Crystal Sershen fled Hop Bottom, Pennsylvania, at 15 years of age and worked as a seamstress, Bingo attendant, forklift driver, machine mechanic, punch press operator, sailor, waitress, bartender, word processor, and clown, eventually landing in New York City. There she earned her BFA in Cinema Studies from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts (graduating first in her class), her MA in Classical Theatre at NYU’s Gallatin School of Individualized Study (with a 4.0 GPA), and a second-degree black belt in Shotokan karate (after more than a decade of humble practice).
Now residing on the left coast, Crystal has performed on stages throughout Southern California and has been associated with some of Los Angeles’ most prominent theatre companies, including The Will Geer Theatricum, The Actors’ Gang, and City Garage. Crystal is also a writer, script consultant, ghost writer, and story editor, having worked with an Oscar-nominated screenwriter, and on MTV’s Made, Bravo’s The It Factor, and VH1’s Totally Obsessed. Crystal is also the creator of two screenplays—Lamina and Six by Nine (see Screenplay tab) and two short documentary films—Tokyo on the Hudson and Last Seen with Johnnie Knight (see Documentary tab).
She is a spiritual being enjoying a physical experience and has been a devotee of astrology, yoga, the Law of Attraction, and the karmic enterprise for many years.