{"id":1334,"date":"2025-06-23T10:57:03","date_gmt":"2025-06-23T02:57:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost:8888\/wordpress\/?p=1334"},"modified":"2025-07-18T16:22:14","modified_gmt":"2025-07-18T08:22:14","slug":"to-portray-a-character-well-you-need-to-break-through-the-limits-of-your-imagination-and-truly-experience-their-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/istageacademy.com\/index.php\/en\/grow-with-istage\/to-portray-a-character-well-you-need-to-break-through-the-limits-of-your-imagination-and-truly-experience-their-life\/","title":{"rendered":"To portray a character well, you need to break through the limits of your imagination and truly experience their life."},"content":{"rendered":"\n


Kaye Lau<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: We know that you\u2019ve been learning lots of activities such as violin and ballet. Is there anything else you\u2019ve learned before as well? After all these experiences, how did you find out that you\u2019re interested in musical theatre?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A: When I was younger, I wanted to be a professional dancer, but I realised later that it wasn\u2019t really what I wanted. Overtime, I developed an interest in drama, but my mum signed me up for musical theatre instead. I had such a great time, getting to do all three disciplines (singing, acting, and dancing) in one class, and I was immediately hooked. I was so excited for each class that I would anticipatedly count down the days till the weekend. I still learn ballet and violin, but musical theatre is my priority.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: How long have you been living in Shanghai and have you taken musical theatre courses overseas before? How is it different compared with Shanghai?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A: I\u2019ve lived in Shanghai for four years now. Before I moved to Shanghai, I never took any musical theatre classes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: Your first visit to iStage was on an open day in September 2017. Over the past two years with iStage, how have you improved yourself professionally?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A: I feel iStage has really taught me how to think professionally. In other musical theatre environments, I realised everything usually isn\u2019t taken as seriously by the students and many don\u2019t have a very strong stamina. I\u2019m very glad that my musical theatre foundation started with iStage and I\u2019m sure it would not have been quite the same if I had gone somewhere else instead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: You spend three intensive hours a week practicing with select group in addition to your high school work load; how do you manage your time\uff1f<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A: I guess it\u2019s just a combination of prioritizing my time and self-motivation. Everyone always complains about how much work they have to do, but I believe anyone can complete anything if they have the right mind set. I actually quite like being busy and having many classes to get to because it keeps me on my toes and teaches me to be responsible even when things get tough. The fact that I really enjoy what I\u2019m doing helps as well because I view my work as a learning process instead of toil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: You\u2019ve been to Broadway and West End before and you can also watch these shows in Shanghai now, how do you think the difference between them?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A: Although more musicals are starting to tour in Shanghai, it is not the same as going to Broadway or West End. In Broadway and West End, I get to see the original cast and other shows that are new. Additionally, international touring productions don\u2019t usually come straight from Broadway\/West End; they normally bring the cast from other countries. Having said all that, I do think it\u2019s really great that I am able to see musicals here in Shanghai too, but there\u2019s just this really magical feeling about Broadway and West End that you can\u2019t get anywhere else.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: Tell us more about your favorite shows and actors and why?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A: This is such a difficult question! I love so many musicals, but I think the ones that will always have a special place in my heart are Mean Girls, Dear Evan Hansen, Six, and Come From Away. I look up to many musical theatre performers, but Barrett Wilbert Weed remains my all-time favourite actress. I love her voice and many of her past (and present) theatre credits. She portrayed Veronica in the original Off-Broadway Heathers and is now in Mean Girlson Broadway as Janis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: You\u2019ve played many roles now, who\u2019s your favorite role and why? Who\u2019s the most challenging roleand did you conquer the challenge?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A: I would have to say Doria Hudson in Smile. Playing Cheshire Cat in Alice in Wonderlandwas a really fun experience, but it wasn\u2019t nearly as exciting as anything we did in Smile. Smile was the select group\u2019s first full-length musical and Ms. Karina really pushed all of us to perform to our highest-ability. Taking on the role of Doria challenged me in singing and acting. I\u2019m not like Doria in real life, so I was glad to play a character that would get me to step out of my comfort zone. Smile was one of the harder musicals we\u2019ve presented, but we wouldn\u2019t have done it without everyone\u2019s hard work and guidance from our teachers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: When you first receive the script for a show, how do you get yourself into character?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A: Before I receive my script, I would familiarize myself with the show\u2019s songs and characters. When memorising lines, I make sure to understand why the character is saying a certain line and their thoughts. Last year for Smile, Ms. Karina set us a task to create a mood board for our character. We included descriptions of their personality, their likes and dislikes, and pictures of what we thought they would look like.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: You\u2019re now in high school, do you have a favorite college and major? Any plan for your future? Do you consider musical theatre as major?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A: This question got me thinking way too much, but for now I will tell you that I do aspire to be a musical theatre actress, so yes, I am considering studying musical theatre in college. Although I spend a lot of time pondering my future, I don\u2019t believe college is the end point; it is just another stepping stone in my journey. For now, I\u2019ve still got a couple more years to ruminate over this, so I\u2019ll just focus on learning as much as I can now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: For musical actors, \u201cexperience\u201d and \u201cobservation\u201d are importantin terms of creating characters, thus most actors are very sensitive. \u201csensitivity\u201d can help actors observe more from daily life and blend into acting. Do you think you\u2019re sensitive?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A: I think learning acting has helped me to be more \u201csensitive\u201d to my surroundings and other people. It has enabled me to put myself in other people\u2019s shoes and think from their point of view. Becoming another character requires one to dig deep into imagination and their life experiences. Likewise, being an actor gives you the privilege to think about things you\u2019ve never thought about before or do things you wouldn\u2019t normally do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: Thanks again for doing this with us. One last question, do you like iStage? Anything you want to say to iStage?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A: Of course! In a way, iStage is like my second home. I love how everyone is so welcoming and friendly, and we get to share our love for the performing arts together. I\u2019m very grateful to iStage for all the performing opportunities and relationships I\u2019ve formed with other theatre kids!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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