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| Wednesday, December 01, 2004
Theatre > interview with Andrew Choo Words on StageArtist : Andrew Choo Profession : part time actor Interviewer : Charlene Lim ed: If you know Andrew Choo, you're most likely right in assuming that STAGES is one of his many portfolio-ed involvement. We bring you a two part conversation with Andrew after watching STAGES' Poetry in the Flesh. CL: Tell me about STAGES and physical theatre. AC: STAGES is very experimental and very physical. I really like what they do because they break mindsets about what theatre should be - actors on a stage with a non-participating, watching audience. Instead of having a elevated barrier between actor and audience, STAGES mixed the two elements and you never know what's going to happen next! This is why I really appreciate Jonathan (STAGES' director)- his approach is really unique. CL: He likes bringing the stage to the audience. AC: Jon's vision is to do theatre that can be carried into the community. He's done previous productions that poked at government propaganda aimed at making audiences pay attention, particularly the Singapore apathetic, parochial type to who ignores their neighbor even when they are in need. CL: (thinks to self) Yeah I'm also lamenting at how at work we are also just concerned about ourselves and no one else. AC: Yeah, Jonathan brings awareness about social and political issues not in a straight in your face manner but in subtle statements that read 'do you see, do you see?' both through words and action. Like in the last production, Chestnuts Unloaded he did just that! Did you watch it? It was a great comedy! CL: I so wanted to but I missed it! No money, no time! AC: Why? You could have asked Dawn (our editor) because I gave her free tickets! CL: Wah lau she never tell me! (We both laugh.) AC: You must come and watch this year! CL: STAGES' way of bringing the theatre to the audience comes is a very effective way of conveying messages. How do you think this method can be applied to sharing the gospel? AC: (thinks) I had a falling out with my church not because they were against me, but because they could not accommodate my ideas about what I thought theatre should be for the Lord. I feel that [there are still] restrictions, whether consciously or not. I feel that churches tend to have the mentality that turn down ideas based on the fact that they feel they are not ready. I feel that that is a loss. I feel so strongly about this because I've seen, heard and experienced how the theatre can be carried out in such a way that deliveres the gospel purely and straightforwardly. For example the musical Godspell where the book of Matthew is presented in theatre form. There have been instances where people were convicted after watching and were saved. That is the part that really matters. There was an Australian production that cast non-Christians in the role of Jesus and John. They were cast because they were good actors. While these actors researched for their role they asked the director where they could find out more about their role and he said, 'Well go read the Bible.' You know what they did? They read the Bible! Not only that, when they came upon a passage they did not understand they called up the director and asked him, 'What was Jesus trying to say?' CL: Oh wow that's amazing. Bottom line is that there are many ways to share the gospel if only we're willing to think out of the box. AC: See, casting a non-Christian for the role does not mean the gospel suffers. Casting a good actor in the role of Jesus can do more for the sharing of the gospel simply because the actor can play a more convincing role. The problem is that such ideas meet resistance in church leadership because leaders want such roles to be given to Christians regardless of their acting abilities. I can understand where the (Singaporean) church is coming from. The main issue is that there is a conflict of interest between the church and the theatre. The church wants a Christian cast while the theatre wants a credible cast. CL: There has been such a flood of plays dealing with provocative subjects such a sex and homosexuality recently. Tonight's performance also included such topics. Where do you see yourself in the midst of this? AC: Just to make a point: local theatre has become rather 'gay' in recent years. However there are theatre companies like Dramabox that takes responsibility in making a commentary on social issues, not only on homesexuality but also on people struggling with a criminal record. There are other theatre companies that use theatre as a vehicle for expressing their preferences. They put out provocative plays that give their targeted audience what they want to see on stage and as a result, become very popular. These companies escape the heavy hand of the government censors because once in a while they produce more neutral plays that show they are not just gay theatres. Being a Christian in the midst of it... Initially I had a lot of problems reconciling my beliefs with what I did. But after praying and seeking counsel from other Christians, I concluded that as long as the message of the scene, for example, being promiscuous will increase the chances of contracting AIDS, then it justifies my participation in the role. However at times, there is still conflict within me so my guiding theme is God's peace. CL: How about doing something that is suggestively homosexual like simulating a blow-job or being part of a scene where other people are playing homosexual roles? AC: I have been part of such a scene before. First of all I must understand why I am doing it and what good comes out when I'm doing it. Sometimes my conscience still pricks me about what I have done. When it comes I see it as a reminder to do what is right. Depending on the content of the script, if a simulation of a blow-job is to put across the ludicrousness of the very act itself, for example how it rails against the natural laws of sex that God institutes, then it justifies why I do it. CL: Therefore message rather than stage direction takes precedence over your choice of roles? AC: Yes. For example just now (Andrew is referring to one of the poems he performed) we built a story around a gay couple who contracted AIDS and died. Two straight guys played a gay couple and we discussed the role and some of the issues we brought up were: when a person indulged in unnatural sexual acts, there would be consequences. CL: I do not agree that only gay people get AIDS, anyone who has unprotected sex is at risk of contracting AIDS from another person. What really puts someone at risk is not their sexual orientation but ignorance and promiscuity. AC: True, it is true. Ultimately the message we were trying to bring across was being gay puts one's life, your career, your family relationship, out of sync and would potentially rob you of happiness. And as you begin to lose these things you start to lean more on your partner, the very person who is in collaboration with you on this road to unhappiness. My complaint is this: Playing a bad guy is easy and even playing a bad guy without a conscience is easy too. But doing something that is not acceptable to Christians, your very own kind, is the hardest. I had a cell leader who came to watch one of my productions in the past, Rosencrantz and Guildenstein Are Dead, who kept pointing fingers at me and called my cell leader, saying 'How can you allow Andrew to do this kind of thing?' Fortunately, I had two other cell friends who came to watch me act who found no fault in what I did. They understood that what I did was so dumb it did not make sense, rather it was done to illustrate something else. There are people who are like that, they just point, point and point without really understanding what it is all about. The danger of them doing their finger-pointing is this: they may not have the intention of harming people, but going around like this can hurt someone in a process and put across a wrong motive, far from the one they are trying to convey. I am thankful for a cell-leader who listens to all parts of a story before coming to a conclusion but what if the person accusing me of sin is my leader? What would I do? Would I have to leave the cell and the church? This has happened before. CL: I see, you mean people getting ex-communicated from the church? AC: Yes. It is like once you are Christian you got to be a 'true, pure, Christian.' Once you stumble you are out, condemned! I do not think this is what Christianity is all about. It is about grace. I had a long talk with Sinclair Rogers, the person who started CHOICES, and he showed me that the most important way to help a homosexual turn from his/her ways is acceptance. Acceptance was the very one thing that helped him leave his life of homosexuality and embrace God. People took him for who he was, no one judged him, men hugged him, even when he was in drag. They talked to him normally and treated him as one of the guys. They did not condone his sin and neither did they give him any leeway for behaving badly, they treated him like any regular person. From then on he abandoned his homosexual ways, got married and had children. CL: Wow! AC: Acceptance is key in helping one know God. Here is where I step in as an actor; being in theatre with gay people, where do I draw the line? There was a production I was in that had only me and another guy being the only straight ones among the cast. I ate with them and hung out with them, I never rejected them. It is being a Christian in the market-place: I do what I have to do but I have to always bear in mind I am Christian and there are certain things I will never do. This is my worship to God. I will not tell them 'you are wrong, you are wrong, you are wrong!' CL: This will only push them further away. AC: Yes I accept them for who they are. It is important to let them know that I am straight and I do not expect them to exert their values upon me and hope they will respect me for it. I thank God for a particular gay friend I have who listens to my issues with Christians and does not pass judgment or criticize my beliefs. The guy even prayed for me when I got into a car accident. This is the position I have maintained: I do my work as an actor but I will not bring my stage role into my real life. This has worked for me so far. CLV thanks Andrew for sharing his views with us. On a personal note, CLV is not anti-gay although this interview disagrees with this choice of sexual orientation. Even though we reject homosexuality, we do not reject homosexuals. Your orientation does not determine who you are and I do not accept or reject you based on it. At least this is not the position we desire to take up. The world sees you for what you are but God sees you for who you are. What is the difference? What refers to your titles and positions in this world. You are a doctor, nurse, cashier, straight, gay, bi, graduate, unemployed etc. So who are you? Apart from being a living, breathing thing, 'who' refers to an identity. We try to define our identity through our jobs, or in our dressing or personality. But these things cannot define us for long, can they? We need a lasting identity. God says 'whoever touches you touches the apple of his eye' Zech 2:8. You are God’s apple of his eye, his precious kid, his creation whom he guards with his life. So no matter how people reject you, remember you are highly favored by the Almighty. Cheers, Charlene.
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