The Art of Acting
You’re sitting across from Lam Vissay, a German actor with numerous Vietnamese films credits, reading a professional script for a movie that’s not out yet. No pressure. He just wants you to read it again.
“Now I would like you to read it more like,” Vissay pauses, considering how best to voice the morally bankrupt villain he’s cast you for, “more angry.”
Vissay is your instructor today in a film workshop offered by skills sharing platform Landed Vibe. But in the scene, he is not. Rather, he’s your film counterpart on scene. And you’re the villain, a crime boss who’s been betrayed by subordinate and you have to order his murder. “You think Garvey is the snitch. Show me that you’re more… hm… dangerous.”
Vissay coaches and directs in a precise direct manner. “Actors, they use text just as a tool. The subtext is more important,” Vissay explains in his workshop. Vissay’s two decades of acting started in his home country Germany where he earned roles in feature films—one of which, Unter Dir Die Stadt (Under Your City), was screened at the Cannes Festival 2010—before returning to Vietnam in 2013. Here, he’s acted in a number of Vietnamese films and television productions.
There are so many ways to do the same scene. “Let me give you an example, I can say ‘I hate you’ in two different ways,” he says. “I can say, ‘I hate you’ and I can smile. It’s like, you’re my friend, you know? Or I say,” he said pausing before narrowing his eyes and saying, “‘I hate you.’”
This particular tutorial offered by Landed Vibe could go a number of ways. Vissay tailors the session to the participant’s interest, whether that’s in filmmaking, script writing or production. He shows finesse and confidence as an acting coach too and can speak for what works for him, what directing styles there are.
“Take your time,” he says before asking you to read it again, more angrily, less rushed, more conniving the fifth time. “That’s it! Did you feel it?” Vissay exclaims excitedly. You can take the compliment. He’s a professional, and he knows good work when he sees it.
Espresso Yourself
Step back behind the coffee bar at Toong co-working space as part of the Landed Vibe espresso and latte workshop. There, you’ll get a better sense of how many small, delicate factors go into making each cup.
On the user end, you’re just served an espresso inside of a little cup, and end of story. But seeing the process from the beginning brings a new appreciation to the drink. This is a full training course where a professional barista will guide participants through everything starting with measuring the right amount of coffee, packing it into the portafilter—the handled spoon-like thing that holds the grounds—and creating a smooth surface before brewing, what those in the industry call “polishing.”
Your professional trainer will be able to tell you about the importance of polishing, and how the taste of an espresso changes if the water flows unevenly through the grounds. Your caffeinated self will absorb these materials seriously.
During this workshop, participants can try their hand at a traditional coffee drink like a hand-dripped brew or may wish to make something more interesting, like the matcha latte. A trained and very patient barista will be at your side as you angle the milk into the steam wand and heat the coffee in a very precise manner: with just a little churn and froth to make a creamy fluid.
Watch with awe as your barista makes a nice heart or leaf on the surface of their latte. He or she will look as supportively to you as your first latte art starts to take shape, some kind of shape. Spend some time with the apron and try something different to learn more about your favorite drink.
Landed Vibe is a platform that helps millennials turn shareable values of their profession, skill or hobby into on-demand payable activities, either for entertainment, skill learning or travel experience purposes, to be booked by millennial locals, expats and travelers alike. To expore the 80+ experiences that are available, visit landedvibe.com.
Images by Vy Lam
