'Beyond the Dot' interview: Dominic Cheung

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IOZ5UC3gfrkHeres part of an interview by the makers of the Singaporean documentary 'Beyond The Dot II', where Dominic Cheung speaks of the actor Thomas Lim (me). Dominic is the artistic director of Theatre Space Company in Hong Kong and the director of the epic theatre show 'Taiji' that was staged in HK last October, which I acted in. You won't see this version of the interview in the documentary itself as i recorded it with my own videocam. :)

translations:

It's obvious to me that he's still searching. We had a fantastic time working together on 'Taiji'. He (Thomas) came to Hong Kong specially to do the show. It was really tough for him. I still can't imagine how he managed to perform his role that involved so much kung fu action on stage. It's really difficult. His hard work and efforts were obvious to all. Honestly, our company wasn't able to pay him alot of money but like Jeffrey (another HK based Singaporean actor), Thomas didn't seem to mind. It's unlike many of our Hong Kong actors who would ask "Why should we work so hard for so little money?"

Through the rehearsal process, I noticed that Thomas is still searching. This search involves more than the 'actor's search' (regarding Thomas' path as an actor)  that I mentioned just now. It's more of a search for a clearer path in life. Of course, it's also through the private conversations we had before that I know of these information. He'd seem to constantly be asking "As a Singaporean, what should my direction in life be. Am I a world citizen? Or do I belong to Singapore? Where exactly do I fit in?" I think this is something that Thomas has yet to fully discover.

It is a very interesting thing for me, to know Singaporeans like that. Here's one (Jeffrey) who seemed to have found a suitable path in his life. And another (Thomas) who seemed to still be searching for his place in this world. It could be because they are in different stages of their lives. Life is indeed an endless, continuous discovery of oneself. I'd always thought of Singaporeans to be a contented bunch. I am sure that life in Singapore can be pretty comfortable if you work a little harder as citizens there. There's little need to go through all these trouble. But here's one who would remove himself from the securities and comforts of Singapore in search for a deeper meaning to his life. I don't suppose there would be many young people who would be willing to walk this route. This is one quality that I greatly admire in him.