A first of its kind, this series "Celebrating our Learners" aims to applaude our learners - who they are, the hard work they've put in, their achievements and their dreams.

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Niraj: I’ve been at Nexus since I was in Year 8 and wanted to be an actor for a few years before, but I never knew how to go about starting; it seemed like this out-of-reach ideal!

Whether you’ve wanted to be an actor since you were two years old, have taken a few acting classes here and there, or think it would be an interesting career choice, there are a few things you should keep in mind before committing fully to acting as a profession.

1. Acting and Fame Are Not the Same Thing: In all honesty, I wanted to become an actor after watching the Disney Channel when I was eight years old but, needless to say, that does not sustain a career. The art of acting is a craft and, as a profession, ranks as one of the most difficult, demanding and competitive ones out there.

2. The Best Advice I Ever Heard: Elon Musk said something in an interview buried deep on YouTube that stayed with me forever; while I can’t remember the exact quote, this is the rough idea: Think of life as a realm of infinite probability streams. Your job is to find the outcome you want and do everything in your power to increase the probability of that outcome.

3. Get Up: If you don’t actively work to move forward - getting up and trying something at the expense of possibly looking stupid - you will stay at the same place.

4. Love What You Do: Watch movies, read plays, listen to music or podcasts - regularly engage yourself in something creative.

Here in Singapore, we actors are at somewhat of a disadvantage compared to our American peers who live in the heart of the industry with a wealth of amazing classes, performance opportunities and agencies at their fingertips. Nevertheless, you have to play the hand that you’re dealt and the following are, in my opinion, brilliant resources:

• Haque Centre of Acting & Creativity (HCAC);

• Singapore Repertory Theatre (SRT);

• Pangdemonium.

I started my application process in September of my graduating year as the majority of schools I was applying to were in the US; many schools require pre screens (pre recorded monologues they use to make a shortlist of applicants) which can be time consuming to produce. Some of the most important things on my 'to-do list' were getting my prescreen monologues up to shape, planning out university essays, tracking relevant financial aid/ international applicant documents and portals and keeping my parents up to date everyday.

Some other top drama schools in the US include Juilliard, UNCSA, Carnegie Mellon University, and Boston University; some in the UK consist of RADA, LAMDA, Guildhall and Royal Central. Most universities are looking for students who are highly passionate as opposed to highly studious - I tried to show my passion by taking internships, taking classes and performing whenever I could.

I would suggest drama students prepare for auditions by forming their own technique and focusing on being as authentic as possible - both during their audition, and application

Music with Y7

Year 7 were due to have a mini concert in class last week and even in the midst of online learning some of our learners still wanted to showcase their performances to one another. 7G spent the lesson sharing performances on the HUB, reflecting and providing feedback to one another. Some of the learners have been playing their instrument for a number of years and having individual lessons however many have only been learning keyboard in class for 6 weeks. Everyone has demonstrated commitment, confidence and been a risk taker. Well done 7G.

Here are some of the mini performances.