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As part of our Day in the Life series, The Style Sheet spends the day with Crisel Consunji — a professional actress, singer and educator. Along with taking home the award for Best New Performer at the 2019 Hong Kong Film Awards for her role in Still Human, Crisel is co-founder of holistic learning centre Baumhaus.


Early Morning


‘Baumhaus opens at nine, and the team and I have to be there before the children arrive. I check in with our managers to see that we’re prepared to have a smooth run for the day. We work with really young children, so it’s important that every toy is inspected, safety in the playroom is checked, and that we have all the materials we need for the day. While my mind is fresh, I draft lesson plans, training and project plans, any talks or community projects — basically anything that requires creative planning. I’ll also spend time troubleshooting operational needs of the business, because as a small business, there’s always something that needs taking care of — whether it be supplies that don’t arrive on time, staff on leave or ad hoc concerns that we need to jump into.’

Actor, singer and educator Crisel Consunji teaches a class at Baumhaus, the learning centre she co-founded

Mid-Morning


‘These days, I’m usually teaching full days, but on the days that I’m not in the classroom, I take time to work on operations and admin, such as planning course calendars, communications to clients, handling staff concerns and looking at improvements to the facilities. I usually line up a few Zoom meetings to touch base with our partnerships and tie-ups.’

Crisel often takes a working lunch around Starstreet Precinct

Lunch


‘I can usually squeeze in a lunch around the area with a friend, or if I’ve been teaching, I use the time to have a working lunch with some team members so I can address work items or just touch base. This is also the time I can catch up with teachers and address any challenges they may be having in their practice.’

Baumhaus literally means ‘tree house’ in German, and the tree house at the Wan Chai centre symbolises safety, family and imagination

Afternoon


‘Back to teaching! I teach a lot, and I love being back in the classroom. It’s one thing to be training teachers, and it’s another to be personally involved with the children and their families. When it’s quiet, I have time to do other projects, like reading a film script or preparing for an event.’

Crisel takes a quiet moment to look over a film script

Evening


‘Evenings are interesting, because much as I want to just switch off for the day, it’s almost like another life. Because some of our business partners are based in the US and Germany, my husband and I do our Skype and Zoom meetings then. Some evenings, I have events or singing engagements. That’s pretty easy, because I’ve got an amazing team helping me. It takes a lot of time to get ready, though!


I’m not one to spend time on fashion and beauty, so it’s a stretch for me. I might also spend an evening finishing my graduate studies in Early Childhood Education. I’m asking myself why I took on the extra mental load, but I love learning, so in a way it’s a bit of a break for me. I find that switching gears allows me to enjoy the work I do, because there’s never a dull moment!’

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