Today we’d like to introduce you to Najah Ali.
Hi Najah, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
Immediately after college, I moved to Atlanta with a suitcase and a dream to be an actor. I thought I was living my best Black American dream in the city where black folks prosper. Well…it took a little over of a year to find my way back to my big dream. While I was working in a Buckhead Starbucks, I recognized Loren Bray on the other side of one of the drinks made during my crazy Sunday post-church rush. Loren, a classical trained actor in the DMV who I had only seen on Facebook since my move to the A, immediately invited me to attend a performance by the apprentices at the Shakespeare Tavern Playhouse. My very Shakespeare-ignorant self decided to go. This night brought back all my excitement to be in the theatre. I was reawakened! From that moment, I spoke with all the folks that ran the theatre and apprenticeship and was at the auditions a few short days later. Let me tell y’all if Shakespeare was somehow alive at that time, I could be in the same room, and I wouldn’t know a thing.
Needless to say, I had to work my ass off. I performed in touring shows (Romeo & Juliet: 60 – Juliet) and main stage shows (Hamlet, Macbeth, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Love’s Labour’s Lost). I went on to perform on stages at the Atlanta Black Theatre Festival, Shakespeare on Draught, and Birmingham Children’s Theatre. During my time as an actor, I became more interested in directing. I assistant directed with the Queen Jaclyn Hoffman for Hamlet and Love’s Labour’s Lost at the Shakespeare Tavern Playhouse. This experience led me to being the sole director at Birmingham Children’s Theatre for City Mouse, Country Mouse and Ruff! I would dabble in some film projects as an actor from time to time.
I, of course, was living a very pieced-together artist’s life with teaching artists gigs, nannying, Instacart, part-time here, part-time there, blah, blah, blah….. THEN the pandemic hit. Everything I was working on was…POOF gone. I was heartbroken. Going from go, go, go to this very introspective time gave me my first pause since I was a child. I had my dreams to be a math and theatre major and later an actor since I was 15 years old! THEN, it hit me like a ton of bricks. I realized I HATED acting professionally, and I just like that I was a creatively free agent.
This brings me to the culmination of all those creative and non-creative related skills that I gathered over the years. I am now a professional project manager and writer working with creative entities (mostly film-related), creative non-profits and a social services agency serving adults with intellectual disability & autism. I spend most of my time working directly with Behavioral Health Solutions, Artists Thrive and Darion D’Anjou Productions. The industries I have the most experience with are social work, film, graphic design, creative nonprofits, creative writing, grant writing, and modeling. While I love doing film-related logistics (math/logic nerd), I have been dipping my toes into writing and directing for film. My work has taken me all over Atlanta, GA, Philadelphia, PA, Washington, D.C., Greece, Birmingham, AL, and Shreveport, LA. I am grateful for every person that has been a part of my creative life past and present!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I wish! I was subjected to the industry expectation of working for free/very little for your art, and this created an overworking obsession for me to be able to support myself and be creatively seen. I spent YEARS saying yes to jobs to the point of overwhelming myself and not even being able to take care of myself. I do understand “grind” culture, but if you’re grinding day in and day out for over 1 year without some significant gains… was it really worth it? Reflecting back, I know I would have been a better actor if I was out experiencing life instead of living life to make it back onto the stage for the night.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
Currently, I work as a professional project manager and writer. My work life is split between three major players (Behavioral Health Solutions, Artists Thrive, and Darion D’Anjou Productions), in addition to my freelance projects. Behavioral Health Solutions located in Philadelphia, PA is a social services agency that provides services for adults with intellectual disability and autism. I spend my BHS time planning interactive and creative events for clients, as well as managing our tech department and teaching tech-related classes to clients and staff. Artists Thrive is a creative nonprofit that focuses on raising the value of artists in every community. I write a bi-monthly newsletter, work as an artists activator, and work annually at the hybrid Artists Thrive Summit that brings creatives across the country together.
Darion D’Anjou Productions is a full-service production studio based in Atlanta, GA that specializes in visual effects. My film version of project management, I typically coordinate production and/or post-production, 1st assistant direct, and/or produce. The industries I have the most experience with are social work, film, graphic design, creative nonprofits, creative writing, grant writing, and modeling. While I love doing film-related logistics (math/logic nerd), I have been dipping my toes into writing and directing for film. My first short film even won Best Picture in Darion D’Anjou’s One Minute Film School competition in Greece’s 2022 SIFCA (creative festival). My work has taken me all over Atlanta, GA, Philadelphia, PA, Washington, D.C., Greece, Birmingham, AL, and Shreveport, LA. I, also, randomly painted a mural on the West End Beltline behind Best End Brewing.
What was your favorite childhood memory?
My favorite childhood memory would have to be getting my driver’s license. I remember spending hours driving my parents around and of course, felt very nervous about the parallel parking. After trying my best to be a “perfect” driver and freaking out when I went 3 miles over the speed limit, I parked the car and got out. The test giver gave me and my family a thumbs up and said I passed! I ran from the car across a little patch of grass and hugged every person in my family that came with me. We all hugged and screamed and jumped up and down. The tester told my dad that I did better than anyone he had ever seen. I was PURE JOY and it definitely showed in my driver’s license picture.
Pricing:
- Professional Event Project Management Planning – $50/hr.
- Grant Writing – $60/hr.
- Same Day Event Manager – $500/day
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisisnajah/
- Youtube: https://youtu.be/Q7Bihm7dQLI
Image Credits
The Flawless Focus NexusBLK & Company Darion D’Anjou
