All The World's A Stage...

Do you need an actor, stand-up comedian, singer, MC, guest speaker, stage manager or publicist for your play, film, commercial, party, corporate training programme, conference, PR event...? I'm ready and waiting for your call.

I'm Kay Ross in Hong Kong, and I LOVE watching, participating in and marketing the performing arts.

Check out my performing arts CV and my fab photo gallery, then contact me today if you need my services.

A multi-talented performer

As a teenager in Adelaide, Australia, I was a member of a youth theatre group called The Saturday Company for four years; I sang in the choir and performed in theatre productions at Adelaide Girls' High School, and I sang in the choir and studied drama for one year at Adelaide University.

Since then, I've done countless workshops in acting, improvising, stand-up comedy, singing and dancing.

When I was based in Edinburgh, Scotland, from August 1979 to October 1980, I performed in some amateur theatre productions, including one in the 1980 Fringe Festival.

In Hong Kong, I've been involved in lots of shows with the Hong Kong Players, Hong Kong Singers, American Community Theater, Kassia Women's Choir and other groups - I've performed onstage and/or helped with publicity or stage management. 

Here's a short YouTube video of Kassia Women's Choir (including me) singing "Joyful, Joyful" in our "Soul Sister 2" season, March 23, 2010 at St. Mary's Church, Causeway Bay. (The sound quality of the recording isn't great, but you'll get the idea.)

I've also done some professional acting gigs: I was an extra in a local feature film; played Margaret Thatcher in a TV commercial; appeared as Mrs Santa Claus in a Christmas promotion in several shopping-malls; was a story-teller for local kindergarten students; and acted in an online promotional video for a group of Hong Kong hotels (see my blog post about that experience).

As an added bonus, I speak fluent French (so I've played lots of French maids, ooh la la!).

The healing power of laughter

Since February 2007, I've regularly performed my own original stand-up comedy material at the TakeOut Comedy Club, Hong Kong's (and Asia's) only full-time, dedicated comedy venue. A highlight for me was performing as one of the two local opening acts for visiting professional comedian Bernadette Pauley from the USA, on June 26, 2010.  

The Club is in the basement of 34 Elgin Street, SoHo, Central. On foot, come up the Mid-levels escalator to Elgin Street, turn right, and the Club is just  few doors down, on your right.

For a taste of my stand-up style, check out this YouTube video of my performance at the late-night show at the Club on Valentine's Day, February 14, 2009 (thanks to cameraman James Foreman).

I'm also a member of People's Liberation Improv (PLI), a comedy improvisation troupe based at the Club. We perform comedy improv shows featuring improvised scenes based on suggestions from the audience (think "Whose Line is it Anyway?"). You say it, we play it! On August 26, 2009, we did our first international show, in Macau, and on May 8, 2010, we performed two one-hour sets in the 12-hour Hong Kong Comedython, in aid of Hong Kong Dog Rescue, at Champs Bar in the Charterhouse Hotel, Causeway Bay. Here's an article about PLI from "BC Magazine", July 2, 2009. And here's our PLI Facebook page, with lots of short video clips of improv scenes.

My upcoming performances at the Club are:
Saturday July 31, 9.30pm, $150 - stand-up comedy
Friday August 6, 9.30pm, $150 - "The Dog Days of Summer", a 1.5-hour comedy improv show by People's Liberation Improv
Note: In August I'm taking a break from performing stand-up comedy as I'll be out of town on holiday for nearly three weeks
Friday September 3, 9.30pm, $150 - a 1.5-hour comedy improv show by People's Liberation Improv (theme to be confirmed)
Friday September 17, 9.30pm, $150 - stand-up comedy
Thursday September 23, 9pm (not 9.30pm), $150 - stand-up comedy. That's my birthday, and the Hong Kong Government has kindly declared a public holiday on that day!
Note: There's no PLI show on Friday October 1 (see us on October 14 instead)
Saturday October 2, 9.30pm, $150 - stand-up comedy
Thursday October 14, 8pm (not 9.30pm), $150 - a 1.5-hour comedy improv show by People's Liberation Improv (theme to be confirmed). This show is part of the Hong Kong International Comedy Competition.

Most stand-up comedy shows last for about 1.5 hours, and feature 6-8 solo performers (all English-speaking).

Sorry, no food or drinks on sale at the venue (but people have been known to bring in their own cans and bottles from the nearby 7/11 - shhhh, don't tell anyone). Audience members receive a two-for-one voucher for drinks at either Fat Angelo's (on Friday) or the Bhatti Bar (on Saturday) after the show.