Art throughout Asia- China

A new working series that strives to explore the world of Asian Theatre by country. I have found there is a serious lack of english information about Asian Theatre that gives details and descriptions about the art forms so that people from other countries can learn about it and learn to appreciate it. Having lived in Hong Kong for almost four years now, I have found the best part of my experience of working internationally was the opportunity to learn about international styles of art. I hope that by sharing my information, that I can help students on projects. Feel free to email or comment with any questions.

First topic is on Art through China. China is a pretty big place, so you pretty much have to break the theatre into categories. Once the categories are broken down then you can delve into more details.

1. Opera- 2 major types- Peking and Cantonese- Song Dynasty til Present Day
2. Shadow Plays- Peking and Cantonese- Ling Dynasty til Present
3.Xianghsneg- A type of comedic monologue or dulogue. Similar to standup in American terms. Tang Dynasty- Present Day.
4. Modern Drama- More typically melodrama or prat comedy based. It is typically one end of the stick or the other. Large emotions and gestures despite being in modern setting. Present Day.

Hong Kong for Cheap!- A guide

Hong Kong, Asia's world city. How am I possibly going to get by on this city on a dollar and a dream? Don't worry friends it can be done! Compared to other Asian countries, Hong Kong is expensive but no where near Japan expensive. Expect to pay more for accommodation as the hostels here are pretty infamous for being atrocious. HK likes to lean toward the high roller but that doesn't mean you can't find options. I recommend renting an apt for a week as this often cheaper than a hotel or couch surfing in HK, as it has a pretty large community and they aren't pervs or serial killers. Most of the couch surfing homes in HK, including yours truly are traveler who rent their couch out to a stranger just for the sake of getting to know a new friend. (And possibly crash with them later when they travel to their side of the world.)

It may look expensive, but you can do it for cheap!

There are plenty things to do in Hong Kong for free or cheap. You can do SOOOO much more than shopping! (Although, the shopping is pretty damn good.)

Artist of the Month- Simon Grunberger

This months' Artist of the Month is relatively new to the HK acting community. Here's a little chance to get to know him better. You may have seen him in Coffee and Cigarettes in October. He is a special actor in Hong Kong that is bi-lingual and most of all a nice person!

His self portrait...

Review- Address Unknown- Hong Kong Microfest

"I have to go home and think whether I like the characters or not."- Tom, Over 50

"A striking balance between good/bad, right/wrong"- Amanda, 40

"Thoroughly enjoyed it."- Adam

"Fantastic piece of writing, handled well."- Paul

Tickets still available, get em while they last!

Based on the short novella by American author Kathrine Kressman Taylor, Dunlop's play addresses the issue of the rise of the Nazi occupation in Germany through a series of letters between two childhood friends. One is living in Germany and one in the US. Both are in the art dealing world; oh and the one in the US is a Jew. Giles Burton's company took it upon themselves to bring this horrifying (but in a good way) script to the stage at the McAulay this week. If you don't have tickets yet, get them! I highly recommend this piece to any one with teens, or teachers who are looking for a piece to supplement their syllabus. This is an excellent piece for young adults to see as it doesn't have any cursing, sex jokes and is about an important moment in history that all kids need to learn about in an accessible way.

A Conversation with Candice Moore

I was going to go see Iron directed by the delightful, Candice Moore. I always adore her work as a fellow female director so I was totally bummed when I got a migraine and couldn't attend! Again, very sorry!
Candice was really nice and totally took an interview with me anyway. Thanks again!


Iron by Rona Munro debuted at the McAuley. You can find out more about her work at her website, Sweet and Sour productions. http://www.sweetandsour.com.hk/aboutus.html

A Midsummer Night's Dream- Review- Theatron

"Can we go home? I'm bored!" Boy sitting in front of Matthew, Age Unknown.

"I enjoy the audience interactions." Daisy, 14.

"I like Mr. Bottom because he's very funny." Amber, 6.

"The rhythms are being thrown off by some of the artistic choices with the slow motion and movement. I'm sure it's a directorial choice, but I don't know what it means and I'm all about the text."- Edward, old as dirt.

"I don't understand it, but the dog was very cute."- Sasa, 20.

Tickets are still available to the Sunday evening performance of Midsummer.

Shakespeare is hard on an artist! I give any actor, designer or director serious props for taking on the beast that is the Bard. Any opportunity we have as a community to show off our chops on what is considered a classic is time well spent and the more audience members we can introduce to the classics, I feel, is the better. Now, let's get down to brass tacks.

5 ways to be an artist and NOT live in a cardboard box

There are some majors that you can pick in college that come with a free cardboard box for you to live in after you graduate. These are known as the "useless" majors that free spirited minds get for the love and not for silly things like money or food. There was a recent poll in the Huffington Post about the 5 least paying college majors: 5) Art History 4) Philosophy/ Religion 3) Communications 2) English 1) Theatre/Film/Dance

Now, I am here to tell you there is a way you can get that Theatre degree and live a decent lifestyle. Yes, it takes hard work and maybe compromising some of your "ideals" you learned in that fancy school of yours but you can do what you love for a salary.

5) Have two jobs
I know, this idea SUCKS! But a lot of people do a normal 9-5 day job and then spend their nights doing what they really love. Paid theatre and art gigs are rare in this economy particularily for actors so make sure you have a secondary skill like sound engineering, lighting design, stage management or wardrobe. These positions come paid more often then acting or directing. I have friends who are baristas, waiters, data processors and retail slaves during the day and then artists by night. It's a bit like being a superhero. You are under appreciated for your skills and have to realize that you will never get full credit for all the hard work you do for your craft.