For actor, director and entrepreneur Anne Musisi (BA (Hons) Acting & Global Theatre, 2015), the biggest lessons she learnt at Regent’s are to always make sure your career gives you choice, and whatever you do, you’re making an impact in the world.
Since graduating from Regent’s, Anne has focused her time on creating and developing
narratives that promote equality and inclusivity.
‘I’m drawn to projects that are representative of diverse people. Wake, for example, is inspired by my own experience this year of being black in a predominantly white space, during a pandemic where I couldn’t go to my family, I couldn’t see some of my friends; I felt like I hadn’t seen black people in months.
‘That was until I went to the Black Lives Matter protests and I immediately felt like I was part of something that was bigger than me. There was such a need for solidarity, and this project was such an opportunity to create something with impact and meaning that was personal to every single actor and cast member,’ she says.
Her recent project, directing a short film Wake with final year students from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), centres on a young woman’s struggle to process her new reality and find true allyship following the most recent Black Lives Matter movement and a global pandemic. ‘I got to work with a brilliant writer George Morgan who, through sharing his experience and perspective, created a bold and unapologetic story that we are both so proud of.’
Her short spoken word film, The Man, the Woman, the Spirit and the Flame (currently in development), explores healing after sexual assault. Anne directed the short film Ruth, written by multidisciplinary artist Abeo Jackson, about a young African Caribbean woman diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s disease.
She has also written and produced Steups, a short comedy about a woman unlucky in love. Alongside her writing, acting, producing and directing, Anne teaches her skills to acting students and manages her own record label.
For Anne, having a voice and making an impact is primarily enabled by a strong knowledge of self as well as a sound global perspective and cultural understanding. She says, ‘Regent’s offers the perfect environment to learn those skills and build that knowledge, providing the foundations and confidence to go out into the world and say "this is my USP. This is what I stand for. This is who I am and this is what I will achieve."'