yeses.” This perfectly ties into the other statement where she essentially recommends that creatives begin to look at their fellow artists around them and develop projects rather than constantly waiting to be in that “specific” position where you have this person’s number or that connection or that equipment. When hearing this, something mentally unlocked for me and I began to see my own community differently. Why had I spent so many years overlooking all that was in front of me? Since that epiphany, I have collaborated with friends and family to stop the habit of “gatekeeping” our ideas and find joy in creating in the now. We all have so many beautiful and important stories sitting in our minds, it’s selfish to keep them from this world.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
There are no specific credentials needed to claim being an artist except owning all of who you are as discover who that is. I have always possessed the attributes of an artist; I impressively sang, danced, drew, and wrote. Still, it took time for me to overcome the fear of being perceived as illegitimate. Similar to my artistic journey is my personal relationship with my loosely tangible heritage. Am I eligible to check the Nigerian-American box?
Despite several experiences in theatre, I hesitated to embrace “actor” as my title. I technically had no concrete evidence to prove my credibility within the theatre world. I had no stories of Wicked being my first broadway experience or making theatre friends at sleepaway camp. Instead, I had a plethora of rudimentary homemade productions from shows performed to stuffed animals and my mom, to self-written, produced and directed short films with my friends. It wasn’t until I began to converse more with artists who I viewed as “typical theatre kids” that I realized our practices were congruent. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that we played the same improv game. They called it “Freeze Scene” while I knew of it as “Hitchhiker.”
In the same way, I have always been aware of the culture running through my veins but could not seem to announce myself as “Nigerian-American.” The artistry of Nigeria’s complex Afrobeats, food, architecture, and vibrant fashion are things I grow more prideful of each day. But this sense of pride was only developed through my initiative to explore it in my own way. Due to the absence of my Nigerian parent, I had no opportunity to learn the Yoruba language in order to communicate with family members. I have no recollection of folktales passed through generations. There were no annual family reunions in my native city, Lagos. Yet, I believe my Spirit was determined to find a prideful connection to my roots.
Exploring my culture has given me the liberty to indulge in whatever creative medium most resonates. I magically discover a monologue perfect for an audition. I find the words to compose a five-minute play. I amaze myself with a seventeen-minute improvisation in my mirror that moves me to tears. Within these moments, I create unique encounters; that merge my art and culture and nurture my authenticity.
Through my unorthodox embracement of who I am, I am learning to validate my experiences more. I believe people should be taught that there is no “right” way to connect to ourselves; whether it be our creative desires or culture. It is my goal to showcase complexity within characters in film in order to normalize the exploration of self-discovery. In West Africa, this concept is called Sankofa. It is the importance of reflecting on prior knowledge and applying it to the present in order to make positive progress. In the spirit of this, I embrace who I am becoming by acknowledging my past; my heritage. My name is Anu Sahar Jinadu. I am a Nigerian-American actor.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @AnuSahar
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anu-jinadu-39852525b/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCA2pw7IW7Fb53yrb4d4ezA
- TikTok: @eatinfufu
Image Credits
Jeff – Jazzy Studios Anna Divinagracia Tia Nicole