Nadirah Friday, 24, Speech and Drama Teacher
"The reason why I wanted to join SMS is because I actually wanted to join for the prize money, to fund a refugee project I was going to start. But as I go along I realised that there was a lot of learning taking place, and I embrace the learning and the people as well. It’s kind of like, I did it on a whim, but I'm glad I did it.
What I love about performing is really stepping out of my comfort zone, and the fact that I'm actually clad in a head scarf, and pushing myself to put on the hat of a character who is not associated with my identity as a Muslim woman, so I think that's what I really love about performing. And if I'm directing and reading out my own piece, I think I have the creative ability to do that.
What do I think of SMS? It's great! It's really great. I'm really thankful that there’s something called the Monologue Slam, because if you audition it's always a 5-minutes monologue. I already knew what a monologue was when I was in secondary school, when I was auditioning for a school play, and I actually did an entire script on my own as different characters. So that was a learning experience altogether, I wish I knew about this competition before I went for that audition (but nonetheless I got that parts okay, haha).
What would my challenges be? I think it's my confidence level, because I usually do directing instead of acting, so it's so much easier for me to say 'You have to do this', but the nerves are real when you get on stage. As the director you are doing back-work, but when you're on stage with the audience you don't feel that sense of nervousness. So I guess in this sense this whole learning process will make me understand my actors a lot more. If I were to do more directing in the future, I will be like, 'Look, I understand, I empathise with your situation.' And I can more or less help them from a better perspective. So like I said, I joined this competition for the learning and people as well."
"The reason why I wanted to join SMS is because I actually wanted to join for the prize money, to fund a refugee project I was going to start. But as I go along I realised that there was a lot of learning taking place, and I embrace the learning and the people as well. It’s kind of like, I did it on a whim, but I'm glad I did it.
What I love about performing is really stepping out of my comfort zone, and the fact that I'm actually clad in a head scarf, and pushing myself to put on the hat of a character who is not associated with my identity as a Muslim woman, so I think that's what I really love about performing. And if I'm directing and reading out my own piece, I think I have the creative ability to do that.
What do I think of SMS? It's great! It's really great. I'm really thankful that there’s something called the Monologue Slam, because if you audition it's always a 5-minutes monologue. I already knew what a monologue was when I was in secondary school, when I was auditioning for a school play, and I actually did an entire script on my own as different characters. So that was a learning experience altogether, I wish I knew about this competition before I went for that audition (but nonetheless I got that parts okay, haha).
What would my challenges be? I think it's my confidence level, because I usually do directing instead of acting, so it's so much easier for me to say 'You have to do this', but the nerves are real when you get on stage. As the director you are doing back-work, but when you're on stage with the audience you don't feel that sense of nervousness. So I guess in this sense this whole learning process will make me understand my actors a lot more. If I were to do more directing in the future, I will be like, 'Look, I understand, I empathise with your situation.' And I can more or less help them from a better perspective. So like I said, I joined this competition for the learning and people as well."
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