There is a long-held belief amongst Barbadians, that someone from their little island can be found anywhere in the world. This sentiment was recently proven true while searching for actress Saran Lashley to congratulate her on the big win at the 2015 Barbados Media And Visual Awards.
Lashley had won Best Actress for her role in the movie Two Smart but she could not be located anywhere in Barbados. When EASY finally tracked her down she was almost 10 000 miles from the island or just under 21 hours away in Hong Kong.
What was a 21-year-old Bajan lass doing in a big city with a population of more than seven million people?
Lashley explained that she moved to Hong Kong to marry her love for acting and teaching.
Since January this year she has been the theatre arts technician at an international primary, secondary and diploma international baccalaureate school there.
In an interview via Facetime she described the transition as challenging yet fascinating.
“Moving from a tiny Caribbean island with parents and friends around, to a huge city in Asia without the [aforementioned] was a huge leap for me. Especially since…the majority of the population is black, to one where I am a minority.
“Adapting to the pace of life in Hong Kong was also a great challenge. Just Google it; it’s crazy. If you’re not running for the bus, trying to meet a deadline or setting your watch ten minutes ahead, you’re intentionally scheduling in rest days and retreats.
“It is exciting, but you must take care not to get lost in it all. The weather in Hong Kong is so unpredictable, I have to check an app once or twice a day to know just what I’ll be in store for. Whether it’s to survive my first winter ever in January, to endure the scorching heat and humidity in July and August or to predict the torrential rain, which often falls almost horizontally, I have to prepare differently each day,” she said.
For the former Harrisonian, Hong Kong has definitely changed her perspective on life. In fact, she described it as a paradigm shift but she was glad to have gotten the opportunity to see life in such a huge city and understand so much more about the world and the people who live in it.
“It has widened my gaze, so to speak, and I am more aware of others’ lives and challenges in a way that proves to be both a blessing and a curse,” she added.
Lashley might now be a teacher but her first love, acting, is never far from her mind. Indeed, she is currently a lead actress in a production coming up in April, and she aspires to continue auditioning for roles once they can be fit into her schedule.
Lashley began acting even before she could form a sentence.
“I walked around the house screeching my voice and slicing a book with a ruler, pretending to be playing the violin,” she said with a reminiscent smile.
“My mother says she had no idea where I’d seen it being played before. I began singing, drawing, painting, dancing, choreographing and playing the tambourine at church at a very young age as well, the violin came after, around age 8. I was always passionate about so many things that I decided early on that being an actress was the only way to dig my nails into all. Acting in various roles, and thankfully, I loved acting as well.
“Being an actress was the plan from day one. My first monologue was self-penned at age eight at the Western Light Church of the Nazarene’s Independence programme. It was the first out of nine times that I have played a granny or old woman character. It is my favourite role to play because I am very close to my grandmother. Her wigs, cane, hats and socks have graced many a stage. After that first monologue, there was no going back. The audience loved it, and from then, I delved into acting,” Lashley added.
In the summer of 2011 she joined Operation Triple Threat (OTT) as stage manager. Around the same time she earned an Exhibition and graduated from the Barbados Community College’s Theatre Arts and Literature Programme. Lashley then went on to study at the Errol Barrow Centre For Creative Imagination (EBCCI) doing my Bachelor of Arts degree in Theatre and Film before graduating with honours last year.
“My area of study has been the arts because I believe, against all the criticism and negative remarks that I
received initially, that it is possible to excel in the arts, devote your life to it, and still be able to eat.
“I do not believe you have to follow other more romanticised, popular and ever so lauded career paths to make a decent living if you’re interested in something else.
“If there is no market for it, go where there is, or make one where you are. It is way easier said than done, especially since the arts and artistes are generally under appreciated and under paid by certain strata of Barbadian society. However, it is not impossible. I clung to a quote I heard early on, ‘If you do what you love as your career, you’ll never work a day in your life’.
“Now, working in the arts is hard work, don’t get me wrong, but when you are passionate about what you do, you work even harder, go the extra mile, and fulfil your destiny in a way that is inspiring to others and empowering for yourself.
“I am so indebted to my family for supporting my pursuit of the arts. I know many others who are equally passionate, but not allowed to go down that career path because their parents think it’s too uncertain and unwise.
“Thank you, mum and dad [Iris and Romero Lashley] for believing in my crazy ideas even when I was too young to understand the work I’d need to put in to achieve them.
“Either way, whether I became an actress or a sales clerk, I’m sure they’d support me once it’s what I want to do, wholesome and once I give it my best shot,” she laughed.
Lashley isn’t sure when she will leave Hong Kong, according to her, that is up to God and His guidance. But she is settled at the moment though really missing her family and Barbados. (SDB Media)
