Meet our new Associate Director
A head and shoulders photo of Monique, a light-skinned woman with shoulder length blonde hair and dark brown eyes. She is wearing dark-rimmed glasses, gold earrings and a high necked black t-shirt.
We’re so pleased to introduce our new Associate Director, Monique Hapgood!
Monique recently joined the team and has been slowly streamlining our processes and getting us more organised than ever. She’s already such an integral part of helping us reach our big goals this year! We thought you might be interested in hearing about her and her role at ActNow so we sat Monique down for an interview.
Read on.
Tell us a bit about yourself.
I’m a Bunjalung woman, born on Darug country and raised on Kaurna land. As a descendant of the Stolen Generations, reclaiming my cultural identity continues to be a monumental journey for me. My upbringing has made me deeply passionate about community; it has shown me the transformative power of support, encouragement, and resources for young people. As someone who identifies as queer, I understand the importance of visibility and the damaging impact of sexuality erasure. I’m also a single mum of two hilarious small people, and some might say I have an excessive number of pot plants.
Your career has been so varied! From speech pathology to opera singing, is there anything you haven’t done? What has been a highlight for you so far?
I've definitely worn many hats! I've driven numerous community projects spanning the performing arts and healthcare sectors. Whether it's singing, directing, producing, or practising speech pathology, I've embraced a variety of roles and it has taken me across Australia. From calling live broadcasts to selling tickets, to packing trucks and wrangling cables, I've tackled most tasks in productions of all scales, picking up insights from every angle. Collaboration and community has connected everything for me, tying together my experiences.
Narrowing down a single highlight is a daunting task. However, producing events such as Boheme on the Beach, which brought the arts to thousands on the Glenelg foreshore, alongside hitting the road for regional touring programs and facilitating inclusive workshops, stand out as joyful moments for me.
What are you most excited about working at ActNow?
I’m thrilled to join ActNow because it’s dedicated to driving meaningful change in our community. I am grateful to have the opportunity to contribute to creating platforms for underrepresented voices and building pathways in our industry. It is incredibly fulfilling to collaborate with passionate people and support projects that really matter. My ancestors have deeply influenced my mission to bring the right people into the room, to give a broader perspective. Bringing my varied experience into a space dedicated to advocacy and storytelling feels like the perfect fit.
I am also elated to work in a company that values commencing a meeting with a theatre game as much as I do.
You’ve shared some of your favourite community restaurants with the team. Do you have any recommendations you’d like to share with our communities?
To celebrate life’s little wins, Naaz Persian Cuisine on Pultney St is so inviting and the food is beautiful. The Naaz family originate from Rasht, the largest city in northern Iran and the inviting nature of their space is infectious. And hey, if you’re looking for more recommendations, just join me in the office for a coffee! I’ve got plenty more to share.
If you could bring only 3 things with you to a deserted island, what would you choose?
Breaking the rules here—I can't just pick things! It's got to be people, so I'd choose my two little ones and my guitar (that I keep saying I will learn how to play) to keep us busy.