TOO Episode 183 - Conversation with Theatre Director, Actor, and Teacher Eugene Ma

In this epsiode, Budi and Adam sit down with Eugene Ma to discuss his practice spanning many decades, and many countries and continents. 

Eugene Ma is a theatre director, actor and teacher with an inter-disciplinary background. Born in Toronto, brought up in Hong Kong and based primarily in New York - Eugene continues to perform, direct, and teacher internationally.

Enchanted many years ago by the ingenuity of the Clown and virtuosic transformations in Commedia dell'Arte, Eugene embarked on and completed a two-year teaching apprenticeship with Christopher Bayes, making him one of a selected few "Bayes-certified" physical acting teachers in America. During the apprenticeship, Eugene served as Chris' teaching assistant and musical director for Clown and Commedia classes as well as student productions at Yale School of Drama, the Juilliard School as well as summer and corporate workshops, infusing more musicality into the curriculum as a tool to open up the actor's imagination and sensitivity.

Eugene is currently on faculty at Columbia School of the Arts, where he teaches clown in the MFA Acting program.  Spring 2020 he will be teaching clown at Yale School of Drama, to the second year MFA actors.  Previous teaching engagements include workshops and classes at Yale's Undergraduate Theater Studies Program, Professional Performing Arts School (Arts High School) in Midtown Manhattan, St. Andrew's College in Canada.  He has also served as an advisor on several directing projects at New York University.

Eugene is Resident Director at the Flea Theatre, developing works with the robust resident acting company under the mentorship of Artistic Director Niegel Smith. His acting credits include Theatre for a New Audience, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, and Berkely Rep.

Having been trained as a pianist (ABRSM Gr. 8), organist and composer at a young age at the Yamaha Music Foundation in Hong Kong, Eugene still recalls his first composition assignment being motific explorations inspired by a picture of a large zoo on the music stand as he captured the journey of zoo-going as well as channeling the essence of different animals. As a result of his very aural-based training, impulsively framing and supporting a story with relatable motifs -- not the most complex and intricate musical structures -- has always been the priority and strength in Eugene's musical work. At age 9, he was selected to represent Hong Kong to attend the Junior Original

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Show Credits
Co-Hosts: Adam Marple & Budi Miller
Producer: Jack Burmeister
Music: https://www.purple-planet.com
Additional compositions by @jack_burmeister