TRANSCRIPT

Becoming an Acting Coach - Kamil Haque (HCAC) | The CJH Podcast EP6

*Captions are taken directly from YouTube and may not be 100% accurate

[Music]

welcome everybody we have Kamil Haque

here and he is the founder and artistic

director of Haque Center of acting and

creativity hcac for short they've been

around for almost a decade Singapore's

first acting school for everyone he

trained more than 10 000 people many

have gone to become professional actors

okay this is quite cooler and one of

them is Henry Golding if you watch crazy

Rich Asians that's the dude he also is

involved in the corporate world uh he

has been training the 50 of the biggest

brands and brings theater into the

workplace why would you think so

increasing productivity engagement and

reduce attrition so he's coached some of

the leaders that we are not at Liberty

to say right so thank you come here for

joining us thank you Jason awesome so

I'm always very curious about why on

Earth anybody would choose acting in

Singapore my parents will be like okay

even though they like didn't tell me to

do acting nobody would say that you

should pursue acting music any kind of

art belly and all that that in my mind

sometimes they put it as like okay it's

only for children let them explore

ballet for one and all that then after

that go into something more serious like

engineering anything else so for you

take us back when you felt that

this was something take us back like did

you do other jobs first then you knew

that you know I had done other things

and I don't like that how did they

release that uh so to be fair my parents

never pushed this on me as this is your

career path this is something that we

want you to do okay they have uh the

concerns like any other Singaporean

parent yeah but they've always had the

they've always given me the Liberty to

make these decisions on my own and I was

really fortunate to sort of have a a

moment of calling when I was seven years

old my parents brought me to Orchard

Cinema which is now Orchard Cinema

Leisure to uh watch Dead Poet Society

which is a film uh starring Robin

Williams as a really charismatic poetry

and literature teacher and uh as a

seven-year-old watching the film with

like giving rainy spoilers uh it doesn't

pan out the way that you would

anticipate with a a tidy bowl ending

and so uh after the film is done my dad

he puts me into the back seat and then

we're driving home and in the back seat

I'm starting to ask them questions about

how come this happened in the film how

come this happens in the film and I'm

asking them questions that are perhaps

beyond what a seven-year-old should ask

to the point that I distinctly remember

my dad jamming the bricks both my

parents looking to the back seat and

giving me this look like they brought

home the wrong child and there was

something really beautiful and surreal

in that moment where they're like who

are you and I'm like I kind of like that

I've got their attention in this moment

Society is such a Chim deep show yeah

it affected you oh on the on a on a on a

cellular DNA level it it it just it

awoken things in this seven-year-old

that I didn't even know could exist

something is like Premium One Man pretty

much yeah my goodness and and

um

uh they gave me this look and I and I

and I knew in that moment like this is

it this this is something I need to do

for the rest of my life I need to be

involved in in storytelling in acting in

something in this because something that

I saw affected me that affected the two

people that I care about the most there

is a correlation here right uh only much

later on that I also realized that I was

also deeply affected by how charismatic

a a teacher and and influence Robin

Williams character was to the students

in his classroom yes

um and for the rest of my life I

basically dedicated it towards the Arts

that is like

it's very rare that people have that I I

see that most of the time in if I want

to be a teacher and because you already

have experience a good teacher

but it's very rare that somebody's so

young will be able to do that did you

try to explore other things to say that

hmm yes maybe that's great but I want to

try other things have you ever tried

have you did that thought come to mind

in the first place so by virtue of

growing up in Singapore in the late 80s

early 90s you don't have a lot of

options when it comes to the Arts so

then you're almost uh by scarcity you

are forced to try other things anyway

like yes let's just have you focus on

Sports now let's just have you focus on

your serious subjects yeah uh but I

never gave up on acting classes on the

side uh acting as a ECA or CCA and so I

was always there in the foreground it

was just a matter of how loud it was and

how present it was in my life at

different stages

um at a certain point in my life I was

like oh maybe I really want to be a

lawyer like my dad I'm like no it looks

like the hours are really terrible I

don't really want this because I never

really saw my dad growing up then it's

like oh man going to be in advertising

like my mom I was like oh no I don't

really want this also because I don't

really see my mom either these are

really terrible jobs what was it that

would make me really happy like it's got

to be acting and so it's it's never

wavered from when I was seven even

though I've tried other things right

right so from seven

you had a passion for it you had certain

like okay it hit you really hard and so

what next then did they did you like

okay so I'm gonna go into a competition

to validate that I'm good or am I gonna

start teaching what is next after seven

so uh I basically grew up as a latchkey

kid meaning my parents were never home

and to prevent me sort of just being

raised by our then helper they would uh

as a typical Singapore parent would do

they put me all sorts of extracurricular

and enrichment classes and uh at around

the age of seven slash eight was when I

met my very first Mentor who's now since

past her name is Julie Gabriel and she

has started uh she started the Julie

Gabriel's uh speech and drama Center

which is now called Julie gibral Center

and I was with her when she first

started her school in Halifax Road near

the KK hospitals and uh she was the

first adult who I encountered at the

young tender age who whenever I I would

meet her in the hallways it wouldn't be

an adult just walking past the child she

would stop me she would look me in the

eye and she'd say

hey Camille how are you doing

this is Raymond and um and you know in

this tiny little version of me it's like

how come this adult is talking to me two

why is this person making eye contact

with me three she's holding space to me

because it sounds and it feels like she

genuinely cares yeah and I'd never

really encountered an adult like that in

my entire life and I was like I need to

be around this person more right and so

she gave me opportunities to volunteer

around her school and that gave me even

more of the impetus that yeah this is

this is I've definitely made the right

choice I need to be around adults like

this who let me do things that make me

that give me a sense of purpose right uh

so I would sort of like dread going to

school Monday through Friday and then on

Saturdays like I'd have classes for two

hours say like 10 to like 12 but I would

stay there till like five six until the

school was closing just so I can just be

around her be around the school

um so she was effectively my first

Mentor who placed in me the the concrete

desire to

love the craft of acting yeah wow and so

when you were volunteering and all that

because every passion if you think about

it

if you have passion but you have no

performance it's a hobby but you have

passion you have high performance that

means you're really good at your game

then it then it's really something you

can call a profession so your first few

times in was it more of I'm acting and

she's telling me that you should do it

this way that way you're you're training

she's training you or was it the

teaching part because you're doing both

now you're acting and you're teaching

and it's a different thing a good actor

might not be a good teacher sure sure

sure so how do you increase performance

when it comes was it then that that you

were increasing performance were you

both on stage and teaching other people

actually yes so so funny enough when you

talk about

um the the performance side of things so

then there's the performance that I get

to train within those those class hours

with her and other teachers and then

they give me the feedback on how to get

better and then there's the performance

side of being a facilitator a teacher an

instructor where in those hours from 12

to say six I'd be working in her school

library and so what that would mean is

typically at first it's just arranging

books and making sure that the place is

quiet and orderly and then it evolved

into hey the library is really busy as

the school gets more popular do you

think you can help us run the reading

room sessions to the kids that are

younger than you I was like sure no

problems this is like the big book and

it wants it right right right right

right right right so then I'd read these

really really big books and then as it

evolved I began to read like War of the

Worlds and I saw adults do segments

about how they made War of the Worlds

come to life right and and I and I

listened to Old Radio recordings by

Orson Welles about war of the walls and

I saw how and raptured these kids were

and all the mods like I want to do more

of that and because as a kid you don't

know what failure means right and and

you and you're not cynical about life

you're like let's just experiment let's

just see what happens and so I was

already gaining my in my way my own

facilitation hours in in the little

reading room uh as a kid and and here I

am I'm getting to express myself as an

actor getting to express my performance

side of things as a facilitator and I

didn't even realize it even more the

seeds were not just being planted they

were beginning to bloom in a way that I

didn't anticipate

wow so you helped out as a facilitator

but you also were getting taught yeah

where did it stop for that like like how

far did it go did it like for example or

you did Big Productions was it like you

know like usually for like these kind of

um CCH right usually they have a

performance where okay how come all

parents come down yeah kid there and all

that were you like the lead actor there

then that's why like wow actually not

bad oh what happened it was a case of uh

it wasn't any like one big production

that I was in that was all was it like

small Productions there were definitely

a lot of small Productions all the

parents came they were

uh like inter-class drama competitions

okay where I would devise my own scripts

create my own characters direct my own

shows and then so you started

scriptwriting there already oh really

well I in this is now moving into

Secondary School yeah so then within the

secondary school from the ages of 13 to

16 there'd be an annual drama

inter-class drama competition yeah and I

would uh write direct to active mode

this is this is for school for schools

not for the no no okay so for school for

schools we had a drama thing you started

to write it I started to write act

direct so I already had a sense of

purpose and some skill sets from doing

shows in Julia school and then some

other acting schools as a kid and then

this drama competition came about and I

was like oh let me take part because I

really enjoy doing this and then what

would happen is every year I'd be

winning like best play best actor best

player Best Actor best script Best

Director I'm like oh I'm getting some

validation from this stuff and it wasn't

just from my peers it was outside judges

and who would validate what I was doing

people who didn't know me other than the

small segment of my performance like all

right I must be okay at this stuff yeah

and so and then alongside this

um in this my secondary school life I

would take part in these big

Extravaganza musicals they will tour

around the world

um and again it gave me the opportunity

to test my performing muscles in venues

that are far larger than a 13 year old

should have any rights to be in and

again it gave me more confidence and

sense of purpose and again testing out

that performance muscles

for for those overseas ones that sounded

even more serious oh yeah uh how do you

even get the opportunity that was again

purely through school

um so the school helped you that say

that okay since you're so good in drama

I'll take you I'll take your whole

entire your entire team and all or we'll

take a bunch of you we're going to

create a musical Within These musicals

they'll be a singing dancing components

they'll be acting components truthfully

not great dancer happy to admit to that

okay acting was my thing and so I would

always get these acting roles within the

musicals right right and they would give

me the opportunity to say Hey listen uh

we're gonna take this musical to uh Hong

Kong can you do some of the acting

components in it we're gonna take this

musical to to KL can you do some acting

in it I'm like sure I don't think every

school has that

all schools are good school okay yeah

yeah but I don't think every school has

that that bandwidth to say that okay for

this one I'm gonna organize something

where I'm gonna train some people put in

resources and fly you to Hong Kong and

do for who

people over there

okay so you did that so even after the

second so while in secondary school

you're already doing that yeah take us

after that because I want to know where

after everything how do you even set up

that and how what do you even do before

you set up with do you act in because I

know you went us for a while and things

like that yeah so after that you

validate it okay this is for me

um then what JC Army what happened so

then

um you know uh as uh as someone growing

up through the Singapore education

system it was never for me and I have no

qualms of saying I'm a proud failure of

the Singapore education system or at

least the iteration of the Singapore

education system then yeah and

um there'll be moments where they get

really really amazing grades and then

everyone would think it's a miracle I

would think it's a miracle uh and but

for the most part I was a mediocre

student because I believed my own

mediocrity as an uh within academics

okay and so

uh one of the big turning points for me

was

um when I collected my a-level results

and my teacher looked at my diploma

assert and then she gave it to me and

she said you got exactly what you

deserved

and he was right she was 100 right oh no

but in that moment

I realized that I let someone else

declare my mediocrity it wasn't of my

doing this was that this my mediocrity

was my own doing but I let someone

Empower over me and live rent free in my

head and it's something clicked where

I've got to not allow myself to be

mediocre again yes and I've got to make

sure that if acting really is my purpose

I've got to find a way to make sure that

this might be my last shot at making it

how do I not screw it up for myself yeah

and so again truth be told to uh begin a

life in the Arts you do need to come

from some level of privilege and I'll

admit to that I had some level of

privilege growing up right so if you

need some Financial backing yes right

and my so now just just coming back

again

um when they said that you deserve it

you didn't get good grades yeah

actually

was one of the things that I I my dad

did consider for me like why don't we

just have you do the early enlistment oh

my God because it looks like what we're

gonna do with you okay so academically

total failure total failure okay so then

you had a choice now

you had you so with some Financial

backing where do you go so uh then I go

into NS and I oh you win I went and it's

right after my a levels oh my goodness

you are really an early investor

they don't pretty much well not really

yes yes or no all of us okay so you went

NS you're two and a half years at two

and a half years acting there I I

couldn't and I didn't because you know

you're you're stuck in uh what back then

I was essentially office hours of like

nine to five or seven so if you go to

like like uh MC I don't know what well I

didn't know that it existed and then by

the time I knew it existed I missed the

boat to be able to to audition because

it's something you need to declare when

you're enlisting for Army I'm like oh I

wish someone told me okay okay so you

missed that I missed that boat oh my

goodness because like they did they do

that all the time all the time why did

someone tell me this existed or Europe

okay so after Army then what happened so

then uh in Army I I would uh to keep my

mind still alive and fresh I would

enroll myself in college credit classes

um and what would happen is part of the

I'm never going to be mediocre again

that switch clicked yeah and then I

started to get consistent as and I was

like oh this feels nice I'm doing well

what do you mean what do you mean that

means college that means you were trying

to get college credits yeah like I do

like international relations I would do

lit I would do geography all these

things is so that you have a better

grade than your a level correct so with

that you can actually it's a ticket to

somewhere else correct oh okay correct

and super yeah isn't that a proper

course

it was modules within the program okay

so as long as you do like 5 10 15

modules you'll get a grade correct you

can go and apply correct Universe

correct I can use those grades as part

of my transfer certificate I understand

okay okay uh almost uh to compensate for

the really crappy a levels and so now

I'm starting to get consistent is but I

still don't have a lot of options in my

life yeah I'm getting to the tail end of

NS and I'm feeling how do you even get

A's when you when academic is not very

good because for one I the the the

college credit classes were within the

American system of things so to me the

big differences there were they were

encouraging uh critical thinking I

didn't have to just memorize memorize

and regurgitate okay all right do you

also choose modules that are played to

your strengths or no to some degree so I

did do a drama module I did do lit

modules but I also did geography

political science um uh I I did marine

biology right so it just could be that

the the system allowed for critical

thinking that's where you thrive correct

really just like there's no real good

answer it is what you believe and how to

present and yes and how do I advocate

for this answer okay and presenting is

something that you have already been

thinking about correct for a very long

time correct it's like how can I present

you my thesis and how can I really fight

for my thesis got it knowing that

someone actually wants to listen rather

than sorry this is not the tennis series

answer you play Backwards right right uh

no no just the a b or c you're giving D

wrong okay so so you so actually when

you were younger you would have thrived

in an American System probably maybe who

knows I mean all things be cool sure

okay okay so so you did that and what

happened so then I'm still lost because

options are limited in Singapore I'm

getting to the tail end of uh my

national service stint and uh I decided

to go have a conversation with Julia

again and I hadn't seen her in maybe 10

years or so and I I sit down with hey

Julia realistically I've been really

doing really terribly in the Singapore

system I'm finally getting some A's I

know that acting is something I really

want to do right but I don't have any

options in Singapore and again she gives

me that same she she's coming sit down

and again she looks me in there and she

always had this really wonderful quality

of holding space for people and again

she said sit down let me talk to you

um let me uh give you some options for

you to consider and she starts naming a

bunch of schools for me or acting

schools if something if this is

something you want to do try these

schools in Australia in the UK and the

United States and then she said uh

meanwhile since you're going to be done

with NS

this is what I want you to do for me I

want you to come and teach me while

you're trying to figure out what you

want to do next and then in my mind I'm

like I'm 21 years old I've never really

taught anyone in in a structured

environment in my entire life right uh

this is not for me and then she said

Camille I want you to remember this you

remember when you were seven years old

what did you do in my library I'm I'm

like uh I used to read to the

five-year-olds and I read the wall of

the wills say yep I remember that and

she said teaching is basically like that

except now you're this size and the kids

are that size right that's the only

difference all you're doing is

activating them yeah

and like ah okay if you say you think I

can do it I can do it and then she said

all right so then you're gonna join me

and you're going to work for me on top

of that this is what I want you to do I

want you to teach my special needs kids

I'm like uh uh and then now in the

non-pc way of saying it uh this is early

2000s I said um Julie if I'm going to be

honest those kids are already broken

I'll probably break them even more and

she said

no you're not I trust you you know what

you're doing just give it a shot and I

said sure you say so I'm gonna do that

right so for a year I taught

um special needs kids I also taught um

kids with no learning challenges

whatsoever and it awoken and concretized

even more this love for for teaching the

facilitation that had been dominant for

so many years

um and it gave me this the beginnings of

of uh my voice as the teacher how do I

want to facilitate the classroom so

that's number one and then uh number two

from the list of schools that she gave

me to consider yeah I was so overwhelmed

that my mentor gave me a job offer I

honestly forgot all the names of the

schools that she told me except one

um because it sounded like a French

football team

and then I go home and I googled

strasborg acting okay uh and then Google

said did you mean Strasberg acting I'm

like uh yes Google if that's what it's

supposed to be and I'm pointed towards a

school in La that has trained De Niro Al

Pacino Paul Newman Marilyn Monroe wow

and I'm like oh I I know these actors I

like these actors yeah if these people

have trained there I should probably

train that too yeah so again through

privilege and permission of my parents I

secured a place at the Strasbourg

Institute in LA

and uh not only that I also managed to

hustle my way into getting an

opportunity to to teach in the school uh

even before I graduated

so you earning money there I'm already

earning money there and you're really

holding your craft for being a teacher

correct because I declared on the on day

one of of uh picking my classes at the

Strasbourg Institute hey it's really

nice that you want to teach me acting

and all what I really want to do here is

I want to teach yeah and like

uh you can't I'm like why I've taught in

Singapore for a whole year of me being

this cocky 21 22 year old and they're

like um yeah you can't teach her I'm

like well what's the problem because you

don't know what we teach I'm like that's

a fair point and then we I said I I'm

not leaving this office until we can

find some sort of mid ground and the

administrator at the time said listen I

tell you what you pick your classes you

start your semester yeah

if you can complete the tour program we

can talk about you teaching that's it

works for me let's get the classes going

within about six to nine months I found

uh another Mentor who has also recently

just passed this year her name is Hedy

Sontag and she took me around her uh

under her wings and she said

um I'll teach you to teach what I teach

and she was at the time one of the last

few uh teachers Left Alive who Lee

Strasbourg get trained to teach right

and he said before I pass I want you to

know how I teach so that you can

continue my work and so she does a very

direct lineage from the Grand Master

himself and so in the grand Masters when

they taught all the all the levels

correct a star actors correct correct

and so uh she trained me and what would

happen is she would say Okay Camille in

the class you take the first two minutes

and then I'll teach and after the two

minutes she'll say come sit next to me

and she said okay this is what's working

this is what's not working like right

and then maybe next week okay come and

take five minutes of the of this class

and then again Tamil this is what's

working this is what's not working and

then slowly the time would increase to

the point where I would take uh half a

classes I would sometimes when she's

unwell I would be the substitute teacher

this is after you graduated this is

still while I'm while I'm studying

because you're a student teaching

student correct but you're teaching the

level ones there was there's no such

thing as level ones

okay okay so just a student taking over

to teach uh where the teacher was

supposed to be correcting and wow yeah

amazing and then what happened is uh by

the time the two-year program is done uh

and I go back to the office and I speak

to the administrator and she said

congratulations here's your your

certificate for finishing the program

and then I said great so you know let's

talk about the teacher yeah and then she

said oh aren't you already teaching here

yeah

and I went well yes I'm already teaching

here and she's great well you're

starting with your own classes on Monday

I'm like all right awesome so then I

started teaching then I taught that for

six years six years yeah oh my goodness

okay so very curious in life I believe

that if you want something you need to

reach for it you need to ask it if you

don't ask it nobody's going to offer you

teaching jobs and all that what gave you

the audacity to go and ask them as a

student I can teach what inside you says

that I know this is for me I just need

to find Opportunities I'm gonna just ask

I think it's one of the uh without

realizing them it's maybe one of the the

ethos of the of the entrepreneur which

is

your

there's a level of uh of willing to

gamble or or to play the high stakes

game a little bit it's all better it's

all bets entrepreneurship is all bets

right yeah and so here I am where I

don't have anything going on for me in

Singapore yeah I have this going on for

me in in La I'm pretty okay at it why

not throw the dice and see what happens

and to be honest also maybe it's the

courage of being by myself in the states

um understanding that uh what have I got

to lose the worst thing they'll do is

say no and then go back to Singapore

okay yeah

um let's just throw the dice and there

is something in the air in the water in

the states that gives you the confidence

to to have those conversations to make

those risks to to say so what if I feel

I can try again tomorrow yeah yeah

beautiful I hope that that air and water

comes to Singapore yeah that's the new

water that we really need okay so after

that and you you started teaching for

six years so you have two two kind of

two paths right one is the teaching one

is the actual acting path how did the

acting path go for you so

um to your viewers at home with the face

that looks like this uh in Post 9 11

America

[Laughter]

uh you know yesterday's headlines are

going to be tomorrow's stories and so

what happens is uh all the stories post

at 9 11 all had villains they basically

had this face

um they were typically Middle Eastern

terrorists for the record for the record

I am not Middle Eastern nor am I a

terrorist

um Jason you know me well enough to know

that I I'm not a violent person but any

stretch of the imagination and and yet

these are the roles that I would get and

so

um uh in a way

part of me as a young 20 something year

old was angry they'll get these roles

but I I grew up enough in my in my eight

years in L.A to realize that this is a

representation of how I might look but

it's not a representation of who I

actually am yeah and so once I learned

to separate that then I learned to

Advocate more for these stories and to

bring a level of maturity and depth to

these sorts of of roles where you know

it's very easy for anyone to

for an audience to say oh that's the

good guy and that's the best guy yes

especially for Disney especially for

Disney she's like bad guy ugly guy uh

conniving always laughs good guy uh

Pleasant uh blonde hair long flowing

locks you know Flawless skin Flawless

skin correct uh but they're changing it

now right yeah and and Beyond and the

reason and and part of uh how they're

changing it is that they're

understanding that life isn't so black

and white yeah and in the best parts of

life live in the nuances of the gray and

so

how do I bring a level of humanity to a

terrorist so it's not a terrorist is who

the liberal as but they're also

someone's father someone's son someone's

brother someone's cousin uh you know one

man's terrorist is another man's Freedom

Fighter yeah right how do I bring that

level of maturity and Humanity to to the

sorts of roles that I would have to play

right so again I'm as I'm acting I'm I'm

learning about life and I'm learning to

express myself in ways that I wouldn't

because in my daily life I'm not violent

I don't say vile things I I don't have

extremist views yeah but I get to live

these other lives and it doesn't cost me

anything I get to take on these risks

and explore my voice in other capacities

and doesn't hurt me right

um and so then as I'm acting I'm growing

as a human being but as I'm acting I'm

growing as a teacher because I can say

Hey listen these are things that I'm

actually experiencing let me tell you

about them these are things that you

will face when you go into the industry

let me teach you about what to

anticipate right these are things that

you need to do in order to navigate the

business of Show Business let me teach

you and so I was somewhat able to to

straddle the two right yeah I realized

that uh I was watching uh I think

Matthew mcconney I don't know how do you

pronounce it and

um he shared about his

um this whole idea of sterile

stereotyping and here's rom-com all the

way right and he wanted to break out and

he said that he couldn't so for many

many years he he just

he just turned down offer after offer

big offers like a couple Millions couple

minutes one I think was nine million

which is no so then after then he did

other things then he did so well in

other things like Stella and other and

he he broke out that stereotype but it

was very painful many many years for him

so what you're telling me sometimes if

I'm if I'm thinking about it if even

when uh Michelle yo who just won the

Grammys uh second one second one Globes

Golden Globes not no Grams

um premises for music

so when Michelle yo won that

um she was she but she has been acting

for what 20 over years more than that so

a huge number of years so this whole

idea that sometimes that stereotype

just sticks and it's not necessarily A

Bad Thing it can't come out you can't

like it's difficult because it's just

basically the environment that we're in

the marketplace so for you in that area

it if I were putting myself in your

position

I want to act but I'm always given these

roles

how do you fight that or do you just go

with it or do you say that

what was on your mind because that if I

were in a position that would be in a

big blow for me in my dreams ever since

I watched that Deadpool Society I

thought I could be anybody but because

of my face I can't

then why don't you just stop in this

like what what made you just carry on

but don't get me wrong I I definitely

had many many conversations over my

eight years there like maybe I should

pack it up maybe I should go home what

am I doing here yeah and

um part of

um uh one of the wake-up calls that I

had was my very first agent that I got

in L.A would send me out consistently

for these uh Middle Eastern terrorist

roles and then he said oh you got a

beard you look a bit like olive skin

dark skin yeah let's you know I'm gonna

send you up for pedophile roles rapist

roles uh maybe how do you feel when you

when when he said that when he first

said that I was really at first I was

like oh cool I'm getting work and then

at least work right at least nothing

compared to nothing right and then then

it became your third job is going to be

the same thing the fourth job the fifth

job the sixth audition the seventh

audition and it got to the print where I

was increasingly getting really angry

because I couldn't separate myself from

the work that I was doing yeah and then

it got to the point where

I still remember this I I called him up

one day and I said I don't want to be

sent off with these sorts of roles

anymore I am more than just this uh you

know I'm I'm a trained actor I believe I

can and he was just very very quiet at

the end of the phone call he said listen

when you grow up you call me back oh my

goodness and then he hung up on me and

then I wanted to how dare you hang up

the meat I'm the one who's angry with

you but of course you'd already have so

I didn't say that I saw just raging in

my house and

um and I was like well then you know

what screw him I'll do it my own way and

I didn't work for about six to eight

months

uh as an actor I mean and so then I

began to twiddle my thumbs I'm like

[ __ ] maybe he's got a point yeah and

then I began to realize that in his very

harsh way of communicating to me about

growing up part of that growing up is to

not take it so personally it is an

extension of how I look but it's not who

I am

um is it something that I could be

trapped in Forever potentially but hey

I'm still a working actor at the end of

the day but also same with the Matthew

McConaughey story to bring it back to

what you're saying is eventually if you

prove to be so good at one thing yeah

someone else might go hey you're really

good at this one thing yeah I'm willing

to throw the dice with you yes and say

hey can you do something else which is

what happened to him and so same thing

for me I I basically realized I need to

grow up and then I did more of those

things and then people said hey you're

not bad at this thing yeah do you want

to try something else and then I got to

do other things that filled my soul that

helped me Express other facets of my

skill sets yeah

so I like to say that in in life and in

business you could you need to

manufacture luck

and the only way you need to you can

manufacture luck is to put yourself in

positions where

the potential three levels away was

really going to hire you next time is

going to be there looking at you so when

you manufacture luck you try to be as

open as possible to every opportunity

and no matter how big or small but

you're always in the right place and

your sale is always up and you're just

waiting and one day that will come so

for you would you say that for once you

did that and all that because there are

two professions you're actually juggling

to professions one is acting one is

teaching and both it seems that you

really are very passionate about what

happened in the end and after that how

do you even come back to Singapore why

not just stay there and continue pushing

for acting and and teaching

so

having then been in the states for about

eight years I began to realize okay I'm

sort of reaching the peak of where I can

go as as a teacher yeah as an actor I'm

like okay I'm getting roles that are

beyond what I've been stereotyped as but

I'm also fully aware that the big

picture is at the end of the day I'm a

foreigner in a foreign land yeah and the

goal was always at some point in my life

to come back to Singapore to open my own

studio in my head the magic number was

when I was 45 years old and I'd say okay

I come back when I'm 45 years old this

will be my quote-unquote retirement plan

right and then I'll I'll die

facilitating a workshop or something uh

what had happened was when I was uh 30 I

had the opportunity to help start and

and produce the first ever asean Film

Festival it was the first time that all

10 countries came together and this was

in Malaysia uh in in Kuching Malaysia so

oh uh delegate from all 10 countries

came filmed from all 10 countries came

uh workshops in all 10 countries came

um we we had Michelle yo as the very

first VIP for this Festival as well uh

so to try and pull all of this together

it required me to then knock on doors

make phone calls and say Hey listen

you're from uh the Malaysian film Market

you're from the typhoon Market we'd like

to you know uh pay for your flight for

your hotel we want you to send your

films and send some delegates from your

Film Community to this Festival would

you be interested same thing with

Singapore yeah and in making these calls

and knocking on doors it became a case

of who the hell are you and why should I

trust you what makes you how do I know

there's not some sort of sham Festival

um and I had to sort of like Pony and

say hey this is some level of

credibility that I have from working in

La uh and then like oh so you teach and

you act uh you can open the acting

school I'm yes I am when I'm 45 yeah oh

well if you really want you should open

one now I'm like okay thank you for your

feedback I'm really here to get you to

come join this festival and then I had

the same repetitive conversation again

and again and again wow why

there was a sense of a dissatisfaction

that I felt on the ground in 2013 where

um how can we begin to up our game to I

guess the gold standard of of Hollywood

at the time or the gold standard of say

Hong Kong films at the time yeah and

there were no real Avenues where actors

could really train or get uh the level

of

uh uh accessibility to these these sorts

of training opportunities Beyonce degree

programs right so then not everyone

wants to do that not everyone can do

that not everyone has the privilege to

to fly over to fly over or even to

dedicate three four years of their time

training here because they've still got

to put food on the table yeah and so uh

I was like okay thank you for the

feedback

um about opening school now and it

happened so many times to the point

where they don't know you and they did

know me other than this is these are my

credentials right so you you felt that

that it's almost like they're looking

for a savior

maybe maybe and you know to looking for

why don't you save the film festival and

save the acting and theater community in

Asia and do that and train people

what you know when you when you put it

like that maybe then I I I I put myself

yeah yeah yeah

um it it is it's okay I don't I don't

want to use the word save it because

it's a loaded word right but it's um it

definitely gave me a sense that okay

maybe I do have a place here maybe

there's demand there maybe there is a

demand

um I have shown up with the credibility

of the history of my work yeah this is

sort of like building and bringing your

own creating your own luck correct yes

so to me create your own luck I boiler

down to credibility and visibility right

so then this is The credibility of

everything I've done up till now yeah

this is the visibility of I'm knocking

your doors I'm making the phone calls

I'm honoring You by wanting to give you

this opportunity yeah and then sort of

like a quid pro quo sort of situation so

then it happens so many times that um

after the festival was done I knew that

my only choice was to not go back to LA

okay stay in Singapore and then open my

own Studio okay so yeah and you had no

you you had experience in teaching yep

and acting yep but no experience in

business zero absolutely zero yeah so

that's the thing a lot of people who are

extremely passionate it's okay to being

a freelancer because everything else is

taken care of by other people you're

just doing that one thing if you're

setting up a studio you're doing

everything yep

that is a very steep learning curve yes

and it's painful yes yeah so why not

just a freelance for somebody in

Singapore that has a studio

because I knew that's not what I wanted

and also I tried it out without without

naming the institution I said okay I've

started my studio it's still the early

days I have enough benefits let me just

sort of try out teaching in some of the

locals that's the safest way to try out

your passion right freelance for

somebody don't set up a whole thing

don't get rent and all that and you

tried it out why didn't you carry on

because I very quickly found myself

turning to the kind of teacher that I

hated which is uh because it's at the

end of the day uh an academic

institution right that's uh Bound by the

rules of the Ministry of Education so

and so forth so you've got boxes to

check I got boxes to check I got reports

to do I I became the teacher you know if

you don't come to class I have to fail

you and that wasn't the system that I

was again exposed to in L.A it was

either you show up or the industry will

eat you alive yeah either you you work

hard or the industry in your life and a

grade or diploma or degree doesn't

actually matter in the audition room

yeah it doesn't actually matter when

you're on set when you're on stage it's

either you can do it or you can't and

again it's it's smart and hard work that

consistency and repetition of effort

showing up even when you don't feel like

it's showing up when you even when you

don't know what you're doing just keep

chipping away and so

because I became I started feeling I was

turning to the kind teacher that I hated

okay tried it not for me I'm gonna go

100 into really building my own space

where people are not bound by grades

they're not bound by the structure of

you must do X number of classes in order

to graduate with a diploma right I

created my own slice of essentially LA

with my own Studio cool yeah so yeah but

then all the headache of being a

business owner comes in sure right okay

so so if I want to try to help everybody

understand what that passion is that you

had and now they've set up a studio and

all that passion is three things firstly

is interest that you're able to talk

about it and looks like you're able to

talk about it a lot right you had

mentors that can teach you that

knowledge and you are able to bend to it

and talk about

um

that's passion interest second one is

strengths right

um when you were doing all these things

besides Julia

did other people

pinpoint that that actually you are a

natural or did you look at yourself and

like I'm a natural what was it

it was

um over the course of my life I'm uh I'm

very fortunate to have benefited from uh

the kindness and generosity of mentors

okay

um sometimes they're mentors of my

choosing like Julia and Hedy yeah

um and I have another Mentor fortunately

she's still alive her name is Claudette

and then I these are these are mentors

of my choosing right and then I've had

mentors who've come into my life who

despite say for example we we go back a

little bit into the Singapore education

system uh where teachers would say you

know what Camille

I know that if you really apply yourself

you can do it I know you've got the

potential yeah when 99 of everyone in

sales everyone else says you're a

failure you cannot make it one person

says I believe in you I know you can do

it all it takes is one person yeah and

that and I've been really fortunate that

enough people have said that enough

times where you begin to to go okay they

can't all be wrong yeah right and

especially it's

people don't believe you are typically

very dismissive of you they don't hold

space for you people who do believe in

you will take the time to make sure that

hey I'm planting the seed I don't know

where it's gonna go but I need you to

know this and then they walk away right

uh I've benefited from that wow yeah so

so when it comes to this idea that you

have mentors and this is a very

interesting thing a lot of times if you

want to be good in your craft like like

let's say you're passionate about

whatever it is you want to be good in

your craft you need to find people who

are willing to teach you you become

student right and if you didn't have

those mentors uh in your life what would

have happened

sliding doors right who knows yeah

but you know then I I put it back to you

right what was that moment where you had

someone who planted that seed in you and

you went

yeah that finally has given me that

click moment that light bulb moment what

what would be that moment for you

so I think that for me when when it

comes to

understanding myself and it's difficult

because when I look at myself I mean

I've been trying out different things

all my life 32 different jobs and

businesses difficult for me to

understand like so some people say I'm

good in this but then I actually didn't

like it some people said I'm

uh yeah some people some people say that

I I would be very good in this other

thing but then like I kind of like

passionate but not passionate so if I

reflect on my own life I would say that

um it was a lot on on on me when I when

I was thinking like so what do I really

want and and can I just

super cliche but follow my heart and

what really resonated with me even

though everybody told me that it was not

gonna work up right you won't be good in

this you won't be this how do you know

you have no you have no psychology

background what is you have no Masters

in this how can you be a coach and all

that so a lot of people don't say that

but I think there's one thing I would

say that

I think it comes back down to what you

just mentioned that

it is it is somebody sowing that seed

and and for me it's it's teachers it's

the my principal it's it's people who

like yeah actually you're good in there

and when they saw that seed the funny

thing is they don't know where that seed

is gonna go they just believe in you

they don't know what is the outcome that

you're gonna do are you gonna be a

politician are you gonna be uh a baker

they don't know but they say that

you got something go for it and those

small things together with my

just the the confidence that I have that

maybe I'm built for greatness I'm built

for something more and and the funny

thing is that I believe that this whole

idea of um this Jewish proverb that

seeking you shall find and I've been

seeking and I found it so it's a lot of

I would say there's a lot of me just

trying to figure out and like okay I

think all these things kind of like it

feels right it feels like I'm in the

flow I feels like I'm built for this

like an eagle Eagle that's flying in

ostrich just running a penguin and

swimming right it's just you know it's

all right for them and and and that was

the feeling I had and there was also

that idea that there was a lot of seeds

that people believe in you they don't

know what the hell you're gonna do in

the future but they believe in you and

and

yeah that's for me which is which is

interesting when you when you ask me the

question it's not so much of you're

going to be a good actor it's just that

you have potential for greatness there's

something inside to you that the world

needs go figure

and that can be enough

more often times it's more than which is

weird yeah it's it's weird because it's

not career directing yeah but it's

almost Destiny calling yeah

it pulls you out to say that you have

something to offer and you can be a

lighthouse to the world but you've got

to figure out what the heck it's going

to be

for use acting for me is coaching at

this point of time can I can I share

something with you in

um So within my studio uh and within the

various facilitation things that I do uh

yes I I use acting as the medium and and

and the main focus is how do I teach you

to be a better actor or within the

corporate world using acting tools to to

get a promotion get a promotion be a

better leader blah blah blah

but you'd be surprised that before I can

even teach them those tools and skills

I'm spending a large majority of time

doing two things one is giving people

psychological safety and then once they

have psychological safety the next thing

I'm doing is reminding them that they've

always had permission

and it's just that it's been so clouded

by

crap yes and anxiety and society and

unfortunately it's the people places and

things that love you the most that have

also kept you Bound in a box yes and so

I'm saying okay this box has kept you

alive and out of jail yeah but it's also

dulled your fire a little bit big time

how can we respect that fire and all it

takes is for me to say Hey listen you

know you've always had that fire

how do you want to live it up what do

you want to do I believe in you I'm

proud of you yeah and it's just I

believe you and I'm proud I'm proud of

you proud of you

suddenly you see light bulbs go off and

like I'm ready I'm ready coach I'm ready

what do you want to do where are we

going to go what store are you going to

do you know um that's that's the

strangest thing

the word I believe in you it's so vague

but yet so cutting at the same time yes

yes yes I have no idea why I mean once

we had I mean what we're chatting with

this would be like

people who say that to other people

have no clue that they are just putting

seats in their life that will Sprout

maybe in 30 years yeah or not at all

which is also okay or not at all if you

don't take the risk yes yeah and but

it's a it's a powerful thing so teachers

in your position in my position as

coaches uh even in teachers in school

huge part to play even parents as well

absolutely that I believe in you you

have a call in your life you have a

destiny in your life I have zero clue

what it's gonna be but I know that if

you seek it you will find it and you

will be that light

it's my my genuine belief that when one

is is in a position of authority and

Leadership yeah

um automatically your job is to be an

activist

and when I say an activist is

what are you doing to activate that

person to be the best version of

themselves and if you're not then you

really shouldn't be in the position of

leadership because you are only

contributing to dulling that person

totally agree so coming back that sounds

like the third one when it comes to when

it comes to Passion there is also the

idea of

if I am doing what I love to do it also

needs to live out a value that I have I

value something so for me I value

greatness so being a coach I see people

at their potential they can be so much

better I'm living up my my value of

greatness because I believe not in

myself I believe that I have something

to offer the world apparently every

single person in my workshop with my

coaching has something to offer you just

need to unlock it they may be an eagle

that's running and they're like

something is wrong yeah

don't run anymore try flying yeah so for

you what is that value that every day

you look forward to Mondays rather than

you know normal people Everyone Else

most of the time they look forward to

Fridays Thank God It's Friday what is

that value that you're pushing that like

this is me this is my life this gives me

meaning and purpose what is it is is

that the one that you calling out that

that the same thing

so so

um I'll make it selfish for a moment

okay uh the thing that I I I I feed off

the most so to speak I get I Get High of

it is

um is the light bulb moment it's what

did I do today that helped to activate

you and you can very clearly tell when

the light bulb has gone on for someone

yes and it and it doesn't matter how old

how young someone is is when you have

that light bulb moment it's it's it's

it's just a great Rush of dopamine in

the system so I I feed off the level

moments and that gives me the the the

motivation to show up on a Monday when I

don't want to show up on a Monday yeah

um but within the workshop spaces that I

that I'm in I what it helps me and

reminds me of my purpose yes and and how

do I get people into that space where

they can create these light bulb moments

for themselves is understanding that

we're all basically uh made up of

stories

um there's a good way of looking at it

yeah memory stories yeah right like

right now your hair is a story about you

your glasses are stored with you this

robe is a story about you the way the

fact that you wear black I think every

day every day it's a story about you

right and so what is the story that

you're putting out there and then what

are the choices that you're making to

help Elevate that story so that more

people know about it or that you're

telling it in a better in a different

way and because when you are aware of

your story yeah then you can be aware of

how to tell your story and then you can

be aware of how to tell your story

better yes and so the light bulb moment

comes to me doing one of these three

things for people because people are

typically one of these three stages I

don't know my story or I don't know how

to tell my story or I don't know how to

tell my story better better and so I'm

doing one of these three things and it's

typically one of these three stages that

the light bulb will always go off the

light will go off the light bulb will go

off yeah

um and and that gives me my level so

it's a again it's like an exchange again

it's an exchange yeah I do believe that

uh human beings are somewhere in our DNA

in our nature it is about service to

another person it's always about that

it's always about helping somebody

serving somebody no matter where you are

that's always one of the one of the main

drives that we have but but serve what

so yours is stories mine is great it's

kind of similar and the Beautiful Thing

interesting is that it sounds like in

the corporate world they love this

because it's all about branding are you

branding yourself well but if I'm quiet

and I think about it and I'm somebody

who has not much confidence in my life

and I go to something like somebody like

you and you tell me I have a story and

maybe I don't believe it at a start

right but you are in that level of

authority that you believe it so that

because you believe it okay I think he's

I think I'll believe it just a plan

that's it again right exactly just

because of that and

it's when when you share that it's

almost like there's so many stories that

are hidden because they are fearful of

what that story shows or they don't know

whether that is the right story and it

could be the mistakes that they have in

their life that that was the biggest

story than the success they have so when

it comes to this it's almost like you

are a person that is helping them look

through the movies of their life and

look through where it is and and picking

the brightest spots and say that is you

even though those dark moments that is

you also but the brightest box are those

are you then let's see how we can tell

it better right and then I'm giving you

the spotlight yes

time to step into the spotlight yeah

yeah so interestingly when I do coaching

one one thing that especially in our

society now we are very cognitive that

means we're always about thinking that

is who we are the emotion and the body

we don't really bother about it at work

sometimes it's like leave your emotions

out the door right right but I do

believe that just just your thoughts

the whole person needs both yes

everything you need the emotions you

need to understand your emotions you

need to feel it as well so confident

person who is closed up

is not telling the right story even

though he's confident so how would you

like

do you see that that everybody comes in

like everything is up here forget about

my emotions forget about my stories this

is silly usually usually those are the

people who sometimes will turn right

there are people like ah I don't know my

company just sent me this right right

right what would what would you think

about like if if a human being is just

all cognitive or thinking forget about

emotions forget about body

what happens you have an imbalance uh

and then what happens is because you're

operating in a system that is uh not in

Balance then what happens is

um you you have an atrophy of the body

yeah because I don't care about it

because you don't care about it okay and

you think oh I don't need to be I don't

need to use my emotion at work I don't

need to use my body at work let me just

use my brain yes or you're over using

this one muscle and under using

everything else yeah but the reality is

is this is 10 of the entire instrument

that you can tune and play with and at a

certain point if this string breaks the

whole system has collapsed but if I know

how to tune my whole instrument and play

with all five seven strings yeah in one

string breaks I can still play anyway

yeah and so uh part of uh of

understanding okay sure I might operate

with only one string yeah how can I dust

off the other five six strings and

understand that okay it is easier for me

to always play with the one string yeah

but I now have the ability to slowly toy

around with these other five six other

strings and then slowly slowly I get

more comfortable with playing with the

other strings and then again it's all

just muscles it's all muscles that you

have atrophied or have been turned off

for a long period of time yeah

eventually you learn to get comfortable

with those muscles and then your system

learns to be more uh in Balance yeah so

you're not dependent on just the one

thing the problem is the system becomes

more balanced yes yes your system

becomes more balanced because you

understand that I'm not just the mental

intellectual I am the physical and vocal

yes I am the spiritual emotional

psychological person yeah I am also part

of the person that needs to practice

self-care and self-soothing and and

recharging my batteries in whatever way

shape or form I am all of these things

I'm not just the one thing yeah uh and

it's just part of part of my story to

them is sort of you know acting one of

the many definitions of acting is is

turning a mirror up to Nature right so

then I'm sending a mirror to you and say

Hey listen Jason are you aware that

based on what I've seen yeah you're only

using one string are you aware you've

got all these other strings a lot of

times they're not aware or

they they have been told or there's some

sort of tape playing in the back of

their mind that oh I really shouldn't be

playing with these four other strings I

can only play with the one string right

right and then it's again given the

psychological safety yeah and either

giving them the permission or reminding

them they always had permission to play

with all yeah and then let's create

these low stakes High return

environments yeah where like coaching

environments like Workshop spaces where

if you fail so what yeah right and then

then so that you also don't build this

umbilical cord to the workshop or to the

coaching then in your own personal life

your own professional life with your

loved ones who understand you will

support you no matter what unconditional

love can you give them can you create

opportunities low stakes High return

where with your say with your wife hey

I'm going to be trying out a different

way of communicating with you everything

I have not right here correct correct

you know uh if I end up being more

emotional understand that it's a

reflection of me trying out something

new yeah

um if you'd see me going back to my old

patterns give me some feedback I trust

you and I love you enough that you'll

give me the honest feedback right and

again people develop the ability to go

oh actually using these other muscles it

doesn't hurt and actually it feels

better and it's more sustainable yes yes

and then then yeah

yes yeah it's more authentic and but you

it's been suppressed yes and then you

slowly slowly bleed that into your

professional life and other aspects of

your personal life yeah when I see when

I see people who are extremely logical

yeah right

I see that there's one part that just

doesn't push out what they really mean

so even like for example when if you

want to influence somebody and you're on

stage you're trying to get somebody to

go from this side to this side could be

a leader it could be a team project

manager and all that and if you are just

monotonous and just talking

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somehow rather there is it doesn't

affect the people

to a point where I have the unction to

move at all but if you start to use

everything

it is just something that is that it's

almost like that is the that's the way

human beings are supposed to be built I

buy them and that's the funny thing is

it's almost like um

we have lost it in culture we've lost it

in society and besides acting and all

that I don't see it's the only other way

I can think about a human being going to

that the idea of emotions and all that

is to going into either therapy where we

need to get in touch with our emotions

or religion and it's a lot more like

where's the energy you feel in order so

you are creating a space where it's

almost like people need it but they

don't know they need it and acting is a

way that they can actually bring forth

that balance of like not only your

thoughts your emotions also your body

beautiful and even going back to that

person who's not fully engaged with

their sharing that monotony either in in

Voice or body or whatever it is there's

a principle within acting is when you're

interested you're interesting and and

that level of of Interest comes in not

just the message the intellectual

message

in everything every aspect of your

instrument and delivering exactly that

message so that's why when we were

younger uh in primary school a teacher

that is just using their logic to teach

doesn't buy us over right but a teacher

who has the fire in their eyes they they

have that body language that just comes

out of nowhere I don't know who maybe

maybe this is really interested in that

topic yep we get A's for that yep yep

naturally yeah so it's almost that

influence that people are using only one

street out of seven and it's reset okay

so uh we're gonna we we I wanna hear

from you

um now you know that passion and people

have many different passions is this

your passion for the rest of your life

or is it maybe something else

this is it this is it baby this is like

you know again all in baby right right

it really is uh look at um no because

people change and I can't have different

passions yeah so I had passion last time

as a logo designer and I had passion

with Mark uh playing songs on the

streets of Orchard Road but it changed

to coaching and all that but for you how

come

it look this is this is this is not to

say that

um my my business might evolve I might

evolve I might learn new tools and

skills but that's around here but it

will always be around the idea of what

is your story how can I help you tell

your story how can help you tell it

better right

um and whether it's my own story as an

actor whether it's my own whether it's

the stories of others as a director

whether it's my own story or whether

it's other people's stories it's

facilitated it's always around story and

and the The Exchange and the transaction

of story got it got it um I I think that

will always be the uh regardless of

whatever form it takes so it might take

a different form but the core uh

ingredient will always be there 100 okay

100 because we're all made of stories

yeah yeah yeah it's a different way of

looking at it uh so I hear I've heard

before that we're all made up memories

so for example with you and your

children for me and my children for

example it is the trying to create those

memories and the way I was saying is

trying to create those stories and what

it means to that person so hopefully it

means good

all right so one last thing I love life

hacks I love life hacks and I want

something practical that you feel that

let's say

in everything that you've learned all

these instruments and all that what is

one thing I can just what is one thing

one life hack that you can share with me

share with the audience that hey you

know if you do this

it's going to be a lot more better it's

not a lot better in terms of results or

whatever it is can I share two sure okay

so uh within the world of acting uh one

of the the big beliefs that we have is

uh in your choices lies your talent no

one will really be able to see how

talented you are unless you make a

really strong consistent Justified

Choice okay and the stronger more

consistent and Justified the choice the

easier it is for me to go ah I want to

cast you oh ah yes I want to promote you

okay and so

um one of the ways in which we can help

ourselves before going into that

interview room before going to the

audition room is very often we're

bringing the chaos of our outside lives

yeah into that uh that that room that

interview room where it really matters

yeah and that could be as simple as I I

ran here from from the bus or is it

going to be late because I'm going to be

late and I'm anxious and I'm anxious

that's one or two even if you came on

time typically what are most people

doing on buses or trains or in the

waiting rooms trying to reach

and just this posture is the posture of

begging and weakness

right all right and and you're you're

literally training your body's

biochemistry yes to be weak and beg and

then you're going into this room where

you're expected to be this best version

of yourself who are you kidding I mean

why would you do that difficult put your

phone away yeah and take a couple

moments just be present ground yourself

in what you're about to do and what that

and I know you might you might hear that

all the time like you know especially in

the workplace be present be present what

does that actually look like it could be

as simple as as box breathing which is

inhale for four hold for four out for

four inhale for four again okay so

that's box breathing or another version

is inhale for four hold for seven out

for eight okay so that's one way to just

get present and as I get present what I

can begin to do is

can I visualize in a high definition

sort of way what does this audition look

like the best version of this audition

look like what is the best version of

this interview look like yeah and not

just again intellectual don't play with

the one string of oh I want a good

interview yeah it is can I play with all

strings can I can I see Smiles can I

hear laughter can I feel the handshake

can I hear phrases like yes you're the

person we've been looking for yeah can I

make it sensorial because all those

memories all those stories are sincere

that's why it sticks with us yeah so why

not create these these vision boards in

your movie in your mind that are

sensorial so so it's it's the grounded

breathing yeah it's that sensorial high

definition intention right uh now I'm

cheating I'm gonna give you the third

one and the third one is it's okay if

you're anxious it's okay if you're

nervous understand that there's a very

very quick hack that you can do to to

reset the body okay and all you got to

do is blown your left thumb

you kidding me no I'm not so the next

time that your nervous anxious yeah and

typically that manifests with like or

short breaths or short breaths or like

hi um I'm Camille all right uh when you

blow on your left thumb yeah what you're

doing is you're activating a nerve in

your body called the vagus nerve

v-a-g-o-s and you can look it up it is

the longest nerve in the human body it

controls your parasympathetic functions

in short like we don't do the science it

controls your heart and lungs and so by

blowing in your left thumbnail you're

activating your heart to slow it down

you're activating your lungs to go okay

let's get in control of our breath yeah

and so just this you're now getting

yourself more centered I've coached

people to do this before they go into

the room I've coached people where if I

for example if I had a pen uh yes so

tell me more about what's next for the

work here so I'm disguising it with the

pen in my hand yeah and I'm blowing on

my left thumb you have no idea blue

means that I am just

just

blowing it yeah

that's it and and all you're doing is

you're activating it mind you if you

were to Google how to activate your

vagus nerve online there are hundreds of

ways for example dipping it in a glass

of cold water okay I don't think I want

to do that in a meeting or an audition

so it's the most

um most discreet way great way you can

Center yourself correct

interesting breathing in high definition

tension high definition and then thumbs

up cool down the system I like the the

the fact that you said that the posture

usually is begging mode and and so the

beautiful thing what I understand in

terms of body uh where it connects to

emotions and your mind you can either

switch your mind and your body will

follow correct but the other way is also

true when you switch your body

just by doing this or do some things we

call it the power Superman stands for a

few seconds it switches your emotion and

it switches your mind as well so it's

actually link all linked because it's

all five strings just play play with the

whole instrument don't play with

one-fifth of your instrument that is

true that's true all right thank you

thank you so much Camille for being on

this show

um any last words that you want to share

with people especially

if they're trying to just go for a

passion they have in their Arts do they

need to let's say I I really want to try

this out

but I got issues with my mortgage and

things like that I got practicality and

for me Arts even though it's a passion

uh it's going to be a passion and I'm

going to just die like that so anything

that you want to share

that it's okay if you need to prioritize

putting food in the table and and making

sure that your bills are paid yeah

that's okay it's

um

understanding that

um in different seasons of your life you

prioritize different things but if this

is something that you really want to do

yeah it may not be to the level that you

envisions like I want to be the next

Oscar blah blah blah blah blah blah

um the definition of amateur and very

often people have uh um it comes with a

lot of negative connotations to be an

amateur but the the root of being an

amateur is the love of something and so

even if you never get to the

Professional Standards that you set up

yeah then become a professional amateur

Do It For the Love of it yeah in the in

the pockets of spaces that you have

build conversations with people that

that allow you to keep that that fire

burning and Alive because the last thing

you want to do is okay I've put food on

the table I've got my bills paid and now

I'm 65 and I'm getting ready to retire

or if only I had yes I wish I had

why wait there there are ways to do both

yeah

um it's just can you reconcile that it

may not be to the level that you want it

to be but you still get to keep that

flame alive better alive than dead yeah

yeah I hear that quite often when it

comes to

you don't have to be a pro pro you can

be a person that just is able to live

out that passion it might not be for

whatever practical reasons it might not

be your career career but if you don't

if you don't do that there's something

missing in your life you will that that

but if you do that that overflow

something will be brighter in your life

everything else will be brighter because

you were able to engage the passion that

you have correct awesome all right so

thank you so much Camille for your time

here and for the rest of us uh if I want

to try to find you where do I find you

uh you can find me on my Studio's

website yes

methodactingasia.com okay

um or you can find me on Instagram at

kamhaq k-a-m-h-a-q okay thank you thank

you for your time man thank you

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