Ana Karneža- Interview
In front of the red light … with Ana Karneža! Watch the Full Interview here.
When you step into Ana Karneža’s Brooklyn neighborhood, the vibe is quiet—residential brownstones, not much nightlife. That sense of calm seems to match Karneža’s energy—thoughtful, grounded, but full of creative electricity just beneath the surface. Ana Karneža is a performer in every sense of the word: actor, singer, and artist. Just identifying as an actress feels “reductive” to her.
Originally trained as a singer, Karneža didn’t begin acting until her twenties. Her educational journey has spanned continents and institutions, with an undergrad from NYU—Abu Dhabi and a recent master’s degree from Juilliard. “I graduated last May. I was doing this competition [Lotte Lenya Competition - First Place, $25,000] at the same time—it was crazy,” she laughs.
She describes the schedule at Juilliard as “full on”: 9 AM to 9 PM most days, with rehearsals even on Saturdays. “It was like going to the gym. You’re repeating things, doing speech class, working on one vowel sound over and over.” But these repetitive drills became tools rather than rules—resources for fluid, adaptive performance rather than rigid technique.
“That’s one of the biggest things I learned,” she says. “Before training, you think there’s a right and wrong way to do things. But really, it’s so much more interesting to be in the curious space of not knowing.”
Ana Karneža
“…it’s so much more interesting to be in the curious space of not knowing.”
Photo Credit: T Charles Erickson
Her curiosity extends to the nature of performance itself. “When you put up a show, it’s just one version of it. There’s no such thing as the ‘right’ version. And as you change as a person, the work changes with you.” For Karneža, the fluidity of self and stage is what gives performance its power.
So what kind of roles does a performer like Karneža dream of? “Something really good,” she says. “I love roles where the character unravels on stage. That’s exquisite.” She also mentions a longtime dream of playing the Emcee in Cabaret (she likes the showmanship of an Emcee), or Sally Bowles (she is drawn to the depth of experience and spontaneity of this character). “For similar and different reasons,” she says. “There’s something so stylized and specific about it—but also raw.”
Recently, her journey has taken her beyond New York. Through her participation in the prestigious Lotte Lenya Competition, she made a connection with Kurt Weill Fest in Dessau, Germany—Kurt Weill’s birthplace. In honor of the composer’s 125th anniversary, Karneža was invited to develop a concert - working with director, Alicia Dhyana House. “At first, I had no idea what I was going to do. But it became a whole Kurt Weill journey, with a director and everything.”
And there’s more coming. Karneža will be performing this summer in Slovenia, her home country, continuing to bridge her international background with her growing presence on the global stage. In the world of television: Karneža will appear in the upcoming Hulu drama Good American Family, starring Ellen Pompeo (Ana was also was a Movement Coach BTS for this show).
Whether in Dessau or New York, on stage or in the studio, Ana Karneža is always reaching toward something beyond the expected. Not correctness, but curiosity.
