Christopher Zara

Christopher Zara is a New York City-based writer and journalist who covers topics related to culture, entertainment, and the arts. A native of Trenton, New Jersey, Zara began his writing career in Orlando, Florida, where he wrote sketch comedy for local theater during the 1990s. Zara turned to arts journalism in the early 2000s and relocated to New York City in 2005. His writing has appeared in such magazines as MovieMaker, Dramatics, Stage Directions, and Seattle magazine. Zara's screen-writing credits include several short films he penned for Sketchbook Productions, an independent movie company he co-founded with his brother, Fred. The Zara brothers' first feature documentary, Average Community, was completed in 2009. The film chronicles the hardcore punk scene in 1980s New Jersey, where as a teenager Zara was the lead singer of the Trenton punk outfit Prisoners of War. (According to the film, Prisoners of War, in their short career, managed to get banned from New York's CBGB and Trenton's own City Gardens.) Average Community took home the Audience Award for Best Feature Documentary from the 2009 CMJ Film Festival. Since 2006, Zara has been the managing editor of Show Business, a weekly newspaper covering New York City's performing arts community.