Pop Culturalist Chats with Sharina Martin

Ensemble Studio Theatre’s 37th Marathon of One-Act Plays is full of impressive work from both writers and actors. One such actor is Sharina Martin. As a member of EST’s company, she performed in one of this year’s Marathon of One-Act Plays, The Extinctionist.

Over the course of seven weeks this year, there were fifteen plays total. As an experienced “Marathoner” and accomplished actress, Sharina chatted with us about her particular role and why the Marathon is so special.

PC: What drew you to acting as a profession?
Sharina: I like to think it was church when I was younger. I grew up Catholic, and I went to a lot of Sunday school. Whenever we got the highest score on the reading, we were allowed to give the reading at Mass that Sunday. I was that annoying kid that liked to ace all the tests. [laughs] So, I always got the highest score, and I would always give the reading. Being in front of all those people and reading a passage from the Bible in a way that would affect people, tell a story, and make it relevant was something I loved doing so much. As I got older–I’m no longer religious or go to church–that feeling is still the best way that I can explain acting: telling a story in a way that is relevant and touches people.

PC: You’ve done EST’s Marathon of One-Act Plays for several years now. What is it that keeps you coming back?
Sharina: I’m a newly inducted member at EST, and I love the organization so much. It’s the best place for writers to learn who they are, learn how to tell the stories they want to tell, and learn how to work within the confines of a production. The Marathon takes all of these writers who are all at different places in their careers and gives them a platform to tell a contained story with all the limits and support of a full production. You get these really exciting ideas in these little mini-packages. You can see writers getting better; you see the process from when you get the script through rehearsals with writers there. They change things and hone them. For a writer, it’s wonderful. New work is something I’ve always done in my career and want to do forever. This is boiling down to the essence of what I love and why new writing is so important and fun to do.

PC: Since you’re a member of the company, is it a traditional audition process? Or is it more of a collaboration?
Sharina: Oh it’s still auditioning! Fortunately, now that I’m a member, we get a breakdown of all the plays and what the characters are so I was able to look through [that]. I fell in love with this particular piece and wanted to play the character. I auditioned like everybody else. I went in and, at the end of the audition, I was sure that I hadn’t gotten it…which is how I always feel! The director, Pamela Berlin, called me the next day and let me know that I got it which was a delightful surprise.

Sharina Martin in The Extinctionist. Photo Credit: Ensemble Studio Theatre

PC: Can you talk a little bit about your role within the One-Act, The Extinctionist?
Sharina: I love this piece. I am such a big fan of it. It’s about a woman who is confronting what is happening in our world: climate change. She is really appalled by it, and she decides that the best thing to do is not have children. That’s the single biggest impact that she can have as a citizen of this planet. She embarks on the process of getting her tubes tied so that she can hold up this promise to herself and the world. Her husband is a little shocked by it. It’s about both their journeys: her really deciding that this is the route that she wants to go on and him realizing that his wife is going to do this and him wrestling with it. You watch them go through this decision.

I think it’s so great because it’s such a specific story. It’s very unique because, obviously, not everybody in the world has come to this conclusion, but it is universal in that I think the world is really scary right now and everyone’s afraid of their own thing. Looking for a sense of control amidst it is something that we’re all trying to do. This woman has just decided [that] this is her way of controlling her little part of the world. We all do it in our own ways, and at the end of the day, sadly, none of us have any control. That’s what the play is about.

PC: How much preparation did you do for this role? Did you do anything special?
Sharina: I researched like I normally do. I’m an actor who does a ton of research. There was a lot of reading about the climate crisis; I’m now in terror every day! There was a lot about what goes in, medically, to this decision–what would happen to her. There are seven scenes [in this] and they’re so fast. Each scene speaks to something that my friends and I have had conversations about over cocktails. I’m 34 so a lot of my friends are having children, thinking about having children, dating in this world, or feeling fears about what the planet is going to be in fifty years. [We’re discussing,] “Should we move? High tide is terrifying…” All of these scenes are part of my life.

PC: Have you seen the other One-Acts? If so, is there one that stands out to you as one you really like?
Sharina: I think the series is really strong. The performances are beautifully done. It’s very hard to tell a complete story in the amount of time we’re given in them, so actors end up doing a lot of work to fill in background information to a look, a glance, or a touch. We have such crazy good talent that that is happening across the series.

My good friend Colette Robert directs Tempo and that one is really gorgeous in terms of it being Pride Month, too. It’s a beautiful play you don’t often see. It’s a little bit sci-fi, like a Black Mirror episode, but it’s dealing with ideas of identity and queerness; how do we find ourselves and how do we assert ourselves in the world and our relationships. It’s so beautifully understated; I adore it.

PC: Do you find the shorter length of a one-act play more invigorating or challenging?
Sharina: It’s a little bit of a different art form just because you have to be true to the scenes and tell the story. For instance, in the first moments of my scene, it was really important to establish how much my husband and I love each other. We didn’t have the scenes of us brushing our teeth together or how trusting and loving the relationship was. You have to shorthand a lot of things. It’s a different game than if we had had a full act. It’s fun, but it makes it so that the audience can pick up on these things more quickly. They’re running with you from moment to moment.

PC: Looking ahead in your career, is there a role you hope to play?
Sharina: I can’t say that I have one. I love doing new work. I love discovering what writers today are writing about–especially for me as a black, queer, female actress. There are roles being written now that I never would have imagined back in college. I don’t think my dream role has been written yet. I’m excited.

Pop Culturalist Speed Round

Last TV Show You Binge-Watched
I just finished Killing Eve.

Favorite Film
Coming to America

Favorite Play
I’m in love with All My Sons right now.

Favorite Book
Chronicle of a Death Foretold

Musician or Artist You Could Listen to on Repeat
Solange

Hidden Talent
Sarcasm

Place You Most Want to Go To
Indonesia

Person You Most Want to Meet Someday
Nelson Mandela

Learn more about EST’s Marathon of One-Act Plays here!