Artist Profile by Doua Moua

Ok... ok... Blake has been encouraging me to put my thoughts down on paper my time during the run of Moonbite at Phare Play. Today is Sept 22 of 2007 and I am sitting on the express D train going downtown to the gym. So here I go... To be honest, I'm not much of a writer, but more of a dreamer, so please be kind and forgive me ahead of time.

Every actor has their own way of processing, or as I put it, digesting a script when they receive it from the director of the show. When coming to audition for Moonbite, I thought it would be a two or three Act Play. But it turned out to be a series of short pieces that showcased our own humanistic or otherwise, our very own individual evolution of human instincts/ subconscious mind during a full moon. Each role that I undertook had their own objections that displayed their own corks during the full moon: the waiter who scared a potential tipper for his co-worker's pleasure, a loner who tried to please a psychotic over-passive woman - which lead to his own death, a young actor who would do anything, even leaping as high as up to the ceiling - literally - I almost hit my head on the stage lights a couple of times - to land his first Shakespearean play, and then Ed the dog. Enough is said about Ed. You really just had to be there to see Ed, if you weren't there, then you missed it.

Man, I would say the show was quite physical... I mean I was literally on all four: hands, knees, feet, toes.

The character development for Ed was quite a journey; compare it to the other roles that I've played. I have never felt so old in my life and I am just in my 20's. My joints and muscles ached like no other. Seriously, I began to take Yoga classes just to tune up my stretching techniques. And then came the big DECISION. "What type of dog should Ed be?" Like any other actor would first do, I chose to bark "woof" like a dog. Which I did, but my first woof sounded like a little Chihuahua. You know the loud high squeaky pitch? The first thing that came to my mind was - "I would want to be Paris Hilton's Chihuahua Tinkerbelle, her little princess." But then I felt a little odd at times during rehearsal, so I thought - maybe Taco Bell's Chihuahua "Yo quero Taco Bell?" As rehearsal continued I thought to myself, "Realistically how could a 5 foot 11 inches and 165lbs Asian guy ever pass for a little Chihuahua?" So I took some time to go to the Dog Park at Union Square. There, I sat for an hour or so observing each different type of dog that came to play and do their duty. Also, to observe how each dog moved differently. Then I realized I would be better off being a Great Dane. Which, lead me to remember seeing a Great Dane walking his owner around Lafayette and Astor Place. So I guessed at the end of the story, Ed became a Great Dane with gray ears, a white body, brown bottom, black and grey feet and hands after all. Hey, some nights I did feel like a little Princess so I would woof proudly with my high squeaky pitch.

All in all, to conclude my experiment with Phare Play, I would have to say they really kept me on all four. To the director Greg Mullavey, playwright Ariana, and my fellow actors, it was a great learning experience and a fun run of Moonbite. Also, I want to thank Greg, Ariana, Blake, and Christine for believing in me and giving me a chance. To be honest, that is all it takes: a little believing and a little taking, bit by bit with time by giving a chance.

To learn more about me please feel free to visit me at www.douamoua.com