Thursday, Oct 30, 2008 3:32AM /
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Ah, I haven't been very good about keeping up with my blog the last couple weeks. I don't even know where to begin. I'll get back on here hopefully soon and barf out what's been going on, but all I know is that I'm now in Shanghai (again) and want to know who can get me tix to Kanye for this Monday?!?
Thanks everyone for the b-day wishes! I
really appreciate it!
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Tuesday, Oct 14, 2008 12:50AM /
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I am homesick.
There, I said it.
But hey, if I wasn't, I wouldn't be human right? It's all part of life. You take the good with the bad. Laugh, cry, happy, sad. I've been on the road for just about a month now and today I found myself making my way back to Beijing, where I started this crazy adventure weeks ago. In fact, I checked into the exact same spot I stayed when I first got to China. I was supposed to be in Taiwan this week, but that will have to wait. As does Singapore.
So, I decided to take the part in the play in Beijing. After several days of back and forth, uncertainty, and confusion, here I am back in Beijing about to start rehearsals tomorrow. I'm still second guessing myself, but I keep reminding myself that this is what I came out here for. I made a pact with myself to come to Asia to look into the acting world out here and so now that I got this offer, why would I shy away from it? Isn't this the ultimate way to immerse myself into an acting project out here and to improve my language skills?
I love live theatre, but I wasn't figuring I'd be working on stage out here. You can't cheat the language with theatre. It's in the moment. I've done stage work in the States in Mandarin before and I thought, well, I could do it again. The only thing I wasn't prepared for was staying in Asia for the extra couple months as I have things back in New York to take care of. I didn't even really pack any warm clothes since I thought I'd be back before fall really set in.
What I'm most concerned with however, is the language. As I look over the scrīpt each time, I keep wondering what I've gotten myself into. It's a LOT of dialogue. I can't read Chinese so I need everything put into pin ying so I can set it straight - and then to add the layer of acting upon that....it's nuts. I think it's "easier" to do it in film where you are allowed cuts and passages are shorter, so I'll honestly probably be feeling this fear for awhile yet. What adds to the fear is that the director wants me off book in 1 week! Um...I truly don't know if that's going to be possible.
While I constantly wonder if I can do this, today, while I was on the airplane, I read a quote that NBA player Jermaine O'Neal, of all people, said that inspired me to give it a go: "People who want it to be easy are people who haven't succeeded in life."
I'm still homesick. I want to sleep in my own bed. The last 10 days in Hong Kong were nice as there was at least a little consistency with not having to move around every few days to a different place to sleep, but here I am in Beijing again because I've never picked the easy way. Ever.
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Thursday, Oct 9, 2008 2:58PM /
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Wow, things just got really interesting...I was given an offer to play a part in a play in Beijing. I didn't see this coming! Well, I know that on my last night in Beijing a couple weeks ago, I went to meet the director of the play and auditioned for him. It was really difficult as I don't speak perfect Mandarin. This he knew. But as it turned out, they are doing a Chinese adaptation of an off-Broadway hit called "Love Letters" that was seeking a guy who wasn't a China Chinese native. I went in for the read, but I left feeling like there was no way...
Well, 2 days ago I got an email from an unknown person and it was entirely in Chinese, so I couldn't read it and had to get it translated by mom. That took a whole day to hear back and when I finally did, I found out that it was telling me to return to Beijing promptly to start rehearsals for the show!
What the???
Okay folks, I have little time to decide what to do...I got a Chinese contract and scrīpt sent over to me that I have to go get translated now. If I take this, I gotta go back to Beijing next week and will likely be in Asia till the end of the year - 2 months longer than I thought. Woa.
I need to go sit in a corner and think. This is happening too fast.
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Sunday, Oct 5, 2008 3:06PM /
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Okay, I'm just kidding.
Actually, I love it. It's just the hanging out till 6am part that kills me.
Last night, I didn't even know, but I dropped my wallet on the street coming out of a cab. My friend Grace gets a random phone call from someone saying he'd just found it and dialed her number as it was the only HK number in my wallet. We weren't far from each other since he immediately found it after I hopped out. I coulda kissed the man!!! Thank the heavens I had her number randomly in my wallet written on a 1 week gym guest pass to Pure of all things. If it weren't for that, I'd a been toast and cryin' today. And well, 'twas a good man who found it of course and had the decency to call...PHEW.
Well, things got even more interesting later as after a night out, my friends and I got food and went back to an apartment to eat. I conked out on the couch and the next thing I knew, woke up this morning hot and bothered, uncomfortable on what was essentially a love seat made for a small Hong Kong woman, not someone of my size. I somehow notice that my nails have been painted neon pink and my arm has been written on with makeup - something that I will not repeat here. Crap - okay, okay, very funny people...no harm, no foul I think. I get up and go out to head home which isn't too far up the escalator, am groggy, disheveled, and figure I'm getting funny looks for my wrinkled clothes and bed head.
Uh.....Brian....
When I get home, I head to the bathroom and get the first look of myself in the mirror.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAJ|HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!
I had a full on facial make up makeover! Blue eyeshadow, black eye-liner, rosy cheeks, I don't know what else...sparkles...there were sparkles. All kinds of crap!!!!!!! I walked out in public like this???? Now I know why the doorman wore this goofy grin. AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!! I'm gonna kill someone.
I hate Hong Kong.
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Saturday, Oct 4, 2008 5:16PM /
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Here and happy in Hong Kong - despite the rain. The last couple weeks in China have been a blur, a good one. I am still absorbing everything and processing it and need to straighten my thoughts out, perhaps in blog form soon. I barely had any downtown in Beijing and then spent 2 quick days in Shanghai running around for meetings before jumping down to what I think is the only city in the world that has an escalator in the middle of it to help people get to and from. Hilarious, the concept.
More business to take care of here next week, but as I arrived into town here at the start of the weekend, meetings friends and having fun was first on the agenda. In my view, Hong Kong is the craziest, most party-centric town in all of Asia. I haven't been to Seoul, but out of Beijing, Shanghai, Taipei, Ho Chi Minh, Bangkok, and Tokyo, it's only in HK that it seems I find myself not making it to home till the sun is rising. I think if I lived here, I'd either have to go into hiding, or accept the fact that I would need a liver transplant in about 2 years.
Excited about tonight - I'm going to a Sotheby's Auction and later finally getting to attend an AnD event. HK Live! Maybe see/meet some AnD folks there? It's funny, I've never officially met Terrence Yin until last night at Rack's. We produced a movie he starred in and my friends around always talk about him, so when I finally met him last night, it was as if I already knew him. A fellow Cal alum even - go Bears. Nice to meet you Mr. Emcee...thanks for the shot!
It's stopped raining...time to get out!
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