Hi, I'm AJ Betts. I use they/them pronouns. I'm 23 years old and I am a non-binary performer in Brisbane. I started performing in a youth choir when I was in Singapore. And we did like one lesson where it was all like drama games and stuff like that and I was like, yeah, this is good, I like this. And I sort of took that love all the way to Australia.

I did a performing arts choir over here as well, fell more in love with the acting sort of aspect and dancing and singing. And I really loved it. It was the one thing that really I felt like I was really good at because all the other kids had sport and academics and stuff and I could sing. That was my thing.

I graduated high school, tried out for the Con, didn't get in. And then I did literally everything else under the sun. I did TAFE, I did a business degree, I did a law degree, I did this, I did that, I did literally everything. And then it got to a point in 2023 or something where I was like, hey, I gotta put me first. I gotta be happy. So I auditioned for The Con and now I'm a second year student in the musical theatre degree and it's a lot of fun.

In terms of my journey as a non-binary actor, I knew I was queer from a very young age. The closet was glass, let's just say. I was always a tomboy. I was always one of the boys, and I would play on the playground with all the boys. I'd always play the dad when we played house, because of course I did. I sort of came into my sexuality in high school. I identified as bisexual, and then as a lesbian, and then back to bisexual. What I always knew was that I liked girls, but what I really wasn't sure about was if I was one.

And a little bit after COVID, when I started getting into musical theatre, a friend of mine, who uses they/them pronouns for everyone, referred to me using they/them pronouns. And I went, oh. Okay, damn, that's nice. And that sort of kick-started that journey into self-discovery. I cut my hair short, started dressing more masculine, and it just, it's really felt like me, and I've really enjoyed coming into myself. And in terms of in the performing arts industry, I really am still just finding my space.

I don't quite fit in with fem rolls, I don't quite fit in with masc rolls, but I have to tailor myself to try to fit into the two boxes because there are only two boxes still in the industry unfortunately. But it's been a very fun journey and it's been really great proving people wrong. And despite the sort of more masc presentation, I can still play a fem role. And despite, you know, my height and femme presentation, I can play a masc role. And it's been really fun sort of paving the way and yanking the wagon.