Today we’d like to introduce you to Alexander Ameen.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
My interest in the creative arts started when I was a teenager. I studied classical voice and acting at a performing arts high school in Florida. In 1996, I was accepted into the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City to study acting. At 28 years old, I made the decision to join the U.S. Navy. I scored well enough on the ASVAB that I was given a choice of what I wanted to do as a job, and I chose journalism. I graduated from the Defense Information School in 2006 as the Distinguished Honor Graduate. While stationed aboard the USS Nimitz, I worked as the editor of the ship’s newspaper.
In 2011 I was medically separated from the military due to a congenital heart defect and related complications. Despite this hardship, I successfully enrolled in the TV, Film, and New Media Production Program at San Diego State University. During my time at SDSU I wrote and directed the short film War Torn, which received the Kathleen Kennedy Grant and was accepted into numerous film festivals. I also performed as a cast member in two main stage musicals. Most importantly, SDSU is where my passion for creative writing developed. I learned the art of creative writing as craft, and honed those skills in my pursuit of artistic relevance. That knowledge informs everything I write to this day.
After graduating with a BS in 2015, I moved to Los Angeles and began working in the television and film industry. I was employed primarily as a production assistant on various well-rated network programs, including Castle, The Mentalist, and Documentary Now! Unfortunately, my medical conditions worsened, preventing me from working the long hours required for the job. I moved back to San Diego and stagnated, artistically and professionally.
After some hardship and growth, I decided to retake control of my life. I recently completed the Veterans Playwriting Workshop through the La Jolla Playhouse. It was a tremendous opportunity, culminating with a staged public reading with professional actors performing a play I created during the program. Hearing actors speak my words, watching strangers rapt with attention at what was going to happen next in my play … it was a feeling I want to keep chasing for the rest of my life. That experience led me to return to school to study playwriting.
I’m currently a graduate student pursuing an MA in Theatre Arts at SDSU. I’ve performed in two shows this last year: I played Richard in A New Brain, and I was Claudius in Hamlet. I’ve had so much fun returning to the stage after a long absence, and it feels like I never left. Besides that, my new play Corporate Deregulation received a staged reading as part of the Powers New Voices Festival – Celebrating Community Voices at The Old Globe. I have also recently become a member of the Dramatists Guild.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
In my late 30s, I fell into a spiral of depression and withdrew from friends and family. I didn’t realize at the time how severe my mental health issues had become. It would be a few more years until I was properly diagnosed with bipolar disorder. I experienced brief periods of homelessness and rarely had enough money to do anything other than survive. Life was bleak. My health—both physical and mental—was bad. I was marking time, every new day the same as the last.
I wish I could say that I had some grand epiphany, that some powerful voice echoed down from above. It would make for a more entertaining story. But the truth is that I slowly started crawling out of the hole, one inch at a time. Every day I got a little bit better, I cared a little bit more, I regained a little more self-worth. I reached out for help to people who were eager and willing to provide it. It took a while, but my life improved. Therapy and medication work wonders. Today, I am healthy, happy, and grateful for all the experiences that have shaped the person I am. Every experience matters.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am most proud of the play I originally developed as a one-act through the Veterans Playwriting Workshop at La Jolla Playhouse, and which is now a full-length two-act work entitled Affected Place.
Affected Place is the story of a scientist named Eleanor who struggles to repair her malfunctioning quantum computer in order to return to Natalie—the woman she loves— in her proper universe. Throughout the play, we learn how the relationship between Eleanor and Natalie formed, and how it tragically ended when Eleanor chose ambition over love. The ramifications of this decision deeply haunt Eleanor. However, with guidance and wisdom from an unexpected mentor, she begins to accept that some wounds take an eternity to heal.
A major component of my play is the painting by Paul Klee appropriately entitled Affected Place. This painting serves as something of a cosmic constant for the characters. They all interact with it, even though they are sometimes separated by time, and even by dimensions. Additionally, every character in my play is a queer woman, and two of the characters are over the age of 65. I have placed a requirement in the casting notes that the characters must be as ethnically and racially diverse from one another as possible. I encourage directors to embrace this latitude for otherwise uncommon representation on the stage. In a time when Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion are being openly challenged by some in power, I stand proudly as a member of the queer community and will take advantage of any opportunity available to make enemies with those who would embrace fascism and intolerance.
My primary reason for writing Affected Place was to explore the duality of regret and wisdom. I have bipolar disorder, which went undiagnosed for many years. My lack of impulse control led me to make terrible decisions as a younger man: decisions which left me riddled with profound feelings of guilt, and indeed regret. Now that I’m lucid and receiving care, I have found that the wisdom that comes from a multi-faceted lifetime of experiences isn’t always enough to reckon with the pain of the past. Creating this play was a significant part of my healing process, and I hope that its message of learning to grow beyond what we once were will resonate with others who have struggled.
How do you think about happiness?
My wife and my dog, because they both love me despite my magnificent collection of flaws!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.alexanderameen.com
- Instagram: @alexanderameen
- Youtube: @alexanderameen
