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Suraya Susana Keating, Actor

Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand - strawberries in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming WOO HOO - What a Joyous Ride! - Unknown

Actors are modern day shamans, bringing themselves and the audience for an unpredictable ride into the realm of the imagination - the place where spirit resides.

The task of the actor, according to Suraya, is ultimately to tell the truth. The deep truth, the hard truth, the comical truth - the truth in all its paradoxical disguises. In the end, great acting requires that the actor or actress be willing to express the deepest truth inside herself via the character she portrays. It also requires that the actor commit to what the character is fighting for, and to the story that is being told. In the end, the actor's job is to serve the story by surrendering herself to it - by utilizing herself in such a way that brings the story fully to life.

Whether portraying a neurotic aerobics instructor who projects her neuroses less than gracefully onto her students or a dutchess fighting to regain the honor of her family, Suraya brings to her acting work a deep commitment to exploring the truth of every character - to digging into the character's survival strategies and how she developed them - to bringing the character, the character's dreams, and the character's relationships with others to life with as much integrity and presence as possible.

Suraya's Acting Bio:

Born in New York, Suraya first began acting in college, where she performed in a range of shows, including the ancient and powerful tale of The Bacchae of Euripides to the fantastic and colorful Jesus Christ Superstar. Suraya later moved to North Carolina, where she she first began training in the art of improvisation with various improv troupes and drama schools. Through improvisation, Suraya came to value the very important qualities of being "present" or "in the moment" as an actress, of connecting with one's improvisation partner on stage, and of being open to the possibility that anything could happen.

These qualities of presence and connection are ones which Suraya brings on a continual basis to her stage and film work. After moving to the Bay Area in 1996, Suraya began acting with a variety of Bay Area companies. Some favorite roles include Tina in the long-running San Francisco production of Tony-n-Tina's Wedding, Cassie in Neil Simon's Rumors, the Dutchess of York in Richard III with Festival Theatre Ensemble, and Dory in Sex, Death and Aerobics at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland.  She was also seen last year portraying Judy Garland in LSMFT (Lucky Strike Means Fine Tobacco) by Gary Michael White, and as Miami in Seduced by Sam Shephard with the Actors Ensemble of Berkeley. 

Since living in the Bay Area, Suraya has continued her acting training at various local schools, including the American Conservatory Theater, the San Francisco Acting Academy and Jeffrey Bihr Studios.  In 2001, she completed a one-year intensive training in the Meisner technique with Rachael Adler.  During the summer of 2005, she participated in an acting internship with Marin Shakespeare Company, and was seen in two of the company’s mainstage productions: The Knight of the Burning Pestle and Romeo and Juliet.  She also taught for the Marin Shakespeare Company’s summer camp program, and co-directed the ever-popular A Midsummer Night’s Dream with children ages 8 through 13.