Today we’d like to introduce you to Adi Schor.
Adi, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
My name is Adi Schor and I was born and raised in Tel-Aviv, the theater capital of Israel. I moved to New York City over three years ago to pursue my dream of a career in the performing arts.
As long as I can remember, I wanted to be on stage. I was singing and dancing to my parents in the living room nonstop, writing songs and dreaming about the big stages. When I was little, I performed in national ceremonies at my school, then I participated in a children’s DVD series and found out I loved working in front of a camera as well. I always loved singing, but I hadn’t known yet I would want to be an actress. When I was 12 years old, my mother took me on a Bat Mitzvah trip to London, and I remember watching the musical FAME and then MAMMA MIA and I said to her with tears of joy in my eyes- this is what I want to do with my life. I went on to major in Theater in high school and performed with a known teen community theater program for five years.
I served for two years in the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). I wasn’t allowed to perform during those two years, but that break from performing never stopped me from wanting to – on the contrary! It created this hunger to get out there and start working towards it immediately by the end of my service. Throughout those two years, I took multiple dance and voice lessons a week, took a writing class for a couple of months, read tons of plays and books and did my best to stay surrounded by an artistic environment. I wanted to keep my motivation running. I even became the assistant director of the community theater program I grew up in. Once I ended my service, I officially became one of the company’s directors. I also started studying acting in front of a camera with the famous Chubbuck method.
Not long after, I moved to New York to study Musical Theater at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy (AMDA- one of the leading schools for Musical Theater in the US). I have been dreaming of going to this school ever since I was 13 years old. Studying there was everything I ever dreamed of and I wouldn’t replace that experience with anything.
After graduating, I performed in several cabaret evenings and within three months, I got my first job in the city – a leading role in a musical. The production company of the musical remembered me from one of the cabaret nights that they produced and I took part in. From there on, I worked hard and I got into multiple exciting projects – I performed in plays, musicals, music performances, student films and commercials. I have participated in well-known festivals in the city such as FringeNYC and New York New Works Festival, and in well-known competitions (one of them was aired in Japan and I was one of the four finalists in the singing contest). I performed in and out of the city, traveling with productions I participated in. I took part in original projects such as Michael Seebold’s The Spyglass Seven, playing the role of Edgar Allan Poe’s deceased wife- Virginia Clemm. I also participated in known productions such as the musical Annie (with Plaza Theatrical) in which I portrayed the character of Lily St. Regis. I am excited to see what else is in store for me, but so far I have been very grateful for all of the wonderful opportunities I was given, and all the wonderful people I got to know thanks to them.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Moving to NYC to pursue my dreams was nothing close to a smooth road. The main difficulty for me personally was to be away from my family since I am extremely attached to them, especially my dog, Tommy (I am obsessed with him! He even has a Facebook page – Shiba Tommy). I do acknowledge that I am lucky that in today’s technological age, I can talk to them for hours in video calls, but it’s not like having them around. The time difference can also be really difficult sometimes. I also think winter in New York has been difficult on me – I come from a warm country, the coldest it can get in Tel-Aviv is 55°F and that doesn’t happen often! So for me to adjust to the oh-so-cold winter of the city… It wasn’t the easiest. I did enjoy seeing snow for the first time, though!
A specific obstacle I had on the way was in the middle of my time at AMDA – during third semester, I strained my ankle and tore a ligament in my foot. Dealing with that injury during wintertime, having to “continue as usual” at school was not easy to say the least. I ended up having to go back home for a little over a month and take care of my injuries. I also had to do third semester all over again… And guess what? It was the most amazing thing that could have happened to me. I gained more school time, made new friends that up until this day are close to me, learned from more bright teachers and overall, I felt stronger and more ready for that intense semester. Things happen for a reason, even if you can’t see it at first.
In general, being a foreign actor in the US isn’t easy at all. Choosing to be an actor to begin with is a decision that comes from the heart rather than from the head – people who choose this profession usually do so because they cannot imagine themselves doing anything else. We could have supposedly chosen a more established, safer profession, but when you choose to be an actor, you take into account that it is a fickle business, without a steady income, and it takes a lot of work and self-marketing. As a foreign actor in the US, you also need to prove why you are better than others who are American or with a Green Card – why would they choose to go on a more complicated path with you?
My greatest advice to give when it comes to this profession is – ask yourself, what makes you special? What makes you stand out as YOURSELF? Not long ago, a wonderful insight came to me that at the end of the day, there is no one who is completely like me in the world. Now the question is what makes me different? What distinguishes me from others? Then I ask the same question about myself as a performer. The idea is to highlight these qualities of yours in your auditions to show the casting directors with whom they are dealing and what makes you the one they want to employ. Getting to the conclusion of what makes you unique will help tremendously in your future career, in my opinion.
I remember thinking – it’s expensive, it’s complicated, it’s a different language, it’s far from everyone I know and love, why should I do it to myself? Here is the thing; I am a firm believer that it is better to regret the actions you’ve taken in life rather the ones you haven’t – I would rather know I tried than ask myself “what could have happened if”. I wish for all of you to have the courage to pursue your dreams, the strength to get to know yourselves and what makes you happy and the will to go for it come what may.
Please tell us about your business.
I am first and foremost, an actor. My favorite thing in the world is combining singing with my acting performance – hence my deep love for Musical Theater. I enjoy straight acting as well, but music is my great love and so the ability to combine the two always makes my heart smile.
Since I moved to the city, I participated in numerous projects. Working on the production of Annie was an outer-world experience for me since it is one of the musicals I grew up on. If you told me that one day I would play the role of Lily St. Regis, the blonde not-so-smart villain, I would have never believed you. At school, my teachers were struggling to fit me into a “type”, I got a variety of characters to perform, but never the “dumb blonde” stereotype. I learned a lot from playing a character who is light years different from me – I had to work on a New Jersey accent, a completely different body language… Getting into the shoes of this funny and crazy character was an absolute delight.
I also mentioned previously the play The Spyglass Seven written by Michael Seebold, which takes place in a graveyard where the poet Edgar Allan Poe comes to life and meets with all sorts of women from his life that have long since passed away. I played his late wife, Virginia Clemm Poe, who died at a young age from tuberculosis. We performed this production both at the 2018 KeyBank Rochester Fringe Festival and at the International Edgar Allan Poe Festival in Baltimore, Maryland. Doing a show outside of New York is a wonderful experience because not only you get to know the cast more closely but you also get the chance to get away from the city and see new places which is a great gift.
The first musical I took part in in New York as the leading character was Angels at Work, which was selected to a very well-known New York festival called the New York New Works Festival. During the festival, I performed at the very famous Off-Broadway Theater known as “Theater Row” and the judges at the festival were famous people from the industry such as directors, producers, etc. The musical was so successful that they asked us to perform in another round of the festival’s “finalists” during the last week of the festival.
The last production I participated in was an Israeli cabaret show called “iDiva” – a performance produced by the Israeli Artists Project, filled with Israeli Diva songs. I got to sing a song by one of my favorite Israeli artists, who I have adored since I was a little girl. I was so excited because I sang the same song when I was in 10th grade as a theater exercise, so to sing it years later at the famous Green Room 42 in New York was a very empowering experience for me. In general, singing in Hebrew on an NYC stage is a great honor and I am excited every time to get the opportunity to do so.
Most people know I am an actress who sings, but not many are aware of the fact that I also write and compose songs. I play the guitar and the ukulele, and only recently, I have started to publish more covers, but I haven’t performed my original material just yet. I have been secretly working on an album for a while now, hoping to publish some of my original material by next year!
Were there people and/or experiences you had in your childhood that you feel laid the foundation for your success?
Growing up in Tel-Aviv, I was definitely exposed to many different genres of theater from a very young age. Tel-Aviv has it all – from large, impressive theaters to small, intimate ones, from musicals to plays to cabarets, etc. There are original Israeli productions being performed, but also big international hits. I was pretty young when I first saw the Israeli production of Fiddler on the Roof and I was obsessed. I remember thinking it was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen.
I remember myself from a very young age looking for stage opportunities. I wasn’t a “kid star” – my parents didn’t really push me towards a career at a young age and were encouraging me to enjoy my childhood as much as I could. I did take many classes over the years (ballet, jazz, guitar, etc.) and participated in school ceremonies and productions.
I also watched tons of movies growing up, including Grease, Sound of Music, Dirty Dancing and Footloose. My older sister was a big fan of musical films or ones that included dance in them, and she introduced me to many. I owe a lot of my Musical Theater knowledge to her.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://adi-schor.wixsite.com/official
- Email: Didischor@gmail.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Didischor48/
- Other: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcyEMqvcL-fNHJSLORomCfQ?
Image Credit:
The two headshots were taken by Shirin Tinati. The one with the big hat is from The Spyglass Seven and was taken by Kathryn Dulny, The one with the angels is from Angels at Work and was taken by James Downes. The one with the wig is from Annie.
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