Meet Thumali

We were lucky to catch up with Thumali recently and have shared our conversation below.

Thumali, thank you so much for joining us today. Let’s jump right into something we’re really interested in hearing about from you – being the only one in the room. So many of us find ourselves as the only woman in the room, the only immigrant or the only artist in the room, etc. Can you talk to us about how you have learned to be effective and successful in situations where you are the only one in the room like you?

This is such a multifaceted question! Being a Queer Saudi-American, I’ve always felt like I was the only person like me in the room. I’ve struggled all my life when it comes to fitting in with my peers, to the point it really had an impact on how I viewed myself not just as an artist, but as a person in general.

I would always do things that conformed to whatever the norm is in my social groups; whether it was when I was living in Saudi Arabia and investing in things like soccer and rap music, things I was never interested in, or currently during my time in the States doing everything within my power to be liked and be seen because I did not have the same background as people who’ve grown up in America, those aspects of myself shaped my self image in such a negative way.

Because of how different I was, coming from two different cultures and not necessarily having a lot of the same tools as a lot of my peers, I was always afraid to showcase my authentic self because it did not fit this imaginary mold I was trying to fit myself in.

It wasn’t until about 5-6 years of living in the States, I came across a lovely book by renowned director Anne Bogart called “A Director Prepares”. In it there’s a chapter that talks about confronting anxiety and fear as a director.

Essentially, as an artist, you have to have a solid grip on what you already know (in this case in her book, its the play you’re about to direct like the plot, story beats…etc) and another grip in the unknown (how are people going to perceive it, wether or not you made the right choices…etc).

That book, but specifically that part of the book, changed how I look at every creative project I’ve ever done; whether that was theatre, podcasting, social media, or most recently Drag.

I knew that, being the only person like me in the room, a Queer Saudi-American artist, was such a powerful strength to be used to enhance not just my own voice, but other people like me as well.

Because in those moments where you feel like you’re the only person in the room, even though it can be daunting and lonely and scary, your voice matters out of them all. Because by just existing, and growing, and being loud and proud, you’re giving other people like you permission to thrive and do the same thing.

That’s how I’ve been able to be as successful as I’ve been; I know I have a voice and I know how to use it for my own good, and the good of people like me.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

My name is Thumali, that’s T-H-U-M-A-L-I…am an award winning podcast host and new Drag Queen from Spokane, Washington. I am the founder of the channel Wayward World Studios (formally The Wayward World Podcast and Wayward Artists in a Wayward World) which focuses on highlighting Queer storytelling.

On the channel, I host an amazing podcast called The Rewind. It’s a show about highlighting the best that Queer nightlife has to offer; from Drag Artists, Burlesque, DJs, Musicians, and more. I’ve had the opportunity and privilege to hold space for local and independent artists, as well as amazing Drag performers from the hit TV show The Boulet Brothers’s Dragula.

My style of interviewing is very relaxed and personal, I like to describe it as two best friends hanging-out and catching up on old times. Almost like a volley of back and forth conversations with the soul focus on my guest’s story and background as an artist. That’s where the term Rewind comes from because we’re rewinding time and looking back on my guest’s career as an artist and as a person so far.

My goal for the show right now, during our third reboot of the channel, I really want to hammer home Queer documentation. I want to showcase the people who were unafraid to be authentically themselves, doing what they love to do and thriving, to inspire future generations of Queer people to keep loving yourselves and to keep fighting for your voice to be heard. In a similar way movies like Paris is Burning, a movie that focuses on Ball Room culture during the AIDs epidemic, inspired me to push through the difficult and trying times we are currently facing now.

I also started doing Drag recently although I’m still pretty new to it all. I want my drag to not only be a beacon of Queer Arab excellence showcasing my love for my Arabic heritage to the world, but I also want to honor my western side by doing experimentation fashion like Club Kids and Jean Paul Gaultier and Betsey Johnson. As I keep exploring my own drag even more, I want to create this crazy Arab-American fusion that I know I can pull off.

Mainly because I am a crazy Arab-American fusion myself!

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?

1. BE AFRAID! Fear is such a natural part of the artistic experience. As I mentioned Anne Bogart before, in that same book, she stressed that if you’re not afraid of putting yourself out there, then what you’re doing is not worth showcasing. Having fear means risk, you need to risk humiliation and rejection and failure in order to be a better artist. You will never, EVER, grow as an artist if you’re afraid to step-out of your comfort zone and challenging yourself.

I know now, that if I’m comfortable with whatever project I’m doing, I know that I need to change things up and come at it from a different point of view. If I don’t do that and become comfortable, I end up hating what I’m doing and become less invested and honestly depressed. If you have a goal in mind and an idea, use that fear of the unknown to help guide you. And if you fail then that’s great! This leads to my next point.

2. FAIL ALL THE TIME! It’s always failure that sets us back as artist. If someone goes into at artistic venture with cockiness and an attitude of “they’ll never fail” they are lying. Especially when it comes to live entertainment, failure has a way of sneaking up on you when you least expect it, and when it comes into your life it can CRUSH you. Let failure be your friend, learn from it, embrace it, grow from it, but don’t let failure get to your head and ruin you. Even the best artists in the world had to fail at some point in their lives, the best of those artists learn from that failure and used it as a tool to help them grow.

3. NETWORKING! Be friends with everyone. And I don’t mean be besties with every single person in your field. There’s an art to networking and staying in touch with people in your field that I feel is a bit lost when I’ve spoken to some struggling artists. As someone who works in Queer nightlife, the way I scope out my guests is by attending shows, meeting people after gigs, following-up on social media, get the name Thumali on the heart and minds of the masses. So even though I’m not super super close to people in my field, when someone’s like “do you know Thumali?” They can be like “Oh yeah, that Queen! She’s always comes supports the dolls”. Once you’ve built that network, when it comes to your own creative endeavors, you can reach out to people and they will have an idea of who you are and your credibility. If you’re not networking within your field, you will never get far.

What do you do when you feel overwhelmed? Any advice or strategies?

The biggest thing that I do when I feel overwhelmed is to listen to my body and allow myself to take a step back.

There have been many, many time where my own channel has overwhelmed me. Don’t get me wrong, I love what I get to do over at Wayward World Studios, but when you’re hosting and researching and editing and marketing it can all be so daunting.

I am a big proprietor of taking breaks as often and as much as you can. A break can really put into perspective so many things. For me, it can help me see things a lot more clearly and help me with the next steps when it comes to my artistic endeavors.

Breaks have also helped when things on the podcast felt stagnant. Like the many reboots the channel has gone through are a result of being overwhelmed and uninterested in the direction the channel has gone in.

Breaks not only refresh my body, but they refresh my mind and spirit. So, if you’re feeling overwhelmed my advice is to take a step back, reflect, and find out what the root cause of your stress is coming from. Talk to your friends, get advice from your peers, go to therapy, there are so many ways you can debrief. And I wouldn’t be where I am right now without that reflection.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/waywardworldstudios
• Instagram: thumali714
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@waywardworldstudios?si=Qa0p2yiEsnDrL0r-
• Other: Follow my Linktree for all the ways you can support me and Wayward World Studios!