We recently connected with Sharmarke Yusuf and have shared our conversation below.
Sharmarke, so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?
I’ve always known what my purpose was. Since childhood, storytelling has been my passion. It’s what brings me unparalleled joy and fulfillment. It’s what makes me feel the most connected to my truest self and everyone and everything around me. It took shape in the form of creating magical imagined worlds while playing with my brother or friends, writing short stories or poems, and performing in school plays. But as I grew older and entered adolescence, I found myself drifting further and further away from this purpose. It wasn’t until an after-school production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream my senior year of high school that the fire within me was reignited and I began to remember and fully accept that telling stories and expressing myself through creating art was and will always be my purpose.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I exist. What I feel is most special about my existence is that no one else on earth has exactly my perspective; it is unique and my own. We all have our own unique perspectives, and what makes life beautiful is sharing those as honestly as possible. Doing that enables us to continually enhance our understanding of what it means to be human.
I share my perspective through my work as a poet under the name “see no evil”. I post short films inspired by my poetry that I’ve directed, as well as performance clips on TikTok and Instagram.
I share my perspective through my work as an actor, most recently at The Huntington in Boston and Shakespeare & Company in Lenox, MA. I will be returning to The Huntington in January to work on a production of the play The Grove by Mfoniso Udofia directed by Awoye Timpo.
I share my perspective as a playwright and screenwriter. I am currently working on a screenplay. It is a love story set in Boston and I can’t wait to share it with the world!
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Three qualities that were most impactful in my journey are curiosity, grace, and persistence.
My curiosity is what enables me to observe the world and my place in it through a non-judgmental lens. It allows me to ask questions from as truthful a place as possible and I think that is crucial in effective storytelling.
Affording myself and others grace has been so important for me on my path. I try to give myself grace whenever I don’t meet the expectations I set out or if I’m struggling to create for any reason by reminding myself that all my experiences, joyful and painful alike, contain lessons for my greatest good. Keeping that in mind allows me to be kind to myself and others so that I can continue doing this work in a sustainable way.
Persistence is paramount to any artistic career. There will be natural ebbs and flows and peaks and valleys in life and career. Knowing that you will always make it through to the other side stronger and wiser is key. Dreams coming true takes dedication. And anyone can improve on these qualities by taking the opportunity to practice them in daily life. And if you miss an opportunity to practice curiosity, grace, or persistence there will always be another opportunity. Reminding myself of that relieves me of a lot of pressure.
How can folks who want to work with you connect?
I am looking to continue exploring filmmaking and music. I would love to collaborate with directors, cinematographers, editors, producers, sound designers, engineers/mixers, and musicians to mutually learn and grow. People who are committed to compassionate artmaking and world-building are my favorite and they can reach out to me through Instagram DM (@Sharmarke_Y) or email ([email protected]).
Contact Info:
- Website: https://SharmarkeYusuf.com
- Instagram: @Sharmarke_y
- Other: TikTok – @SeeNoEvilPoetry
Image Credits
T Charles Erickson, Nile Scott Studios, Ken Yotsukura, Sharmarke Yusuf.
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