Tiara, Brisbane, and the Creative Industries - let's work together!

I am a young cosmopolitan passionate about bring people of diverse interests, cultures, and visions together to create greater change within themselves and their world. I was born and raised in Malaysia, have Bangladeshi heritage and citizenship, currently live in Australia, and travel extensively. I have a deep appreciation for diversity and especially enjoy integrating aspects of various approaches to create a more effective whole - be that in community building, education, creativity, or other fields.

I personally favour creative approaches to empowerment and community development. I have just completed a Bachelor's in Creative Industries (Interdisciplinary), submajoring in CI Management and Creative Writing, earning plenty of education and experience in festivals, events, creative societies, and arts project management.

Currently I am spending a lot of time on performance and production - I create performance art and perform & train in burlesque, circus, and improv, though I do love theatre and the odd flashmob. I also enjoy working with people on creative collaborative projects, where we're all working together towards making positive societal change.

I would love to get into artistic direction - I have tons of ideas and love coming up with events and performances. I'm passionate about diversity and sensitivity, especially in giving people from culturally diverse backgrounds fair representation in the arts. I am often described as energetic and vibrant - I'm often busy, hyperactive, curious, and enthusiastic about what I do!

I've worked on heaps of projects around the world (including a project that did go around the world!), all around creativity, fun, and making lives better. Among some of my more notable projects include:

• Writing 50,000 words of a novel in a month, twice (NaNoWriMo)


• Travelling across US, Japan, and Western Europe with Up with People to work on community development projects, exchange cultures, learn about world issues, and co-produce and present a multicultural multiarts performance


• Writing and maintaining EducateDeviate, a leading alternative education resource blog for young Malaysians


• Staying up late to write letters to world leaders as part of an Amnesty International (Malaysia) marathon


• 2022 Earning 3rd Place (New Talent) in the Cabaret Burlesque Brisbane competition for a piece reflecting my experiences of growing up in a Muslim atmosphere (and being the only contestant that flew in from overseas)


• Stage-managing various queer performances for QAHC's Cabaret Q


• Dancing in a flashmob in the middle of the Brisbane Festival
  
• Helping a frightened older lady through security and encountering a polar bear mascot in the Brisbane Writers Festival


• Managing fanmail and interview requests for pan-Asian media personality Asha Gill


• Preparing a cultural diversity strategy plan for Transit Lounge Brisbane (Youth Arts Queensland)


• Creating a part-burlesque performance art piece with Vulcana Women's Circus for Island Vibe


• Writing articles on cultural diversity and race issues in burlesque


• Interviewing former Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi and former Malaysian Opposition leader Lim Kit Siang


• Preparing a draft Employee Handbook for Zen Zen Zo Physical Theatre as part of reorganising their policy and procedures documents


• Popping popcorn and lighting candles for the RaGTaG Revue


• Helping English language learners at the University of Queensland with their communications skills


• Co-organising a Naked Lady Party (clothes swap) to raise funds for Royal Children's Hospital's Working Wonders


• Managing the overall vision and speaking up about ethics issues in the Queensland Business Icon


• Writing scripts for Channel [V] International that highlighted artists' charity contributions and personal achievements


• Play a pretty sparkly purple and silver platespinner in QPIX's Living and Dying in Hotel Broadway


• Pull off 21 different orgasms in a row while playing The Woman who Loved to Make Vaginas Happy in Brisbane's The Vagina Monologues


• Researched and brainstormed ideas for companies with Germany's BrainStore and Australia's IdeasCulture


• Creating and planning multiple treasure hunts for school

and then some! Check out my websites (TiaraShafiq.com, The Merch Girl) to find out what else I've been up to.

If we work together, you will get someone who is especially creative, energetic, vibrant, and full of enthusiasm. I'm all about creating more awesome and I will find ways for us to bring out the best, most interesting work possible.

Ideas and Knowledge:

• Visioning and conceptualisation (especially creative/artistic)
• Brainstorming
• Research skills
• Preparing resources for research and development
• Expanding people's ideas and concepts
• Debates and finding different perspectives

Media and Writing:

• Creative writing - short stories, poetry, creative non-fiction, songwriting, novellas, blog posts, choral speaking scripts
• Professional writing - business writing, essays, reports, opinion pieces, basic contracts, copywriting, policy writing, procedural documents, strategy plans
• Media - print journalism, variety television scripts, stage scripts, radio scripts, interviews, magazine and web features

Performance:

• Stage/performance art - Burlesque, improv, acting, performance art, character work, public speaking, hosting, slam poetry, choral speaking
• Circus - Ground work (acro, tumbling), platespinning, Chinese Plates juggling
• Music - contemporary female vocals (alto)
• Dance - contemporary, burlesque, basic tap and hiphop

Stage and Project Management:

• General and assisted stage management
• Front of house (merchandise, ticketing)
• Project planning
• Research on project resources and required people
• Artist liaison and networking
• Combining arts, business, and social good

Computing:

• OSes - Windows (3.1. to Vista), Mac, Ubuntu, Konquerer, other open-source
• Office computing - word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, databases, desktop publishing
• Internet - web applications, web 2.0, email, IM, HTML, CSS, social media and networking
• Audio/Visual - Photoshop, Ilustrator, Sony Vega, Audacity, various media players
• Able to learn new software/tools quickly and train/assist others

Culture and Travel:

• Cross-cultural communication and exchange
• Languages - English (fluent), Malay (advanced/near-fluent), Bengali (conversational, reading only)
• Countries travelled - Australia, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, China, Japan, Macau, Hong Kong, India, Sri Lanka, UK, France, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, The Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Sweden, USA, Canada
• Youth/student exchange - promotions and logistics

Marketing:

• Online promotions and social networking
• Media writing
• Networking - especially connecting people who would work well together
• Merchandise and ticket selling

Other Skills & Characteristics:

• Strong attention-grabbing voice (naturally projected voice)
• Plenty of energy and vibrancy
• Voracious and quick reader
• Quick and eager learner
• Working with children and young people
• Working with people from culturally diverse backgrounds

Certifications:

• Responsible Service of Alcohol
• Senior First Aid
• Working with Children Check (Blue Card)

As I write this, I am in the final couple of weeks of rehearsals for Vulcana Women's Circus's Aperture project, where a number of us have prepared individual (and one duo) performances for presentation at Island Vibe at Stradbroke Island at the end of October. It's the first time I have performed at a festival (aside from an impromptu poetry recital at a Woodford poetry breakfast) and I'm really excited but also nervous. My piece is part burlesque, part performance art, part spoken word, dealing with issues of labels and cultural identity. It's the least circus-y of the project - but I like to call it a Circus of the Mind.

I'm also participating on a street performance project with Vulcana, where we're creating a roller derby team with plenty of attitude but not enough money to buy skates! I'm planning my character to be The Merch Girl but in a roller derby context - so most likely the Announcer who cannot skate (as I can hardly balance on wheels) but sometimes gets roped in to skate anyway. It's at the very early stages and nothing's set in stone, but it was watching the street performers at Woodford in 2008 that inspired me to dive into performing and I'm excited to take the chance to fulfil my dream.

I am planning some city tours for newcomers to Brisbane that are involved in the Creative Industries - particularly Arts and CI students at university that have come from outside Brisbane or overseas. I have a simple 1st tour in mind, taking them to places in South Bank, the CBD, and New Farm/Fortitude Valley. It's something I wished I had as a student and if I can pull this first tour off - I'm aiming for the weekend of O-Week 2010, so early February - I can organise other outings and social events too.

I volunteer regularly for events - in the past few months I've worked with the Brisbane Writers Festival, Brisbane Festival, Top Floor, RaGTaG Revue, Vulcana Women's Circus's representation at events, and the Queensland Poetry Festival, and I'm about to contribute some hours to Valley Fiesta and hopefully the 2high Festival (being The Merch Girl there would be awesome!). Things are starting to wind down events-wise - the next big ones I can think of this year are Island Vibe, where I'm already performing, the Brisbane Independent Theater Showcase Sampler, and the Woodford Folk Festival, where I volunteered for the first time last year. (I won't be able to return, though, as I will be overseas around that time for my sister's wedding reception.)

In general, I have been busy jobhunting and seeking opportunities to both support myself and further develop the concept of The Merch Girl as well as myself as a performer/production person. It's been mindblowing to see the sheer growth from less than a year ago where all I could do was dream of being on stage! It's going a little slower than I would have liked, but that's why I started this Squidoo page - to get things going!

The Edge, State Library of Queensland - I have applied to be a Catalyst with some suggestions for possible events and activities (some of which will be reproduced below). I may also put in an application for Residency either with those projects or as The Merch Girl in general. What I would like most to do, though, is be part of the core project team - filling in the gaps of cultural diversity and managing the international and interstate partnerships, as well as providing an avenue for physical performers (dance, theater, improv, etc) to make use of The Edge's digital resources and outlook.

Backbone Youth Arts - Their Artistic Director, Andrew Cory, mentioned in his presentation to the Queensland Youth Arts Market his vision for supporting the production of performance and events-based work by young people, since this was a gap that wasn't very well fulfilled but highly necessary. I would love to be part of the team that facilitates such processes, especially when it comes to public performance, ad-hoc events, happenings, flash mobs, and other things that are hard to pigeonhole.

Circa, Vulcana Women's Circus, and other circus groups - I was just introduced to the concept of Social Circus (using circus to connect with communities and create social change) and I love it! Circus work is a great motivator and self-esteem boost, and it also allows for freer and flexible creative expression. Some people I would like to work with through social circus are young adult recent migrants (including students and those on temporary visas) and young women with body image issues, including those that feel that they're not sporty or flexible enough for things like circus. (I was completely non-physical and I did well for less than a year's work!)

Brisbane Festival - The forum on Under the Radar inspired an idea for a guide called So You'd Like to Be in a Fringe Festival?. There's also an uncurated Brisbane Independent Theater Fringe Festival in the works, so the guide would work there too.

The Awesome Foundation - Currently this is an American project that gives away $1000 cash a month to projects they deem as "awesome" - there's no real set criteria. Some of the projects include a Cotton Candy Cannon, a 40-day data visualisation contest, and The Big Hammock. I would love to set up an Australian branch of this foundation - perhaps making it closer to this project that randomly gave away small amounts of money for any project that encouraged creativity, even if it was a kid seeking colour pencils to play. (I can't seem to find the link to this project; would you know of it?)

Up with People - this organisation's core business involves world tours of cultural diversity, performance, and community development. However, it's been a while since they have been in the Oceania region (Australia, New Zealand, South Pacific islands). A new Alumni representative for Oceania, Bob Blake, has been elected (it is a new role) and Bob is seeking to bring Up with People Down Under, as well as sending an Oceanic student on tour. My Up with People tour was the best time of my life and I would love to bring an international cast down here!

Darren Hayes - he is my hero and one of the big reasons why I came to Brisbane (and ended up going into performance and the creative industries). I really want to be his Merch Girl - not just selling merch but also assisting him with any concerns and needs. He is absolutely my dream client.

Richard Branson, Sir Ken Livingstone, Oprah Winfrey, Google, and an ever growing list - these are some of my heroes and I'd love to work with them someday!

Other indie productions and non-profits - the purpose of The Merch Girl, and my work, is to help you all out with whatever you need. Tell me your concerns and I'll either do my best to assist you or refer you to someone who can do better!

As mentioned before, I have plenty of project ideas - some I wish just existed, some I would like to work on in some way. The following are some ideas that I would like to get a start on at least in early 2010:

• A showcase/symposium for culturally diverse performers in the fringe/independent performance scenes, much like America's Shades of Burlesque and Kaleidoscope
• Tours to creative industries-related places in Brisbane (Trying to work this out with uni O-Weeks)
• Spontaneous event happenings such as a public poledance, a Protest for Nothing in Particular, and a Night Picnic
• An arts event around body image awareness
• Coworking space and regular Strategy Meetings for creatives & people without a set employer
• Barn-raisings and knowledge swaps

Get in touch if you'd like to organise this with me!

I'm not usually a big goal-setter - I have some founding principles, but my life changes so quickly so often than I don't hold myself to some expectation of achieving X at Y date. I do have a direction for my current aspirations:

• To get involved with artistic direction and managing creative projects
To increase visibility of migrants, the culturally diverse, and other "outsiders" to the art world into contemporary creativity
• Be more involved in local and international events & festivals
• Be Darren Hayes's Merch Girl

And ultimately, what I would like to do is...

Thanks for reading my profile! Here's how you can support my project quest:

• Visit my websites - TiaraShafiq.com for more about how we can work together and my perspectives on various life aspects, and The Merch Girl for all things performance and production related
• Download my professional and performance resumes (as well as a couple of other documents) and see what else I can do
• Get in touch with me via this page or through my other social networks - I'd love to hear from you!
• Pass this on to your friends and colleagues
• Have fun :)

Thank you so much for visiting and have a great day!