"Everyone was saying that the song cheered them up which I felt like is one of the best things you can do when you’re performing."
During this period, we would like to share with you a series of interviews from our leaders, other creative members in our community and behind the scene glimpses of our youth theatre.
Caught Between Two Cultures
I was born in Hong Kong and have been back and forth New Zealand and here since I was 7 years old. I always have culture shock whenever I move back to another country. Even now I always feel like thoughts, values and behaviour is a unique mixture of HK and western culture.
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| Performing at the Australian Bush Fire Fundraiser Event that started it all |
About that Torn Parody…
I prepared the song for a fundraiser for the Australian bush fires held by Aurora Theatre. There were poetry readers, storytellers… I was one of the musical acts of the night. I know people are going through a low time during this virus period, and they were very grateful to have this event go ahead.
I wanted to do something light and happy to begin with, to cheer people, so I decided to do a parody. I chose Torn because firstly I had to think about what kind of songs can I sing, and I love that song. One of the lines for the Torn parody just suddenly came to me, and I laughed at myself for it and thought “that’s really good”, and so I wrote the whole song.
I wrote it over a few days. It really came from what I see on the news and what I’m messaging people about over text (because we can’t meet in person!) - what people are frustrated by, etc. Some people find this situation very funny, like what’s happening in supermarkets, panic buying, so I decided to put bits of everything into this song in those few days.
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| Kathy has given interviews with local and international media |
Going Viral - International Edition
I posted in on Sunday, and it began with my friends sharing it, but the very next day the number went up really quickly on YouTube and my friends all commented on it saying it’s awesome! I started getting a lot of compliments from people around me. Over the next few days, people kept messaging me about how they’ve seen other people share it, so I didn’t actively share it other than just posting it. People were saying that they saw it on Facebook, and other WhatsApp groups have been sending it to them, and they kept coming back to me, so that’s when I kind of knew it was going viral, since strangers were sharing it. The media picked it up on Wednesday. After the South China Morning Post called me to do the interview and wrote about it, some overseas media immediately started writing based on that article. Some other agencies also contacted me and asked me some questions online or called me, and over those few days the media picked it up. I was on RTHK the other day. It’s still happening, people are still interested in this story and there are videos still coming out. It’s a lot. A lot has been happening. It’s been crazy.
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| Interview with the LA Times |
Dealing with Sudden Fame
It helps that this happened while I’m not too young. Now that I’m an adult, I don’t really let it get to me. In a way, because my phone was buzzing the whole time, I just had to turn off my data while I was working so it wouldn’t disturb daily life. Mentally, I’d try and block out messages until certain times. Time management was important. In terms of attention, I guess it helps that I’ve performed before and people have appreciated it, so it’s similar but on a larger scale. I appreciate that people enjoy the work I do but I also try not to let it get to my ego. I’ve been doing this for a long time.
Appreciating Feedback
I think the difference is that everyone’s comments were saying that the song cheered them up which I felt like is one of the best things you can do when you’re performing - to have a positive effect on people’s feelings. I am appreciative. It’s like, “Not only were you amazing, but you also made my day better”.
I am reading all the comments, and there are people all over the world. Though most are positive, there are few from overseas press saying that I shouldn’t be laughing at the virus, it’s serious, and people are dying. I think they completely missed the point of this. I have to remember to not let that get to me, they probably haven’t even heard the song and are criticising just for the sake of it. Especially when you’re in the arts, or in comedy, not everyone is going to like it. Even though it has reached a wide audience, some people are going to say things unrelated to the piece and don’t know anything about you, and they may just be very lonely at home.
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| The annual HK Players Pantomime Christmas 2018 |
Balancing Work and Play
I did used to have day jobs and I always did the performing arts in my spare time after work. It began with dance classes, and then I started doing musical theatre which I really enjoyed. In Hong Kong it’s really hard to do it full time, there’s just not that many jobs in theatre and in terms of being a performer. So I kept that lifestyle [of working day jobs] for a very long time, until recently. Over time I have gotten enough experience to get more professional gigs, even if it’s not full on productions. So there’ll be events and things like that where I’m invited to perform. I now work as a freelance digital marketer and am flexible enough to do all these performance gigs. It’s all about time management, so my timetable is a good mixture of both.
A Regular (Secret) Theatre Gig
The Secret Theatre Project was awesome because it is one of the longer running productions in Hong Kong. They do have a smaller audience because it’s immersive, but it was over two months. That experience as an actor is fun because it’s different every night. You get people asking you all sorts of different questions every night. Especially for my character, who’s a bit of a gold digger, so I always go kind of strange questions. It keeps me entertained and challenges me in a way because you never know what people are going to ask.
The most dramatic time was when we were all set to go in our beginning positions and the tear gas went off on Wyndham street and drifted into Tai Kwun. So we had to cancel on the spot. We hadn’t cancelled earlier because we had previously had a time where we cancelled and nothing happened, so we thought maybe nothing is going to happen this time. But when the tear gas came into the venue we had to stop it.
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| A femme fatale in Secret Theatre HK 2019 |
Advice Regarding Interactive Theatre
Some audience members really want to take part in the performance, so they actively ask a lot of questions. They also sometimes really enjoy the spotlight. So you might have people who are so exited and so involved that they interrupt the show in a way that they don’t mean to. That’s why, as well as knowing your lines, it’s important to know where the story is going so that you can always come back to it. That way if people are interrupting in the middle because they want to participate, you know how to continue.
You also may need a little bit of crowd control sometimes. In our production you had to move from place to place so you do need to direct people and you need to do that in character. I do find that it helps even if you’re ordering them around in character, try and do it in a nice way. Even if your character is a little more strict, remember that they are here to enjoy your show.
Always Be Ready
As a performer, you should always be trying to brush up your skills. When you’re hired for jobs, as well as having a professional attitude, you need to keep practising. I’m trying to do performing as a triple threat, so I dance, sing, and act, but I realised that if I’m focusing on one area more, then the other skills start to get rusty.
Learning With Others
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| From Page to Stage, HK Arts Centre 2018 |
So I used to focus very heavily on dance, so I went to a lot of dance classes. It’s very physical, like a workout, so you have to keep doing it. I went to acting classes with HKTA (Hong Kong Theatre Association) and short courses with the HKAPA (Hong Kong Academy for the Performing Arts). I feel like if you meet a wide range of people and you watch them, it just gives you so much more experience. It helps to go out and learn proper techniques from professionals so you know you’re not doing it wrong when you practice at home. So I’m just constantly trying classes everywhere.
From Desk Job to Dream Job
When I was in secondary school, I was in quite a traditional local Hong Kong school. The activities they have in those schools and the way the teachers teach is very different to when I was in New Zealand. They don’t focus so much on the arts, so it makes you feel like you shouldn’t be pursuing that in a way. When I went back to New Zealand again, there was just so much more opportunity. Immediately I just started doing dance troupes, dance competitions, cheerleading, everything, because it’s available there.
When I was in form two in Hong Kong, we had to write an essay on what your dream was. I wrote about wanting to be a performer. The teacher’s comments were “nice writing, but you have to be realistic about your goals”, meaning maybe you shouldn’t be a performer. It’s that kind of culture that made me hold off pursuing that for a very long time.
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| On set for the independent film Christmas at the Royal Hotel |
My family also does business so I just went along that route doing commerce. So for a long time, that’s why I kept it part time, something I did in my free time, because I thought maybe realistically it’s not a full time goal. Luckily now there’s so much opportunity as work can be online, which allows me to do this freelancing right now. I see it as a possible way of doing a slow shift. I’m not jumping into the deep end by going full time as a performer, but I can maintain both lives at the moment. I’m just seeing where things go.
From my last job, I think I was just over working for so many years at a desk. That was what made me think I’m starting to perform professionally and I am getting some recognition in that area and I just enjoy it so much. When you’re sitting at your desk and you’re thinking about doing something else most of the time, you know thinking about how you’re looking forward to rehearsal tonight, you think maybe I should be doing that instead of just thinking about it. That’s when I decided I was going to try to make a shift, so that’s how I decided to jump into being freelance.
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| In the spotlight: performing at From Page to Stage |
I’ve been quite busy since I was a kid. After school, I was either dancing or doing athletics; I’m used to that lifestyle. As an adult, I do think if after work we go home and do nothing, that quarter of a day becomes a quarter of our lives.
I had always enjoyed performing so much and that kept me looking forward to doing something at night and kept me motivated throughout the day. I look forward to going to dance class or rehearsal.
At times I find myself spreading myself really thin or having a lot of things going on. For me I’m used to it and I don’t know any other way because there are so many things I do want to do.
Heroes and Inspirations
Back when I was a kid, we didn’t really have the internet so the main pop stars were my inspirations. I used to listen to the Spice Girls, Britney [Spears], Christina [Aguilera], whatever I had access to by CD or that my parents would buy me. As a teenager when I came back to Hong Kong, even though it was still mostly pop stars, as I mentioned there weren’t as many clubs at my school. But I did keep watching Britney and Bring It On. I would play the VCD all the time after school and learn the dance off that.
Once the internet started coming in, other than just Lady Gaga and all the mainstream pop stars, I started getting into theatre. I would watch all these people and think how they were doing it live every single day and they can act. It was a different thing; they weren’t just singing and dancing anymore, they were acting out the whole song. So another aspect was added to it. Now I really do watch almost anything, so I watch musical theatre, dance clips, people singing, I watch all kinds of things that are available on the internet. There’s just so much inspiration now.
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| On stage for Snow White: The Pantomime during Christmas 2018 |
Dancing Queen
When I was in New Zealand, I was in a more street style hip hop dance crew. In Auckland, the talent is really high. For example, Request Dance Crew have been the world champions for many years. They’re in like Ciara and J Lo’s music videos; they’re at the top. Watching those local talents, and watching things on the internet, and all those dance shows, were my inspiration.
Advice for Creative Kids Stuck at Home
Firstly, I would suggest giving everything a go, especially at a young age. I discovered musical theatre really late, but I feel like if I had tried things a little earlier on in my life than I would have picked it up a lot faster. Give everything a go while you’re still young. Especially now that we have internet access, there are endless things we can do with that. We didn’t have this during SARS. I don’t remember what I did, probably study or watch Britney on DVD, but now there are so many things you can do, so pick your favourite interest and learn.
We can’t really complain about being bored anymore. Even if you practice a little bit every day, just half an hour, one hour, you can get so much better, and then you can reward yourself with TV or something afterwards. Now that we have so much time, we can brush up on what we love doing most. I feel like I’m always burning myself out, going to work and then to rehearsal, and I always wish there was time for other personal projects. Now that we do have time, I don’t think we should waste it. Of course, do your schoolwork, but after that, use the time to do the things you’ve always wanted to do, but that you’ve put aside because you feel like you didn’t have time.
Coming Soon
Well, riding on the parody, there are some other videos coming. I’m filming a music video for it in the coming days. For me, a personal thing that always took up a lot of my time is doing YouTube videos. Before, I wasn’t too sure if people were going to watch it; it takes a lot of time to edit, even though I really enjoy it. But then I realised that this is something I enjoy doing and I should set some time aside and do it. Because you never know, one day you might have a video go viral!
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