Tell us abot yourself
Hey, I'm Nadia. I am a recent Marketing Graduate from London, and I recently graduated from the NON LINEAR 13-week multidisciplinary course, which provided access and opportunities for emerging local talent to develop skills and networks within multiple areas of the creative industry.
In this written piece, I'll be reflecting on the Masterclass by Director Carrie Cracknel, who has a background in theatre and is most notable for her 2022 feature film ‘Persuasion’, based on the Jane Austin classic, starring Dakota Johnson. She was joined in conversation by Actress Noma Dumezweni, who has an extended portfolio of acting in theatre, film, and television. She is most notable for her recent role as the Queen in the 2023 rendition of The Little Mermaid.
I will be breaking down my thoughts on this insightful masterclass in which Carrie and Noma opened up about some of their career highs and lows, gave advice on staying motivated; persevering through inevitable challenges, and tips on navigating an entry-level position in the unsteady and unpredictable creative field. Let's dive right into it!
In conversation with Carrie Cracknel and Noma Dumezweni
To begin, Carrie and Noma gave us a fantastic overview of how they found their way into their respective fields. This was a wonderful reminder that everyone's path is different and will look different. Noma wonderfully explained how the roads into the creative industry are truly a non-linear path for most people, particularly herself, as she did not attend the common route of drama school to become the successful actress she is now. Carrie similarly recounted her non-linear entry that diverted from an initial acting and theatre route, into her current career in directing.
Carrie extended guidance to those aspiring to enter the industry with the advice to: “make, make, make”, followed by “watch, watch, watch”. It is vital for anyone wanting to enter the industry to create a portfolio of work, whether that involves shooting a film on your iPhone, writing poems, or creating a photography Instagram account. Carrie highlighted the importance of making and creating to develop our skills and learn to trust ourselves and our instincts. She also expressed how much value there is in watching; simply exploring the world, your city or town, attending theatre shows, watching films, reading books and poems, whatever it may be – it all helps to open ourselves up to creativity, ignite inspiration, and create the flames of passion.
A particular highlight from the masterclass for me was Carrie and Noma’s stories of the challenges and hardships they each faced in the industry. They both opened up about their process of “wallowing” and overcoming negativity and difficult situations. As a young individual just starting out, I’m often worried about how to deal with this, and not let people dictate who I am negatively. A core message I took away from these stories was the importance of allowing yourself to cry, and in Noma’s words ‘let it pass through you but don't indulge in it’. Everyone will have a different process for experiencing negativity and rejection. Perhaps on the evening of receiving reviews, you spend it with the people you love, your friends, and tell yourself it’s time to move on when the opening night flowers die, as Carrie does. Or maybe you buy yourself a little treat (something chocolatey in my opinion) and say tomorrow will be better. One thing was absolute from the discussion, and that is to not let the negativity and hardships consume you. That is something we’ll all face, and it’s essential at some point to let it go so that you can grow and continue to move forward.
Top three career tips:
- Know what you want to do, and tell everyone. Speak to everyone and network, network, network (If you don’t know what you want to do, absorb as much creativity as possible: ‘make, make, make and watch, watch, watch’ to help you define your interests and figure out what excites you).
- Trust your instinct and get rid of the roadblocks stopping you from trusting them (such as your own insecurities, fear, or people).
- Have confidence. Know that you deserve to be in the room, know that you know, and have grace doing it.
One of my favourite takeaways from the masterclass was from Noma who gave a beautiful lesson about opening up your space to make people feel expansion not contraction when in conversation with you. In other words, make people feel big, not small when they talk to you, and to occupy places where you feel the same.
Finally, Carrie and Noma also shared what they believed were some essentials for pursuing a creative career. Carrie broke this down into three parts, firstly, Instinct and Clarity, which is having a sense of what you want to make. Secondly, the Craft and Techniques, which is the bit you can learn, and finally Innate, which is the hunger that you have to pursue your passion.
This in turn goes hand in hand with one of the top questions from the class, which was about staying motivated through the perseverance process. Carrie and Noma to conclude agreed that the motivation should come from the hunger within you. The highs and lows are natural but to keep going will ultimately rely on that hunger you have. If this hunger dies out, Carrie kindly suggests exploring something else, and Noma elegantly described the value in deciding to walk away when it doesnt feels right.
A massive thank you to Carrie and Noma for this masterclass, I learned so much and feel so empowered to keep creating and pushing through the roadblocks.