Meet Alexandra Silber | Actor, Singer, Author

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

Hi Alexandra, what principle do you value most?
The principle that guides my artistry (and life, too, of course) is the concept of SERVICE. As a human being, I am always asking how I can serve my fellow humans and communities. But as an actor I align myself with the thought that I am in a service industry– and the person I serve above all others is certainly not my own ego, and you might be surprised to know it is not primarily the audience or even my fellow creators. The person I serve is the character I am playing. They “need” me to live, speak, breathe, and pursue their objectives. It is my responsibility (and honor) to serve their story and in doing so I hope to serve everyone else.

There is a phrase in Yiddish: zeyn in dinst fun — “to be in service of.”

All I could do, all I can do, is serve.

The character, the truth, the play, my fellow creators, and to quote playwright Paula Vogel as she describes the audience: “those who set aside the time to be there in person.”

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
A huge, multi-headed question.

– I hope what sets me apart is my fierce commitment to the art form itself. Despite having joi de vivre and a wicked sense of humor, I take my art incredibly seriously. As I’ve previously written, I feel that I am in service.

– I feel pride in my work ethic, and in the gift of being able to achieve multiple things in one lifetime, across artistic genres. I often talk about how the world often recognizes and rewards “vertical success–” by which I mean the “overnight success” stories, the million TikTok followers, the wunderkind, the person who achieves so much so quickly, in one lane.
But I pursue an alternative– the “horizontal success” model. More experiences, more genres, more hyphenates. I think the density and richness of one’s life is a legitamite success too.

– None of it was easy. Talent might be easy, but skill is acquired and maintained with very real rigor. And talent alone is–in my estimation– really only about 20 percent of success. So much of it is perspective, mental health, grit, resilience, personality, and a very real willingness to fail.

– The greatest axiom I can offer at this stage of my life is that success is not about what you do, it is about how you feel about what you do.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
1. Shop local at my favorite neighborhood shop: Lockwood in Astoria, Queens.

2. Take in Viennese art and coffee at the Neue Gallerie (Museum for German and Austrian art from the early twentieth century. Located at Fifth Avenue and 86th Street on Manhattan’s Upper East Side.)

3. Tour my favorite spot in the city– The New York Public Library. (Words! Books! Ideas! Free!)

4. Walk the length of the “park in the sky–” the magical High Line.

5. Get a little sloshed at Southstreet Seaport’s The Cowgirl Seahorse on peach margaritas (with little plastic mermaids on the rim of the glass) and Hurricane Nachos

6. Dance til the wee hours at The Manderley Bar inside The McKittrick Hotel after a night of Sleep No More.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I owe so much of the actor I am to acting teachers and directors David Montee and Robin Ellis formerly of Interlochen Arts Academy.

I wouldn’t be a writer without literary agents Louise Lamont and Joelle Delbourgo.

And I wouldn’t be here at all without my mother Catherine Silber.

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Website: www.alexandrasilber.net

Instagram: alsilbs

Twitter: alsilbs

Other: my blog www.alexandrasilber.blogspot.com

Image Credits
Pegasus Books Jeff Sciortino Rebecca Michelson Michael Kushner