Johannesburg - In just under two months, Serena Steinhauer jets off to New York to begin a new chapter in her life. And this is a one-way ticket for the Joburg theatre actress.
She looks visibly excited at the mere mention of New York.
“I think it's literally my dream come true in every way, and I feel like I have been preparing for this for years,” says Steinhauer.
“Ever since I was a little girl, I had this weird thought that Serena will go to America one day. Each time I have visited the States I have felt at home with the people. Finally, through Covid and through many trials and tribulations, it’s finally happening and I am overjoyed,” she says.
Steinhauer will jet off to New York in August where she will begin her journey at the prestigious PACE University.
She was meant to leave much earlier for the US to study at Berklee’s School of Music, however, due to the Covid pandemic, she was forced to complete her degree at Berklee online.
She now has the opportunity to further her studies at Pace, for a Masters of Fine Arts in Acting, an institution that has nurtured countless talents, including Bradley Cooper.
She is thrilled at the opportunity of being able to physically be at her new university in New York and to bond with her classmates.
“The great thing is I have already made plenty of friends, so adjusting to my new surroundings shouldn't be a problem,” she says.
While there are just two months left to go before she leaves South Africa for good, Steinhauer admits she is yet to find a place to stay.
“My parents are stressed, but I am sure that I will find a place in no time.”
She knows that it will most probably be a tiny apartment.
“I expect it to be the size of a shoebox,” she says. “But it will be my shoebox and it's a stepping stone to my exciting future,” she says.
Steinhauer dreams of becoming a theatre actress on Broadway. While she is delighted to be relocating, she admits that she is going to miss South Africa.
“I am going to miss the people and the smiles. South Africa made me the dreamer that I am.”
Most of all, she will miss her parents, she says.
“Being the typical Jewish parents, they want to wrap me up in cotton wool and have me there for the rest of their lives. My parents are quite old, My dad is 72 and my mom is 64, travelling for them is really challenging. I am an only child, I am their little person. But they are so excited for me. I must commend my dad. He has made every single one of my dreams come true, he wants to see me fly.
“My mom has been there for me through everything. From buying me linen for my beds, teaching me how to wash my clothes. They've been holding my hand all the way,” she says.
But Steinhauer hasn’t been able to fully focus on her move to New York.
That’s because she has been hard at work on a parting gift to South Africa.
The actress says she wasn't going to leave without giving a big thanks to everyone and has been relentlessly working on a brand new theatre production which she has written all by herself.
“The Undone” will make its debut at the Theatre on the Square in Sandton in over a week's time. It’s the first time that Steinhauer has written her own play, which is being directed by Alan Swerdlow, includes original music by Bryan Schimmel, and is presented by Daphne Kuhn.
The thought-provoking play follows the stories of three brave women who dare to say what’s been left unsaid.
In their stories, we discover what the face of resilience looks like against calamity. Their stories are an ode to life; the humour, the tragedy, the loss, and the success of it all.
“It was mostly a thank you to the theatre community for holding my hand through everything. I have had mentors that I could have only dreamt about. It's my final goodbye to audiences that have come to watch me ever since I was in high school. To the theatres here, where I have made a name for myself, and it's just a thank you.
“And without the platform of the entertainment industry here, I wouldn't be able to have this big dream. Or want to pursue it, or have the support that I do,” she says.
Her new play has been described as an exciting, thought-provoking production.
“Writing ‘The Undone’ has been a labour of pure love. It is a story that is deeply connected to my heart and heritage, brought to life by a team I could only have dreamed of. Most of all, its intention is to highlight that being resilient in life is a personal choice, we all have the power to overcome any adversity. I am incredibly grateful to be able to tell this story through the medium I love most; live theatre,” Steinhauer says.
“The Undone” was inspired by Steinhauer’s college admission essay for her Master's degree, which was titled “Survival Story”
“In my essay, I spoke about how I come from a line of Holocaust survivors. My grandmother, Ruth, was a survivor. I spoke about the people and women of colour who have survived the apartheid regime who I look up to and also a very personal survival of my own.
“When I was given the idea of writing my own show, I thought, what on earth am I going to write about? I grew up watching protest theatre like Athol Fugard, and it was a big part of what I wanted to do with my career. I couldn’t tell apartheid stories, but I can tell Jewish stories.
“My people were discriminated against. But I didn’t want to make it a Jewish story only, so I looked at my essay and tried to figure out what the common denominator was between the three women I chose to write about ... It was resilience,” she says.
Steinhauer says each one of them chose to overcome their challenges, but most of their lives were cut short because of adversity.
“People ask me what the crux of the story is. It's not only about resilience, it’s also not a coming of age story, but a coming of self-story,” she says.
Steinhauer not only writes the show, but is also a solo performer.
“It took months to do together with Alan. I did 10 drafts of a 30 page script. The process after that was figuring out how to take the words off the page and put it on stage. As a solo performer, moving from one character to another isn’t easy, but when you love what you do, you grind and do your best,” she says.
It is still all very surreal.
“I would love to tell little 6-year-old Serena that she did it. That she would perform her original work in front of a community she admires, earns two degrees from renowned American institutions and, finally get to call New York City her home.
“I would tell her that the journey to get there would be filled with fierce determination, perseverance, and overcoming obstacles. But despite these hurdles, the dream can come true,” she says.
While New York awaits, Steinhauer says she is itching to get on stage at the Theatre on the Square to say her final farewell and to give theatre-goers her very best work yet.
“This is one of the things I am most proud of. I don’t want to say it's the finest, because that makes it a glass ceiling, and I want it to be the start of more work like it,” Steinhauer concluded.