Arts and Culture
Nathan Zingg: The actor, writer and comedian of tomorrow By Stephanie Seaberg, Resident since 2010
N
athan Zingg is a force to be reckoned with. For many years now, Zingg has been an artistic tornado of comedy, drama and literary art ripping through Danville at a feverish pace. He is a unique member of the community, having written several notable plays and received several awards for his work. Nathan has a rather impressive resume too. He is an outgoing actor, writer and comedian, who even performs stand up comedy at the famous Tommy T’s in Pleasanton...... And did I mention, he’s only 17? People like Nathan are often described as a Wunderkind, in show business. One who achieves success at a relatively young age. It is believed by many that this San Ramon Valley high school senior has a bright future ahead of him and his sights are set on success.
Talk about some of plays you’ve written? I’ve written Chew-A-Thon, You’ve got mail, Once upon a Back in Time, Movie Night, Eggs, Step-by-Step, The Greatest Love Story Ever Told, and my most recent full length play Vacant, performed in March. All of my shows were produced and performed at San Ramon Valley High School.
What kind of awards have you received for your work in theater? The most formal award I’ve received was the best Romantic Comedy Short Screenplay award for my script Step by Step at the Portland Comedy Film Festival along with my other script, Eat S***. It was in the top 30% of high scoring scripts. In 2018 I won Best Play Writer at the 24 Hour Play Festival, and in 2016 I received the “Lifetime Achievement” award from Theater Performance Workshop, which only three people prior to me had received.
What else do you do with your school besides play writing? I am the co-president of the Drama Club, a Theater officer, President of the Improv Club, and the Director of Major League Improv. I started performing MLI as a freshman, and I’ve been to every MLI show since. Last year I got the torch headed down to me and became the Director and President of the Improv club. I performed a total of 14 nights. Improv does have a special place in my heart. In 8th grade I was so nervous about entering high school and having to live up to my older brother’s reputation. He was a great, well-known actor. I was contemplating quitting theater. I decided to take theater class my freshman year and if it went poorly, I would join theater tech and never set foot on stage again. As luck would have it, I got into Improv my freshman year and wasn’t just “Jake’s little brother” anymore. Improv has helped
me establish my identity on this campus, and I’m so thankful to get to do what I love.
What do you plan to study when you leave for college? I plan to study Screen Writing under the Dodge College of Film and Television at Chapman.
Nathan’s play, “Step by Step”, won the Best Romantic Comedy Short Screenplay Award at the Portland Comedy Film Festival in Fall of 2019.
What do you hope to be doing in 10 years? I’ll be 27 in 10 years. I hope that movies I write are being produced, I hope that I’m acting in movies, I hope that I’m performing stand up in clubs, and performing improv with some of the best comedy troupes. I’m not sure which one of these things will come first, but I want to do all of them. I’ve never been satisfied with doing just one thing. Oh yeah, hopefully I’m married by then too.
Who are your heroes or who inspires you? I’ll start with the professional world. In comedy, I really look up to Bo Burnham. For writing I am inspired by the Cohen brothers because Fargo is one of my favorite films of all time. But my all-time favorite is Mark Twain. He accomplished so many careers in his lifetime and never settled down with one thing when he was famous and well off. In my personal life, there is, of course, my mom. She is an incredibly strong person and so supportive of my crazy dreams. My theater teacher, Mr. Nash, is very inspiring to me because he pushes me to be a better actor and writer. He has given me so many opportunities to have my work performed on stage and for that I will be forever grateful. I hope to be as dedicated to my job like that one day.
Stephanie Seaberg has lived in the East Bay for the last 30 years, and is a SRVHS Alumni. Steph is a play-writer and director for Theater Performance Workshop, KAOS Camp, and Golden Oak Montessori. Steph lives for cooking, theater, photography, travel, and singing.
16
APRIL 2020
