The Known, the Unknown, and the Unknowable

• Naman Ramachandran, “Taiwan’s 9m88 on Acting, Songwriting and the Space Between: ‘Both Fall Under Performing Arts, but in Many Ways They Feel Almost Contradictory’”, Variety, March 30, 2026

“Movies are about collective creative work”, she explains. “As an actor, we immerse ourselves in a character for a period of time and learn to understand and even love that character, no matter what they do”. Songwriting, she says, demands something almost opposite. “You constantly dig into your own struggles and experiences, asking yourself who you are and what you want to say. Sometimes that process can be very energy-consuming. There are moments when you feel like you’re stepping into an abyss without knowing where it will lead”. The conclusion she draws is striking in its candor: “Even though acting and songwriting both fall under the umbrella of performing arts, in many ways they feel almost contradictory”. [Read more].

9m88 says, in an inspirational kind of way: “Creativity is often an experiment”. Photo: Variety.