Today we’d like to introduce you to Amanda Scheirer.
Hi Amanda, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Hello! Well, my name is Amanda Scheirer and I am writer, a mom and a coffee enthusiast! I have been writing professionally for the past eleven years-mostly for the theatre, plays, monologues, musicals and interactive theatre pieces. While I’ve been living in Florida for nearly a decade, I am originally from Allentown, Pennsylvania. One of my earliest memories is corralling my cousins at family gatherings to perform Barney songs with me for our parents and grandparents. So my journey in the theatre started thirty-something years ago. But my becoming a writer began during my senior year of college. I was a theatre major focusing on performance when I took an elective playwriting class. It changed my entire path. I realized writing was what I was most passionate about. I moved to Dublin, Ireland, to study playwriting at Trinity College as a Masters student. I was writing, learning, and exploring. Dublin pulses with creativity. It was an incredible experience to live and work there. During this time, I wrote the very first pieces of what would eventually become The Red String musical.
Since returning to the states and settling in Winter Garden, my writing has evolved. I have explored creating a one-woman show, full-length, one-act, and ten-minute plays. In 2018 my first novel, “How to Say I Love You’ was published. My novel, a true labor of love, changed the game for me creatively yet again. My good friend, local musician Dan Drnach, approached me with a unique idea. A book reading and concert in one. He had read the book and wrote a few songs inspired by the story. I happily agreed. That is where The Red String: A New Musical became the faintest inkling of a thought. Three years later, we’ve just had our first public showcase. It was an amazing experience! A local, professional cast of actors and musicians put our musical up on its feet in front of an audience for the very first time. We’ve received great feedback and are jumping into our next phase. We are seeking producers and financial sponsors for its world premiere next year. I can’t wait to see what the future holds.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Of course, the road could have been smoother. The creative arts are a career path filled with hard work, struggles, and rejection. It takes a lot of perseverance and thick skin to keep going; there are only a few opportunities to produce or publish your writing. Being an ‘unknown’ woman writer, it’s nearly impossible to even get a foot in the door. However, I have learned that you have to make your own opportunities. I saw it happing while I was living in Dublin and I put it into practice. You can make it happen for yourself. You can create the art you want to see. You don’t have to wait for someone to give you permission. And that is not to say it’s not still an uphill battle. There are always challenges finding funding. That is something I’m facing with my current project. And of course, I could always use more time.
The time I have to give to my writing is challenging. It is very limited. I am a single mom to a beautiful little boy. When my son was just a year old, he was diagnosed with an ultra-rare genetic condition called Shashi-Pena Syndrome. I stay home with him full-time, and I wouldn’t trade my time with him for the world. So when he falls asleep for the night, I work on my writing. I promised him and myself that I would keep pursuing my creative passions and goals and take the big leaps, even if it was scary. It’s important because I want him to grow up knowing we can be and do anything we put our hearts to. We should chase our dreams and take leaps. He has gone through so much in his young life. He teaches me to go boldly into each new challenge.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar, what can you tell them about what you do?
The most frequent thing I hear from people who have read my novel or seen my work is that it is so relatable. It is the biggest compliment I could receive. There is so much sadness, negativity, darkness, and frightening things in our world. A lot of theatre of the past ten to fifteen years has reflected that. There are some quite intense plays and musicals with devastating plot points. And I credit them; they are some magnificent, beautiful theatre pieces. But that is not what I do. I’ve never set out to be edgy.
I come from a very truthful place when I write. I draw in my life, family, friends, and their incredible anecdotes. I’ve set out to create plays, musicals, and novels that feel like the old family stories that get told around the dinner table every holiday. I tell stories that make you laugh, want to call your best friend or fall madly in love. That is not to say I haven’t or won’t tackle difficult topics. I’m not regurgitating Brady Bunch episodes. I just want to create a space for women’s stories that don’t focus on the trauma we’ve experienced. A space for stories, whether read or staged, that appeal to our highest light…the best timeline.
That is the heart of my latest project, The Red String: A New Musical. It is the story of Nessa. She has had dreams again of foreign cities, romantic languages, and the person she’s loved since childhood saying those three little words. Sick of slinging drinks, unfulfilled and restless, Nessa decides to follow her dreams… literally. With her best friend Sami in tow, the two women take off on an adventure that will change their lives forever. The musical explores love, friendship, and the idea of fate.
Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
I love that Orlando feels like a big city and a small town all at once. Living in Winter Garden, I get the best of both worlds. And, of course, I love the entertainment. There is always so much to see, do and experience here. We are spoiled for choice. The thing I like least is how everything is a drive. I wish we had a better transportation infrastructure and more areas of the city and its surrounding neighborhoods were walkable.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.theredstringmusical.net
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theredstringmusical/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theredstringanewmusical
- Other: https://sukishima.com/products/how-to-say-i-love-you-book
