Meet our Development Coordinator!
A head and shoulders headshot of Nescha who is smiling and has her head slightly cocked to one side. She has long dark hair flowing over her shoulders and is wearing small gold hoop earrings.
We are so excited to introduce our new Development Coordinator, Nescha Jelk!
Nescha has joined the ActNow team to help us with the rather large task of applying for grants! Let’s get to know her. Read on!
Tell us about yourself.
I love working with artists and trained as a theatre director. I’ve worked in independent and mainstage theatre, and co-founded RUMPUS theatre venue with many other artists, including ActNow’s Artistic Director Yasmin Gurreeboo. I’ve been writing grants for ActNow for the past 14 months or so as a freelancer, but I’m excited to officially join the staff as I love the organisation. I have a pet pigeon called Hervie, I love listening to music and I may have an absurdly large collection of jigsaw puzzles.
You’re a stalwart in the performing arts space. Which of your projects has left the deepest impression on you?
Co-founding RUMPUS with Yasmin, Rebecca Mayo and a large community of artists is one of my proudest achievements that I’ve donated a lot of my time to over the years as supporting independent theatre is something I’m very passionate about. Being a part of a community of artists working towards a shared vision is something I’ll never forget.
What advice would you give someone who wants to follow in your footsteps?
Off the top of my head, three things:
Find the people you love to collaborate with and then keep collaborating with them.
It’s a hard industry to be in and we all feel like we’re faking it sometimes/all-the-time. So don’t stress out when those feelings come up. You’re not alone, and the more we’re open about it with each other the better.
Forget about making the perfect show because it's impossible to please everyone. Make the show that you and your collaborators enjoy making and can be proud of.
What are you looking forward to the most about working with us?
I have to confess that it’s pretty easy to write grants for an organisation that you really believe in like ActNow. I’ve always been a big admirer of ActNow Theatre and the amazing work done by their artists. The team at ActNow are quite the dream team, with the amazing Yasmin and Blake at the helm — so I’m feeling very lucky to join the crew!
If you could bring only 3 things with you to a deserted island, what would you choose?
My pigeon Hervie .
A very large jigsaw puzzle, with a flat surface to put it on.
Some kind of solar powered set up to play Spotify through a speaker.