Cynthia Erivo. Anthony Hopkins. Tom Hiddleston. Jessie Buckley. And next, Jovani Ibrahim?
That final name probably look unfamiliar, but in a few years time, that might not be the case. Ibrahim, an Akron native and first-generation college student, was recently accepted into the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London for the upcoming academic year.
Of the approximately 4,500 people who auditioned, 28 students were offered spots at the prestigious drama school. RADA has an impressive roster of alumni, including the aforementioned well-known actors.
But before Ibrahim can join their ranks, he needs to raise $50,000 for tuition and other expenses.
In June, Ibrahim, launched a GoFundMe to help with his school costs. He raised more than $26,000 in less than a month. He has until Aug. 20 to secure funding ahead of the school year which starts Sept. 7.
“I do feel good,” Ibrahim, 23, said of his fundraiser. “I just think I’ve gotten a lot of support, and I’m so blessed to have gotten that. Even to just have the amount I have right now is insanely generous.”
Signal Akron caught up with Ibrahim before he headed to one of his three summer jobs. He’s currently based in Los Angeles where he’s enrolled at the University of Southern California. He splits his time working as a summer resident assistant, doing office work for a theater department and freelancing as a videographer for high school sporting events.
He hopes that between his savings, job paychecks and the GoFundMe, he’ll be able to make his dreams of attending RADA happen.
For Ibrahim, high school drama class became a safe space
Ibrahim started acting as a student at Copley High School. But his love for film goes back even further, thanks to an older brother he described as “a big movie geek.”
Ibrahim’s parents immigrated to the United States from Egypt in 1999. He was born in Cleveland, and the family moved to Akron when Ibrahim was around age 5. Ibrahim and his siblings (he also has a younger sister) grew up in a household where money was tight. Trips to the movie theater were rare. Instead, his brother introduced Ibrahim to his favorite films at home. They filled the hours when their parents were working by watching and rewatching classics like “The Godfather” and “Titanic” and kid-friendly action movies like “Spider-Man” and “Spy Kids.”
“That took up our time and got us away from just being alone,” Ibrahim said. “That was a big thing that piqued my interest until I actually got to put it in practice and see what it was like.”
Ibrahim got the chance to give acting a go in high school when he enrolled in a drama class as an elective. At the time, he was struggling to find his place in the school’s social circles. Drama class turned into his safe space.
“I grew up a really sensitive kid, and I was always told, ‘You can’t express yourself as a man,’ and ‘You have to keep it in,’” Ibrahim recalled. “That teacher in that class gave me an opposite mindset of, what you’re feeling is right, and you have to express yourself, and you can’t just hold it in.”
Auditions took Ibrahim from Los Angeles to London
After graduating from high school in 2020, Ibrahim took a few years off before enrolling at USC in 2023 to study acting. Professor Justin Key met Ibrahim in January when he enrolled in Key’s class, “Going Viral: Performance for New Media.”
Ibrahim immediately stood out to him, Key said.
“To see Jovani always in the very front row … listening, engaging, always showing his personality, not hiding it, not pretending to be someone else, it just stood out immediately,” Key said, “like, this kid is definitely going somewhere.”
It turned out that Ibrahim was going somewhere, and that was back and forth to London for RADA auditions. Going into his junior year at USC, Ibrahim decided he would benefit more from a conservatory education. He was familiar with RADA — and its competitive admissions process. Last fall, he made a promise to himself to apply to the program. The process is four rounds with the final two rounds taking place at RADA in London.
On top of auditioning for RADA, Ibrahim balanced a full-time class schedule and part-time jobs.
“He was in class, participated fully, and it was just so admirable to watch that,” Key said.
For Ibrahim, the audition process was rigorous. He said didn’t feel confident in his audition until the fourth round ended April 25.
“It felt like a shock every time I got called back,” he said.
Few financial aid options led to crowdfunding campaign
For Key, he never doubted his student’s talent.
“I believed in my heart of hearts that he would get in,” Key said. Before one of his auditions in London, Ibrahim performed his audition piece for Key and asked for notes.
The performance blew Key away.
“Jovani, he brings his lived experience, he brings his youthfulness, he brings his personality, his emotions, his depth,” Key said. “I saw Jovani transform into a character, not Jovani cosplaying as a character.”
There are few, if any, scholarships for U.S. students who attend schools in other countries. The same goes for student loans, Ibrahim said. He could take out private loans, but he doesn’t make enough money to qualify for them. Now, his hopes of attending RADA are dependent on his GoFundMe campaign. He still has about halfway to go to his goal. Still, he remains optimistic about his future and committed to his acting dreams.
“I think a big reason why I love theater and the community that’s involved in it, is because they are so accepting and welcoming,” Ibrahim said. “I think very early on I started to feel at home there, and I think that’s a reason why I grabbed onto it and [have] held on to it for so long since then.”
