DAM: A very warm welcome to our guest Awa who is an Actress from Melbourne. Awa tell us a bit about where you grew up?
AN: So I grew up in Melbourne, in a little town called Werribee. It’s not so little anymore, it’s turned into a big city. I was the only black kid in school – literally. This was back in the 90s. Growing up [there], I never really saw colour so [when I saw others like me] it was often like ‘Oh, I didn’t really realise there were black people around’. I was like, ‘Oh that’s scary.’ [laughs] Because I didn’t know my own culture, so my mum then had to teach me about who I was.
DAM: On that, did you ever feel different before you saw other Black people like yourself around?
AN: I was pretty oblivious, so I didn’t notice anything and we were just kids growing up, so we never really saw ‘colour’. I grew up around a lot of ‘Wogs’, so a lot of Italians that were there and we’d have big barbecues and everything. There was one time when someone did call me the ‘N’ word and I felt a bit hurt. I did go up to my mum and she had to sort that out. But yeah, not so much when I was little but more when I was growing up, I started to be more aware of what’s happening around me.
DAM: Do you remember any distinct moment where you realised there is colour and people do see it differently somewhat?
AN: I would say somewhat towards the end of high school, because I was around the popular crowd as you would say, and sometimes I would do things that they didn’t appreciate. And then I would get the backlash because I’m the type of person who doesn’t wanna alienate anyone because they’re nerds or geeks or someone different, or they’ve got a disability etc. So, during high school there was always that attack like, ‘Why are you doing this?’ ‘Why are you supporting these people, you should be more like us.’ Just trying to change me in a way that I didn’t appreciate. Like, your hair needs to be a certain way, the way you dress needs to be a certain way, and it was not so much the way I culturally wanted to be. And at the same time, I was starting to get into acting and that’s where I saw it more than in any other field, I would say. And I guess that goes into my Acting journey, starting in high school and why I fell in love with it.
DAM: So why did you fall in love with it? [acting]
AN: I was going through a bad time personally at home and I didn’t know how to be myself, like I would go to school, act one way, come home, act another – it was always someone different.
“I was going through a bad time personally at home and I didn’t know how to be myself…”
I was down a really bad path and my teacher, I’ll never forget him, Mr Scalzo, he pulled me aside and said, ‘You know we can use all of that energy into something more positive.’ He was our drama teacher and he started teaching me the ways of drama, different styles of acting and by the end for the year we decided to put on a show, and I don’t know, it was something that I feel in love with. Like you know, this is actually a good way for an escape, it’s a good way for me mentally to just release everything out in a safe manner, without going down the deep end.
“It [Acting] was something that I feel in love with. Like you know, this is actually a good way for an escape, it’s a good way for me mentally to just release everything out in a safe manner, without going down the deep end.”
DAM: So, tell us a little bit about your acting journey up until this point. Where did you sort of start?
AN: I started acting through doing extra work, non-paid theatre, just trying every single thing online, as all beginners do. Trying to find agencies and stuff like that. I must admit I have been fooled at the beginning into some scam agencies and all you can do is learn from that …
DAM: I think a lot of us have, so that’s alright.
AN: Yeah, it’s okay. But yeah, as I was elevating, I just thought, I really need to… Even though I’m getting paid corporate video jobs and educational video jobs, I really felt like I needed to get some kind of degree or something to back me up in my acting. So, I would be able to stay in the job that I really, really enjoy, and that’s when I decided to go into NYFA, which is the New York Film Academy. It was fun, I met a lot of lovely people and grew – mind you, I grew a LOT through NYFA.
It’s only when you go into an acting school, you train for hours and hours and all you see is the same people every day – that’s the only way you’re gonna know. For me it was the way to know who I was as a person and what I can accept and what I can’t accept and build on my strength as an actor.
DAM: How do you feel now that you’ve left the school? Is it much harder than you think it would be because I know a lot of us, we all have these dreams when we start – we wanna go to LA, we wanna get the agent and these roles. It seems slowly we all go down different paths or realise certain things, was that the same as you?
AN: Well with me, I had a lot of setbacks with my acting. As much as I love it and it’s my number one passion, and I will never stop loving it, well I also fell pregnant. And I had a baby. I had to not just live your average creator life, not getting a nine to five job, just working on being creative and not getting a penny from it – for me, I also had to work and do something I felt comfortable working in, enough for me [and my son] to be ok.
“I had a lot of setbacks with my acting. As much as I love it and it’s my number one passion… I also fell pregnant. And I had a baby. I had to not just live your average creator life… working on being creative and not getting a penny from it, I also had to work and do something I felt comfortable in, enough for me [and my son] to be ok.”
There has been setbacks in regards to me wanting to go overseas to do my acting because in Australia it’s very hard for a person of minority like myself to do Acting here, it’s a lot tougher, but I feel like now that I’m in a good place – I feel like my son is in a good place, there could be really good opportunities that I could go and try to achieve, but I also have to make wise decisions as to the time frames that I can be overseas and be back here.
DAM: So, this industry is not easy, I know you’ve been in it for a while now too and I think of course having a son and being a single mum on top of that, it just adds so much. I’m sure there were moments it was very difficult for you, but what sort of keeps you going when you’re juggling all these things in a career that’s really hard?
AN: Look, I’m not gonna lie, there’s been moments where I’m just like – I give up. But those are the moments where great opportunities actually come and I’m like ‘Oh my gosh, I’ve gotta take it!’ and that’s when I will sacrifice my nine to five because I’ll be like sorry I can’t do this, I’ve got a great opportunity or I’ll be like sorry I’m sick – as most of us have done! [laughs] For me, it’s like my motivation to keep going, to know that there is light at the end of the tunnel and to know that I’ve worked so hard to get to where I am now. I need to show my son and myself that I can keep going and I can persevere and succeed in the field that I have chosen to work in and love.
“I need to show my son and myself that I can keep going and I can persevere and succeed in the field that I have chosen to work in and love.”
I don’t believe that anything you want in life can come easy, but if you keep praying on it and hoping and keep focused on your goals and training, eventually you will get to where you need to be. And I’ve seen it, when you’ve actually set a goal, you keep wishing and praying on it and it’s happened. But those things that happen, don’t happen straight away when you want it, so you just have to be patient, it’s all a waiting game, you just have to be patient and when it happens trust me it’s the best feeling ever! [laughs]
DAM: What would you say is a challenge you find about the industry itself?
AN: What I find challenging is that we don’t have a lot of support systems for diverse people in the film industry in Australia. I feel like they say that things are changing but it’s more diverse for other groups than when it comes to race. So for me, I hope one day we can start building on that and our Union can support that, not just hide away from it or keep saying, ‘Hey this is gonna happen, we’re focusing on Diversity’ but really focus on Diversity, all aspects of it and not just one group and make everyone equal in the film industry. Because in Australia we are all diverse, we are multicultural and I just feel like when you look at your neighbour, you’re not gonna see an Anglo-Saxon White person, you’re gonna see an Asian, a European, an African, an Indian person – you’re gonna see everyone. So we need to be able to show that on TV. So I just hope it will change in future and our Union will make some changes like SAG has done in the US.
“I just feel like when you look at your neighbour, you’re not gonna see an Anglo-Saxon White person, you’re gonna see an Asian, a European, an African, an Indian person – you’re gonna see everyone. So we need to be able to show that on TV.”
DAM: In reference to that point with the lack of Diversity in the film industry here, I know you said when you were starting out [in the film industry] that’s when you realised you were ‘African’. What were the main points that were making you see that?
AN: It was pretty much everything, from getting stereotyped roles or getting roles that just do not suit who I would represent. Or they would be like, ok we want you to act like an ‘African Actor’ who is like this, and then I would act like that and they would say ‘Oh, tone it down’. And I would be like, why tone it down when I’m just being myself? It’s like you want someone to act African but you don’t want them to act too African. When it comes to representation it was always like oh there aren’t many briefs coming out for your type or who you are as a person, I’m sorry there isn’t, I know the industry isn’t good, that’s what agents were saying. I get where they’re coming from because the briefings aren’t catered to me at all but it’s still something that needs to change. I would also get briefings for example, saying ‘We want someone that looks African.’ So when you say someone that ‘looks African’ that is a big, big, big amount of people. You’re not really allowing me to be in competition with the same people that are like me, it’s people who have nothing to do with me or aren’t African, or are not black, but have the appearance of being black. And that’s really not fair when it comes to casting. I have been dropped into many castings where it was like how can I compete in a casting if a White girl gets it all the time? So you’re always put into castings that don’t match who you are, so there’s no chance you’re going to be able to get the humble Australian girl who is great for a BBQ setting for example.
“I have been dropped into many castings where it was like how can I compete in a casting if a White girl gets it all the time? So you’re often put into castings that don’t match who you are…”
DAM: And do you feel like that’s ignorance on their part or do you feel like they’re trying to fill a quota, you know, I’ve gotta bring in someone diverse so it looks like there’s support there?
AN: I do feel like it’s for show sometimes. Like sometimes I’Ill be like, why did you bring me in when everyone else is White and I’m the only Black person in the room? It doesn’t make sense and you can clearly see the description of what they’re looking for on the casting notes, like often it says I need a Caucasian person and yet I get dragged into it, so it feels like I’m just wasting my time. It is ignorance as well I feel but I also feel like it’s an old way of thinking. So there’s people in the industry who’ve had power long before I was born that are still influencing what is happening today. You know with that mindset that we need to represent Australia as being that typical White, blonde blue eye – everyone you see on the TV shows ‘Neighbours’ and ‘Home and Away’. So when you go overseas, people look at that and go ‘Oh, you’re Australian? Really?’ And I’m like, yeah I am Australian, there’s no other place I can go live. And it’s the same here, people will ask, ‘Oh where are you from?’ and I’m like ‘Yeah I’m Australian.’ And they’ll give me that look and I’ll be like yeah, I am.
“There’s people in the industry with that mindset that we need to represent Australia as being the typical White, blonde blue eyed – everyone you see on the TV shows ‘Neighbours’ and ‘Home and Away’. So when you go overseas, people look at that and go ‘Oh, you’re Australian? Really?’ And I’m like, yeah I am Australian… And it’s the same here, people will ask, ‘Oh where are you from?’”
DAM: I think a lot of us can relate to that.
AN: Yeah and this is a multicultural country, it’s a melting pot and it shouldn’t be like, you’re not White enough to be Australian. Well let’s be honest here, real Australians are Aboriginals. And they’re not being treated well in the industry either and they’re also having a hard time in the industry, it’s not just us – things need to change! And I hope it does change because I do wanna represent Australia and work here as an actor, whether I become a trainer or successful actress. For me I’m not looking to get famous I’m just looking to work in the industry that I love and get paid for it.
DAM: Yeah and that’s something you should be able to do, when Australia is your home why can’t you represent it?
AN: Exactly. And there’s a lot of work out there with US productions coming here but it’s hard for the US productions to get the locals to go into their work. So usually, a lot of their Ethnic actors are coming in already booked in from the States or the UK or somewhere else, not Australia. So then all they have are bit parts and those little roles are not often Ethnic, then you have actors that are absolutely great but they’re not getting those opportunities.
DAM: So we know you’re about to make a big move to Canada, we want to know about your goals in moving over there, what are your plans?
AN: Ok I’m not one to put everything out on the table… [laughs]
DAM: You don’t have to! [laughs]
AN: No I’m happy to because it’s you guys! [laughs]
So I’ve had a manager in Canada, Darren for quite a while now and he’s been wanting to get me up there for quite a while now, because he’s always felt I would benefit from being around my own people and be able to get into castings that are the right fit for me and just better opportunities over there. So I’ve soaked up the courage you could say to get everything done. I’ve got my working visa for Canada which is amazing. And I am heading off in July to Vancouver to pursue my acting.
DAM: Whooho!
An: Yes! It’s officially happening! And finally, I have the strength to do it. So I’ll go three months at a time and come back as my son will be here. But having that opportunity to go there, audition, come back and be ready for pilot season there. This will be my first pilot season so I will be crazy stoked to see what kind of opportunities will be flowing out there for someone like me! [laughs] To be honest my biggest goal is to be successful out there and bring it back here, and you know try to change the way Australia is in the film industry here.
“To be honest my biggest goal is to be successful out there [Canada] and bring it back here, and you know try to change the way Australia is in the film industry here.”
I have a lot of little goals to focus on and help me get to my bigger goals. But yeah, it’s a nerve wracking, exciting time – I’m so scared with just going there and meeting my manager for the first time face to face. We’ve always seen each other on zoom but to see him face to face will be amazing, he represents a lot of people of diverse cultures and I feel like he understands what it takes to help someone with a diverse culture mentally because he has helped me a lot.
“[My Canadian manager] represents a lot of people of diverse cultures and I feel like he understands what it takes to help someone with a diverse culture mentally because he has helped me a lot.”
He always gives me quotes and everything and go out of his way to help me with things here and agents and things. So he’s on a manager level not so much as an agent, he’s more there to help you mentally. One of his biggest quotes is ‘Trust the Process’ and ‘Work Hard, do the work.’ And I do believe in that, if you do work hard and trust the process things will happen.
DAM: That’s so exciting so congratulations. I think it’s also very exciting to go out and be in a new environment.
AN: Yeah it’s also being in a different field that will accept you more as a diverse person than not, so it’s gonna be overwhelming at first but yeah it’s gonna be great and it’s something new for me. And moving to a new level in my career, it’s scary but exciting and something I really want to do.
DAM: Absolutely. Do you have any final words of advice for anyone wanting to do acting and who’s also from a diverse background and might be struggling a little bit?
AN: I would say, don’t give up. Don’t even accept anything negative from other people’s mouths. You know, you’ve got the skills to do it, you’ve got the experience to do it. Acting is all about life experience so if you’ve got life experience you’ve got this, don’t feel like you’re not good enough or anything like that. At the end of the day, you’ve just gotta keep pushing. Don’t take no for an answer, there’s gonna be a lot of rejection in this industry and a lot of bad ones but don’t ever, ever, ever let it get to you, don’t let it consume you and just keep pushing.
“There’s gonna be a lot of rejection in this industry and a lot of bad ones but don’t ever, ever, ever let it get to you, don’t let it consume you and just keep pushing.”
I know there’s gonna be times where you want to give up – don’t give up. Trust me, there is light at the end of that tunnel and you will succeed and you will prosper and you will get to where you need to be. And just focus on your smaller goals and keep going and keep pushing through each goal until you get to your big goal.
DAM: I like those words. I think it will definitely inspire the people reading it.
AN: Don’t give up!! [laughs]
DAM: Thank you for taking the time to speak with us Awa.
AN: Thank you!
.
.
.
Find Awa at:
IG: https://www.instagram.com/awa_n_90/
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4113839/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1
.
~ Published by Sangeetha & Marshall
~ Sub Edited by Farzeen Imtiaz
Diversity Australia Magazine 