You’ve laughed at the antics of your favorite Sketchoff performers, been turned on by Sex in Vancouver, and tapped toes to Flower Drum Song. We’ve sat down with some of the talented VACTORS involved in these productions for entertaining, insightful and hilarious interviews. We are pleased to bring you: INSIDE THE VACTORS’ STUDIO.
Janet Ip and Lucas Walker, Actors from the Sex in Vancouver serial are highlighted this week.
Janet Ip as Shari Song Sheng in Sex in Vancouver
What VACT shows have you been in?
I have primarily been part of Sex in Vancouver. I was one of the few cast members that was part of all of the productions of Sex in Vancouver. We did several productions. I was pretty much involved from the very beginning of Sex in Vancouver right to the very end. That was over the course of five productions over two to three years.
What is an ideal role you’d like to do?
Honestly, I think one of the huge draws for me for Sex in Vancouver was the fact that it was an episodic comedy, and I’ve always kind of fantasized about being part of a sitcom like Friends. And for us, the cast of Sex in Vancouver, it was a lot like that because we had the same recurring roles in essentially different episodes, so it was like a romantic comedy involving couples, but also female friendships. So my personal feeling is that it mimics Friends more than probably Sex and the City which it was supposed to be loosely based on. For myself, that was always a fantasy and what I like about performing in plays is that you interact with an audience. I think you sort of get that same kind of feeling when you’re doing a TV sitcom. That’s why I enjoyed it so much.
What does VACT mean to you?
VACT, I think, was something really special, when I first started. The way that I got involved, is that I first heard about it because at the time I was auditioning and looking for opportunities to act in theatre. And if you look at most of the theatre in Vancouver, a lot of it is very much a lot of old English, a lot of plays that I think are really limiting for people of different ethnicities to play in. You look at a British play from the 1940s; I don’t think that you’re going to have Asian or any kind of visible minority characters. And so when I first saw that there was an audition in the paper, and I think it was in the Georgia Straight, it was called F.O.B. That was the first production. It was a play by David Henry Hwang. And that kind of drew me in because I was thinking, well I’m Asian Canadian and I can totally play this role. I didn’t actually get any of the parts, but that’s how I think Joyce first heard of me. It’s really this incredible opportunity for actors of Asian Canadian descent or a visible minority who don’t necessarily have a lot of opportunities in theatre and acting, to have an opportunity to perform in public and really get experience and gain that confidence you need to have as an actor.
What has been your most memorable VACT moment so far?
There are so many memorable moments. The one probably that sticks out the most, I think, is because the character I play in Sex in Vancouver is supposed to be kind of like Samantha from Sex and the City. Her name is Shari Song. She’s very sexual, she’s very aggressive and she’s not very nice. Some of the moments that I play on stage were moments that, I remember when I took my first acting class; one of the most challenging things for me was to act very sexual. And it was almost kind of ironic that I ended up getting cast in that kind of role five years later, that I really struggled with five years prior.
And one of the moments that was most memorable but also very challenging was the fact that I was pretty much wearing lingerie on the stage. And it was a silent scene, but it was myself and Zen Shane Lim who played my husband Kenneth, and it was supposed to be a very moving kind of romantic sexual moment between the two of us where I’m literally stripped down to lingerie and he’s really stripped down into his shorts and essentially we had to play off a very sexy, romantic scene. I would never imagine myself in that kind of moment, and that’s one of the things I remember – the panic of how I would appear on stage and having friends and family see me in this kind of half naked role.
Another moment I think is when I had to perform I Touch Myself. And that was like a karaoke scene, and again it was just hilarious. I just enjoyed every minute of it. It’s myself singing I Touch Myself and I had this funny, sexual choreography to it, and I had to essentially hump my husband on stage. And it was really funny.
So those are some of the moments that are memorable because they’re a little bit out there.
What is your favourite word?
Fantastic.
What is your least favourite word?
Cock. Dirty words. I don’t really like dirty words; I find them very vulgar.
What turns you on?
Confidence.
What turns you off?
Ego.
What sound or noise do you love?
Crashing waves.
What sound or noise do you hate?
I’m being very generic, I was going to say chalk board. Probably, car alarm.
What is your favourite curse word?
I guess it would just be “shit.”
What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?
You know what? I’ve always wanted to be a TV anchor.
What profession would you not like to do?
Garbage collector.
If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?
“You’ve made a lot of people really happy.”
Lucas Walker as George in Sex in Vancouver
What VACT shows have you been in?
I’ve been in the Sex in Vancouver shows. They put on four episodes and I was in all four. I played George, the token white guy as it were. First episode, I was the only white guy, and then in later episodes, I think there was another one. The Nathan character came in, he was another one. I was one of few white guys.
What is the ideal role you’d like to do?
I don’t necessarily have an ideal role. I’m open to almost anything. I’ve done mostly comedy, but I’ve also done some serious stuff. At one time in the future I might like to play a villain, somebody who’s really mean. Not because I’m am mean person, but just for fun. If being mean is fun. Just something different.
What does VACT mean to you?
Actually, I was thinking about this earlier today, anticipating that kind of a question. And it actually means a lot more to me than I thought it did. I got to Vancouver in 2003 and within about a month, a month and a half, I’d auditioned and got the role of George in this show. And they say that Vancouver’s a very tough nut to crack in terms of getting in with a circle of friends or a group of people, but I found that the people in VACT, behind the scenes, front of house, actors, the whole organization, to be very very welcoming and very positive. A very positive experience. I had a lot of fun, made some great friends; most of whom I still keep in touch with in one way or another. One who I’ve become very good friends with is the actor who plays Kenneth. In the play Kenneth and George are college buddies and in real life, Zen Shane Lim and I have become very good friends as well. It was kind of neat that our friendship that was written for us also became a real friendship. So that was really nice.
What has been your most memorable VACT moment?
There have been a lot, because in each of the four episodes, each of the four shows, there are a lot of really fun moments. I can’t pick just one, but anytime there is nudity or partial nudity involved for laughs, that’s always good fun, whether it’s been my doing or in other scenes. And the rehearsal process has been a lot of fun. For the most part it’s a very relaxed environment, a very relaxed setting to work in, to create a character. I can’t pinpoint one specific moment; there are just too many.
What is your favourite word?
Flabbergasted.
What is your least favourite word?
No.
What turns you on?
A switch in my back.
What turns you off?
That same switch. Or sometimes batteries wearing down.
What sound or noise do you love?
Laughter.
What sound or noise do you hate?
Barking dogs when I’m trying to sleep.
What is your favourite curse word?
Fuckeater.
What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?
I don’t know, I’m pretty happy doing what I’m doing. I’ve done a lot of things. A professional athlete, maybe, a hockey player. I’d get destroyed, but it might be fun for, you know, a shift until I get smashed into the boards.
What profession would you not like to do?
Anything that involves a boss that doesn’t “get” what’s going on. So it’s not necessarily the actual job, but it’s whoever is telling me what I’m supposed to do and has no idea what’s going on and is completely clueless.
If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?
“You made it.”
|
