Daily Inspiration: Meet Ahmad Maher

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ahmad Maher.

Hi Ahmad, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I am an Egyptian-born New York-based actor. I am a recent graduate of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and their prestigious 2022-23 New York Company. After graduating just one year ago, I have been incredibly fortunate to have performed in 5 full-length plays, 4 staged readings, 3 short films, and 1 voice-over contract. I was born and raised in Cairo and immigrated to Sweden with my family at 15. Then at 21 I made the decision to continue my education as an actor.

Having gone through the immigrant experience twice, I learned to rely on my communication skills more than ever. I developed an appreciation and love for language, culture, and storytelling. Arabic is a very poetic language by nature and Arab stories and musicians – Umm Kulthum, Abdel Halim Hafez, and Fairuz – were prevalent in my upbringing. After becoming fluent in English and Swedish, being exposed to various authors such as Shakespeare, Jonas Hassen Khemiri, August Strindberg, Charles Dickens, and traveling to many countries around the world from Japan to Scotland, Czech Republic, Italy, and Norway just to name a few, I became more and more drawn to storytelling and the impact it has on every culture. This fascination with language, the power of words, and performance eventually lead me to pursue a career in the arts.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
There are many who share this sentiment: the greatest obstacle so far has been graduating into New York City completely financially independent. In certain instances, I found myself juggling four jobs at one time. Between these jobs were auditions, callbacks, rehearsals, production meetings, interviews, networking opportunities – and on a good day finding time to see friends at the end of it all. Choosing to live in this city and pursuing a career in the arts conditions you for constant movement. It really does require a passion for your work (even the ones that are there just to make ends meet) and a certain level of stubbornness to not let the unending to-do list bog you down. That stubbornness pushes you and reminds you that each step and each day is getting you a few inches closer to an even greater goal. Having a support system of family, even if four thousand miles away, and friends as kind and generous as mine eases that load every single day.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I work as an actor! I have a deep love and appreciation for storytelling and I love showcasing that through every medium available whether on stage, screen or other. In other words, I specialize in biting off way more than I could chew.

I think one of my proudest projects that I’ve worked on has to be my most recent one which was playing the title role of Musa in Pilgrims Musa & Sheri in the New World. This riveting play was written by Egyptian playwright Yussef El Guindi. I had been such a huge fan of Mr. El Guindi’s work ever since I was in school where I carefully studied many of his plays looking for audition monologues, and so to be able to play a part like Musa was truly an actual dream come true.

Another project that is very near and dear to me is the SoHo Shakespeare Company’s production of Richard III at the Flea Theater. On this production, I had to wear many different hats. I served as the Assistant Director to the incredible Alex Pepperman while also playing six characters in the show and understudying a few others. Though challenging at first, thanks to the fantastic people at SoHo Shakes, collaboration on a shared objective never felt more rewarding. There is something so inherently special about a group of people working deftly in collaboration in pursuit of a common goal, and I just felt so honored to have had this wonderful opportunity working alongside them!

Do you have any advice for those just starting out?
As actors, we all come from different schools of techniques and methods. One thing an actor should have that goes beyond any training is a strong sense of self. Your name, race, culture, religion, ideals, experiences and needs all sculpt and define us as individuals. When you have a strong sense of self, it allows you all the more to go in depth to the life and identity of the characters you portray and the stories you tell. You can give yourself over to find the commonalities and differences between the two and draw upon your own experiences to bring a genuine and unique connection to the words you’re saying on stage.

You become more aware of how your identifiers affect other people in a creative space. A strong sense of self can help you gravitate towards other theatre makers who are of like mind and have the ambition to create the work you wish to see and be a part of.

After many years of trying to balance the different aspects of my own identity – being an outsider as an immigrant, being a brown man in America who once spoke with an accent, being a practicing Muslim – I have found a great pride in these aspects of myself that I once felt hesitant to share. I have been so fortunate to meet and work with playwrights, directors, designers, and actors who share similar experiences as me and have found strength in it. It is a beautifully rewarding experience to be given the chance to voice these stories that are so personal to so many; so many whose struggles and triumphs are rarely highlighted in society. I am so proud to be a part of them and to be a positive representation of us through my work.

You will come across many people who will try to tell you who they think you are and aren’t. It is just as important to check in with yourself and remind yourself of who you are and what you wish to achieve in this industry as any other exercise in your arsenal.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.ahmad-maher.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/itssahmadmaher/ 

Image Credits
Photographs are by Luana Seu (@thelu.mag), Lauren Sageer (@laurensageer) and Zach G. (@augustuszachus)