Angela Kinsey on the 'Gift' of a JIS Education & Growing Up in Indonesia

Before she was an Emmy-winning actress, Angela Kinsey (Class of 1989) was a Dragon. She reflects on her "stellar" theater training, childhood memories of Jakarta, and the inclusive foundation that shaped her life.
 

When you first arrived at JIS, did you attend Pattimura Elementary? 

Yes, I did. You posted a picture of the Pattimura playground on Instagram a while back, and I instantly got drawn back to the Pattimura days when the wind was blowing through the trees. I had an instant fond memory. I immediately remembered walking through the campus, and I’m sure it’s changed a lot, but there was a swing set in the back corner. I had long, long hair, and my mom would braid it. My mom said she would drive by, and she could see my braids going up past the wall while I swung up into the air. It makes me so happy that the big Pattimura tree is still there. 
 

Can you tell us about your JIS journey? How long were you a student at JIS?

It’s so funny because I never called it JIS, I always said J-I-S. But I guess I was there so long ago, I predate the lingo! I moved to Jakarta when I was 2 years old. We lived in Jakarta until I was 14. We returned Stateside for about a year and a half [because] my dad’s company had transferred him. And then we went right back [to Jakarta], and I was so excited to go back! I walked through campus just like I always did and saw my friends who were still there. I have great memories of going to elementary school in Pattimura.

Then I went to J-I-S [the Cildank campus], and I was in a classroom called Timur. That was a Grade 5 and 6 hybrid class. Then I was at J-I-S until ninth grade because halfway through ninth grade, my dad was transferred back [to the States] for good. I begged my mom and dad to let me stay — maybe with a friend’s family. I had heard of upperclassmen doing that if their family got transferred back in their Junior year. My mom and dad said, “No way, we’re not leaving you here in ninth grade to live for four years without us — absolutely not.” So, I was very sad, and I did not want to go. Really, I lived my entire formative years — all my childhood — in Jakarta. It was home to me, and I really struggled when we came back State-side. 
 

Do you still remember any of your JIS teachers?

I have yearbooks, and when I see their faces and names, I remember them. Most of my yearbooks are at my mom’s house. I love it when I go there to go down memory lane. I have a few here as well. I have lots of photos, but I feel like when you say their names, then I would immediately register. I loved theater, and I had Dr. Allen, and he was fantastic. 
 

Were you involved in any theater productions at JIS? And was that something that helped your career in entertainment? 

Oh, 100 percent! The theater department was off the charts — stellar, amazing. It was in my mind and my memory, like, Off-Broadway, New York City-worthy. The stage and set pieces were gorgeous, as well as the craftsmanship that went into building the world of whatever we were showing and doing. At that time, Dr. Alan was running the theater department — he was fantastic. My background, what I love, has always been comedy and improv. We were already doing improv exercises in Elementary School [at JIS] as part of theater class. I talk about that to people; it was really before improv was sort of mainstream, and we did it as acting exercises. But I just could not get enough of the theater program at JIS. It was just phenomenal. 

Then you had the orchestra, and the theater itself was just gorgeous. I was Amaryllis in The Music Man — it was a big deal if you were in Elementary School to get cast in an upper-school play. Everyone else was in High School, and there were just a few of us in the lower grades. But I just loved getting to go to any shows; I would go to all of them. When I transferred to the other schools, they just didn’t have the theater and the stage and any of the resources that JIS had.
 

Do you have any favorite memories of JIS or Jakarta in general? 

I think [my favorite memory of] growing up and going to JIS was having so many different nationalities in your classroom and your friend groups. A big deal at JIS, when I was there, was United Nations Day. Everyone got very excited to represent their country and their culture. My parents were from Texas, so I borrowed my dad’s cowboy hat! I love the emphasis at JIS on intercultural education. 
 

You mentioned in one of your interviews that you spoke Bahasa Indonesia with your sisters. Do you still do that? 

My sister Tina’s Indonesian is fantastic. She went back to Indonesia as an adult and lived there later in life. My Indonesian is very rusty. Saya lupa banyak! But my sisters — two of them — haven’t lived there in a long, long time, and they’re very Southern. If we would be out shopping or something, and they would want me to look at someone, they might say, “Waduh, lihat orang itu!” I am sure people in Indonesia, their ears would be bleeding! 
 

Do you have any favorite Indonesian foods that you miss? Do you still eat Indonesian food? 

I miss and I love Indonesian food. Every once in a while, you’ll stumble across someone who’s like, “Do you know there’s an Indonesian restaurant in such and such town?” I had a friend tell me there was an Indonesian restaurant in Westwood, California, and I went to find it. It did have some items on the menu. It had krupuk, which I was really excited about, but it did not hold up. I really miss the food, I also miss all the sauces — just all the dipping. But I definitely, whenever I can, order anything that resembles nasi goreng.
 

When was the last time you were back in Indonesia? 

In my 20s, and that was a long time ago because I just turned 50. When I was 30, about to turn 31, I booked The Office, and then that was the next nine years of my life, so my whole 30s were The Office. And I had my daughter, but I talked about Indonesia a lot. And my home has things from Indonesia all through it. I definitely want to take my family there. I just am looking for the moment, the opportunity. And you better believe I’ll come to JIS and Pattimura!
 

What advice do you have for current JIS students? 

I feel like every experience is what you let it be. I think one of the biggest things I talk to my kids about is going into new places with an open mind and setting aside your previous thoughts of how things should be, or that part of yourself that has that rigid view may be of just a different place you know. I think some students coming to JIS, they’re coming from other countries, other backgrounds. If they can just take a minute and [realize] that their life will be that much richer because they were at JIS, that they’re going to have professors and teachers that help them see the world in a new way, that they’re going to have friends that they would never have met anywhere else — and it is truly a treasure, it’s a gift. I look at my time [at JIS], and it was a gift. And I’m lucky that I was there and was able to receive that gift. JIS is a melting pot, but in the best way; it’s a melting pot centering on education.