Acting Student Kiara-Kumail spends summer as a Young Ruffian
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Initially I wanted to do a theatre job during the summer to keep my creativity flowing, which is one of the reasons I applied to the Shakespeare in the Ruff (external link) , Young Ruffian Program. This season was being done online obviously because of Covid-19, and after a year of online school I was desperate to still continue to work around how I can make online art.
Something I've been thinking a lot lately, that our teachers keep reminding us of, is the idea of agency as an artist over our own work. As someone who tends to be very actor-centric, I often don't know how to take charge of my own work. More and more I begin to think of the very limited opportunities trans people of colour hold in the industry, and it's extremely important for me to make that space for us.
This program let me work individually with a mentor... mine was Erum Khan, who is phenomenal by the way- as well as other talented young artists. It was led by Desirée Leverenz, the associate artistic director of Shakespeare in the Ruff. The fact that this program is a paid educational opportunity is incredible, not only do I get to network with other talented young artists, but also paid opportunities, especially early on in theatre, are very scarce. During the process I got to pick up tools that I could add to my artistic process in creation.
This summer was focused on devising theatre/art- it was a very free experimental moment- where I could take full creative control and also challenge myself further because there are no specific sets of rules. Though this program is soon coming to an end, I am super excited for people to see our final performances. Like we're taught at the school of performance, everything we do is a rehearsal, a work in progress, if you will. This is a concept that reverberates in this program as well, which I really appreciate.
As young artists, not having the pressure to give this perfected final piece allows us to be messy and make mistakes. Perhaps it is through that freedom to fail that we uncover more of our creative abilities.
During the final weeks, I decided to grow on an idea I'd been building on during the program and decided to create a film. What started off as a fun little project, became something far more important to me, where I could take control of my own narrative, where I could portray trans femmes of colour as these complex, beautiful, unfetishized, broken, emotional beings, where someone who looks like me can be the main character. At the beginning of the program I was very iffy about making my own work, maybe I still am learning how to fully do that, but I certainly feel far more prepared and confident than I was before.
Here's In One Breath, a film by Kiara-Kumail, created as part of the Young Ruffian's program. Featuring Kiara-Kumail and Landon Nesbitt (3rd year acting). Cinematography by Ophir Cundangan.
