Sometimes in life you’re presented with opportunities to give back to your community, to share and to grow. When those opportunities come knocking it’s enlightening to discover again and again just how good it feels to share what you know, what you’ve learned and your experiences with others whose creative endeavours mirror your own. Next Saturday October 1st, I will be giving a class, a full conference day on acting and my experiences thus far as a performing artist. I was asked to partake in this Masterclass Series by Festival Accès Asie in collaboration with OBORO New Media Center here in Montreal. When Kakim Goh, the event curator, reached out and invited me to participate, I wasn’t sure I could do it at first. But as the two of us started discussing what he hoped to accomplish with these classes I realized there was a lot I could contribute to this event.
The cliché is true: when you’re lucky enough to do what you love in life, it really isn’t work at all. And despite the fact that I’ve experienced as many professional highs as I’ve fallen on harder times as an artist, I’ve held fast to the belief that I could eventually earn a living doing what I love. To be able to impart lessons learned from this eventful journey thus far to other aspiring and professional artists is a wonderful opportunity and I am touched to be a part of such a great artistic mission in my community.
There will be four separate Master Classes given in the context of this event. I will be giving the first one on Oct 1st, documentary filmmaker Yung Chang (http://www.yungfilms.com) will be giving the second one on Oct 8th, DJ Kid Koala (http://www.kidkoala.com) will be giving the third one on Oct 15th and last but not least, Chinese shadow puppetry artist Annie Katsura Rollins (http://www.anniekatsurarollins.com) will be giving her class on Oct 22nd. The cost of each class is 30$ and that includes a catered lunch. For 100$ you can attend all four classes. These classes are organized by a non-profit organisation. In curator Kakim Goh’s own words, this event is intended:
“to provide professional artists and students in the arts with a forum to gain invaluable industry knowledge, develop specialized skills and network through classes given by experts in their respective artistic fields.”
To register and find out more about all four classes visit:
Festival Accès Asie: http://bit.ly/2cCHU3l
OBORO: http://bit.ly/2dsanJv
It’s been a bit of a juggling act to prepare for this class and get ready for the start of production on Season 4 of ’19-2′ but I’m certainly not complaining! My first days back on set this past week went well. Wait ’til you see what our writers have in store for you… it may be the last season of this ’19-2′ adventure but it certainly will not disappoint.
Here’s the Festival Accès Asie master class promo image of myself, Yung Chang (top right), Kid Koala (bottom left) & Annie Katsura Rollins (bottom right). And below it is a photo of actor Adrian Holmes, myself, writer director Lynne Kamm and actor Jared Keeso on the first day back on set for this new and final season of ’19-2′. Thanks for taking the time to read me and enjoy the rest of your day!