TIFFANY WONG
Tiffany is an actor and emerging theatre-maker in Sydney. Recently graduating from the University of Sydney, she has also undertaken the Actors Residency at NIDA. Tiffany has performed in this year’s Sydney Festival and has previously appeared in Sydney Comedy Festival and Sydney Fringe. As a student, she performed with Sydney University’s Dramatic Society, UTS Backstage, Impresario’s Players, USYD Womn’s Revue and Commerce Revue and Ryde Youth Theatre. Tiffany is committed to promoting and supporting other Asian artists through Slanted Theatre, which would have had its first production in May. Tiffany is a proud member of Actors Equity.
MORE FROM TIFFANY:
Website - http://tiffanywongtw.com/
Showcast - https://app.showcast.com.au/profile/tiffanywong
Asian Actor Club - https://www.facebook.com/groups/608471593410889/
Virtual Actors Studio - https://www.facebook.com/virtualactorsstudio/
Q&A
1. How have you been keeping up with your acting during isolation?
I thought acting in isolation was going to be extremely difficult, but I’ve found that I have more resources and classes available to me as I’ve been able to ‘travel’ the world via Zoom to access them. My highlights have been learning about the Hagen process with ActTrue, Miami, studying with the Actors in Action Conservatory in Film and Theatre in Utah, and learning French through improvisation in Vancouver!
I’ve also started up two initiatives. One is still new and only in its second week - the Virtual Acting Studio. This isn’t a class but more like an online rehearsal space. We’ve had attendees from Australia, Canada, the UK, the Philippines and Israel! The idea is that we look at different acting teachers and some of their exercises so when we go back to the outside world, we know what sort of acting theories we want to explore! We’re currently looking at some of Meisner’s repetition exercises – initially, I thought it was a little bit weird acting through a screen, but now I find it’s really useful to put my attention on my scene partner and I’m looking forward at doing a Meisner class when the classes open up in Sydney again!
The second is a Facebook group called the Asian Actor Club. This started as I was talking to another Asian actor about how sometimes it feels like we’re in constant competition for the same roles! I started this Facebook group to find other Asian Actors around the globe and share our experiences and hopefully, to build a community of support. Since starting this group, we’ve been able to have online talks from talent agents and we run online sessions of simulated auditions and cold reads! We’re now on our second #selftapesaturday where members are invited to post a self-tape so we can give each other feedback.
2. Who's your biggest motivator?
My biggest motivators are the acting teachers I read about and learn from and more importantly, the passion that they share with us when teaching the craft of acting. I’m currently watching documentaries on Uta Hagen and Sanford Meisner on YouTube and every time I hear a point that I connect with, I get excited! Before isolation, I was taking some classes with Tracey Kay in the Nobbs Suzuki Praxis – physical theatre has always interested me, and Tracey brings so much enthusiasm to her classes that I can’t wait to go back! I love the feeling of discovery and learning and accomplishing! That’s why acting is so amazing because every time you explore it, there is something new to explore – a new character, a new approach, or even a new playwright I’ve never read!
3. What's the best advice you've received?
Over the years, I’ve received so much advice but the one that still sticks out to me is that at the end of the day, acting is a job, so you have to strike a healthy balance between your work and the rest of your life.
I was trying to dedicate all my energy to finding audition opportunities, updating my showreel or website and just using every moment of my day to improve my knowledge and craft. I still tend to obsess a little bit too much but now I enforce non-acting days where I can just be me – resting or catching up with friends and family. A lot of our acting is informed by real lived experiences, but when I was obsessing over my job so much, I wasn’t having any of those experiences and it was also not very healthy for me! I’ve heard Benedict Cumberbatch is in character from Monday to Friday and on the weekends he’s not! So that’s something I would like to aim for, doing all my acting from Monday to Friday like a full-time job and having a rest on the weekends. I know there are a bunch of acting techniques out there which are about being your character in your home space and exploring them in daily life, and that’s cool – I do them too! I just hope that we, as actors, can also take some time out to be ourselves instead of our character.
4. Where do you draw inspiration from?
I find that almost anything can spark some inspiration but it’s easiest when I’m already in a ‘theatre’ mindset, i.e. watching a filmed version of one of the National Theatre’s production while in isolation or using one of Laban’s movements (which I like to do in my spare time) to create a character! I’ve also started getting inspired by silly jokes or videos that appear on my news feed, particularly for scenes or characters that I might want to play or create, so I try and have a piece of paper handy to write all the ideas down!
