I shall apply Chatham House Rules, where no names nor affiliations may be revealed, though discussions may be reproduced outside of the discussion room.
Q: How do you handle fame? It's so easy to get lost in ego and fame. Bon Jovi said: “Fame is a liar and a thief. I've seen it ruin people. It is what I do, and I do it well, but it does not define me. I have a family, a business, and tennis.” Fame can be so destructive.
A: Don't define your worth based on who takes a photo with you after red-carpet events, or how many followers you have on social media. Find the people you look up to, such as directors or other actors, and ask them for their feedback on your craftsmanship as an actor. If you believe your own publicity, then you will also believe the negative comments.
Q: do you think your roles represent you as the person you want to be? You have worn many hats – you have been an actor, a producer, and a director.
A: [chuckles.] That's quite a meta- kind of question. [pause] I bring my best self to work. I show up on time. On set, I give everyone the time of day: the AD (Assistant Director), the ADPA (Assistant Director Production Assistant), and the caterer. There are so many people on set. And, I like tequila, [audience laughs] but 48 hours before a shoot, I avoid drinking. If you can hold your liquor, that's fine, but that's how I conduct myself. I don't know if this behaviour represents my race, my ethnicity, and my nationality, but that's what I do.
Q: how did it happen? How did you get inside the world of [redacted]?
The audience numbered about 200, and the orchestra, 40. Among the former group were elderly gentlemen with walking canes, and giggling little humans who appeared to be about seven years old. And, among the audience was a member of my music-making community, an instrumentalist on the Er Hu.
“You came on the wrong night,” he whispered conspiratorially to me. “Tonight's programme focuses on the Principal Players of the orchestra. You will seldom get to see the full orchestra in action tonight.”
Pause.
“Anyway, why are you here? I thought you were only interested in the piano.”
“Life was different back then,” old people say. But Izra's life seemed to mirror mine. A vigorous young man in his twenties, Izra was poised for the next leadership position in church. However a series of events tarnished his reputation, and it would be forty years before he was cleared of his “bad name”.
I've tried using neem soap on my itching skin. It has been two nights so far, and it does seem to soothe the itch.
Why haven't I heard about it earlier in my life? I asked Jill, my friend from England, and she said that the Chinese people do not usually hear about neem because the tree simply does not grow in China.
However the medicinal effects of neem appear to be well-known – or, dare I say, even ubiquitous – in India. (according to Wikipedia: “Margo soap uses margosa [also known as neem] as its main ingredient.“)
Elga tossed her hair in the mirror and looked at her red evening-dress. It still frightened her sometimes, how she was alone in a hotel room, far away from home. She found herself missing her mother – how far she had flown, beyond her mother's soft lap!
Elga wistfully moved her thoughts away from her mother's gentle yet firm touch, and settled her mind on the little plushie that she had bought from this country's National Oceanarium: a penguin. Snuggled next to the moon-white pillow in her room, it'd be her companion for the remaining five days.
Looking at herself one last time in the mirror, she took a deep breath, and strode into the bar, where a waitress in red lipstick and power blazer stood to attention. “Table for one, please. I'm fine by the bar.”
Mamood tossed restlessly on the wooden floor. This abandoned shophouse lay next to a busy road, and the chatter of motorbikes, and blares of overloaded trucks, ate into his thoughts whenever he tried to focus his mind.
It was no good. He couldn't think properly, at this rate.
