Name/age/what you do

Abram Rooney, 24, I'm an actor who writes and does some other stuff too.

What does your creative work involve?

A lot of the time it involves reading scripts into tiny cameras, to various different people, in all kinds of strange rooms, all across London. Then, if that goes well, it can also involve doing those scripts for real, either in front of an audience, hopefully, or in front of bigger cameras and lots of bored people holding expensive equipment.

Describe a typical day

At the moment my day is based around the play I'm in, so it depends on whether it's a performance day or not. Usually there's lots of emailing, reading, sitting quietly, writing, walking, travelling, daydreaming, eating, drinking, plotting and performing; lots of pre-show volley ball too.   

Tell us about one thing in your IdeasTap portfolio that you’re proud of

There's a trailer in there for a play I wrote called Where Nothing Arrives which was on in the Camden Fringe. I'm dead proud of that because it's not only a really well-put-together trailer, it's also a great representation of those who worked on it and the actual production itself. They did a fantastic job bringing it to life.

How did you learn your craft?

After an attempt aged six to join a particular drama club was derailed by my refusing to wear the dance shoes, it took me until I was about 16 to get interested again, by doing a play with the Suffolk Youth Theatre. Later I went on to do a Performing Arts course at Suffolk New College instead of A levels, then at 19 I did a course with the National Youth Theatre. Finally I went on to train at The Oxford School of Drama.

Are there any big lessons that you’ve learnt in your career so far?

With anything that means a lot to me, it's important to find the right balance between hard work and commitment, and play and ease. I've learnt there's absolutely no point in doing work I really  care about if I don't allow enough room to enjoy it; to achieve it with some level of ease. I'm learning that the more I let go, the more I can give effectively. 

In a parallel universe, what would you be doing instead?

I've always wanted to be an artist, like Salvador Dali or a musician like Leonard Cohen. 

What are you up to at the moment?

As an actor I'm currently in the West-end with The National Theatre's The Curious Incident of Dog in the Night Time, playing Christopher Boone three times a week. I've just finished a new play called Harmony, which was long listed for The Soho Theatre Young Writers Award. With my company The Hardy we are developing it in to a musical. Also I'm part of the writers group down at The Old Red Lion and we're plotting a few things too.

Who are you looking to connect with on IdeasTap? 

I'm always interested in meeting and sharing work with all creatives, especially producers and designers but also other actors, directors and writers too. People who want to create stuff and take risks.

Would you like to be featured in Meet...? Get in touch ideasmag@ideastap.com 

To be considered, you must have been an IdeasTap member for at least three months, have a photo on your profile and work uploaded to your portfolio. 

Image by Wolf Marloh.

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