Chai with Rai raimuitfum

It all went down in the underworld!

From discussing spirituality, placement of your craft as an artist, career trajectory, mindset of being a creative. To the love for the exquisite premium vanilla that is Taylor Swift and everything in between. T’was a joy to share a cuppa with the exuberant soul that is Zachary James. 

Topics Breakdown: 

Can you Improv though-Warm up games set to 4 timing settings. 
Hadestown-  Where do you find the heart/ the empathy point? How do you approach when creating the world of the play and the world of your role and what becomes your boundary? Discussing the culture and the weight around a transfer of a role especially when you have seen the show. Finding your role and placement within an ensemble cast and how to be generous but also own the space and do the work. How was the sitzprobe? Something about the show you haven’t told anyone yet and a thing that didn’t make it form rehearsals or previews into the show now? 
Solo debut show on 15th July,24- How do you curate the show and explore what needs to be explored? You’re producing it too? The premise around your life in opera and theatre? Telling more on that. 
3 Projects: Akhnaten, RUSALKA and Philip Glass’s “The Perfect American”- How do you sink your teeth into that world and also make that accessible when it’s a medium very much designed to a specific audience? Also those 3 projects a thing you cherish, a thing you could let go of and a thing you found challenging about it? 
How much goes into your mindset about the business of being in this industry or a show?
You have discussed with such passion about accessibility ( theatre prices)  and inclusion/ diverse at points. What do you feel the current state holds? 
Do you think about trajectory, sustainability and strategy? Especially having hit so many milestones and worked with such high calibre collaborators? Does also the pressure of that weigh or does it seamlessly flow? 
Discussing Visitability in status within the industry  and culture of accolades. 
Kindness and Strength as an individual- Where it comes from? Stem of it?
Rapid Response Questions: 

A tip on being financial savvy?
A pivotal part in your life that stands out when I ask “ the most fruitful lesson you got gifted” what was it And sharing the message in your life?
3 things the creative culture could do with and or without?
Sippa Chai or Play with Rai- Segmented Games Round.
What the Chai- 30 second rant about anything and everything however you must start or end your rant with the phrase ”What the Chai?”
Joyfulness- What’s one thing that makes Zachary joyful and whats one thing he does for others that makes them feel joyful. 
You can purchase tickets to Zachary’s solo show at Crazy Coqs HERE and Hadestown HERE. 

To subscribe to Patreon and become a Patron/ supporter of Chai with Rai. 

Social:

Myself: https://www.instagram.com/chaiwithrai_/ & https://twitter.com/chaiwithrai_ & https://www.tiktok.com/@chaiwithrai

Guest :https://www.instagram.com/theofficialzacharyjames/?hl=en , https://x.com/_zachary_james_?lang=en-GB 

Links:

Myself: https://www.raimuitfum.com/chaiwithraihomepage &

https://linktr.ee/chaiwithrai_ 

Guest: https://zacharyjames.komi.io/ & https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3204137/ 

Hope you all enjoyed it and Thank you for tuning in. To Subscribe, share, follow my work and everything else is listed above.

We are back with delicious and juicy interviews and what a lineup I have coming for you babsies. 

Warm up your cuppa because actor and writer Zakiyyah Deen is in the building and we spill it all. From discussing Why a Black Woman will never be a Prime Minister of the UK to how to pitch your theatre projects and your boundaries as an artist. 

Topics breakdown: 

Can you Improv though- New Warm up games.
Zakiyyah’s current play- ”Why a Black Women will never be a prime minister.” Where did it come from? Where it is at? And WHY!?
Because this is an exclusive interview- we get into it! Her story from birth to now and how the arts came to be?
Commissioning and what doing programs such as Young Vic’s Fresh Direction program has taught her?
Discussing projects such as: Is dat u yh? The Brassic FM show? Enterprise? How do you find the ownership within what you input and placement within the show ? And how do you detach? 
Cultural identity and it becoming a kryptonite or your beacon? Niche as a performer? 
Quick Round: 

A tip on being financial savvy?
A tip on grant application or arts application in general?
A tip on writing a project?
Go back to any role or project what would it be and why? And if you were asked to do a part 2/ expansion of it- input 
A great thing about being an artist in today’s social, cultural and economical and a challenging thing about it? 
Getting into the role- auditioning or when you have booked the job? And how to let go or sepearate yourself from it?
A thing you would like someone to take away with them having met you for a brief second or known you for a long time
Your Favourite thing about yourself either as a creative or person and something you feel is a challenge and are working on
A thing you would like to impart somebody but you never got told or 
Words to your mirror self
3 things the creative culture could do with or without
3 artists really admire their journey or would suggest in checking out their work 
Your thoughts on the entertainment culture or theatre culture in general and a thing you would challenge the industry on
Then we play Sippa Chai or Play with Rai, end with our ”What the Chai” rant and what makes Zakiyyah joyful and how she brings joyfulness to others. 

Note: Artists mentioned in this podcast are:

https://theartistspartnership.co.uk/artist/reda-elazouar/

https://www.hamiltonhodell.co.uk/talent/tobi-king-bakare/

https://www.dkfash.com/

You can also check out Zakiyyah’s blog HERE. 

To subscribe to Patreon and become a Patron/ supporter of Chai with Rai. 

Social:

Myself: https://www.instagram.com/chaiwithrai_/ & https://twitter.com/chaiwithrai_ & https://www.tiktok.com/@chaiwithrai

Guest: https://www.instagram.com/zakiyyahdeen/?hl=en  

Links:

Myself: https://www.raimuitfum.com/chaiwithraihomepage &

https://linktr.ee/chaiwithrai_ 

Guest: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm10987227/ , https://www.unitedagents.co.uk/zakiyyah-deen & https://creatorsprogram.youngvic.org/member/13746 

Hope you all enjoyed it and Thank you for tuning in. To Subscribe, share, follow my work and everything else is listed above.

Grabbed a cuppa with the talented Ra’eesah to discuss her writing process for ”38%” an audio story for the series Symphonies of Beaded Threads. We also discussed her unique voice as an artist, organisational make up of the theatre industry and of course poetry. 

Also, with this I conclude the series of discussing BTS stuff and more with the writers behind Symphonies of Beaded Threads. I hope you enjoyed it and more to come! 

About Ra’eesah: 

Ra’eesah is a multifaceted creative using the mediums of theatre, film, music and spoken word to tell stories, bring people together and effect positive change. She has performed on stage as an actor and singer at the Bush Theatre as well as with The Old Vic/Neon Arts. 

She has produced projects such as The Self-Expression Sessions, a series of spoken word poetry workshops open to people of all ages and abilities, to increase accessibility to the arts and build community through creativity and culture.

Further projects Ra’eesah has produced on include Licence to DV8 at the Royal Albert Hall and arts festivals at Almeida Theatre and London Bubble, focusing on outreach. She is a trustee of the Roundhouse and WEST Youth Zone and has contributed to several other organisations including Old Vic Theatre and A New Direction through youth advisory.

To Listen to Ra’eesah’s story CLICK HERE. 

To subscribe to Patreon and become a Patron/ supporter of Chai with Rai. 

Social:

Myself: https://www.instagram.com/chaiwithrai_/ & https://twitter.com/chaiwithrai_ & https://www.tiktok.com/@chaiwithrai

Guest: https://www.instagram.com/ra.eesahh/ , https://twitter.com/Ra_eesahh & https://app.spotlight.com/3812-7862-7993

Links:

Myself: https://www.raimuitfum.com/chaiwithraihomepage &

https://linktr.ee/chaiwithrai_ 

Hope you all enjoyed it and Thank you for tuning in. To Subscribe, share, follow my work and everything else is listed above.

at down with the wordsmith that is Riana Howarth to discuss a blossoming  and emerging career in theatre and more. We also dove into her audio story ”She’d Sit” from the audio series ”Symphonies of Beaded Threads”-  the experience of writing that and what she hopes the listeners take from it. 

About Riana:

Riana is an aspiring writer and illustrator with a curiosity for all/most things weird and wonderful. With a background in acting and experience in assisting in youth theatre classes at the Questors Theatre, she uses this knowledge to inspire her creative writing. Between writing theatre reviews for North West End UK, she is trying to develop a consistent writing practice, exploring various themes, topics and styles. She is currently part of the Fresh Direction Program at The Young Vic Theatre (2022/2023).

To Listen to Riana’s short audio story Click HERE. 

To subscribe to Patreon  and become a Patron/ supporter of Chai with Rai. 

Social:

Myself: https://www.instagram.com/chaiwithrai_/ & https://twitter.com/chaiwithrai_ & https://www.tiktok.com/@chaiwithrai

Guest: https://www.instagram.com/art.riiii/ & https://creatorsprogram.youngvic.org/member/10091

Links:

Myself: https://www.raimuitfum.com/chaiwithraihomepage &

https://linktr.ee/chaiwithrai_ 

Hope you all enjoyed it and Thank you for tuning in. To Subscribe, share, follow my work and everything else is listed above.

Had such a wonderful time discussing community and opportunity as freelance writers in the industry with the wonderful Gayathiri Kamalakanthan. And of course we discussed the writing process for the audio story ”Chemo in the Summer”. 

About Gayathiri:

Gayathiri is a Tamil poet and sex education facilitator. They’re interested in how language shapes childhood and how we use it to queer the future. Gayathiri won the Faber & Andlyn Publisher’s Prize 2022, the Primadonna Fiction Prize 2021 and they were shortlisted for the Bridport Poetry Prize 2022. Gayathiri runs the poetry workshop series WORD-BENDERS at The Common Press bookshop in East London. Gayathiri is currently a member of the Southbank New Poets Collective. Their debut novel in verse is forthcoming with Faber.

To subscribe to Patreon and become a Patron/ supporter of Chai with Rai. 

To listen to Gayathiri’s audio story CLICK HERE. 

Social:

Myself: https://www.instagram.com/chaiwithrai_/ & https://twitter.com/chaiwithrai_ & https://www.tiktok.com/@chaiwithrai

Guest: https://www.instagram.com/unembarrassable/ 

Links:

Myself: https://www.raimuitfum.com/chaiwithraihomepage &

https://linktr.ee/chaiwithrai_ 

Guest: https://linktr.ee/gayathirikamalakanthan 

Hope you all enjoyed it and Thank you for tuning in. To Subscribe, share, follow my work and everything else is listed above.

I have to say and say it I will! If you are a writer! You must and you must listen to structure and how just telling this conversation is especially if you are an emerging writer. So many great antidotes to take and implement into your world. 

Sitting down with the stunning Bethany Gemmell to discuss writing and how a world is created and how ”Catherine” was made for Symphonies of Beaded Threads . 

About Bethany: 

Bethany Henry Gemmell LLM (he/him) is a Northern non-binary artist in London, working as Production Coordinator for a multi-award-winning company. In 2022, he quit working as a teacher and dove into theatre and television full-time. Career highlights so far include: producing, directing and writing for Neurospace Theatre’s showcase presenting autistic work at Barons Court in February 2022; stage-managing for Black British Theatre-nominated Saturn Returns at Brixton House/Southbank Centre/Northern School of Contemporary Dance; and being assistant director for the LGBT+ play Welcome Home at Soho Theatre in January 2023. His biggest creative passion is writing. Currently, he is a part of Young Vic’s selective Creators Program and he has a television show in development that is based on his play M. E. Trout, which is about an autistic woman dealing with grief and broken relationships. When he is not working, he is building a trans theatre company (Twitter: @transgrtheatre) and reading about sociopolitical issues, so much so that he has recently graduated with a Masters in Human Rights Law - as such, he gets quite nerdy about that sort of thing. His staged short play Wolf (2023), which was his first ever submission to Theatre503’s Rapid Write Response scheme, is the latest achievement in Bethany’s emerging writing career.

To Listen to Bethany’s audio short story CLICK HERE. 

To subscribe to Patreon and become a Patron/ supporter of Chai with Rai. 

Social:

Myself: https://www.instagram.com/chaiwithrai_/ & https://twitter.com/chaiwithrai_ & https://www.tiktok.com/@chaiwithrai

Guest: https://www.instagram.com/hgemmellian/ & https://twitter.com/hengemmell 

Links:

Myself: https://www.raimuitfum.com/chaiwithraihomepage &

https://linktr.ee/chaiwithrai_ 

Guest: https://creatorsprogram.youngvic.org/member/11946

Hope you all enjoyed it and Thank you for tuning in. To Subscribe, share, follow my work and everything else is listed above.