'We want great attitude'

Theatre director Khaled Galal Cairo - Somaia Ibrahim Many graduates from the Egyptian Creation Centre Academy for young actors have made it in the industry thanks to TV series broadcast during Ramadan and movies produced in 2012. This fact pleases the academy's head and the acclaimed theatre director Khaled Galal.  Interviewed by Arabstoday, Galal shared his pride to see his former students flourishing in successful TV series like "Sharbat Louz" and "Khorm Ibra". "Hossam Dagher, Mohammed Chahine, Hisham Ismail, Mohammed Farrag and others have all made their marks this year. Hopefully more graduates of the academy will make their marks soon, because this was our real target when we established this academy: to introduce as many talented actors as possible who are also mentally balanced and have the required professional attitude" said Galal. Galal is about to let into the wild the third group of his academy. He said that each of them has gone through very tough tests during five months, which included singing, poetry reading and dancing. "We choose the best 160 students to be granted the scholarship offered by the ministry of culture for the students of this academy. The chosen students are taught by high profile professors in all aspects of acting, including the attitude issues, because we are keen on producing new generations of actors who combine great talent with great attitude" Galal added. Acting in a play opened to the public is an integral part of the learning process of the Creation Centre Academy's graduates. The third group of graduates is currently showing a play called "Ain Ashbahi?" (Where is My Ghost?). The academy has kept the tradition of having a bare stage. "Our plays depend only on the talent of the actors to attract the audience. With this we can guarantee that we produce top quality graduates" said Galal. Galal, who is called "the star maker" among his students, insists that he would spend the rest of his career developing young acting talents, regardless of rumours that he might be promoted to the position of the head of the state-owned Theatre House. Galal added: "All the candidates to this position are great names and have great careers. What is important is to make good use of the young talented people’s energy in these institutions, in order to regain the popularity of the state-owned theatre  "We also have to produce plays that will attract a young audience. I have served for 10 years as head of the youth theatre, during which I produced 55 plays, all achieved success because young people enjoyed them.” For his personal projects as an actor, Khaled Galal told Arabstoday that he will take part in a comedy along with the actress Yasmin Abdelaziz and directed by Wael Ihsan. It will be entitled "Nanny 2".