(photo by U-En Ng)

Joanna Bessey is nominated for Best Director in the Theatre category for her play, Enemy of the People. You may know her from Kopitiam, the tv series from yonks ago, or her theatre work more recently - she was nominated for “Best Actor in a Supporting Role” (Theatre) in last year’s BCAAs. Currently rehearsing for No Limits, a sci-fi musical directed by Susan Lankaster (further details to be confirmed), she takes some time off to answer these questions:

1. Enemy of the People looks like a reflection of your interest in environmental activism. How did you come about to directing this play?

This is one of my favourite plays and I’d wanted to do this for about eight years. I was just never at a place in which I was ready or had the time to direct, until last year. It’s not only about environmental pollution but also about the pollution of our spirituality and moral decay, and how the “mob mentality” can taint our decisions.

2. Any memorable experiences from working on Enemy of the People?

The whole rehearsal process was memorable for me because it was my first experience directing since my ‘A’ level days.

Coming up with the concept of the set was also a great creative process. I was very proud of it.

There were also quite a few performances which were totally packed out, including a lot of students, who really got involved with the action on stage and were very vocal. That was fun!

3. What influences appear in your theatre work?

I love the simplicity of the minimalist set and using the actors entirely to create atmosphere, mood and sometimes even props, in addition to the usual sound and lighting. I love very physical theatre and the full use of the body as an “instrument”, whenever possible.

I suppose my influences in this respect are Steven Berkoff with his concept of “Total Theatre” and there was a theatre company in England that I was a huge fan of as a teenager called the “Yorkshire Theatre Company”. This is probably why I really enjoyed Five Arts Centre’s production of “That Was the Year”. Also the Five Arts/ Actors Studio collaboration of “The Vagina Monologues” in which I also performed; this was done as a physical piece of theatre instead of the conventional reading.

4. We know you’re an environmentalist. Any other causes close to heart?

“Human Rights” is high on my list. I realized that most people I know don’t even truly know what their 30 Human Rights are. How can we defend them if we’re not even specifically aware of them?

(cast and crew of Enemy of the People)

5. Is there anyone (cast or crew) you would like to work with in future productions?

Overall, I had a really great cast and crew who worked very hard when it came down to the crunch. I would actually work with almost any one of them again. My cast alone was about 18 people! I was very lucky to have such great technical people too, such as (L0h) Kok Man who did the lighting design, (Woo) Ming Jin who helped me with the set and Paul Hasham who built a wonderful set, as I had imagined it. The list will go on forever…

6. Actor, photographer, director, voice artist - but to name a few. You’re taken on a variety of jobs, and it doesn’t seem like the list is ending anytime soon. Do you identify with one vocation more than the other?

Well, I’m first and foremost an actor, the majority of my work has been as an actor in theatre, TV and film. I’ve worked and studied very hard in honing my skill as an actor. The other things are sort of sub-headings of being an actor. Photography is just a hobby since high school, I used to spend hours experimenting in the darkroom.

7. From your portfolio - which production has been your favourite?

I love different productions for different reasons and I’ve been in a fair amount; but the theatre productions in which I felt the most proud of myself as an actor were in my monologue “Who’s Looney, Man?/ The Other” directed by Krishen Jit and “Fastest Clock in the Universe” directed by Joe Hasham, for which I was nominated last year.

8. When are the other times you’ve linked art to activism and raising awareness on issues that matter to you?

I’d like to believe I do that with every single piece of work I do; at least I try as much as possible but I do have to pay my bills also. Sometimes as an actor, you don’t have much overall control but even if a piece is very commercial, I like to try picking pieces I know I can connect to in some way. Theatre is a great place to do this, as opposed to TV. I always have some kind of inner journey going on with my characters which I hope to inspire the audience with. I believe that’s a form of activism in itself; allowing an audience to experience a new or different point of view, one which they don’t even have to agree with, but can experience all the same. I feel it makes our society and culture richer.

9. What other arts productions caught your eye in 2007?

Off the top of my head, I especially fell in love with the set design of P. Ramlee the Musical. Let me check the list…I saw so many productions…

(photo by U-En Ng)

10. How well represented are the different aspects of Malaysian community in the local arts scene to you?

This is a good question. A little hard to say, because there’s so much going on at so many different venues in the Klang Valley alone. I guess just the new variety and volume of work that is being produced speaks for itself, and is possibly serving what the Malaysian community wants.

11. What should we be looking out from you in the near future?

I plan to direct another play this year; I already have a couple picked out, one of which will be staged at KLPAC. I’ll also be in a musical in July called “No Limits”, at KLCC, directed by Susan Lancaster, which I’m rehearsing for at the moment.

You can find out more about Joanna Bessey from her blog or Myspace account.

This post is brought to you by Lainie, who probably can’t list all the official 30 human rights that appears in the UDHR.

This entry was posted on Saturday, April 19th, 2008 at 10:39 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.