Out of the Black Box: Conversations with Global Majority Actors Volume 1 - Hardcover

by Pamela Jikiemi (Volume Editor)

This groundbreaking collection of curated interviews provides an opportunity to hear from Black and Global Majority actors and artists working internationally as they discuss their careers to date, from what they wish they had known to the pitfalls they are still learning to navigate.

Structured around the classic actor-training concept of the 'given circumstances' - a tool that an actor might use to determine the wider context of their journey from page to stage to screen - the book offers up rare, multi-perspective insights into approaches to actor training, professional experiences, career choices, narrative voices and creative process. How this is experienced - in an industry that is still defining how Black and Global majority presence translates into visibility and power - is a deep abiding theme that resonates throughout.

Interviewees include Noma Dumezweni, James Earl Jones, Indhu Rubasingham MBE, David Oyelowo OBE, Fisayo Akinade, Sheila Atim MBE, Francesca Amewudah-Rivers and many more.

Author Biography

Pamela Jikiemi is Head of Film, TV and Audio at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), UK, and is an award-winning film maker, having produced over 25 short films and directed four, winning the Iris Prize for Education for a short film in 2023. She is currently a PhD candidate at University of the Arts Chelsea while continuing to work as an actor in TV (Supacell), gaming (Baldur's Gate III), voice-overs and digital media.