Ho-Jung

Ten years ago, while living in New York, I was in Gene Frankel’s acting class. He loaned me his 1979 edition of Jean Cocteau’s The Eagle Has Two Heads and The Human Voice and suggested I work on the latter.

At first, the challenge in The Human Voice of being alone on stage was daunting enough, not to mention that I would be on the phone the entire time and had to convince the audience that there was actually someone on the other end.

Also, I found it difficult to relate to the character, the Woman––how could this woman allow another human being to tell her one lie after another? How is it possible to be so absolutely in love with someone she is willing to commit suicide? I thought she was weak and behaving like a victim.

Ho-Jung

Over the years, I’ve remained fascinated with the Woman, Cocteau’s words and the obvious challenge of having a dialogue on the phone without any reply. The play spoke to me on many levels: love, denial, anger, rejection, acceptance and self-worth. Still, I felt I was judging the character. I kept hearing Gene’s voice about the importance of finding the love and humanity in any character you play.

One day while browsing the Internet, I stumbled upon an article by Geraldine Bedell in The Guardian titled, “I Wrote The Story of O.”  It was about the author Dominique Aury, who wrote The Story of O (under the pseudonym Pauline Reage) to seduce her lover, Jean Paulhan. After reading the article, my entire perception of the Woman shifted because I saw the similarities between the Woman and Dominique Aury. I was awakened to the lengths human beings will go to be loved, regardless of their occupation or status in life.

Now that I was no longer judgmental, I could begin to explore more freely with enthusiasm as my guide. I watched Elevator to the Gallows, The Lower Depths, La Bête Humaine and Last Year at Marienbad, just to name a few.

Over time I began to see the Woman as a fighter, someone who needs to confront her lover but doesn’t have the courage. And, even after she knows he is lying to her, she still fights for their love till the end. She refuses to give up and does everything possible to give him the opportunity to tell her the truth. Sadly, what he doesn’t understand about her is that no matter what the lie is, she would have forgiven him.

Ho-Jung

As a result of these discoveries, I decided to put up a production of The Human Voice. I approached Guy Camilleri who said he would like to produce the play. Together we formed A Bunch of Artists Productions. The Human Voice is our first production.

I met the director Dan Bonnell through Jacqueline Wright and was excited about the prospect of us working together. He loves Paris, the time period of the 1930s, and I think underneath he is a hopeless romantic and believes he is French!

His visual sensibility and sensitivity are perfect for The Human Voice. Dan wanted the audience members to participate as if they were witnessing a very private phone conversation – at times questioning whether they should be listening in on the conversation.

As for that few seconds before going on stage, I have had thoughts of turning around and marching out of the theater. But as soon as I hear my entrance cue, it disappears as I have another opportunity to bring Jean Cocteau’s words to life and give the Woman a voice that needs to be heard.

The Human Voice, presented by A Bunch of Artists Productions, continues Fri.-Sat., 8 pm; Sun., 7 pm; through April 24. Tickets: $20. Elephant Space Theatre, 6322 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood; 323.960.7863 or www.plays411.com/humanvoice.

**All production photography by Ed Krieger

Ho-Jung (pronounced ho-joōn) is an actress,a painter, a fashionista and performer, born in Seoul, South Korea. Her family moved to Honolulu when she was seven. While attending college in Honolulu to study Fine Art and Painting, she started a career in fashion at Chanel Boutique in Waikiki. After several buying trips to New York and Paris, she moved to the Big Apple to study figurative art and continue her career in fashion with Chanel.

Ho-Jung

Ho-Jung might have never stepped into the spotlight were it not for a chance meeting with acting teacher and director Gene Frankel. After meeting him at a party and learning of his class, Ho-Jung devoted five years to study. Soon she was winning leads in Off-Broadway shows and booking indie films. After arriving in LA, she made her studio film debut in Lakeview Terrace, directed by Neil LaBute. She then worked with Alejandro Chomski in the indie feature A Beautiful Life. Her credits include guest-star roles on My Generation, The Gilmore Girls and recurring on Talk Show with Spike Feresten and Love Without Borders, shot on location in Moscow, Russia. Her teachers in LA include Milton Katselas, Catlin Adams, Sharon Chatten, Gary Imhoff, Guy Camilleri and Bjørn Johnson. A member of East West Players, she is represented theatrically and commercially by Sid Levin of The Levin Talent Agency.