ActNow Theatre, in collaboration with The Gathered Sound and Northern Sound System, is embarking on a new work that celebrates the voices of Global Majority (BIPOC) young adults: Everything I Was Told Not to Be.
To kick off the process, we’re running a short series of free workshops, exclusively for Global Majority young adult community members living in the City of Playford. The music workshops led by Kultar Ahluwalia (Mixed Race Tape) and supported by Yasmin Gurreeboo (ActNow theatre Artistic Director) will be a fun opportunity to learn new performing arts skills in an inclusive space and connect with your community through sharing stories.
Participants may also be invited to join future stages of development as professionally paid performers in Everything I Was Told Not To Be.
About Everything I Was Told Not To Be
This new work will centre the lived experiences of Global Majority (BIPOC) young adults; exploring intersectionality, belonging and self-discovery.
What begins as a spoken word night in a local community space evolves into a daring, ensemble‑driven theatre work blending spoken word, music, movement, and activism.
Eligibility
You are eligible if you are:
18 - 35 years old
identify as Global Majority or BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and/or a Person of Colour)
No theatre or music experience is needed!
How to register
To register for the Music workshops, click the button below.
dates
Thursday 16th October
6:30pm - 8:30pm
Thursday 23rd October
6:30 - 8:30pm
Where
Northern Sound System
73 Elizabeth Way
Elizabeth SA 5112
Kaurna Yerta
What to bring
Wear comfortable clothes, bring a water bottle and food for lunch
What we’ll provide
We’ll provide a warm, welcoming and inclusive space, as well as some tasty snacks and lots of ideas to explore!
Sharing stories
Conversations during these workshops will help inform and inspire Everything I Was Told Not To Be.
If you choose to share any personal stories during this workshop, they will never be used explicitly without your permission, and may only serve as inspiration.
If any of your contributions become central to the final production, you will be credited and financially compensated.
About the workshop leaders
Kultar Ahluwalia [ he / him ]
Lead Artist of Everything I Was Told Not To Be
[IMAGE DESCRIPTION: A black and white image of a man with brown skin, dark brown hair, and dark brown eyes standing against plywood wall. His head is covered with black beanie and he has a short beard. He is looking down the lens of the camera smiling behind a microphone. Photograph by Paul Bartlett.]
Kultar Ahluwalia is a multidisciplinary hip hop artist from Southern Adelaide with Punjabi and Irish roots. At a young age coming to terms with his identity, Kultar found wisdom in the empowering words of revolutionary hip hop artists. Kultar has been releasing and performing music over the last two decades under various pseudonyms and in the group, We Move Like Giants. More recently, Kultar began creating works under his birth name.
In 2023, Kultar was selected as one of six artists in the Nexus Arts Interplay Program. During his time in the program, Kultar created a new stage show and accompanying EP “The Mixed-Race Tape”.
In 2024, “The Mixed-Race Tape” was premiered at OzAsia Festival across two capacity shows at Nexus Arts with glowing reception. Kultar was invited for performances and media appearances on outlets such as ABC Radio National, SBS, Channel 9, themusic.com.au and Glam Adelaide.
In 2025, Kultar will be taking “The Mixed-Race Tape” into new territories across Australia and, as always, hitting the home studio and sharing new music. And, in a full circle moment, Kultar recently commenced working with Nexus Arts supporting and mentoring the next cohort of Interplay artists.
Valerie Berry [ she / her ]
ActNow Theatre Associate Artist
[IMAGE DESCRIPTION: Valerie Berry, a brown skinned Filipino woman with short hair is dressed in black and smiling to the camera. She stands on a city street, with the background slightly blurred. Photograph by Sia Duff]
Valerie Berry is a theatre maker and arts worker. Throughout her practice, she has focused on cross cultural, collaborative and interdisciplinary processes. Recent works include, Future World Hypothesis, with Performosa Theatre, performed at Cloudgate Theatre, Taiwan; Directed Danielle Lim’s Caught In Between, and Van Badham’s play Bang On The Nerve at Goodwood Theatre; Australian Performance Exchange’s (Sydney) development collaboration with Performosa Theatre (Taiwan), The Island Project, 2023; CAAP (Contemporary Asian Australian Performance) as a facilitator: 2021- 2024 Artist Lab SA, and Double Delicious: writer/performer for Sydney Festival and Asia Topa 2020, remount director/performer for OzAsia Festival 2021, and performer/co-director touring regional VIC and NSW 2022; North/Eastern States tour of The Folding Wife (Urban Theatre Projects, toured by Performing Lines); National Theatre of Parramatta (Swallow, 2016-performer) and Directed (Let Me Know When You get Home, 2021). In 2022, Valerie was the Associate Director for State Theatre South Australia’s production of Single Asian Female.
Valerie is an Associate Artist at ActNow Theatre and works as a coordinator, facilitator, mentor and collaborator. She is the Artistic coordinator for their Cultural Leaders program. Valerie has had an ongoing collaborative partnership with multimedia artists, Anino Shadowplay Collective (Manila, Philippines) and Paschal Daantos Berry, since 2005: The Folding Wife; Within and Without (Performance Space and Blacktown Arts Centre); Arkipelago, and Arkipelago2: Intima-sea (Yogyakarta, Indonesia); and This here.Land, Performance Space: Liveworks Festival, 2017.