{"id":8918,"date":"2021-03-04T02:03:52","date_gmt":"2021-03-04T02:03:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nyglamour.net\/?p=8918"},"modified":"2026-02-03T04:06:06","modified_gmt":"2026-02-03T04:06:06","slug":"a-reflective-conversation-with-the-multi-talented-actress-hila-naus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nyglamour.net\/?p=8918","title":{"rendered":"A Reflective Conversation with the Multi-talented Actress Hila Naus"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Notable actress Hila Naus was born and raised in Bnei Brak,\nIsrael. She attended all-girls school until the age of 18. Hila started acting\nwhen she was 17 at Beit Zvi, the School of Performing Arts<\/a>,\nan after-school youth program for acting, singing, and dancing where she\ndiscovered that she had a gift for singing. At 18 she joined the IDF (Israel\nDefense Forces) for her mandatory military service and was stationed on the\nIsraeli-Egyptian border as an observer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After the military, Hila decided to follow her dreams and got\naccepted to the IMTC, the first Musical Theatre Company in Israel and performed\nshows such as I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change<\/em>,\nand Living in Harmony<\/em>, which got selected\nto be shown as a part of the Theatre Fall Festival at Suzanne Dellal Center<\/a> in Tel Aviv, Israel in 2009. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2011, to further pursue her dreams in the arts, Hila moved\nto New York City to attend The American Musical and Dramatic Academy<\/a> (AMDA) where\nshe performed in Drama and Musical showcases during her last semester. Since\ngraduation, Hila joined Sanctuary Playwrights Theatre<\/a> as a core artist, starred in\nher own cabaret show at the  Duplex Cabaret\nTheatre<\/a>, was invited to perform songs in fundraising concerts and\nother events around NYC. She was also cast as Roya in the feature film \u201cAppropriate Behavior<\/a>\u201d where she directly worked with the up and coming\nfilmmaker Desiree Akhavan<\/a> (The Miseducation of Cameron Post<\/a>), and as an ER doctor in the feature\nfilm \u201cThe Closer<\/a>\u201d which won\nBest Feature Film in 9 film festivals including Manhattan International Film\nFestival.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hila Naus was also cast as Antoinette Stephen in the\nNBC’s Deadline: Crime with Tamron Hall.<\/a> The episode<\/a> is focused\non the true story that happened in 2011 where Antoinette killed her boyfriend’s\nwife on his orders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hila’s recent film\u00a0\u201cEl Cat<\/a>\u201d\u00a0was accepted to the official selection of the\u00a0HBO’s Women in Comedy Festival<\/a>\u00a0and competed for the best short film in Boston in April 2018. Hila is fluent both in English and Hebrew.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Photographer Gregory Faulk<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Tell us a little\nabout yourself, growing up and your journey to become a performer.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hila Naus:<\/strong> Growing up in\nIsrael, particularly in Bnei Brak, which is a city of very religious settings,\nand going to an all-girls school until 18 really shaped my upbringing and my\npersonality. In my school there was no such a thing as becoming \u201can actress\u201d and I say it with hand quotes because in a way, they look\ndown at this idea. Some were excited and curious, but it wasn\u2019t really\nsomething you should be proud of. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

My passion to\nbecome an actress came first at around 14. I was lucky enough to have a TV at\nhome, unlike many of my friends so I always imagined being a part of this world\nin my own mind. At that age I couldn\u2019t yet imagine it can be a reality. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The singing part\ncame a bit later. I actually never knew I could sing, I never considered myself\na singer in any way, but at around 17 when I enrolled in one of the best\nperforming arts youth programs in Israel, it was where I realized that the\nacting world can actually happen for me. One time, one of my teachers there\nsaid to each of us to come on stage and sing a-cappella, it was a very\nchallenging situation as I was so terrified to sing out loud in front of a\nclass of 30 kids! But I did it! And she ended up telling me that I can sing\nvery well. I was so surprised, I didn\u2019t believe her and I kept asking her \u201cAre\nyou sure?\u201d. She was right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, a few years after this experience and this realization and after the military service in the IDF in Israel, I started taking voice and acting lessons and that gave me the technique I needed. I sing in events and productions ever since. My passion towards Musical Theatre in particular grew thanks to that fact, and thanks to my coach at that time. Theatre was and is a big part of my journey until today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Still from the performance of Extraordinary Aliens at the Bitter End<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

When did you move\nto the U.S. and what brought you to NYC?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hila Naus:<\/strong> I moved from\nIsrael to NYC in 2011 to study musical theatre and I graduated from The\nAmerican Musical and Dramatic Academy (AMDA). Since graduation, I worked in\nmany productions, from small theatre shows to big productions like the Blue Man\nGroup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What did you do up\nuntil the pandemic and how did it affect your career?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hila Naus:<\/strong> Since COVID-19 hit\nearlier this year, the industry pretty much shut down. Right before that I was\na part of an Israeli singing band called IAP Troupe created by the organization\nIAP (Israeli Artists Project). I was a part of eight singers and the show we\ncreated was very successful. We performed in a few places, one of them was the\nfamous JCC of Manhattan. It was a lot of fun, but it lived for a very short\ntime since we had to postpone\/cancel our shows because of the pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What made you take\nthis part in IAP Troupe?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hila Naus:<\/strong> This specific\nproject was important to me because I love the old Israeli culture and music\nand I know that many Israelis and Jewish people in this country enjoy it a lot\njust like me. Bringing old Israeli music to the stage is not just nostalgic,\nbut also a dream of mine, so I am grateful to being able to do that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The pandemic hit all of us in many ways. I think we all gained, lost, and learned something from this time. And especially the performing art industry. It\u2019s not so easy to cope. I know of a lot of people that left NYC, left the industry, switched gears completely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Still from the production Who by Water Who by Fire<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Speaking of\nswitching gears, how did you cope during this time? Did you think about\nchanging your career path?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hila Naus:<\/strong> Personally, it\nwasn\u2019t easy. Earlier in 2020, I was working with the IAP Troupe band and had\nplans to tour with it but for now this project is on hold, and who knows if\nwe\u2019ll be able to revive it. Only time will tell. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I did find myself\nwondering where and how to take my acting career moving forward but I was\ncertain all this time that I\u2019ll continue doing acting and music after this is\nover. The industry didn\u2019t completely die, even if it feels\nlike it at times, It\u2019s just that it is going through a hard time right now, and\nwill be back at some point. Whenever it\u2019ll be, it would probably be different,\nso I am curious to know how and what this will look like in the future. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I know there are a\nfew projects starting now and I even had auditions for a few big productions,\nso I\u2019m hopeful things will turn out ok very soon, especially since we\u2019re\nheading towards getting everyone vaccinated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a case you get\na role in a production nowadays, are there risks you\u2019ll be willing to take? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hila Naus:<\/strong> It\u2019s a very good\nquestion. I asked myself that many times during this time. I think that\npersonally, I\u2019ll have to see what are the precautions each production is taking\nand then decide. I used to watch this channel on Youtube by this funny guy and\nat a beginning of every episode he used to say \u201cSafety is the number one\npriority\u201d and that\u2019s how it should be, right? Unfortunately, I find that not\neveryone follows this, even though they say they do. So, when it comes to\nproductions, you really have to dig deep into their \u201csafety rules\u201d and see if\nthey really keep things safe as they should. One example is to ask if everyone\non set is getting tested regularly which is very, very important.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Looking at safety\nrules was something that we never really thought about looking at. We always\ntook it for granted in a way, but nowadays, things have definitely changed and\nin some cases, it could be a deal breaker for some people. And to me too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do you have any\nadvice for young performers to do during this time that the business isn\u2019t so\nactive?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hila Naus:<\/strong> Keep practice your\ncraft! I always emphasis this. Our skill set is like a muscle. If you don\u2019t\npractice your muscles, then you won\u2019t become the greatest artist you can\nbecome. Another thing I suggest is to pick up a new skill set. Learn to knit,\nbecome a better guitarist, start taking online lessons in martial arts-\nanything you choose to do, will benefit your career in the future. This is our\ntime to take advantage to get more skilled. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even though times are hard now, we must look forward to our future and believe that we will survive this, and the industry will too, no doubt about it. We cannot live without the entertainment industry and when this is over, we better be ready to be the first in line to do what it takes to revive it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Where can people\nkeep up with your work? (social media, web, etc)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hila Naus:<\/strong> You\ncan find more about me on my website: www.hilanaus.com<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If\nyou want to get updates on my upcoming projects, you can also go to my IMDB\npage: www.imdb.me\/hilanaus<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have my instagram and facebook as well: www.instagram.com\/hilanaus<\/a> and www.facebook.com\/hilanaus<\/a> for more daily updates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Photographer Gregory Faulk<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

*Article Cover Photo Credit: Gregory Faulk<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Notable actress Hila Naus was born and raised in Bnei Brak, Israel. She attended all-girls school until the age of 18. Hila started acting when she was 17 at Beit Zvi, the School of Performing Arts, an after-school youth program for acting, singing, and dancing where she discovered that she had a gift for singing. At […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8920,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8918","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-film"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nyglamour.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8918","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nyglamour.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nyglamour.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nyglamour.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nyglamour.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8918"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nyglamour.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8918\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19208,"href":"https:\/\/nyglamour.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8918\/revisions\/19208"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nyglamour.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/8920"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nyglamour.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8918"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nyglamour.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8918"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nyglamour.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8918"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}