The Accidental Actor - For the love of Mandarin

The story behind how I ended up with acting as a hobby began with my search to improve my Mandarin. I came from an English school. In the early 90's when Singaporeans were beginning to explore business opportunities in China, a client requested me to travel with him to Guangzhou to negotiate a property deal. This was my second trip to China, my first being a study tour of a few major cities to understand the Chinese legal system.

My Mandarin proficiency in those days was below average and this second visit to China was like a Mandarin language immersion programme. Every document that I had to read and explain to my client was written in Mandarin. After the trip, I felt a strong need to improve my Mandarin, especially since my social circle has come to include more and more Mandarin speaking friends. I forced myself to read more Chinese texts and joined a Mandarin toastmasters' club. But I needed to upgrade myself further. I was looking for another learning pathway when I saw a television commercial that led me onto an unusual way of raising my Mandarin proficiency.

Mediacorp was conducting a drama class for those in the middle age group and I thought this might train me in good diction. Surprisingly, I graduated from the course with high grades. Soon acting assignments from Channel 8 came pouring in. Reading the scripts for Chinese dramas helped me improve my Mandarin and it was this desire to keep improving my Mandarin that I accepted the acting assignments. Eventually, acting became a hobby and I took up assignments from Channel 5, movie producers and production houses as well.

Acting gave me an insight into the working  lives of artistes and an understanding of how the entertainment industry works. I saw good and bad acting, professionalism and unprofessionalism and what it takes to produce a television drama and movie. The challenges that an actor or actress face cannot be described in mere words. You need to be on the set, face the entire filming crew and the constraints of time to understand the pressures of acting. And of course there is the anticipation of how viewers will respond to your performance.

I have always encouraged those who wish to have a taste of acting to go for the experience. It is not something that money can buy unless of course you are rich enough to produce a drama or movie yourself. Acting brought me a new dimension. So if you think you like to try, take the opportunity when it comes.