Growing up, my family wasn’t very well to do. Going into the arts caused some worry, especially regarding economic prospects. I was fortunate, as my parents trusted that I was happy doing it.
My life changed completely after studying drama. My classes were made up of lying on the floor, relaxing and doing warms up, and I went, “My God, who wouldn’t want to do this for the rest of their lives”.
My role in Frozen really scares me. All the characters are so far away from our own reality, and that means getting under their skin. It is a scary process to embody them on stage for three weeks running, especially with such an emotional play.
As an actor, you need to be filled with other people’s lives. We can’t only have one point of view, so we always need to tap into other worlds. Reading fiction books really helped with that.
I never take my work home. For theater and performance, you need a neutral space. The home is a comfort zone with a lot of distractions, and it is difficult being in someone else’s shoes in that kind of environment.
I juggle many balls at the same time, and sometimes they drop. When I was a Nominated Member of Parliament, my day would be filled with meetings with interest groups, followed by filming and play rehearsals in the afternoons. In the evenings, I’ll try to get home in time to be with my kids and prepare for the next day.
Yoga keeps me sane. I’ve been doing it for 14 years, and it’s a great way to start the day. I do ashtanga, which is a more physical form of hatha yoga, with backbends, handstands and headstands.
Being in parliament was scary. If you are not used to being on a soap box and having the public glare upon you, it can be very intimidating. Anything you say in the media may be torn apart, whether by netizens or trolls.
You have to grow a level of thick-skinness. When you speak up, not everybody will agree with you, but it’s important to find the courage to say what you feel is right, trusting that it resonates with enough people.
An issue that’s close to my heart is education. I think we’re at a kind of tipping point now. If we go too far in focusing on test scores, it might backfire on us in 20 years’ time, when we develop people who are book smart but not street smart.
