My Prerogative

Mood     : Relieved                    Music     : "News Recording" by Wei Sheong

It was so bad…that I did not eat my BREAKFAST & LUNCH. It was so bad…I did not even bother to bring my CAMERA down and take pictures of us. It was so bad…I STONED da whole time. My NERVOUS & ANXIOUS feelin WAS THAT BAD !!! Why ? Well…:

1) We haven’t perfected our TIMING in accordance to da audio recording.
2) I have to admit dat I haven’t INTERNALIZE my character
3) Our PROPS were working AGAINST us.
4) We had less than an hour to practice TOGETHER
5) We did not get a chance to be critiqued by our lecturer durin da full dress rehersal

So yea, with all these nonsence, I finally decided to FORGET bout all of them. took many…many…many deep breathes and RELAX my mind. I even prayed a simple prayer to God for strength and comfort. It is basically da SAME play by Samuel Beckette being performed by 4 different pairs. Each pair had something different to offer and interesting way of delivering the play to da audience. Me and Zalika were da last to perform our piece.

The first pair was Mark & Aaron. I thought they had the coolest act. All HUMOUROUS & WILD. The second to go was Tim & Liyana. I liked their piece cause it was FUTURISTIC & EDGY. And then came da clowns which reminded me how fun is it to be all SILLY and WACKY. That was being performed by Ben & Erica. And lastly, it was down to Me & Zalika. Of course, went on "stage" and just do what we had to do.

Guess what ? It turned out to be an interesting piece for da audiences. We had so many questions coming in regarding our piece as it was quite abstract compared to the other performances. There were a lot going in da minds of da audience and they really wanted to know da meaning behind our piece. And when they were asking da right questions and going on da right track, I knew we were all ok as our acting and gestures and body language all helped in conveying da intended message to them correctly. Best part ? They loved da whole idea of our piece. We got a number of compliments. All da late nights editing and pasting newspaper were all worth it. Phew…glad is all over now.

To da rest of da TEAM…WE DID IT…YEAH :p

P/S: Bryant Kevin Albuquerque a.k.a Pooh Bear, you deserve a special mention here. Thankz a lot for your help. HUGZ

Mood     : Happy                        Music     : "Buttons" by PussyCatDolls

At last, it has arrived. My DELL DIMENSION 5150 with Pentium Duo Processor. Fuiyoh, sounds so canggih rite ? Still, everything won’t be da same like it used to with my lappie. Anywayz, welcome to my humble room and I believe we will clique just fine. Oh, I named you after my lappie…you’ll also be called DEXTER :p

Mood      : Happy               Music      : "Stay The Same" by Joey Mcintyre

And everything has to come to an end. "Rojak" came to its finale on Sunday nite. Incidentally, "The Power Of His Love" has it’s final show yesterday mornin. Everything has to come to an end. I’m really happy for the members of The Oral Stage as well as the members of The Creative Arts Ministry. We’ve done it and I’m so proud of everybuddy. Everybody loved the production and lives were touch. That is all that matters.

PC Fair also ended it’s bargain yesterday. thankz to Wei Sheong, Adeline, Me, Mom, Jung and Him all went to KLCC Convention Center to have a look. Ended up, me and Adeline got a very good deal with Dell and we both placed an order for a new PC. Ooo…can’t wait. 10 dayz to arrive. Nevertheless, I still miss my lappie a lot.

Mood      : Inspired                    Music      : "Do Somethin" by Britney Spears

Had Acting & improvisation class with Rey today and I got a few valuble pointers from him. Thank goodness cause so happen, tonite is da opening nite for "THE POWER OF HIS LOVE", da Easter Musical which I’m playing Jesus !

So yea, theatre is not really about telling a story, is about capturing moments and BE IN THE MOMENT on and off-stage (beginning & end). And every action is preceeded by a reaction. Is also about using SPACE (the stage) in an exciting way. The audience don’t wanna see actors do "normal" stuff. They can see ppl do "normal" stuff in da office and in shopping complexes. It is the job of the actor to IMPROVISE and deliver the moment in an interesting way.

Being in the moment requires commitment and motivation from the actors. At the end of the day, theatre is all about an ENSEMBLE; everyone WORKS TOGETHER to help create an LLLUSION. Eye contact and body language is important for communication between actors. Lastly, self, pride and ego is the WORST ENEMY of an actor. On a personal note, I learnt that there is a fine line between loosing yourself on stage and keeping it altogether. Gotta ponder upon this matter further.

Mood      : Entertained            Music      : "Get The Party Started" by Pink

The many…many hours of rehersals definitely paid off for the cast members of ROJAK. I was mesmerized by the whole production and I could sense the energy and vibe coming out from all of them. Speechless and all I could do was only to sit back and enjoy da show. So proud of them. A little emo as well but it’s ok, YOU GUYZ ROCK da stage.

We have loads of attitude, histerical screaming, major posing and plenty of sarcasm in the different plays. Truly a piquant blend ! Yea, there were some technical hickcups but I think da audience grew to love them all. Keep it up guyz and ROCK ON…:p

Mood      : Determined                Music      : "Control Myself" by LLcoolJ & J.LO

It was a feisty Monday evening for me and Adeline. We were having a serious discussion on the way we speak and loosing our "crappy touch" altogether. We are A students for English subjects throughout our lives but we realize we dun seem to feel like an A English student anymore.

So, it’s time for some serious heavy-weight change for two of us. Whenever we meet up, we are gonna speak slowly with a British accent. Just da two of us so we won’t annoy other people along da way. This gonna require a lot of conscious effort but we are determined to do it !!!

Mood      : Inspired                Music      : "The Munchkin Song" by Adrian

Sing to the tune of "GOD IS SO GOOD (Hallelujah)" !!!

Andrew is Munchkin (Furry Animal)

Andrew is Munchkin (Furry Animal)

Andrew is Munchkin…FURRY ANIMAL !

He runs on wheels (Everyday & nite)

He runs on wheels (Everyday & nite)

He runs on wheels…EVERYDAY & NITE

He P M S (Everynow & then)

He P M S (Everynow & then)

He P M S… EVERYNOW & THEN

Mood      : Stress          Music      : "How Much More Can Love Demand" by Jesus

One of da famous quotes from M! The Opera was "Janganlah stress…It’s only a dress" ! But how can one not STRESS when he’s playing JESUS ??? Practice makes perfect…AGREED…BUT, what if you have to play DEPRESSED & AGONIZING again and again ??? "Oh Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away, may Your will be done" !

Neh, it isn’t really that bad. I’m just a little upset with myself for not being able to carry that scene free-flow. 2 more weeks leh…STRESS !!!

Mood      : Disgusted                  Music      : "Don’t Cha" by PussyCatDolls

Don’t get me wrong, Gavin Yap did a good job in bringing Harold Pinter’s work to stage at KLPAC. I was just DISGUSTED by the story of the play. Seriously lor, I do not need to pay RM20 to go all da way to KLPAC to watch that play to know what is going on in today’s mixed-up society !!!

What’s da story about ?…neh, dun think I wanna post it up here. Anywayz, I was assigned to do a review on the LIGHTING aspect of da play. It was perfectly done and it does help in setting da mood for each scene and at da same time brings symbolism to a certian extent. Da casts did a good job. We love most of them. Thor Kar Tong successfully managed to convince us that he is some old grouchy man where else U-En Ng played a disturbed middle-child very well. He was da most entertaining character to watch. I like da set design. Really depicts a nice, cosy, old-town kinda house.

Had no idea Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Center (KLPAC) was situated in such a cool place. Din’t know Sentul West was that beautiful. Anyhow, good job Gavin, BAD JOB Harold !!! -_-"

Mood      : Inspired                  Music      : "There Is No Time" by The Company

This marks another milestone in my life. M! The Opera is my very first local play. Incidentally, it is also the first time that I stepped foot in Istana Budaya. Indeed I was surprised as I had no idea da place was so grand and classy. Thank goodness I wasn’t under dressed for da show. Da show didn’t start on time though…Malaysian timing to da max !!!

M! The Opera is a new music composition that has been produced by some of Malaysia’s finest creative talents. music composed by Saidah Rastam and text-written by Jit Murad, this is a production that could only have evolved in Malaysia today. In 3 words, this show is all bout LOVE & MURDER set in the sumptuous world of FASHION ! I personally thought this HUGE production was excellent and really interesting. I’ll give a 7.5/10 rating for it.

Da costumes were really colourful and of course FASHIONABLE. Props were pretty minimal BUT the backdrops were incredible and created on a large scale. I had no idea Istana Budaya was that advance. I mean da stage could move up and down on different levels and the backdrops could go up and down from the high ceiling giving the set changes a very smooth transition. the only down-side of this production was the sound. I could barely follow the flow of the dialogue which got me puzzled of the storyline in da beginning. Fortunately I manage to grab hold of da program booklet which I gotten the chance to read bout the meaning of each scene.

Lookin forward to watch more local productions at Istana Budaya. Oh, is pretty cool to be a Sunway Performing Arts & Media student as we get to watch M! The Opera for free !!! :p