(Q): Question
(A): Answer
A : Quite a lot of people have asked me the same question, like why. Sometimes I am confused myself, but sometimes I do feel very certain about it. Like when I see a painting, when I watch a play or when I listen to music, I am always touched by the sort of work that has a very strong connection with social issues, social problems, or it says something of the world or the society. I am touched by people. I don’t really know why. I know I am touched, I am moved, I am motivated by work that has a strong connection with society. It actually came a few years ago; it wasn’t there when we first started. We like doing a lot things, and back in my career, I do all sort of things, I do not really have a clear path. Even three or four years ago, if you had asked me what our passion was, I would have answered musical theatre or drama. But now, I kind of know myself better.
A : If we look back into history, art and culture has always been a luxury. It does not come as a necessity of life. There are all sorts of organizations that provide medical care, care for old people. Those are very important, but when we want mankind to be more structured, we can’t just live with the basic needs. We probably want people to enjoy arts and culture also. Although arts and culture now has more sponsorship by the government, it is still not seen as a crucial part of society by a lot of people.
A : In lots of ways, they are different. Sometimes I really look at how closely related they can be to me. One difference is that I don’t really cry for my professional actors, but I do cry for my young actors. I get emotional very easily when I think about the young people. Maybe we have a certain feeling about professionals, that they have passion or a worship for the theatre. If you do not have respect, if you do not have the passion, why would you choose this career? But when it comes to young people, it is different. They don’t have to feel serious about the theatre, but the love, the passion is very authentic, very true hearted. They don’t do theatre for a living, when they sing and dance and act on stage, or do backstage. They do it because they love it, and that is pure love. I am touched by this love. Sometimes, as a professional, I need to go back to that state of mind, because after working on so many productions, it is not just me but a lot of professionals, we are lost in a maze, like why we are doing this, why we are not sleeping at night but reading scripts, why we are having sleepless nights thinking about technical problems and ways of solving it. This sort of passion is very different.
A : I wish the young people that I work with would aim higher than they can attain, or dream bigger than what they can achieve. That is what I really want to pass on, what I want to see from young people. It is not just for theatre, it is the mentality that makes those people become more successful people in the long run. It is easy to get the job done in a lot of professions, but how to get the job done well is about our mentality. We need to remind ourselves, revisit our soul.
A : More and more people are willing to go into a theatre to see a musical theatre work. They are probably attracted to musical theatres, expecting the singing and dancing to be exciting; it is pretty entertaining to start with. But musical theatre is not just about entertaining, it is also about the story, what the message actually is, the words communicated to the audience. Also, I observed that more and more young people are interested in being part of the theatre, whether it is on stage or in the back stage, or even art administration. When Theatre Noir recruited an art administration trainee, we had more than 50 applications in two weeks. It was a trainee position, not a very high management position, so we can see that a lot of people want to get into this industry. May be people can sense this sort of art and culture in Hong Kong. There are definitely more opportunities we are creating in Hong Kong, in Asia, globally.
However, we don’t really expect big money in the theatre or cultural industry. There are exceptional cases where a few very lucky ones do earn big money. So how to attract more talented people to do arts and culture instead of being in the legal or accounting or finance industry? One of our applicants for the arts administrative trainee had actually just completed his law degree with first honours from Hong Kong University. In his application form, he said, “I don’t want to just be a lawyer, because I don’t feel passionate about it , but feel passionate about the theatre”. As my idol Sir Ken Robinson always says, “If you find your passion, it changes everything. You might not get the biggest money but you probably would earn the biggest happiness.” So, follow your heart. A lot of the older generation do not understand this, because they have been through a very difficult experience. There was war, turbulence and anxiety. It was very difficult to just earn a living, and therefore they wanted stability. Now, we are in a new age. Endure suffering, endure a longer career, and you will be successful.
A : I have just been to “Les Mis” at the Queen’s Theatre, London and that was my tenth time. Actually “Les Mis” was the first musical that I watched. I was pretty much introduced to the theatre industry by “Les Mis”. That was in 1997 when “Les Mis’ came to Hong Kong, and I watched it 4 times in the three weeks. I just fell in love with it. I am always touched by the different characters. Of course, the way they interpret characters is very different. For example, Susan Boyle singing “I Dreamed A Dream” versus Lea Salonga singing “I Dreamed A Dream” versus Anne Hathaway singing “I Dreamed A Dream”, are three completely different interpretations. For me, this particular project we are doing now, is for all of the performers to find their own connection with the songs, with the music, and with the story of the character. It is very difficult actually, for youngsters less than 20, to understand the complexity of the character. Also, as we live in such a privileged society, it is very difficult to imagine why you would go sell your hair, sell your teeth, sell your dignity and even lose your life at the end. That is one of the interesting points of theatre. You could experience different peoples’ lives. It is very important to think beyond the music. If you think you understand the words, then you understand the character. If you think you sing the right note, then you understand the character. No, you need to really think beyond, and ask yourself, if I were that character, how I would feel. For example singing “Shame”, why would you sing “Shame-ame-ame-ame-ame” instead of “Shame——? There is a reason behind that; there is a story behind that. That is actually quite a lot of work and it is not easy. You are privileged to have this project, to start working on it, to explore the wonderful world of the theatre.
A : It is not about what you dance, but to find the reason why you dance. The main reason for me to be in this stage of my life is to “Make Dialogue with the Community”. What is the reason of Festive Chamber? What are you doing? Well, you are singing, but what is beyond? The love for singing brings this group together, but to make this group really strong, to be a team with a single goal, is to find a goal first. It is worth exploring, why are we singing, why are we singing with this group, why don’t we just sing with another group? Maybe it is friendship to start with, but beyond friendship, what are other things that could bring the group to be more powerful? Each group can be very different; there is no good or bad, right or wrong.
A : You are in a situation of quick changes. Many of you are going to take DSE, enter university, or those in university are going to graduate and go to work. So, people will come and go and come back. The instability is going to be one of the major things the group needs to overcome. You have to have strong core members to be the spiritual leaders of the group. So the attraction within your group is important. So for now, just enjoy the project you have been doing.
May be you can try to create some original work. You don’t have to come out with everything original. May be try rewriting the lyrics and use songs you are very familiar with and then link them to a theme you want to explore. Maybe write a few new pieces of music and experiment with it. Sometimes we always want to create shows but that can be difficult. In Hong Kong, we want to see a product very quickly. We are trained to be like this. However, in the UK or the States, when we are working on a new work, we would spend years. When we get in the theatre, we would spend weeks to work on details of the technical production. Festive Chamber can start to find someone to write some new music. It does not have to be a show. You can come together as a group and bring some friends who would be honest enough to tell you the truth. Maybe after 2 years, you would be able to come out with some original work. That would be a big step, and again, we could break it down into smaller steps and do it bit by bit. You are not earning a living anyway, no one is giving you a target you have to achieve. So take it easy. It is not about how big your dream is. Learn from your mistakes and move on. That is a very different mindset to a regular Hong Kong education product, Hong Kong young people. Sometimes I have to remind myself why I have to care that much. After all, it is just a show! You don’t have to be the most successful person in the world.
A : I think it is to break big goals into smaller goals and achieve the smaller goals by schedule. It is difficult to put a definition to a good show. We will actually meet a lot of time and each time we will achieve a bit. Bit by bit we will create a strong work. We need to have a lot of patience. Sometimes things may not turn out well. Even God needs seven days to make the world, so we probably need 70 days. Each day we achieve one goal, and we achieve that goal clearly, and we can always rethink and be sensitive to possible problems. So it’s actually quite nerve wracking. Life is too easy when compared to creation. So, enjoy being uneasy. Life is not that easy, sometimes we just get everything we want. We have to learn from the show. It doesn’t have to be the best show ever, but by experiencing this, we want it to be the best show ever.
