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Jimmy
View more pictures Meet Jimmy (Chi Kuen) Kwok - an old IELI student turned playwright.
By Silvia Santacruz
(see Silvia's bio at bottom of article)
An African-American woman trying to find love on the Internet. That is what Longing, Jimmy Kwok's latest theatre play is about. The theme is based on his impressions about New York and the loneliness that he believes most New Yorkers suffer. "You can see single people everywhere, living only for their jobs without family...", observes Jimmy.
The main actress, Anita Ahiadormey, plays the character Jennifer, who is dating Scott, played by Scott Biski. Jennifer lives in tiny studio with no windows. She met Scott on the Internet and because she was so lonely; she invited him to her studio on their first date. The robust, tall and good-looking guy turned out to be really dangerous. After a romantic dinner and some dancing, he attacked her and stole all her money. He thought he could easily pay off his gambling debt this way. "Dating through the Internet is a waste of time. I wrote the play because lots of friends told me about it. It's the new way to meet people", Jimmy explained.
Longing is Jimmy's first play in English - English that he learned at the International English Language Institute at Hunter College. "I knew the grammar, I memorized every single rule, but I didn't understand why. The teachers at the IELI taught me in a very practical way and I appreciated learning the language through movies and songs, which I love so much". Here is a little trick he uses: "I translated all of Madonna's songs, because I love her. She became one of my English teachers!"
When he arrived in New York in March 2002, the 33-year-old Jimmy already knew a little English. As a voice-over actor for 10 years in the largest TV station in Hong Kong, he heard original scripts (in English) before each interpretation. He was the voice of Jim Carrey in Batman Forever and Mask, Brad Pitt in The Devil's Own and Meet Joe Black, and Leonardo Di Caprio in What's Eating Gilbert Grape, among others.
He decided to move to the "Big Apple" for love. He met his boyfriend, an American architect, at a dinner party seven years ago. "It was a very international party. I was from Hong Kong, another guest was from Germany, another was Malaysian and my boyfriend was American". Of course, they spoke in English.
Despite leaving his country while at the top of his career (with his own theater company called Jimmy's Style), he enjoys living in New York. "I feel comfortable in this new environment because it is similar to Hong Kong, which is also a very international city". "I feel safer and it's cleaner", he said describing his neighborhood in Lower Manhattan.
He successfully performed seven shows in Hong Kong: Everytime We Say Goodbye, Buy One Get One Free, Work Hard For Your Man, Work Hard For Your Man Again, Till Death Do Us Part, Phantom of the Sauna, Material Girl in a Barbie World and First Time Seventeen. That's why he is very optimistic about himself. "I did well in my country. Let's see if I can do it again in New York".
After studying English at the IELI for 18 months, he entered New York City College of Technology last summer. His studies are challenging for him. "It's true that I had my career, my own enterprise, friends, family and the food I liked, but I'd already achieved certain things. Living In New York and starting a new life ... it's a lot of fun", he assured me.
And again, he is doing so well as a student and director. His latest production, Longing, is a drama that he first created as a class project. "My professors were amazed...", he said. "Being at school now is completely different. I know what I'm doing and why I'm sitting listening to the teachers talk, talk and talk. My vision has changed radically with my experience".
"Be wild". That's one of Jimmy's recommendations. "You have to try whatever your goal is. Speaking English is a basic tool, and the IELI let me feel important when I first started in New York". Jimmy improved his spelling and he read his first thick book in English and did lots of research on the Internet. He explained that IELI teachers prepared him very well to enter school, and now, "I know what I want, I have experience and confidence and I know where I want to be in my future"!
Silvia Santacruz was an IELI student until last term. She is a journalist for "El Universo" http://www.eluniverso.com newspaper in Ecuador and a current student in the Masters of Business Journalism program at Baruch College in New York City.
You can see Sylvia withJimmy by clicking on "view more pictures" above.
感谢吧友beejk提供的链接http://www.eslnyc.com/en/alumni/meet/4.asp
See what our Alumni are up to
Jimmy
View more pictures Meet Jimmy (Chi Kuen) Kwok - an old IELI student turned playwright.
By Silvia Santacruz
(see Silvia's bio at bottom of article)
An African-American woman trying to find love on the Internet. That is what Longing, Jimmy Kwok's latest theatre play is about. The theme is based on his impressions about New York and the loneliness that he believes most New Yorkers suffer. "You can see single people everywhere, living only for their jobs without family...", observes Jimmy.
The main actress, Anita Ahiadormey, plays the character Jennifer, who is dating Scott, played by Scott Biski. Jennifer lives in tiny studio with no windows. She met Scott on the Internet and because she was so lonely; she invited him to her studio on their first date. The robust, tall and good-looking guy turned out to be really dangerous. After a romantic dinner and some dancing, he attacked her and stole all her money. He thought he could easily pay off his gambling debt this way. "Dating through the Internet is a waste of time. I wrote the play because lots of friends told me about it. It's the new way to meet people", Jimmy explained.
Longing is Jimmy's first play in English - English that he learned at the International English Language Institute at Hunter College. "I knew the grammar, I memorized every single rule, but I didn't understand why. The teachers at the IELI taught me in a very practical way and I appreciated learning the language through movies and songs, which I love so much". Here is a little trick he uses: "I translated all of Madonna's songs, because I love her. She became one of my English teachers!"
When he arrived in New York in March 2002, the 33-year-old Jimmy already knew a little English. As a voice-over actor for 10 years in the largest TV station in Hong Kong, he heard original scripts (in English) before each interpretation. He was the voice of Jim Carrey in Batman Forever and Mask, Brad Pitt in The Devil's Own and Meet Joe Black, and Leonardo Di Caprio in What's Eating Gilbert Grape, among others.
He decided to move to the "Big Apple" for love. He met his boyfriend, an American architect, at a dinner party seven years ago. "It was a very international party. I was from Hong Kong, another guest was from Germany, another was Malaysian and my boyfriend was American". Of course, they spoke in English.
Despite leaving his country while at the top of his career (with his own theater company called Jimmy's Style), he enjoys living in New York. "I feel comfortable in this new environment because it is similar to Hong Kong, which is also a very international city". "I feel safer and it's cleaner", he said describing his neighborhood in Lower Manhattan.
He successfully performed seven shows in Hong Kong: Everytime We Say Goodbye, Buy One Get One Free, Work Hard For Your Man, Work Hard For Your Man Again, Till Death Do Us Part, Phantom of the Sauna, Material Girl in a Barbie World and First Time Seventeen. That's why he is very optimistic about himself. "I did well in my country. Let's see if I can do it again in New York".
After studying English at the IELI for 18 months, he entered New York City College of Technology last summer. His studies are challenging for him. "It's true that I had my career, my own enterprise, friends, family and the food I liked, but I'd already achieved certain things. Living In New York and starting a new life ... it's a lot of fun", he assured me.
And again, he is doing so well as a student and director. His latest production, Longing, is a drama that he first created as a class project. "My professors were amazed...", he said. "Being at school now is completely different. I know what I'm doing and why I'm sitting listening to the teachers talk, talk and talk. My vision has changed radically with my experience".
"Be wild". That's one of Jimmy's recommendations. "You have to try whatever your goal is. Speaking English is a basic tool, and the IELI let me feel important when I first started in New York". Jimmy improved his spelling and he read his first thick book in English and did lots of research on the Internet. He explained that IELI teachers prepared him very well to enter school, and now, "I know what I want, I have experience and confidence and I know where I want to be in my future"!
Silvia Santacruz was an IELI student until last term. She is a journalist for "El Universo" http://www.eluniverso.com newspaper in Ecuador and a current student in the Masters of Business Journalism program at Baruch College in New York City.
You can see Sylvia withJimmy by clicking on "view more pictures" above.
感谢吧友beejk提供的链接http://www.eslnyc.com/en/alumni/meet/4.asp
