Creative Process

The power of vulnerability to inspire others – Yang-May Ooi talks about performing Bound Feet Blues

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Yang-May Ooi talks about allowing herself to be vulnerable on stage in performing Bound Feet Blues and how vulnerability can inspire others to connect with their heart and  humanity.  You can read the full interview by writer/ journalist Anna Sayburn Lane on her blog, Bloomsbury Bluestocking.

Click on the image below to go to Anna’s blog to read the full article…

bloomsbury blue screenshot

Bloomsbury Bluestocking is a blog about writing and literature by Anna Sayburn Lane.  Anna is a novelist, short story writer and storyteller, inspired by the history and contemporary life of London. She is editing her first novel,Unlawful Things, and contemplating novel number two. She has published short stories in a number of magazines.

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You can buy tickets for Bound Feet Blues via bit.ly/bfbtickets

DETAILS

Tristan Bates Theatre
1A Tower St, Covent Garden WC2H 9NP

Tue 24 Nov – Sat 12 Dec, Tue – Sat at 7.30pm.
Tickets £16 / £12 concessions.
Q&As post-show, 27 Nov & 4 Dec.

Introducing the world of Bound Feet Blues: Going to a ball at Oxford

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Bound Feet Blues takes the audience on a journey across Europe, Asia and Australia to tell the stories in writer/ performer Yang-May Ooi’s family and in her own life. We will be giving you a snapshot of these landscapes here on this blog over the next few weeks.

Today, Oxford.

Bound Feet Blues opens with a beautiful young woman walking along Oxford’s High Street  to a summer ball in stiletto shoes…

Here are some photos of the beautiful university city of Oxford and its gorgeous summer balls…

 

from flickr.com, thanks to Jessica Keating Photography – https://www.flickr.com/photos/jessandinca/ (CCL)

 

from flickr.com thanks to Queens Ball 2010 – https://www.flickr.com/photos/queens2010/ (CCL)

Bound Feet Blues: “young men in black tie and us girls in our beautiful ball dresses” – writer/ performer Yang-May Ooi, aged 20, with “Josh” on the night of the ball

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Keep pushing your comfort zone creatively, Bound Feet Blues writer/ performer Yang-May Ooi advises storytellers [audio interview for The Story Party]

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In this audio interview with Beverley Glick for The Story Pary, writer/ performer Yang-May Ooi advises storytellers that the key to creative development is to keep pushing your comfort zone.

She talks about experimentation as the starting point for her remarkable theatre piece Bound Feet Blues, which is a mix of storytelling and performance. And she urges anyone who would like to have a go at storytelling to go for it and contact The Story Party, where she will be joining Beverley Glick next year to offer coaching to would-be storytellers.

You can read Beverley’s intro and listen to the audio interview by clicking on the image below:

storyparty screenshot

OR

You can listen to the full audio interview via the player below:

[audio http://www.thestoryparty.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Yang-May-interview-1.mp3]

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The Story Party is a regular storytelling soiree in central London co-founded by Beverley Glick and Mary Ann Mhina. As speakers, writers and advocates of the power of story, we set up The Story Party to create a safe space in which to share personal stories that can deepen our connection to each other – stories that are personal but also universal; stories that speak volumes about what it means to be human. Go to http://www.thestoryparty.co.uk/ to find out more.

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You can buy tickets for Bound Feet Blues via bit.ly/bfbtickets

DETAILS

Tristan Bates Theatre
1A Tower St, Covent Garden WC2H 9NP

Tue 24 Nov – Sat 12 Dec, Tue – Sat at 7.30pm.
Tickets £16 / £12 concessions.
Q&As post-show, 27 Nov & 4 Dec.

 

Yang-May Ooi, writer and performer of Bound Feet Blues, talks about the power of storytelling and writing from personal experience [video]

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Yang-May Ooi, writer/ performer of Bound Feet Blues talks about the inspiration behind her extra-ordinary solo story performance and the memoir accompanying the theatre piece.

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You can buy tickets for Bound Feet Blues via bit.ly/bfbtickets

DETAILS

Tristan Bates Theatre
1A Tower St, Covent Garden WC2H 9NP

Tue 24 Nov – Sat 12 Dec, Tue – Sat at 7.30pm.
Tickets £16 / £12 concessions.
Q&As post-show, 27 Nov & 4 Dec.

Yang-May Ooi, writer and performer of Bound Feet Blues, reveals her secret to Fearless Public Speaking

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How did an introverted writer who used to hate public speaking find the courage to take to the West End stage in her own solo theatre show? Yang-May Ooi, writer and performer of Bound Feet Blues – A Life Told in Shoes, reveals on the Ginger Public Speaking blog her fearlessness secret to supercharge your confidence as a public speaker.

Click on the image below to read the full article on the Ginger Public Speaking blog….

ginger screenshot

Ginger Public Speaking is a public speaking coaching company founded by Sarah Lloyd-Hughes, a popular speaker on confidence and inspiration and an award winning social entrepreneur, whom I am honoured to call a friend.

Featured in the TEDx series of public speeches, Sarah is an energetic, original and deeply authentic speaker who works with professionals and entrepreneurs to help them communicate with courage. She has successfully taught thousands of people across three continents. As a speaker on confidence, Sarah builds inspiration in her audiences, whatever their experience levels. She challenges and supports them on the journey to become passionate, authentic and inspiring communicators.

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You can buy tickets for Bound Feet Blues via bit.ly/bfbtickets

DETAILS

Tristan Bates Theatre
1A Tower St, Covent Garden WC2H 9NP

Tue 24 Nov – Sat 12 Dec, Tue – Sat at 7.30pm.
Tickets £16 / £12 concessions.
Q&As post-show, 27 Nov & 4 Dec.

Meet Kristian Morgan, personal trainer to Bound Feet Blues writer/ performer Yang-May Ooi

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Kristian Morgan is an unofficial member of the Bound Feet Blues team but he has the important role of working with writer/ performer Yang-May Ooi on her fitness and stamina for the challenging task of performing on stage for 5 nights a week over 3 weeks.

Kristian Morgan, personal trainer

Kristian is a freelance mobile personal trainer based in Dulwich, South London. He is a national ultra marathon 50k champion. He has completed over 50 marathons and ultra marathons (an Ultra is any distance greater than 26.2 miles). He is also an ironman triathlete but most of all he is a friendly approachable personal trainer.

He has been personal training in and around Dulwich since 2007 helping people achieve their goals, whether it’s been preparing for a marathon or just regular exercise. www.kristianmorgan.com Continue reading →

Yang-May Ooi, writer and performer of Bound Feet Blues says: More East Asian stories needed in UK mainstream media

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Yang-May Ooi, writer/ performer of Bound Feet Blues talks about the lack of East Asian stories in UK mainstream media and what could be done to redress the balance.

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You can buy tickets for Bound Feet Blues THE SHOW via bit.ly/bfbtickets

DETAILS

Tristan Bates Theatre
1A Tower St, Covent Garden WC2H 9NP

Tue 24 Nov – Sat 12 Dec, Tue – Sat at 7.30pm.
Tickets £16 / £12 concessions.
Q&As post-show, 27 Nov & 4 Dec.

In Memory of “Walter Plinge” – archive audio interview An Actor’s Life for the London Theatre Blog from 2006

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Yang-May Ooi writes:

My dear friend “Walter Plinge”,  a retired actor, passed away a few weeks ago.

I interviewed him in 2006 on my Fusion View podcast for the London Theatre Blog and in his memory, I am publishing again the podcast in its entirety below. He talks about his life as a repertory actor in the 1950s. It is a fascinating journey into history and into the craft of acting for anyone who is interested in theatre – and a lovely way for me to remember “Walter”, especially his warm, resonant voice that has a touch of Anthony Hopkins to it.

Click on the image below for the pop up player to listen to the interview. (To return to this page from the player, click the Back button on your browser)

walter plinge player

 

Yang-May Ooi will be at Papergang’s Echo Event at Bush Theatre, 20 Oct 2015 for a night of East Asian stories

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Yang-May Ooi will be taking part in an evening of East Asian story-exchanges with other established and upcoming East Asian artists at the Bush Theatre on 20 Oct 2015. The event is hosted by Papergang Theatre, a platform for British East Asian artist.

Papergang Echo event at Bush Theatre 20Oct15 screenshot

Here is what Papergang has to say about the evening:

“Through a mix of performance, poetry and music, established and up-and-coming artists are keen to share their tales, to awaken us, to connect us and to inspire…

Listen as our guests divulge personal anecdotes born from the different cultures that have shaped them – fantastical tales, personal truths, memories of far-flung shores or incidents that happened right here in our city.”

The event is already sold out!

Yang-May will be performing an extract from Bound Feet Blues. She says: “I’m also looking forward to seeing Continue reading →

Do our shoes shape who we are? [video] – Yang-May Ooi, writer/ performer of Bound Feet Blues, thinks so

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Yang-May Ooi, writer/ performer of Bound Feet Blues – A Life Told in Shoes, talks about how shoes and bound feet in her extra-ordinary theatre piece are a metaphor for who we are – and who we long to be.

Bound Feet Blues – A Life Told in Shoes is a solo story performance written and performed by Yang-May Ooi and directed by Jessica Higgs. A memoir of the same name by Yang-May Ooi is also being published.

ABOUT THE SHOW
In an epic journey from China via East Asia and Australia to England, British-Malaysian writer-performer Yang-May Ooi explores female empowerment and desirability through the oral histories of three generations of her family and the shoes in her life. Yang-May uses the ancient Chinese tradition of footbinding experienced by Continue reading →