A Conversation with Chinonso Young for Lekki Wives by Blessing Effiong

My name is Chinonso Young Umesiobi. My first acting job was in 2007. A stage production A Voice for Ella, produced by Isioma Onochie Aihie, and directed by Solomon Macaulay.

indieactivity: Did you study acting?
Chinonso Young (CY): Acting is a passion; rehearsing in front of a mirror, watching movies and observe peoples behaviour, facial expressions, and body movement. I didn’t study acting as a course, but I get to self-improve with materials and informed practices.

What acting technique do you use?
Chinonso Young (CY): Method acting is a common technique with actors. The actor creates thoughts and emotions of their character to make their acting real and believable. It’s a useful technique all actors should learn. For this technique, I have to move away from my personality, to embrace, the character fully. This way, I can think like the character, talk like the character, and then act like the character.

Describe wrong impressions actors hold about acting?
Chinonso Young (CY): Acting doesn’t mean you have to look pretty all the time, you must be dynamic. Your look has to be different to portray flexibility and diversity.

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Do you take courses to improve your skills?
Chinonso Young (CY): I usually read and watch informative videos. When I get the chance to be educated, I indulge.

What acting books do you read?
Chinonso Young (CY): It is an e-book, on the Technique of Acting by Michael Chekhov

How do you keep fit as an actor: mentally, physically?
Chinonso Young (CY): I take lots of nutritious foods, water, and I exercise. I stay away from negative energy, I read to keep learning.

When you are offered a role, what do you do next?
Chinonso Young (CY): I read the script and absorb the character. I record my lines, play it back and listen to it over and over. It helps to create the dialogue with myself, if I can’t find someone to practice with.

How do you take a character in a script to an honest, believable and breathing person?
Chinonso Young (CY): It is more than just reading the script and acting it out, I have to keep my personality aside and become that character as much as possible.

Great day shooting with some of #Africa's Finest @kikimills @guchiyoung @keirafire007 @adaoraukoh#LekkiWivesSeason2 pic.twitter.com/CFVaqFThoR

— JOSELYN DUMAS (@Joselyn_Dumas) September 22, 2013

How do you stay fresh on a production set?
Chinonso Young (CY): I often avoid distracting conversations. And I always communicate as my character, this helps to make my acting fluid which appears free-flowing and natural.

Explain one creative choice you took on set?
Chinonso Young (CY): The spine of one scene I worked on with another actor required an intense emotional response; I needed to cry. But the other person wasn’t giving me enough to work with, I asked the director to instruct the actor to me a slap. I got a good slap and tears flowed freely, which made the scene work and earned me a good review.

Describe a memorable character you played?
Chinonso Young (CY): One memorable character I played would be Nkoyo; the character I played in a TV soap, My Mum and I. She was a nerd and a weirdo, she was funny and she had an unusual dress sense.

What do you want most from a director?
Chinonso Young (CY): Firmness. And a good sense of blocking that resolves a scene into its spine and brings out the best in an actor.

What actor do you long to work with?
Chinonso Young (CY): Nse Ikpe-Etim

Why this actor?
Chinonso Young (CY): She is an awesome actor who brings out the best in your acting, doesn’t drop the tempo and engages dialogue properly with a sense for good eye contact.

What advice would you give actors around the world?
Chinonso Young (CY): Never stop learning and improving yourself.

Briefly write about your career?
Chinonso Young (CY): My first act was a stage production, “A Voice for Ella”, I played a wicked step-sister. On the TV soap “My Mum and I”, I played the character Nkoyo, and went on to do Tinsel, a soap for MNET Africa, where I played a crazy and delusional character, Ngozi. I also did a short film called the “Line Up”, my character Fola was a woman pimp, who trafficks young boys, and there is my latest, Lekki Wives.

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