Douglass Zhangdzhang07@yahoo.com
Amherst, MA
Actor/Poet/Disciple of the Arts
Doug is a citizen of the world, and a lover of the stage. He received hisBachelor's Degree in Biology from the University of Massachusetts Amherst andgraduated Magna Cum Laude. He is an actor, an artist, a poet, an athlete, anda beginning dancer. Expression is the key to his existence. He never had anyprofessional training. However he has stayed close to the stage throughout hisyears of personal struggle with identity. The following is an excerpt from hisautobiography:
"...yet despite the darkness there was always a place that provided a sourceof surreal warmth and comfort—the stage.
I like to sneak into an empty theater at night from time to time, stand up onthe dark stage, look into the eyes of ghosts and demons, and just freestyle. Idon't know the reason, but it is a rush. I don't have to care about mytechniques. I don't have to watch my language. I don't have to enunciate everysyllable like a properly-trained British broadcaster. I don't have tobe 'compelling'. My monologues don't have to be structured. I don't have toproject, because the ghosts are not as physiologically-challenged as ushumans. They hear everything, even the thoughts in my mind. I don't have tocare about criticisms and be self-conscious, because I know they appreciate mefor just being with them, and because in my heart I am content. I do it forthe love of it, and nothing more.
It seems that all odds are against me from becoming involved in theperformance arts—my lack of actual experience and training, the disapproval ofmy parents, the repetitive rejections, the constant circumstantial conflictsthat hinder me from participating in productions, and the oppressingstereotypes for Asian males in the entertainment business. It feels almost as if God is saying, 'Don't even think about it.' It is my forbidden love."
