Thinking of Thoughts about Theatre

I think the experience I had Front-of-Housing for Zebra Crossing Productions at Victor/Victoria has further ignited my burning, itching, overwhelmingly dire passion for Theatre and Broadway. That's right. Broadway.

I don't know how and why, but I find myself jittery with this tingly feeling every time I watch a Broadway show. And it follows a week of the same tingly feeling, with the thirst to keep singing the songs and raving on about the whole show. But anyways that's how my mind works.

But what if there were a Broadway in Singapore?
I would be there already. BUT NO. Not in the near future anyways. So there it goes.

Hm, come to think of it, my passion for theatre goes back to Primary Two. Not so long ago. And before that I never dreamed of doing anything related to theatre. Well, every year in Primary school we'd do a huge fairy tale play. There was The Little Mermaid, The Prince and The Peppercorn, Rumpelstiltskin and then there was Cinderella. VS didn't give me a role in Sec one, so I was crewing for SYF. And then I did a soap opera style drama in Sec Two. IP one I crewed for Dramanight 2007. IP2 I was Lionel in Roadrunners. And here I am in J1. Well, I was the old man who choked on peas in our musical. The Naughty Lady of Shady Lane. If you didn't catch it, I tell you now, you missed out a great show. And it was a landmark for us, as we watched V.Actors transform into today's Dramatic Society.

And the story continues. Just in case you're wondering, I'll be co-directing SYF Drama 2010 with the amazing Sophie Chew.

Camp Smoke Initiative

Okay I'm back from CSI Camp! :)

What a great 2.5 days. Well-spent facilitating a camp for youngsters. Lovely bunch. Sincerely, I would like to thank Bryan and the organising committee Shayne, Jean, Jolene, Siang Yee for an opportunity to work with you people! Great Job.

Played captain's ball with a sotong. Got sunburned. Deprived of sleep. Put on a play within one night. Pulled off the facilitators' dance. Go NingXin! :) And I managed to pull off a skit, being the mad scientist with a clapper.

Photos should be up on facebook soon.

Anyways, I still can't get over Victor/Victoria! :D It's all-in-all a really great show and I like the songs and the dance routines and the sets and the costumes and everything. Hooked on the song 'Victor Victoria' which is the finale song. Great way to end the show with a big bang. Well, this happens every time I watch a musical anyways. A few days (or weeks) I get hooked on the themes and the songs. And the whole razzle dazzle.

Oh by the way, I'm apparently emceeing orientation. Heee :)

Hee.

Guess what this is.

Theatre Review

VICTOR/VICTORIA

Victor/Victoria chronicles the story of how passionate Victoria Grant (Laura Fygi) comes to Club Chez Lui in Paris and, with the help of the openly-gay Carroll Todd (Matt Grey), she goes under-cover as Count Victor Grazinski, the famous female impersonator from Poland, in order to get noticed. "Victor" works at a swanky night club in Paris and becomes the toast of the town. Things get complicated when she meets the man of her dreams - King Marchan (Jake Macapagal) - who is a gangster from Chicago, and who falls in love with "her". Victoria faces the dilemma of choosing between the man of her dreams or her passion for singing and performing.

This version of the Broadway musical of the same title is fun to watch, mostly because of its captivating storyline, witty lines, and the razzle dazzle of the setting, complemented by the spectacular set, jazz music and the song-and-dance routines. For jazz fans, be prepared for a treat because the scores and lyrics will bring you to the traditional essences of the genre, and what better way to do this than Laura Fygi and the like? Ms Fygi's voice is captivating, as with her performance as Victoria Grant. She somewhat reminds me of the original Victoria Grant - Julie Andrews - but this is in no way a distraction, because she delivered a good show as Victoria Grant.

The rest of the lead characters were well delivered as well by international talents such as Nicole Stinton, Jake Macapagal, Matt Gray and Claude Girardi. However, I felt that this pool of impressive international talents overshadowed the local members of the cast. Actors such as Shane Mardjuki, Daniel Boey, Gene Sha Rudyn and the like didn't quite make it for me, especially in the same show as the aforementioned international lead actors. The problem with the local actors was that they were not quite in tune with the Broadway style. To add to the situation, their accents were detracting and felt forced and fake. However, the cast as a whole showed great chemistry and energy. Even the spectacular dancers (with the exception of a few moments where they could have been more in tuned and synchronised) delivered high energy routines and sexy jazz routines successfully.

One thing that I felt could have been executed better was the comic timing of the witty lines in the brilliant script. I felt tickled for many moments in the show, but it was not delivered as well as it could have been, and hence I didn't feel enough so much as to laugh out loud (as I would love to). However, as the show progressed towards the end and the complexity of the plot unravels, the audience is treated to better comedy from the dramatic irony that the storyline offers, giving the audience a few moments of good laughs.

All in all, a fun show and a decent attempt at a Broadway musical.

Thoughts I Think

Actually, I don't know what to think anymore.

I'm starting to feel more and more emo.

Stop it.

Note to Self.

I can't put my finger on what it really is.
I'm just not sure.
People point.
Why.

It's not correct.

I just realised that there are a lot of things I can't put on my blog. Because of all its implications. Mostly social/political implications. The strike-backs that might occur - it's too much for anyone. Hence I shall keep it out of this space. And I shall save everyone - especially myself - from the indecent harms of which society is truly capable.

Peace is the way to go.

Made Public

Okay I have said this once, and decided that I shall make it public.

I have been super busy this past week, and will be even busier next week and the week after that. In light of this, I might have to miss some "bonding time" that we organise, and I apologise for that. I will make it up to you, if you want me to. I appreciate that most people are understanding :) so thank you everyone.

Here's an update and an advertisement.

We have completed the writing process of SYF Drama 2010. Auditions will start on Wednesday, and ends on Friday. Auditions will be held in LT AVA from 3 to 5pm. So please sign up on our Drama board and come down for auditions, people! :)

5, 6, 7, 8, Cue Music!

Not too sure what it is, but I'm excited for SYF, SNL and Dramanight next year. Well, we're starting preparations this year. SYF first. We're writing the script next week. Auditions the following week. Casting the week after, and rehearsals should commence after that. In the midst of this, we'll write our Dramanight script and do some SNL planning, cos it's gonna be a great show. Can't tell you about it now, but i assure you it's gonna be a whole new experience for most people.

Meanwhile, need to brush up my acting, writing, reading, moving, and maybe singing and dancing :)

Sigh.

Here's me whining about the boredom with which I am overcome. I don't know what I'm doing, wasting my time on youtube. Ah well, another day of rest. Oh but I studied a bit of Geography. Hydrology.

Here's a new song I'm hooked on.
For Your Entertainment
Adam Lambert

Peculiar

OH MY GODOT.

The school website's server is down. Either that, or my computer has something against me going to the school website. Ah well, I'll have to try again later. Need to go to VCSD to check my promos scores again, cos I don't remember them. Need to fill in some forms. I think an update of my subject combination is in order. Maybe H1 Geography. Meanwhile, study for my RePapers. Speaking of which, apparently I don't qualify to do the Econs R-Paper. Got an overall Pass, so apparently I don't have to do it. How utterly peculiar.

Wanna know something more peculiar? Watch REC. It's this Spanish Horror/Thriller movie about a bunch of people trapped in a building that was sealed off suddenly due to an infection that literally turns the infected one into a zombie. It's really the only movie I've seen that has made me feel "horrified". I mean, if you're gonna call it "horror", then you might as well "horrify" the audience. Most "horror" movies that I have seen thus far come nowhere close. Shutter, The Exorcist, The Ring, The Grudge 2. Shutter was stupid. And The Exorcist was more grotesque than horrifying.

But when it came to REC, I was really horrified. Literally. I guess it was the experience of being part of the whole thing, since it was filmed in a "Blair-Witch-Project" manner, shaky camera and all. Which makes you more conscious of the environment in which the characters were in, and in REC, you are trapped in a dark building full of Zombies. And this experience made me realise my fears. The dark, and the unknown.

So watch REC if you dare. It's just peculiar.

Trick or Treat!

The Parliament House at night. Spooky right?

And this was my first Snapple :)

Well, Friday was supposedly Halloween Movie Marathon with A15. It happened from 9pm to 6am, so I didn't go, knowing I would fall asleep within the first hour.

So instead, I went trick-or-treat-ing with V13 and some other friends of Wadee - Timothy, Simin, Janel, Amanda, Eduardo, Sophie, Kiron, Lucas, Gracilia, Gabriel, Valerie, Kimberly. Hope I didn't miss out anyone. Later, Tim and Marcus joined us at Simpang Bedok for late-night drinks.

Candy was one highlight of the night.
This I bought. Mars Red, with half the fat!