Meet Antonia Czinger | writer, director, actor, therapist, girl about town

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

Hi Antonia, have you ever found yourself in a spot where you had to decide whether to give up or keep going? How did you make the choice?

There is a difference between “giving up” and changing course. There is often a toxic view that is perpetuated in the entertainment industry that you should “never give up” with no understanding that your desires, goals, and aspirations may change with time. So you’ll want to check in with yourself—do you still want what you thought you wanted or do you want something else? Let desire be your guide, baby!

I am a big believer in following desire. Besides being sexy, I’d say desire is an indicator of the direction in which our souls needs to develop, an indicator of what your soul needs to explore in order to grow. You can’t endgame it either. And by that I mean, you have to do the thing you want, when you want to do it, even if you think it will all end in ruin or in a change of heart.

In college, I once had someone tell me that I should not pursue acting because I was better at writing and psychology, and I should therefore maximize my potential during my one and only life by either writing things or practicing therapy. Unfortunately, I primarily wanted to act. Weirdly, I now write and practice therapy; however, I would not have wanted to do those things if I had not primarily being an actor first. Acting allowed my soul to grow in such a way that I felt I had stories to tell and also endowed me with the compassion I needed in order to want to be a therapist.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?

So first things first, I invite you to read the interview I did for this very publication about my journey and what I like to do: http://voyagela.com/interview/check-out-antonia-czingers-story/

Anyway, my brand, which I **definitely** established after writing and directing my play The Rage Fairy, and also talking to this website is all about… magical realism! Dark comedy! Absurdism, but also people leaving the theater and going “wow that was about me!” Pastiche! Anachronisms! Genre blending! Exploring sexual desire, femininity, masculinity, toxic relationships, codependence, and mental illness, but in a fun way! 

I suppose the thing that excites me most right now is turning The Rage Fairy into a screenplay and then movie. I really, truly believe that this story is worth sharing and I look forward to the next chapter there. I am also set on remounting the play on a larger scale. Maybe there will even be a musical or a cartoon. In any case, I am deeply passionate about getting this story out there and my big desire is for this little fairy to have a significant cultural impact.

In her misguided quest for love, the Rage Fairy speaks to the very real way women in particular are socially conditioned to take emotional responsibility and excuse male behavior and “bend reality” in order to pursue love at all costs. Through the absurdism and humor of it all, we get to see how ridiculous and convoluted these efforts end up being—not to mention destructive! Plus, she’s fun. 

The archetype of the woman driven mad by thwarted love is everywhere, but she rarely has this much power. Ophelia, Blanche, Tess of the d’Urbevilles—they are all fragile and they die and their madness mostly destroys themselves. The Rage Fairy causes chaos for all around her, in particular the poor embodiment of toxic masculinity who endorses her behavior. As the review by Hollywood Gothique put it, “a neurotic may lapse into delusion, but perhaps a Rage Fairy can make delusion into reality.” 

I also recently graduated with my masters in clinical psychology and am now an associate marriage and family therapist (though I mainly give individual therapy). I will continue to work as the place where I completed my traineeship, The Relational Center, as a counselor in resident. I’m very excited! 

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?

The last time, I had friends over, they were very interested in simply sitting in my mother’s sculpture garden and drinking booze, so I can definitely recommend that. Unfortunately, getting into my mother’s sculpture garden is very exclusive and involves knowing my mother, so I’ve also compile a quick list of less exclusive destinations. 

NoHo: Fat Dog, Republic of Pie, Sherry Theater, Idle Hour

Venice: Abbot Kinney at large, Butcher’s Daughter, Greenleaf, Salt and Straw, literally so many restaurant for getting fancy including Elephante, Gjelinas, Plant Food +Wine, Tasting Kitchen, Sushi Enya, favorite affordable option is Siamese Garden

West Hollywood: Lady M, Zinque, Formosa, The Little Door, bar hop involving Employees Only, Surely Goat, Bar Lubitsch, Sassafras

Downtown: Count’s Den, Center Theater Group, Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, Bestia, The Edison

Hollywood: Davey Waynes, Harvard and Stone

Silverlake: Tenants of the Trees, Bacari

Random: El Rey theater, Dynasty Typewriter, the Slam by Annie Paradis, UCB, Franklin Village, Junior High 

In my original version of this answer, I included personal antidotes and recommendations for each place, but that was clearly too much. Still, I love LA. I just adore it. I want to know every crack in its sidewalks one day, but thankfully that day is still far off. 

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?

Definitely my parents, Mom and Dad or as they are playfully known to the rest of the world: Katrin and Kevin Czinger. They emphasized the value of taking risks over playing it safe, and normalized failure as part of growth. My dad once famously told me that I was wasting my twenties by not driving across the country to pursue acting which then gave me the push to actually drive across the country and pursue acting. Meanwhile, my mom always gave me the impression of being just as proud of me when I struggled as when I succeeded.

I also want to thank everyone involved with Stuart Rogers Studio, only the best acting studio in LA (and possibly North America). Stuart provided me a process for acting that freed my creativity and allowed me to explore characters in a way that was both effective and fulfilling of my curiosity. Through my work with Stuart, I developed a talent for my talent and also grew to actual like myself as an actor. I also want to give a shout out specifically to Rachel Grate, who was in Stuart’s class with me, because she is amazing and inspirational, and if you are ever feeling down, check out her as Audra doing the Jap Battle Rap in Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.

Otherwise I want to thank the community at Zombie Joes Underground for introducing me to people who were genuinely interested in putting up theater, especially David Dickens who originally cast me in his play and then went on to found Ballview Entertainment which in turn put up my play, The Rage Fairy. Thank you David for having such a crazy imagination and for enjoying absurdism. Also, a big thank you to the cast and crew of The Rage Fairy and in particular to the one and only Holly Anne Mitchell, who is so blindingly talented and epically funny that you cannot help but fall in love with her even when she is playing someone who is completely unhinged. Chris Fields of the Echo has also been very kind in answering my questions about how to put up theater in LA.

Acting-wise, some additional credit also goes to Larry Moss and the community there and to Theatre Palisades for providing me with one of my favorite acting experiences, which was playing Miss Casewell in their production of The Mousetrap. A little girl in an all-plaid suit stood up and clapped so enthusiastically while staring right at me—a dream come true. Also, I do owe some things to my education: shout out to my college professors, Deb Margolin, Joseph Roach, and Donald Margulies. Also, Caz Phillips for being so intimidating, yet also believing in my work. Honestly, I really need to stop thanking people and things because otherwise this would go on forever, please and thank you. Miss Moise, my third-grade teacher, you were great.

Therapy-wise, I will always thank my first boyfriend’s mother, Suzi Tortora, for being an adult who so thoroughly loved her job and who opened up my imagination in terms of what a career in therapy could look like. I do also have a godmother, Saskia Weber and she also inspired me with her therapy career. My graduate program at Pepperdine served me well. Finally, I do love The Relational Center where I work as it is fantastic both in terms of the therapy they offer and the community they build. Jami Winkel and Dan Fink are working to create a culture of interdependence and empathy. If you are reading this and would like to get therapy with me, I am currently taking clients. 

Book-wise, I recently read In The Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado and I really do recommend it.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/antoniaczinger/?hl=en

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/antonia-czinger-a58b8860/

Image Credits
David Dickens (fairy image)