As part of I AM’s mission to celebrate autism with the broader world, we’re happy to present the latest in a series of our ’10 questions with…’ series, featuring actor and author Luke Perczyk.
1. If you could change any aspect of having autism, what would it be?
I suppose the one thing I would change about people’s preconceptions about autism, is that I still feel we are still quite far away from people truly understanding what autism is and knowing that autism across all people is very different. Everybody should be treated with respect, including autistic people.
Another thing I would change is helping autistic people to understand that, yes, you may be different and that it is totally okay to be different, but also making them aware that there are going to be challenges ahead and that’s perfectly fine because it’s all about the experience and never being sheltered.
Knowing that I am different and being okay with it.
2. What challenges have you had to overcome following a diagnosis of Autism?
The main challenge I have had to overcome following my diagnosis is my answer to the first question. Knowing that I am different and being okay with it, but also have to realise that sometimes I may allow my autism to take control of a situation, but having to learn to restrain myself personally. Also understand that I can’t simply blame everything on the fact that I am autistic, and sometimes I have to take responsibility for my actions.
Another challenge, which I have had to overcome, and gotten a lot better at, is that change is going to happen, and I should embrace it. Well, sometimes, change can still be quite difficult for me. However, I feel that as I have gotten older and had more life experience from the friends and family around me, it has helped me to understand that change sometimes is necessary and I need to accept it both for my own benefit and the benefit of those around me.
3. Does anything annoy you about people’s perception of autism?
What annoys me the most is that people sometimes may see autistic people as being all the same – which couldn’t be further from the truth – and some people may see them as individuals who need constant supervision and can’t function normally in society. Again, this could not be further from the truth. Sure, we all will need help, support, and guidance more so than others without autism, but many of us are fully capable of working and living our lives to the best of our abilities. All we need sometimes is that little extra push to do things.
Another perception that annoys me is that I feel some people see autistic people as unable to accept change. That may be true for some autistic people, but it isn’t true for all autistic people. Some are more able to adapt and learn to change than others.
4. Are there any benefits to having autism or being autistic?
I think the biggest benefit to me is knowing that I am different and that I am able to live with my autism as being an essential part of who I am, but also as a sign of how far I have come as an individual. Now I can say with pride that I am autistic and it makes me who I am.
5. You are an actor, can you tell us about what acting means to you?
Acting is something that I have always had a passion for, and it has helped me immensely to come out of my shell and be creative. When I am on stage or in front of the camera, I am someone who feels at home and it allows my creativity to shine and blossom into something that brings a smile to other people’s faces.
Now I can say with pride that I am autistic and it makes me who I am.
6. Can you tell us about your role in the Mirror Tree and any other roles you would like to mention?
Oh boy, that’s taken me back now. It was a silent role for me. Even though there was sound in the film, my character didn’t talk, it was more about his interaction with all the fantasy elements that were happening around him. That was quite the experience as it was the first time that I had ever performed a role quite like that.
I think the biggest one that I’d like to mention is the one I am currently doing, which is William Shakespeare’s The Tempest. We have started rehearsals with Blu Sci Old Trafford Wellbeing Centre and Theatre of The Senses, which is a local community support group designed to help people from various backgrounds around the Old Trafford community. The best part about Theatre of The Senses is that anyone is welcome, even if you have no acting experience whatsoever and have never even seen or read a play, especially a Shakespeare play, we are all very welcoming and even if you just want to come along for an hour or so to check it out and watch, you are more then welcome to do that as long as you get in contact in advanced. Just type into Google either Blu Sci Old Trafford Wellbeing centre or Theatre of the Senses CIC and you should find the phone number there. The drama group normally runs on a Friday from 11.30-2.00, however, we are looking to add another day soon enough.
Side note, if acting isn’t your thing, there are various activity groups including crafting, knitting, writing, and music.
Anyway, as for my role in The Tempest, I am playing two roles, the main villain (boo) and the comic relief Jester. So yeah, two very different roles, which I am happy about because it means I can go through various wide range of emotions and actions, plus as an added bonus, means more stage time for me hehe. In all seriousness, being in The Tempest is an absolute pleasure as after reading it and getting to know the story and characters, it really has become one of my top five Shakespeare plays.
As for when we are performing it, we are looking around either spring or summer of next year, and we are looking to tour it around Manchester and Leeds. Venues on the radar include The Lowry and Sale Waterside. So yeah, get your tickets and come along.
7. How did you first get involved in acting?
I first got involved in acting by doing school plays and was in several productions, but who hasn’t done school plays? This was prior to my autism diagnosis. As I mentioned in my answer to the last question, it allowed me to come out of my shell and be who I truly was without having to hold back or be scared. My early experience of acting helped to improve my confidence and then from then on as the old saying goes, the rest was history.
8. As well as being an actor you are also a published author, could you tell us more about your writing and books?
Again, the writing thing started back in high school, though some of those earlier writing projects looking back were awful and I feel embarrassed, which is something I think everyone goes through eventually. As with acting, writing allowed me to come to escape into my world and mind and be as creative as I wanted to be without really any restrictions except my imagination.
As well as writing books, I have written and co-directed stage plays, which have been put on for children. This was when I was living away from Manchester, and it was a high point of my life seeing my work brought to life on stage. This is something that I haven’t stopped as I am currently writing, alongside my latest book, a stage play which I hope to get put on in the future.
As for my books in general, I really only started them because I had an idea and I didn’t want it to go to waste. I thought, why not give it a go. It was certainly a learning curve to write in this way, but also was quite liberating as I could make it as long as I wanted it to be and then after that, it just evolved and developed into what eventually became a trilogy.
My main goal when I set out to make it a trilogy was to give each of my three main characters a chance to shine because the entire trilogy focuses mainly on three siblings from the Quinton family, hence why Amazon is under The Quinton Series. So, to achieve this, I gave each of them a chance to take centre stage as the main character whilst also being the main characters of the other books.
Just the fact that I was able to create and get a trilogy of books published and learn along the way has helped me in so many ways as an individual. As I said, I am currently working on my fourth book, which is an original story without any connections to the trilogy. This one is very personal to me as its main character is asexual, like me, and it focuses on them being manipulated by people outside their family whilst also claiming to care about them. Again, this is something I can personally relate to, but not only that, I have another series of books which I am planning to write in the future focusing on the worst experience that happened to me, which involved friends who turned out to be using me for their benefit. Again, this a very personal story, but one that I am wanting to share with the world at a later date.
Writing for me has been so relaxing and has allowed me to be as creative as I possibly can be. The best part about it is when people say to me that they enjoyed it. To me, that matters more than anything.
My early experience of acting helped to improve my confidence and then from then on as the old saying goes, the rest was history.
9. What makes you happy?
What makes me happy is being able to escape into my world and do my writing, but also to just be able to live my life as fun and productive as it can be. Plus, as I said above, just seeing others say to me that they enjoyed either my writing or performance.
10. What do you hope to accomplish in the next 12 months?
Simply, just get The Tempest on stage and make it the best show that it can possibly be.
Luke Perczyk published his first book in 2020 and you can purchase it along with his other books by clicking here.
If you or someone you know is interested in taking part in I AM Profiles, please drop us an email at enquiries@i-am-autism.org.uk
