Meet our new Associate Director!
We’re delighted to welcome Manal Younus to ActNow theatre as our new Associate Director!
Manal (she/her) is a storyteller from Eritrea who believes that our stories create the fabric of our society. An accomplished playwright and performer, the way to Manal’s heart is through…tea. More on this and everything else you need to know about her in this Q&A with Smriti, our Marketing and Development Coordinator.
You’re no stranger to ActNow Theatre. Fill us in on your history with the company?
I first came on board in 2014 as one of the original cast for Responding to Racism, which with ActNow projects means being part of the development team. This was a great experience for me and my first in theatre. I toured that show for a while and jumped on board with various other ActNow projects in different roles over the years. In recent years I co-wrote and worked on the development of Jumu'ah which has just debuted, and I've written a play called Bilal which was commissioned by ActNow and will continue its development later this year.
You’ve been involved in every phase of a play’s lifecycle, from writing, to acting and directing. Which is your favourite and why?
My favourite is probably the directing stage. I've had the privilege of working with Yasmin, the current director on Jumu'ah and saw for the first time what it looks like to have your writing transformed into a piece of theatre. I was still new to playwriting at the time and I was super protective over my work so it was a challenge but the result was phenomenal and opened my eyes to a whole new way of storytelling. Since then, through projects like Decameron 2.0 and the development of my play, Bilal, I've learned to surrender to the director a lot more and to support the director's vision because they often see something in your work that you can't yet. I'd also love to direct some day, but not my own plays.
What are three things we should know about you?
Tea is the key to my heart - or at least my attention.
Passionate people make my day! Especially when they start talking about what they love and they can't seem to stop themselves.
I once ate a kilo of fruchocs in 2 days and I have no regrets.
What do you do when you’re not at ActNow?
When I'm not at ActNow I write and perform poetry, deliver lots of workshops. I read, hike and sew and I'm a bit of a new skill junkie. I also like to get involved in community so usually at some local event with the good folks of Adelaide.
What are you looking forward to the most about working with us?
Creating more spaces and opportunities for the peoples! Distracting everyone in the office. Building on skills. Making lots of tea and dancing in the studio when there's no one around.