Elvin Ng Was Going To Buy New Clothes To Avoid Doing Own Laundry While Staying In University Hostel For Month-Long New York Acting Course
Luckily for the actor, he found a laundry shop nearby or the, er, expensive plan would have involved packing all his laundry back to Singapore next month.
“I'm not the most independent person,” Elvin Ng quipped, towards the end of our phone interview with the actor, who’s currently in New York. Just a few minutes earlier, he’d confessed that he “broke down” on his first day in the Big Apple.
It’s 1am for the 41-year-old, who’s speaking to us while winding down in his hostel room, and preparing for the first day of his month-long acting course at New York Film Academy (NYFA) on July 5.
If you follow him on Instagram, you’d have probably seen at least one of the many updates Elvin’s shared about his journey thus far. From outfitting his bare hostel room, to his experience falling asleep in a park, and even catching a musical by himself, Elvin’s been real busy adjusting to his new life as a student.
"I think in this stage of life, in my 40s, it's very surprising [to many] that I'm even doing [this],” he mused.
Later, he continued: "I feel like I've always been cooped up with everything back home. It’s all [about my] family, career, work, my own relationships [and] friends, things like that. So this time, I said: 'Okay, I'm going to put everything down, and just spend time with myself, and do something for myself.’ Just go out there and experience something different.”
And well, different is one way to describe what he's doing here in New York.
Apart from choosing to stay in the student accommodation recommended by his school to “fully experience being a student”, Elvin is also flying solo for the entire trip, which brought forth quite a bit of emotions for him.
"Some might say it's very dramatic, [‘cos] I’m only going away for one month [or so], but actually it's long enough for me. It's not short, but not long either. When I left, I felt many emotions. I was very raw and vulnerable. And then on the plane, when it was taking off, tears were rolling down, and then suddenly I'm okay again. There are ups and downs,” he said.
The waterworks didn’t end there either. After he reached New York, Elvin found himself tearing up once more on his very first day.
“Maybe [it's 'cos] I called home, and then when I put down the phone, I broke down. I think there were many emotions, it’s almost like I felt everything, but magnified. Like being away from home, it's not something I'd usually do…" he trailed off.
In fact, Elvin says his family reacted with surprise and concern about his sojourn and his aunties asked him not to go even after he had paid his school deposit.
“I was just emotional lah, like I'm 40 and I'm doing this, it feels like it's so interesting, fun and exciting, and at the same time, it's very out of my comfort zone, and I don't know what's happening. I know nothing, I don't know who I'm going to meet, I don't know what's coming my way. I'm not the most independent person [after all],” he said.
Is that why he later tells us he doesn’t ever do his own laundry?
"Actually I’ve realised that it's not that I can't do things myself. I'm by myself [now], and going all over the place by myself. Watching a musical alone was totally fun, and 'cos nobody knows me, I didn’t have to bother about the people around me. It was a very interesting experience, and I felt very free,” he shared.
Elvin went on to reveal that he spoke to a couple of colleagues who’d attended similar workshops in New York, from Zoe Tay, who attended acting classes there in the late-90s, to Julie Tan, who took on the two-month acting course at NYFA in 2016.
His conversations with them reinforced his decision to jet off to New York. Additionally, Mediacorp also linked Elvin up with a New York agent, which may lead to work opportunities there.
Since you’re flying solo and living in a hostel, will you be cooking and cleaning for yourself too?
No cooking please! No washing also (laughs). I'll just live quite simply. When I moved in, I saw the floor, and I don't think they cleaned it. This is just a student facility, with a lot of students and younger ones. It used to be an old hotel, so the floor was all dusty. I thought about cleaning the floor, but I just left it.
[When I checked out the facilities] I realised I have to take my own clothes down to wash!
As in take your clothes down to the laundry room?
I realised the next day that oh wow, it’s a washing machine. I thought it was like I could send [my clothes] for laundry, but it’s a washing machine, and I have to take my clothes down to wash. So I thought I'd just use everything I have, and then buy more clothes and continue to use them until I go home. Then I'll pack everything back and wash everything back home.
But I found out that there's a laundry shop down the street, so that's what I'm gonna do. I'll never wash my clothes myself (laughs).
We’re guessing you don't usually do the laundry at home.
There are a lot of other things I do at home, but I don't cook, I don't wash, and yeah... I like to have the house clean, so I'll do the packing and some cleaning but washing the clothes and cooking, these two are like a no for me.
You mentioned that you attended your orientation earlier. Have you met your classmates yet?
Not really, I just know that there are international students and American students. I saw some names, I think a lot of them are quite young, in their twenties, I'm not very sure, I'll only know tomorrow. It's quite interesting, 'cos I really don't know who I'm going to meet this trip.
As for school, it’s not just lectures where it's just theory, there’s a lot of participation and activities. Previously, [Mediacorp] asked if we wanted to take online classes if we had time. There were one or two classes [that I attended] but I felt it was not something that I wanted to do online, 'cos you're not really there to experience it, so I decided that since my schedule was free, I’ll try this out [instead].
Since it’s July 4th today, did you check out any of the Independence Day parades going on?
Yes, and of course, I just read about the Chicago shooting. Yes, scary right?
My family and everyone else, [they were worried] about the shootings. I also didn't want to be part of some random accident, you know. I’d avoid places that are too quiet, and those that are super crowded as well.
For me, I was in the Brooklyn area. I wasn't at the event itself, but I could see it across the water. There was quite a bit of a crowd, and I was vigilant. It was a bit scary, 'cos, you know, the sound of the fireworks?
I felt like there were a few times when there was suddenly a bang and a few people would turn their heads and look towards the sound, thinking that it might be a gunshot. I think somehow people are a bit scared, but security was quite high, I see policemen and soldiers around, [so it was safe].
Photos: Elvin Ng/Instagram
Watch Elvin Ng and Rebecca Lim take over a laundry shop in this episode of Towkay Take A Break