ABOUT

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Adele Lim / 林恩宁 (they/she) is a first-generation Chinese Singaporean actor, singer, mover and deviser based in Greater Seattle, Washington.

…ugh, I can’t do this. Google told me that “artist statements are to provide context & understanding for the viewer, explaining the “what” / “how” / “why” behind the artwork.” So. In the absence of viewing my artwork, live theater, it seems a little odd to provide you with any sort of context. And yet, I’ve already begun clueing you into the “what.” Tricky, eh? Hehe. That’s right, my work constitutes and thrives upon LIVE interactions, with cast, crew, audience, props, sets, myself even – the WHOLE ensemble, and I find myself constantly walking the fine line between obsessing over consistency, and the continual development of the life of the show. Which translates to: I thirst for new and devised works in rooms where collaboration is valued, but I also savor the challenge of bringing my own perspective to done-many-times-before musicals. Here’s a complete list of works I’ve participated in, and with one exception, I was mostly entranced to be in each production. (Hit me up in person to get the tea, I’m not that loose.)

But WHERE did you come from, Adele? And WHY do you do what you do? (Google missed that first one.) Well, I physically hail from Singapore where I spent the first 13 years of my life, six of which were spent training in a competitive Chinese Modern Dance troupe, complete with fan/sleeve/hair/lift work and shoe-throwing (as in the instructor’s shoe, at us. Good times!). That has informed much of my love for performing, alongside a plethora of animated films. My body still remembers the bright lights–blinding everything in sight but the arms, legs and torsos of my ensemble–the adrenaline, the dedication, the use of my entire BEING to be part of a larger force that was my incredible team. Not to brag but we won gold every year. Achievements aside, I think I’ve been chasing that feeling ever since.

I’ll spare you further details of my typical immigrant / neurospicy / queer / nontraditional thespian story; didn’t fit in blah blah, body dysmorphia yada yada, not American enough to do musical theatre so maybe I’ll be a vet instead but actually let me just work at Microsoft real quick oh wait I hate capitalism and corporate politics so I’ll just work at a climbing gym so my body can STOP KEEPING THE SCORE. Ahem. Cue Little Women, the musical. Playing Jo changed my entire life’s trajectory and brought me back to theater after I left my musical theater degree from college on a dusty mantel in my parents’ house. I wrote a poem about it! Well, that’s for my eyes only, and my therapist’s ears, but the single phrase that has resonated through every bit, every line, every pause, every movement since:

Ignite every moment with truth-telling.

UGH, so cliché. But alas, that is the “HOW”.

I hope this gives you a starting sense for who I am as a person, and in turn, who I am as a performer. And that if anyone is ever casting Jo in Little Women (the musical), look no further.