Meet Sasha Friedman | Actor/Owner and Artistic Director of Authenticity Theater

We had the good fortune of connecting with Sasha Friedman and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Sasha, is your business focused on helping the community? If so, how?
Authenticity Theater’s mission is to use the art of theater to break stigma of social issues like mental illness, addiction, and domestic and sexual abuse. Shows are chosen with these issues, We are also choosing organizations to donate proceeds from each show, For example, if the show deals with mental illness then we will find an organization that helps people with mental illness.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I’m so excited to finally pursue my passion of acting and running a theater company. I was hit with the acting bug at the age of 12 in my first production of “Oliver.” I knew then that I wanted to be an actress and I had a talent that gave me so much joy. I was born in Russia at the age of 8 and struggled with not knowing the language and making friends. I was a lonely child until that day of being on stage for the first time and had a sense of purpose and belonging. I went on to get a degree in Theater from the University of Georgia. That was the best time of my life because I was immersed in my craft. I was so happy. When I graduated I decided to add a teaching degree to my education because I knew I had to support myself financially and was afraid of being a “starving actor.” I ended up loving teaching and felt that I had two passions now. I felt lucky. I performed in plays on the side as I worked as a teacher.

Then, life happened. I got married and had a son so I put acting on hold for a while and focused on being a wife and mother. It is during this time that I hit the lowest point of my life. I was diagnosed with severe, debilitating depression and had to stop working. I finally felt better after treatment and went back to work. My husband wanted to move to Israel at that time. He was from there and always wanted to raise his family there. I was reluctant to leave my parents, friend, teaching, and acting but I tried to look at it as an adventure so off I went. But unfortunately, things didn’t turn out as well as I had hoped.

Life abroad was extremely difficult and stressful for me. I felt like an outsider and couldn’t communicate the way I was used to. It was torture. The stress of it all cause me to fall back into another deep depression that left me unable to function. Again, I got better with treatment but I was still miserable and my marriage was falling apart. We finally moved back after 5 years but the stress of it all cause us to divorce and my ex moved back to Israel, leaving me to raise my son on my own.

Thinking that coming back to the US was going to be liberating and free, I was hit with another challenge of raising my son on my own with little financial support from my ex. My parents were my saving grace and helped me raise my son. But my acting career and dreams had to be put on hold as I struggled with mental illness, loneliness, and fear of the future.

Fast forward to 2021. My son graduated high school and began college. I decided that this was my time to go after my dream of acting. I got married and to another creative and we have launched our theater “Authenticity Theatre” We have our first show called “Pizza Man” in May! I’m also pursuing an acting career in film and tv.

This was a very difficult road with many challenges and road blocks, but I finally made it at 51. I may be older but I feel my struggles have made me the person I am today and I don’t regret anything. This is finally my time and I’m embracing it every step of the way. This is what I want the world to know about my story. I want to give hope for people who are struggling and can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel. I never gave up on finding love again and following my dreams.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I love Virginia Highlands and midtown. The Fox Theatre is my favorite place to see touring Broadway shows.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Love and encouragement to Scott Keefer, my husband. There would be no theater without his help and support.

Website: www.authenticitytheater.org

Facebook: Authenticity Theater