Establishing a Writer’s Habit

Five Top Tips!

The hardest part about being a writer is sitting down to write. 

Below are five top tips to help you get that best seller on bookshelves!

1.  Schedule a set time each day to write. And write. This could be as little as 15 minutes.

2. Set up a space and use that space for writing only. The muse will turn up, but you have to show up first.

3. No distractions! Turn off the phone, the television, and computer! Write on pen and paper first.

4. Carry a writer’s notebook. Keep it with you at all times. When you have an idea write it down.

5. Ask family and friends to respect your writing schedule. Tell them not disturb you when you work. Encourage them to make you tea and give you snacks.

Written by Mark McPherson  

With the October opening of Tai Kwun Contemporary’s brand-new group exhibit, “Phantom Plane, Cyberpunk In the Year of the Future”, comes brand new Family Day creative workshops. As always, we relate the art activities to the exhibit theme, which in this case revolve around grand futuristic visions and thoughts about our ever-evolving technological strides. Thanks to the imagination and skills of Colour My World team, we have come up with two projects for the family visitors. “Animatronics Armour” lets us create and design a functioning “mechanical” arm that, through the kinetic effect of rings and strings, encourages foundation engineering as well as personal artistic flair. Simultaneously, “Cyber Metropolis” focuses on how to assemble and enhance with decorative illustration our very own future city-night lamp out of card and florescent colour.

We aspire to match playfulness with education by letting our young learners try their hands at fun, creative challenges, and if the responses from our opening Family Day is anything to go by, this concept is working better than ever. And hey, if parents continue to re-discover the joy of the creative process as adults, that’s a huge plus as well.

After witnessing a full day of family joy with collaboration and friendly competition, I leisurely strolled around the fair grounds. As I entered the contemporary art exhibit, I took out my sketchbook and, through the lens of my own artistic interpretations, jotted down some of the various masterpieces on display. The final result ended up being a summary of my experiences within the amazing new exhibit.

By Andreas von Buddenbrock

18 October 2019

This month’s blog post comes from Daryl Walker, our Head of Performing Arts and Business Strategist and he wants to talk about following your dreams.

Growing up in a big city in the Midwest I’ve always known I wanted to do more than what my life at the moment had to offer. I grew up pretty ordinary. My parents divorced when I was young and that too seemed normal. All of my friends were raised by a single parent so I didn’t know anything was different. Now it wasn’t always rainbows and butterflies but it was mine and I wouldn’t change anything about it.

I was always into performing and putting on shows when I was younger, but every time anyone would ask what I wanted to be when I grew up I always said, a lawyer. It wasn’t because I really wanted to be a lawyer I just really wanted to play one on TV.

Fast forward to when I was 13 and was bitten by the acting bug and I never turned back. I wanted to see and hear everything theatre; it was my happy place, but I still never openly admitted I wanted to go into the performing arts until I was in university. I didn’t just want to act I wanted to direct, produce, and also work behind the scenes.
At the same time, there was a shift in my life. I decided I didn’t want to stay in America any longer. On a whim I decided to move to South Korea and put my performing arts career on hold. I missed it, but eventually I found a great theatre group to perform with and the same old feelings I had came flooding back. I needed more. I decided I had to learn even more than I knew before. I started learning monologues to refresh myself. I got a Masters in Entertainment Business just so I could learn more and eventually would be able to go into any field in the Business.

But my time in Korea had to come to an end. I needed to move on and figure out what the next step would be. I moved to Hong Kong on another whim. I knew I loved it here but was not sure about moving here. Would I be able to do any acting? Would I feel fulfilled or accomplished? I got a job at Colour My World and I was pretty lucky to find a job at a creative arts studio that valued my input on not just things related to Drama but also some of the day to day things to help the company grow. I am able to do so many wonderful things here.

Is this my last stop? No. I have to keep pushing myself to make sure the goals I set out are fresh in my mind and make sure each move is a stepping stone to something that’s bigger and better. So I guess the moral is; never feel complacent. No one is going to give you your dream on a silver platter. You have to go and take it. Hard work and your perseverance will pay off. I am not there yet, but I am closer than ever before from really doing what I set out to do so many years ago.

Hello Everyone!

This is your friendly neighborhood theatre director and since it is audition season, I just wanted to pass along some tips to help you get the part.

Tip 1: First Impressions are EVERYTHING!! When you walk into the room you have to exude confidence! Hold your head up high and “own” it. Make sure you don’t shuffle your feet and try to speak as clearly as possible and make sure you are heard.

Tip 2: Show your personality. Speak in complete sentences and try to be as likeable as possible. Directors can always sense a little bit about your personality by how you interact with them in an audition.

Tip 3: Do your research. Make sure you know what you are auditioning for and prepare all the required pieces. If it is a musical, make sure you have a song with the accompaniment. Never go into an audition without at least reading the play/musical that you are auditioning for.

Tip 4: Loosen up! Relax your body before you walk into the room. Do a few stretches in the waiting area and try not to let your nerves get the better of you. If you walk in relaxed, the person watching you will automatically relax as well.

These are just a few tips to get you going. Don’t forget we have auditions for A Midsummer Night’s Dream: A Pop Musical August 30 and September 6 at 4:00-5:00 and September 7, 2019 at 2:30-3:30 and again at 4:00-5:00.

Recently I finished reading a rather inspiring book called ‘Think Like An Artist’ by Will Gompertz which I bought from Kelly & Walsh during Art Basel HK 2018.

Why do some people seem to find it easy to come up with fresh, brilliant ideas? And how do they turn them into something worthwhile?

Will Gompertz is a BBC’s art editor. Previously director of Tate Media, Gompertz has written extensively for The Guardian and The Times newspapers. He is the author of What Are You Looking At?: 150 Years of Modern Art in the Blink of an Eye. In Think Like An Artist, Gompertz doesn’t just comment on the artist’s finished work itself, he also tells the life stories of the like of Michelangelo, Caravaggio, Bridget Riley and Ai Weiwei etc., trying to guide his audience to get into the artist’s mind and explore where their inspirations and creative ideas come from, getting into the artist’s habits and their path to success.

Can’t think of the perfect birthday gift/Christmas present for your parents, relatives or friends? Don’t know what store to start with? Then maybe consider creating something, as opposed to buying it. Although you might not always think it, there’s great value in putting in the work to both think of and make something of your own, something designed only for that one person you intend on giving it to.

After having made

many drawings to my parents and relatives as a child, there was a long period of time where I felt that giving them one of my artworks was “cheap” or not a “real investment”. But lately, I’ve come to realize that giving someone your artwork can actually be a lot more valuable than something you bought at a store. Think of the amount of time you put aside for making it and the reason you had for doing it. It’s the greatest example of the phrase “It’s the thought that counts” — except you also have something to look at for decades to come. And isn’t it more common for your parents or older relatives to show you a drawing that you made for them a long time ago, rather than something that you purchased?

I’d say it is.

(The illustrations below were made as a Christmas gift for my stepfather last year and a recent birthday gift for my mother. They both portray they’re old summer houses back in Sweden.)

Andreas von Buddenbrock,
Programme designer/
facilitator of Ready Set Draw at CMW