We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Sivan Raz a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Sivan thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?
For as long as I can remember, I’ve had multiple career paths I was struggling to choose between. Both my parents are scientists, and I was always drawn to science in addition to the arts. And to history. And to travel. And to linguistics. And- you get the point. When I was in my final year of middle school, it was time to select majors for my highschool education. I had my eye on the lucrative Robotics program at our school, which had a history of competing in international tournaments with very impressive accomplishments. This was an incredibly appealing opportunity for a middle schooler (mainly the traveling abroad part, but the winning part as well). For some reason though, my school only allowed students to participate in the Robotics program if their second major was scientific as well – meaning no theater. I was right on the verge of making that call when that year’s senior plays went up. It was a really good year, with a diversified selection of genres and some fascinating shows. There was a modern adaptation of Antigone, a play titled “Yvonne, Burgundy Princess” that criticizes current social injustices, and The Nose, an absurdist romance by Gogol. At that moment, I knew. I got a glimpse into my future, imagining what it would feel like three years later if I were to sit in the audience, just as I am now, watching the plays of my friends on that stage and knowing I could have been a part of that. I immediately felt I would be devastated. The sense I missed out on an experience that is so unique was overwhelming to imagine, not even experiencing the real thing. I knew I had to be on that stage when the day comes no matter what. So the Robotics program was quickly forgotten, I went on to study in the Theater department and never looked back. This summer, I will be directing and performing the play Antigone with my own theater company, Needs More Work Productions, in NYC. To me, this is a very special closure with the moment that started it all, and the feeling of magnificent inspiration I felt all those years ago watching the same play.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
My name is Sivan Raz. I am an actor, singer and director based in NYC. The Founder of Needs More Work Productions, my passion is to create site-specific, immersive and absurdist shows. I believe the best theatre is the one that provides a full experience, from the moment you walk into the space all the way to the heated discussion in the car ride home. For that reason, I specialize in creating a fascinating sensory experience for my audiences using 360° movement techniques. I love working on plays which strive to make the world a better place, and my work focuses on themes of social justice and climate activism, as well as any goal I feel could use the strongest force in the world – art as an engine of social change.
After years of yelling in parks, I am proud to have accumulated a portfolio ranging from performances in site-specific Shakespeare plays (Measure For Measure) to fully staged musicals (In The Heights) and new play development/devised theater (The Words Will Come). With a background in both comedy and drama, I am here to hit all the right notes (literally and figuratively) and tug on audiences’ heartstrings (figuratively only).
As a voice actor, I can be heard in a variety of audio drama shows such as Re: Dracula (1 million downloads, award winner for the Baltimore Next Media Web Fest, Beyond The Curve International Film Festival and the Cannes World Art Festival), Someone Dies In This Elevator (award winner at the New Jersey Web Fest and the NZ Web Fest) and The Lightning Bottler.
As a director, some of my favorite credits include heightened classics (Cyrano De Bergerac), complex stories of modern realism (God Of Carnage) and rich musicals (The Wild Party), as well as audio drama shows such as Hubris and Tranthologies (Audio Verse Award winners for best direction of a new production). My work focuses on finding strong visual and emotional symbology that accentuates the themes of the piece.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
One of the hardest journeys I had to go through as an actor is trusting myself more than I trust the voices of others. As you know, there are many different techniques and schools of thought on the art of acting. There is this immense pressure in the industry to seamlessly transition from one to the other, always saying “Wow, this one has completely changed my life”. In reality though, we are all different people with different minds and personalities, and not only is your uniqueness not a hindrance, but it can also be the reason for your success!
For me, one of my hardest struggles was during my time in acting school. Our curriculum was focused on realism, and the techniques we used in class were brand new to me. You see, my background is mainly in the heightened theater genres and in movement based techniques, such as Laban and Michael Chekhov. That is where my strength lies, as well as my greatest passion. Don’t get me wrong, I was ecstatic to expand my knowledge and get introduced to new ideas, but unfortunately these were not working for me AT ALL. I would sit in class day after day, watching all my friends have these deep emotional revelations, walking out of the classroom feeling like they’ve made huge progress in their craft. And… That was not happening for me. It just wasn’t how my brain is wired. All around me I would hear how an actor who doesn’t use these methods will never be as great as someone who does, and I would sit there and think: What is wrong with me? Why doesn’t any of it strike a chord?
It took me some time to realize that crying in acting class isn’t necessarily the thing that will make me a great actor. Of course it’s great if that’s your thing, but for me it even goes the complete opposite way! You see, I have always related to characters very quickly and I tend to take things to heart. Where I struggle is managing to go through scenes of arguments or sorrow without feeling personally attacked. So the LAST thing I need is to use exercises to invoke feelings, I already am feeling everything I need! My journey is in managing to deliver a consistently good performance NO MATTER what my emotional state is and separate my experiences from the characters’. Channelling childhood memories to connect to the scene? Hell no, I need to work on regulating those and not allowing them to temper with my performance of the text. And I’ve done a pretty good job with that in recent years! It’s not an easy journey but I’ve made huge strides.
Had I stayed with the impression I wasn’t ever going to be good enough if this particular technique did nothing for me, I would only burn out working in a way that isn’t sustainable. I also wouldn’t have discovered these details about myself and my performance style that allow me to hone my craft on a daily basis. I still hope to one day have a revelation about some of these techniques and have my life changed (that sounds great), but I also think a show might benefit from someone like me. After all, every new and exciting acting technique had to start from someone going “I don’t know you guys, this previous thing isn’t really working for me. How about we try something else?”. So maybe…. Maybe one of those days you’ll see my name on a book with some strange new ideas about acting!
Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?
I really wish people would understand how diverse the world of art is, and that art is for everyone. So many people think we artists are this stuck-up secluded group. I studied musical theater, and I cannot tell you how many times I had conversations with people who just “don’t like musicals”. My follow up question to that is always “Oh, so you’ve seen them all?” Because if you know musical theater, you know that seeing Oklahoma! will give you very little insight into, say, American Idiot or Hedwig And The Angry Inch. Putting those in the same category is the same as comparing War And Peace and The Lord Of The Rings. Yes, they are both books I guess, but that’s about it as far as similarities go (though I, personally, love both).
The reason this is an important discussion, especially for people outside of the industry, is that indie theater really needs you. We all know the Off-Off-Broadway scene isn’t exactly Hollywood, not in terms of budget and not in terms of audience. Which is fine, I wouldn’t want it to be. I love my madly creative, passionately underground group of weirdos. But ever since I started my own theater company, I’ve learned how much we fight for every single audience member who comes to see our show. It’s hours upon hours of marketing with very limited reach, and that’s beyond, you know, producing a show from scratch and making sure it is the perfect final product we know will blow your minds.
And the variety is amazing! Only in the past year I’ve seen shows where the audience is blindfolded, shows where the audience is a complete part of the action, shows with AI technology and a show where the actor held his actual real life baby in his hand for the last two acts. There are shows outside, inside, short, long, realist, imaginary, straight plays, dance shows, fully staged, readings, there is EVERYTHING. Just look around and you’ll find something that piques your interest. We’re all people who have come here to do art because we are passionate about it, and all of us are excited to meet people, have a great experience and connect. So next time you feel like theater isn’t really for you, I urge you to look again. I guarantee you it will make someone’s day, and I GUARANTEE you there is something out there perfect for you. My email, anyway, is always open for show recommendations :)
Contact Info:
- Website: https://sivanraz.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/razsiv/
- Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/sivan-raz-actor
- Youtube: www.youtube.com/@razsiv
Image Credits
Personal Photo: Hila Shats. Photo #1: AMDA. Photo #2: Flagstaff Shakespeare Festival, G’s Photos. Photo #3: Hanani Horovitz. Photo #4: Liza Goncharuk. Photo #5: Mike Sager.