I have admired Tim Kang on "The Mentalist" for some time, and though I am not a regular devotee of the series, I often tune in with the hopes that Mr. Kang will get a chance to take his shirt off. He looks like he is about to burst out of his shirt at any moment, and yet, he never does. Admittedly, I have not caught the show in a while, and so perhaps I missed it. I just can't help but notice that there is innuendo between many of the other characters, but Mr. Kang's character often seems outside the realm of romance. I wonder why...Recently, a fellow theater person told me about reading a review of a show that one of our friends was in and becoming enraged by its assumptions about who can portray a leader and who cannot. The review noted that our friend seemed miscast in his role as a "charismatic leader" because he looked more like a "Buddhist monk." I can only imagine that this characterization was based on the fact that our friend is of Asian descent. It is a strange commentary to suggest that a Buddhist monk cannot be a charismatic leader; one of the most charismatic and well-respected leaders of today is the Dalai Lama, a Buddhist Monk.
This weekend, I will be performing in an extremely cut-down version of "Two Gentlemen of Verona" with Leviathan Lab and am looking forward to sharing our all-Asian romantic comedy with an audience. I'm looking forward to playing a romantic lead myself. And though there is no shirtlessness (believe me, I tried), I think that it will be really fun to challenge the prevalent attitude of what an Asian-American performer can portray. Until Monday, I continue to be...
Yours in shirtlessness,
Nandita
President
IMS
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