If this is the first you’ve heard of HCAC, let me introduce myself. I am Kamil Haque,the  founder. Welcome to my school.

Setting up my own acting school is no joke. Even 2 years after opening, I still ask myself: How do I create and sustain a space where people can be themselves and be more than themselves?

I’m just as worried, stressed and concerned about it as when I first started. I feel like a proud father who wants his newborn to walk and run but i’m also terrified of having my child fall. Everything has to be right. My OCD is kicking in. I hope people like the website. I hope people like me. I want them to like me. I want them to like my instructors. I want them to like my staff. Nerves. Anxiety. Feels just like acting. I am admitting to myself that I am scared and that’s great!

I put in all this preparation, more than a quarter of  century’s worth to be exact, and it boils down to a few moments or in this case, a click of a mouse. 

Only this time, as I write, I remind myself, I am not defined by social media, I am not defined by a website and I am certainly not defined by my occupation. I am me. My team and I have skills to share, training to endow on others and years of experience on our young shoulders. All businesses start somewhere. Destination: Success. Expected Route: Unknown. Travel Time: An entire lifetime of work.

Just as an actor is nothing without an audience, I am nothing without you. Tell me what you hope to see featured on this page, what classes you want at HCAC, what sort of training you desire. Ask me questions about the craft; questions about how acting applies to everyday individuals. I won’t have all the answers and I never will. I tend to run away from ‘gurus’ on mountains but I do promise to try and formulate an answer or find a way to get an answer for you. Just like HCAC, I am a work in progress.

Why Acting? Actors are in essence, storytellers. Some are fortunate to perform their own work hence tell their own stories. Most are often hired to perform other people’s stories. Nonetheless, actors are constantly telling stories. How does this relate to the everyday individual? Why should the craft of acting be of use to anyone who isn’t an actor? Every now and then, I meet people who are eager to challenge or point out the fact that acting may not serve a practical or useful purpose. This is followed soon after by the question, “what’s the point of learning acting?” Here’s my take on it. We are acting all the time. We take on different ‘roles’ wherever we are based on how we look, sound, behave, how we dress, who we interact with and so on. With the span of an average day we play so many different characters: The son, the daughter, the boyfriend, girlfriend, husband, wife, worker, employer, the list goes on. Even within those archetype roles, you add even more of your own personality, the ‘loving husband’, the ‘efficient yet OCD worker’. You get my drift. Even now, take a quick look at yourself in the mirror or even how you are dressed and seated as you read this. That is already communicating a story even if no one else is watching.  Almost every waking moment of everyday, society and life creates these scenarios which cause us to wear different masks and play different roles. Each of those roles tells a story.  We all have stories to tell. Acting simply helps to tell better stories. So, all this is to say, I dedicate these articles to you. I dedicate my work to the audacious ones who want to tell their stories. I dedicate my school to you.      

Always With Hope Towards the Future,

Kamil Haque

Actor’s Calling is a series of articles written personally by Kamil Haque, founder of the Haque Centre for Acting & Creativity. In this series, Kamil hopes to share his personal journey. He explores his vision for the school, growth as an actor and experiences as a teacher. The series also seeks to dispel some of the common misunderstandings about Actors and Method Acting.