This production is presented by the world-renowned Salzburg Marionette Theatre which I like very much. Hopefully I'd have the chance to watch them live one of these days.
Saturday, April 11, 2009
"The Sound of Music" Marionette Style
"The Sound of Music" by Julie Andrews is such a classic. But, can anyone imagine it being performed not by flesh and blood actors, but with marionettes? Take a look at it:
This production is presented by the world-renowned Salzburg Marionette Theatre which I like very much. Hopefully I'd have the chance to watch them live one of these days.
This production is presented by the world-renowned Salzburg Marionette Theatre which I like very much. Hopefully I'd have the chance to watch them live one of these days.
Thursday, April 02, 2009
Inspired: Edward Gordon Craig
Lately I've been busy. Very busy.
First I had to render costumes for scenography project on "Romeo and Juliet". Second I have to attend rehearsal for "Three Fat Virgins Unassembled" as an ASM, at the same time help out with the bump-in of this show together with that of "Invisibility" (currently performing in school). Third, a few essays are almost due and I've yet start on any of them.
Anyway, that's not the main point for this post.
Lately I got an "offer" to do scenic and lighting design for my troupe's "Bloodshed in the Imperial Palace", which we would be performing in Taiwan this August/ September. Actually, it was me who volunteered my service, as I thought this would be a good learning experience for me, instead of just working in school context. But then, it wasn't that easy for me as I'm faced with two big challenges: my troupe leader wanted me to use as little set pieces as possible and use more of light to enhance the performance; the venue has got only 4 fly bars for flying scenic pieces.
This comes as a blow to me. No way am I going to compromise my artistic vision just because of budget constraint, as I've done in 2006 for "Courtesan Yu Tang Chun" which I felt is a failure and that I'm almost too ashamed to even put it in my CV. However, lately as I was doing research on Edward Gordon Craig for my Theatre History essay assignment, I realised that there's a lot I could learn from him. He too once had to make do with an unpromising theatre and yet he could create something out of it. What's more important is that despite having relatively simple set for his productions, they remained very effective because he was able to make his set integrate with the whole plot, instead of being a standalone element on its own.
Perhaps I can try to apply his techniques into my design. However, how well it works is yet to be known...
First I had to render costumes for scenography project on "Romeo and Juliet". Second I have to attend rehearsal for "Three Fat Virgins Unassembled" as an ASM, at the same time help out with the bump-in of this show together with that of "Invisibility" (currently performing in school). Third, a few essays are almost due and I've yet start on any of them.
Anyway, that's not the main point for this post.
Lately I got an "offer" to do scenic and lighting design for my troupe's "Bloodshed in the Imperial Palace", which we would be performing in Taiwan this August/ September. Actually, it was me who volunteered my service, as I thought this would be a good learning experience for me, instead of just working in school context. But then, it wasn't that easy for me as I'm faced with two big challenges: my troupe leader wanted me to use as little set pieces as possible and use more of light to enhance the performance; the venue has got only 4 fly bars for flying scenic pieces.
This comes as a blow to me. No way am I going to compromise my artistic vision just because of budget constraint, as I've done in 2006 for "Courtesan Yu Tang Chun" which I felt is a failure and that I'm almost too ashamed to even put it in my CV. However, lately as I was doing research on Edward Gordon Craig for my Theatre History essay assignment, I realised that there's a lot I could learn from him. He too once had to make do with an unpromising theatre and yet he could create something out of it. What's more important is that despite having relatively simple set for his productions, they remained very effective because he was able to make his set integrate with the whole plot, instead of being a standalone element on its own.
Perhaps I can try to apply his techniques into my design. However, how well it works is yet to be known...
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Wrapping up of "Emouvoir"
Yesterday was the second, and the last performance of our Technical Theatre Level 1's show "Emouvoir", and I'm greatly relieved. Though there're still hiccups here and there, it was nevertheless a nice working experience. What was unexpected was the turnout for both shows, and it was even more surprising that most, if not every member of the audience stayed till the end of the show. Sad to say, I was too busy during the interval to ask our videographer to change tape before the start of Act 2, hence almost half of the show was recorded. It was a pity, as this is our first class production, and god knows when we might have the chance to do that again.
Monday, February 16, 2009
Emouvoir Emouvoir
Our Technical Theatre’s show “Emouvoir” will be opening this week and our whole class is busy like hell as everyone is involved.
This “Emouvoir” thing is actually part of our theatre making module in which we have to stage a performance all by ourselves, from the initial conceptualization to design process all the way till setting up the stage. The only thing we do not do is to act and do promotion for it. Therefore, we have to direct a short piece of drama or dance, do lighting design for another, sound design for next, and then stage manager as well. It is stressful and confusing as we have to squeeze 12 groups of rehearsals together, sometimes even overlapping one another. Nevertheless it is still fun at times.
On a side note, I was involved in the poster design for this performance. It went well initially, until the Corporate Communications department told us that the poster design looked a bit ambiguous in meaning due to the image of a naked man’s torso on the poster. Luckily for me, being an ex-Visual Studies Foundation student, I was well-prepared for the justification, and the poster design was finally approved with the insertion of a short blurb on the poster to contextualise it.
“Emouvoir” will be on at LASALLE’s Flexible Performance Space on 19 and 20 February.
This “Emouvoir” thing is actually part of our theatre making module in which we have to stage a performance all by ourselves, from the initial conceptualization to design process all the way till setting up the stage. The only thing we do not do is to act and do promotion for it. Therefore, we have to direct a short piece of drama or dance, do lighting design for another, sound design for next, and then stage manager as well. It is stressful and confusing as we have to squeeze 12 groups of rehearsals together, sometimes even overlapping one another. Nevertheless it is still fun at times.
On a side note, I was involved in the poster design for this performance. It went well initially, until the Corporate Communications department told us that the poster design looked a bit ambiguous in meaning due to the image of a naked man’s torso on the poster. Luckily for me, being an ex-Visual Studies Foundation student, I was well-prepared for the justification, and the poster design was finally approved with the insertion of a short blurb on the poster to contextualise it.
“Emouvoir” will be on at LASALLE’s Flexible Performance Space on 19 and 20 February.
Friday, January 09, 2009
"Medea" Backtrack: Set Design
I should have blogged about this long ago, but I supposed I had totally forgotten about it!
When our class got the copy of the script "Medea", we were supposed to first come out with the design for Cornell Box, and then from there carry on to make a set design, and subsequently the costume design. All these, of course, are just for assignment purposes and not meant to be really materialised.
As stated in my previous post, I had adapted my setting to ancient India and there is a reason why I did that. The whole concept behind my set design for “Medea” came from a single idea of Kali, the Hindu Goddess usually associated with destruction and death. In turn, Kali is a manifestation of Parvati, the benevolent Supreme Divine Mother. The multiple manifestation of the Supreme Divine Mother shared some similarities to Medea, as she has many faces to her as well; Medea is a sorceress, a vengeful wife and a seemingly loving mother (as she claimed to be in the script) all rolled into one. Medea’s ultimate destructive nature also parallel to a certain extent to Kali, but at the same time contrast with the Goddess in the sense that Kali kill demons for maintaining peace on earth, but Medea kills for revenge. Based on the above aspects, I have decided to transpose the setting from ancient Greece to ancient India.
The set consist of 4 components, flats showing distorted structures of a Hindu shrine depicting the distorted perspective of Medea’s world, enormous holy Hindu scriptures in the form of raked platforms representing Medea’s beliefs in the Gods, an inverted cut-out of a Indian landscape on a seamless translucent canvas for the projection of washes to create different dramatic moods and a turn-able rostra which shows the idol of Parvati on one side and the “throne” for Medea on the back.
At the start of the show, Medea is in the temple of Parvati pouring her heart out at the Goddess. The skyline is deep blue, echoing the melancholy of Medea. The chorus, in the form of fairies by the sides of the Goddess, appears to console and give advices to Medea. After Medea kills her children, the skyline turned red to symbolize bloodshed, and at the same time, the flats showing the distorted structures flies off and the “statue” of Parvati turns around to show Medea’s “throne”. Medea, who now appears dressed like Kali climbed onto her throne, suggesting that she is her own God. The whole rostra rolls off upstage and the black centre curtains draw in, masking out the entire upstage, leaving only Jason all alone on stage.
Below here are images of my final set design:
When our class got the copy of the script "Medea", we were supposed to first come out with the design for Cornell Box, and then from there carry on to make a set design, and subsequently the costume design. All these, of course, are just for assignment purposes and not meant to be really materialised.
As stated in my previous post, I had adapted my setting to ancient India and there is a reason why I did that. The whole concept behind my set design for “Medea” came from a single idea of Kali, the Hindu Goddess usually associated with destruction and death. In turn, Kali is a manifestation of Parvati, the benevolent Supreme Divine Mother. The multiple manifestation of the Supreme Divine Mother shared some similarities to Medea, as she has many faces to her as well; Medea is a sorceress, a vengeful wife and a seemingly loving mother (as she claimed to be in the script) all rolled into one. Medea’s ultimate destructive nature also parallel to a certain extent to Kali, but at the same time contrast with the Goddess in the sense that Kali kill demons for maintaining peace on earth, but Medea kills for revenge. Based on the above aspects, I have decided to transpose the setting from ancient Greece to ancient India.
The set consist of 4 components, flats showing distorted structures of a Hindu shrine depicting the distorted perspective of Medea’s world, enormous holy Hindu scriptures in the form of raked platforms representing Medea’s beliefs in the Gods, an inverted cut-out of a Indian landscape on a seamless translucent canvas for the projection of washes to create different dramatic moods and a turn-able rostra which shows the idol of Parvati on one side and the “throne” for Medea on the back.
At the start of the show, Medea is in the temple of Parvati pouring her heart out at the Goddess. The skyline is deep blue, echoing the melancholy of Medea. The chorus, in the form of fairies by the sides of the Goddess, appears to console and give advices to Medea. After Medea kills her children, the skyline turned red to symbolize bloodshed, and at the same time, the flats showing the distorted structures flies off and the “statue” of Parvati turns around to show Medea’s “throne”. Medea, who now appears dressed like Kali climbed onto her throne, suggesting that she is her own God. The whole rostra rolls off upstage and the black centre curtains draw in, masking out the entire upstage, leaving only Jason all alone on stage.
Below here are images of my final set design:
And here are my initial set concept, and an intermediate design before I derive at my final one:
Dollie Finale: The "Medea" Story
For the past 1 month, I have been sewing, cutting, defraying and hurting my fingers like a costume-making machine, and finally today I have them all submitted to my lecturer. Hence here I present, the costume design for "Medea" the play! For those who are wondering how come the costumes I've shown in my last pose looked so Indian despite the fact that "Medea" was set in ancient Greece, I've actually adapted it into Indian setting, reason for that will be given in my next post on the set design (something which I had done last semester but just realised that I've not blogged about it yet!)
Costume for Medea at start of play. Her exaggerated sari has got a long end which sweep across the floor, and together with the peacock motif suggested her pride, elegance, and difference from other ordinary woman. She is dressed in South Indian style as I've set her to be of South Indian origin, as opposed to the North Indian adaptation of the play.
Costume for Medea after she killed her two sons. She seemed to have changed into another character, as she thought she is Kali by destructing whatever gets in her way, but of course she is not, hence her appearance her shows some similarity to common portrayal of the Goddess, but yet still very different.
Jason the future Princess Consort, hence dressed like a Prince.
Costume for King Creon of Gupta Empire (in original text the place is Corinth). About the same style as Jason, but more elaborate.
Costume for King Aegeus of Sassanid Empire (in original text the place is Athens). Although he's also a King, but he dressed differently from Creon, for obviously he's from Persia.
Costume for Chorus. Instead of women in the street, my Chorus is made up of fairy maidens transformed from temple statues.
Costume for the Nurse. The nurse in my adaptation is a comical role and of slightly higher importance because she knew well what is going on in the household, unlike Medea who is trapped in her own world.
Costume for Tutor. Other than King Aegeus, he's the only man in the show to wear garment for the upper body, because he's the more educated one. In my adaptation he's almost a comical role like the nurse.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Dolly Craze
Lately I'm crazy over 1/6-scale dolls. You know, Barbie dolls and similar. Not in the sense that I like playing with them, but more related to my interest in costume design.
It all started years ago when I saw some OOAK (One Of A Kind) dolls in Chinese wuxia styled costumes being auctioned on Ebay and I thought they looked absolutely fabulous. At that point of time I had the thought of doing the same myself, by repainting, rerooting and creating costumes for these dolls, just that it remained only as a thought. It was only recently, when I had to do costume design for "Medea" as a school assignment that the thought came to my mind again. The difference is that this time round, I really put that into action. Here are 2 costumes I had designed for the title role of Medea.
I still have 7 roles in which I had to design costumes for, and I'm not sure if I can finish them by the start of next semester! One thing I can be sure of, is I'd certainly be blamed for "spoiling the market", because doing mock-up costumes is not part of the assignment's requirement, but I did it anyway because I felt it can better aid me convey the kind of costume I wanted to create. Having said that, I don't think I'll do that again, if there's another costume design assignment in future for class, because it's simply too time and energy consuming!
It all started years ago when I saw some OOAK (One Of A Kind) dolls in Chinese wuxia styled costumes being auctioned on Ebay and I thought they looked absolutely fabulous. At that point of time I had the thought of doing the same myself, by repainting, rerooting and creating costumes for these dolls, just that it remained only as a thought. It was only recently, when I had to do costume design for "Medea" as a school assignment that the thought came to my mind again. The difference is that this time round, I really put that into action. Here are 2 costumes I had designed for the title role of Medea.
Medea in opening of play (top) and during the finale (bottom) when she was dressed similar to that of Goddess Kali. Model is a Volks Dollfie 27cm doll.
I still have 7 roles in which I had to design costumes for, and I'm not sure if I can finish them by the start of next semester! One thing I can be sure of, is I'd certainly be blamed for "spoiling the market", because doing mock-up costumes is not part of the assignment's requirement, but I did it anyway because I felt it can better aid me convey the kind of costume I wanted to create. Having said that, I don't think I'll do that again, if there's another costume design assignment in future for class, because it's simply too time and energy consuming!
Not forgetting making Chinese opera costume for my doll as well!
Tuesday, December 02, 2008
Monday, December 01, 2008
"Adiós" to Long Hair
I had not had my hair snipped for almost a year, and I finally had it cut yesterday. It was a very tough struggle for me; I always wanted to have long hair, but it is very hard to make the hair dry after washing, and the increased frequency of hair dropping made me having to constantly sweep the floor under my computer desk at home. Hence, after weighing various factors, I decided to have it snipped. Not without a big change, that is! Some of my friends will know that I visit the hair salon at least once in a few months, and everytime I leave the salon I'll usually spot a very big change in hairstyle, and this time is no exception too. Not only did I had my hair cut short, I also did a twist perm as well. However, I don't quite like the results; it wasn't as nice as what I had done before 2 years back, although it was done in the same salon. But, I think I will just have to stay with it for a few more months before I change my hairstyle again; I don't wish to visit the salon again and have all my hair shaved off!
One last look before snipping; I may not have a chance to grow hair this long again!
Intricate steps to prepare the hair for twist perm (they call it the "caterpillars"!); it is very painful!
Resulting effect
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Over The Top Makeup Box
It's the end of the school term and finally I can have my long deserved break. Although it's just one month, it is better than having none! I'm looking forward to it, as I can finally indulge myself in some Chinese opera, for I had totally no time to perform or even rehearse, and therefore a lot of performing opportunies had to be sacrificed for school.
Anyway, I've talked quite a fair bit about my Chinese opera craze before in my blog, but have never discussed any other related issues, so now I shall share with everyone my makeup box!
If you think this is a plumber or mechanic's tool box, then you're wrong...
It's my makeup box!
I have 2 pairs of eyelashes in my makeup box; the left pair is for younger roles while the right is for more matured/ older roles.
8 different shades of eye shadow! To be honest I seldom have the chance to use ALL, but one never know when the chance will arise to use them...
4 different shades of lipstick too! But I do use ALL of them, but of course not ALL at the same time, the most I'd do is to blend 2 tones to achieve the desired colour to suit a particular character.
Bottom compartment of the box: it's a mess and I don't know how to clean up!
Different kinds of brushes and eyeliners
Anyway, I've talked quite a fair bit about my Chinese opera craze before in my blog, but have never discussed any other related issues, so now I shall share with everyone my makeup box!
If you think this is a plumber or mechanic's tool box, then you're wrong...
It's my makeup box!
I have 2 pairs of eyelashes in my makeup box; the left pair is for younger roles while the right is for more matured/ older roles.
8 different shades of eye shadow! To be honest I seldom have the chance to use ALL, but one never know when the chance will arise to use them...
4 different shades of lipstick too! But I do use ALL of them, but of course not ALL at the same time, the most I'd do is to blend 2 tones to achieve the desired colour to suit a particular character.
Bottom compartment of the box: it's a mess and I don't know how to clean up!
Different kinds of brushes and eyelinersI know some people might find my makeup box a bit over the top, considering the fact that I'm just an amatuer Chinese opera performer (to put it bluntly, a hobbyist), but then again this is an investment which I think one have to make if he really has got the passion in it.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Lucky Stiff Opened!
"Lucky Stiff" opened at Lasalle's Creative Cube this evening, and I only realised that minutes before the show opened! Well, I guess I have had been to busy to know that, or that it has been ages since I last look at our production schedule.
Today's show was not bad, including my sound effects playback. It wasn't as smooth during the last few rehearsals, as the original laptop I had used for the sound effect playback was down, and had to switch to another laptop last minute. This new laptop, however, had got a problem of being a bit lagging, and almost all sound cues only went off about a second after I hit the spacebar. Luckily for me I somehow managed to get round the problem by anticipating the sound cues a little and play just before my stage manager asked me to go. Of course, by right that shouldn't happen, but I had no choice!
On a side note, I have got 2 complimentary tickets for this Friday's show. I guess I won't be needing them, and if anyone wants to watch the show, please contact me. If you're into comedies or shows featuring good laughs without any plot that requires a lot of brain power to analyse and comprehend, this is the show to catch!
Today's show was not bad, including my sound effects playback. It wasn't as smooth during the last few rehearsals, as the original laptop I had used for the sound effect playback was down, and had to switch to another laptop last minute. This new laptop, however, had got a problem of being a bit lagging, and almost all sound cues only went off about a second after I hit the spacebar. Luckily for me I somehow managed to get round the problem by anticipating the sound cues a little and play just before my stage manager asked me to go. Of course, by right that shouldn't happen, but I had no choice!
On a side note, I have got 2 complimentary tickets for this Friday's show. I guess I won't be needing them, and if anyone wants to watch the show, please contact me. If you're into comedies or shows featuring good laughs without any plot that requires a lot of brain power to analyse and comprehend, this is the show to catch!
Saturday, November 08, 2008
Upcoming Musical Productions
Previously I had posted that our whole class was involved in various musical productions this month, and now the tickets are available for sale at Gatecrash!
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The production I am in is "Lucky Stiff", a whimsical musical about an Englishman who inherited his uncle's money after his death, with 2 other people after him trying to ruin his plan. It will be performing from 26 to 29 November, with a matinee on the last day, at Lasalle's Creative Cube.
The other 2 productions are "Nunsense" from 13 to 15 November at the Creative Cube as well, and "The Life of Galileo" from 27 to 29 November at Lasalle's Flexible Performance Space.
Do come and support if you can!
PS: For those who can't remember, I am doing sound op., not part of the cast.
The production I am in is "Lucky Stiff", a whimsical musical about an Englishman who inherited his uncle's money after his death, with 2 other people after him trying to ruin his plan. It will be performing from 26 to 29 November, with a matinee on the last day, at Lasalle's Creative Cube.
The other 2 productions are "Nunsense" from 13 to 15 November at the Creative Cube as well, and "The Life of Galileo" from 27 to 29 November at Lasalle's Flexible Performance Space.
Do come and support if you can!
PS: For those who can't remember, I am doing sound op., not part of the cast.
Saturday, October 04, 2008
Mamma Mania
No you didn't see wrongly, and neither is that a typo error on my part for the title. It was actually a combination of "Mamma Mia!" and "Abba Mania", the 2 ABBA-inspired events which I had attended lately. "Mamma Mia!" is a movie adapted from the West End musical of the same name, which was in turn inspired and consists entirely of ABBA's songs, whereas "Abba Mania" is a concert by Abba Mania, a cover band of ABBA, trying to recreate the visual and acoustic atmosphere of an authentic ABBA performance.
I watched "Mamma Mia!" last Saturday, and although I was very much looking forward to its opening in Singapore, I know I shouldn't expect much, since not everyone in the movie is known for their singing. Furthermore, as I've not watched the musical itself, I'm not even sure if the songs of ABBA can really fit well into the movie, especially when the lyrics were all left untouched. Surprisingly, everything gels pretty well together and if I had not listened to ABBA's songs before, I'd have thought that the songs were all written for the musical/ movie itself. It was a rather entertaining movie with lots of laughs, and many a times it's the ensemble, in the form of hotel workers and fellow islanders, who spiced up the various song segments a lot. One major letdown was, however, the singing ability (or lack of to be honest) of Pierce Brosnan. Meryl Streep, who wasn't known to be able to sing previously, sounded much better than him on the contrary. However, I thought the acoustics for the songs in the movie (or whatever you call it) sounded rather strange; the vocals and the music doesn't quite seem to blend nicely, and sounded as if they were recorded separately and then superimposed onto one another. Or maybe they really did that, but they should have tweaked it to make it sound more "realistic".
As for "Abba Mania", I watched it this afternoon, exactly a week apart. The feel of this 2 events are totally different; the former used the songs of ABBA in totally different contexts, whereas the latter tried to make the audience feel as if they're going back in time and watching a real ABBA concert. Consisting of Mark Thomas, Philip David Hawkes, Lydia Griffiths and Carley Broom taking on the roles of Bjorn, Benny, Anni-Frid and Agnetha respectively, they churned out classic after classic. Not only did they sing, but also speak and behave as if they were their characters, making this events less like an imitation performance, but more like a concert. The audience were initially shy about doing anything else other than sitting rooted in their seats and watch actions unfold on stage, but with the catchy music and the ability of the band to create the right atmosphere, in no time many people started standing up, singing and clapping to the songs. It's a pity that the Esplanade Theatre is afterall meant for theatrical performances and not so much for such concerts, hence it is hard for the audience to really get up to dance and jive. Like I was sitting in Circle 2 on the front-most row, and I was afraid that if I were to stand up, I might be blocking the view of people sitting behind me who couldn't stand up like me due to the miserably small floor space they had. However, by the second half of Act 2, I guessed many people dismissed the venue's restrictions and started to stand up as if watching a concert by the Esplanade waterfront or at Singapore Indoor Stadium. "Abba Mania" was a big success, as I can see from the turnout and the response by the majority of the audience. Overall I find that although the band's nowhere near the original ABBA, they performed quite well. However, I just felt that Carley Broom's voice sounded a bit strained and tired at some points of the concert whereby she was supposed to sing solo. It was a small pity, but overall the concert was great, and I should really sing "Thank You For The Music" to them!
I watched "Mamma Mia!" last Saturday, and although I was very much looking forward to its opening in Singapore, I know I shouldn't expect much, since not everyone in the movie is known for their singing. Furthermore, as I've not watched the musical itself, I'm not even sure if the songs of ABBA can really fit well into the movie, especially when the lyrics were all left untouched. Surprisingly, everything gels pretty well together and if I had not listened to ABBA's songs before, I'd have thought that the songs were all written for the musical/ movie itself. It was a rather entertaining movie with lots of laughs, and many a times it's the ensemble, in the form of hotel workers and fellow islanders, who spiced up the various song segments a lot. One major letdown was, however, the singing ability (or lack of to be honest) of Pierce Brosnan. Meryl Streep, who wasn't known to be able to sing previously, sounded much better than him on the contrary. However, I thought the acoustics for the songs in the movie (or whatever you call it) sounded rather strange; the vocals and the music doesn't quite seem to blend nicely, and sounded as if they were recorded separately and then superimposed onto one another. Or maybe they really did that, but they should have tweaked it to make it sound more "realistic".
As for "Abba Mania", I watched it this afternoon, exactly a week apart. The feel of this 2 events are totally different; the former used the songs of ABBA in totally different contexts, whereas the latter tried to make the audience feel as if they're going back in time and watching a real ABBA concert. Consisting of Mark Thomas, Philip David Hawkes, Lydia Griffiths and Carley Broom taking on the roles of Bjorn, Benny, Anni-Frid and Agnetha respectively, they churned out classic after classic. Not only did they sing, but also speak and behave as if they were their characters, making this events less like an imitation performance, but more like a concert. The audience were initially shy about doing anything else other than sitting rooted in their seats and watch actions unfold on stage, but with the catchy music and the ability of the band to create the right atmosphere, in no time many people started standing up, singing and clapping to the songs. It's a pity that the Esplanade Theatre is afterall meant for theatrical performances and not so much for such concerts, hence it is hard for the audience to really get up to dance and jive. Like I was sitting in Circle 2 on the front-most row, and I was afraid that if I were to stand up, I might be blocking the view of people sitting behind me who couldn't stand up like me due to the miserably small floor space they had. However, by the second half of Act 2, I guessed many people dismissed the venue's restrictions and started to stand up as if watching a concert by the Esplanade waterfront or at Singapore Indoor Stadium. "Abba Mania" was a big success, as I can see from the turnout and the response by the majority of the audience. Overall I find that although the band's nowhere near the original ABBA, they performed quite well. However, I just felt that Carley Broom's voice sounded a bit strained and tired at some points of the concert whereby she was supposed to sing solo. It was a small pity, but overall the concert was great, and I should really sing "Thank You For The Music" to them!
Funny Mamma Mia!
So I just returned from Abbamania, but before I think of what to write about it, let me put a clip of Mamma Mia! the musical, not the "original" version, but a hilarious skit based on the original, done by the original Broadway cast. Enjoy!
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
3 Funny Thai Health Commercials
Here are three funny Thai commercials found on Youtube. How I love Thai commercials!
Sunday, September 28, 2008
It's a Wrap! End of "The Odd Couples"
So yesteday was the final performance for "The Odd Couple", and how time flies! It was a really fun experience working in this production, although I did not have the chance to interact with many people, especially the cast. My next production will be in November, and I believe it would be with the same class again. Really looking forward to it!
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Preview for "The Odd Couple"
Today is the preview for "The Odd Couple" and I was shocked. I was shocked because I only realised that last evening. Or rather I had thought it was supposed to be a few days later. But since my job as the lighting op for this show is relatively easy, it didn't quite bother me.
The audience today was very receptive of the performance, and they were cheering and laughing loudly, and from my position on the control tower at the back of the auditorium, I thought I was watching an American sitcom. I never expected the audience's response to be so positive in the first place, and the atmosphere is entirely different then when watching even the last dress rehearsal.
One day down, and four more days to go; hopefully every other performance will be as smooth-running too, and I'm looking forward to my next production, doing sound op for a musical...
The audience today was very receptive of the performance, and they were cheering and laughing loudly, and from my position on the control tower at the back of the auditorium, I thought I was watching an American sitcom. I never expected the audience's response to be so positive in the first place, and the atmosphere is entirely different then when watching even the last dress rehearsal.
One day down, and four more days to go; hopefully every other performance will be as smooth-running too, and I'm looking forward to my next production, doing sound op for a musical...
I have actually taken a few video clips of the drama during it's final dress rehearsal in the daytime, but until I know for certain I'm allowed to upload them onto any video servers, I am not in liberty to show them here. However, those who are on facebook can see one of the clips on "The Odd Couple" events page.
Friday, September 12, 2008
LASALLE's Performance Season Starting Soon
Although I'm just a mere lighting operator for one of the shows in the upcoming performance season of my school, I thought why not advertise them on my blog!
So altogether, there will be 4 shows being staged from 18th September to 11th October at the Flexible Space and Creative Cube within our campus compound. The 4 shows are: "5 Women Wearing the Same Dress" (18 - 20 Sep.), "The Odd Couple" (24 - 27 Sep.), "A Dream Play" (26 - 27 Sep.) and "Fever" (9 - 11 Oct.). Tickets are on sale now at Gatecrash (just follow the respective links above).
Please come support us!
So altogether, there will be 4 shows being staged from 18th September to 11th October at the Flexible Space and Creative Cube within our campus compound. The 4 shows are: "5 Women Wearing the Same Dress" (18 - 20 Sep.), "The Odd Couple" (24 - 27 Sep.), "A Dream Play" (26 - 27 Sep.) and "Fever" (9 - 11 Oct.). Tickets are on sale now at Gatecrash (just follow the respective links above).
Please come support us!
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Start of Production Period: The Odd Couple
So I had started attending rehearsals for "The Odd Couple", a drama production which would be held somewhere this month (I still have no idea when it would be held, although I knew my production period is from 16th to 27th this month!). I am the lighting op., and am really looking forward to it.
I have been very anxious when I first got the brief production schedule early last month, and being a bit kiasu, I actually went to get a zapped copy of the script, only to realised lately that we were producing the "female version" of the Neil Simon play and not the original male version which I had originally conveniently assumed. What a waste of money, but anyway both versions are more or less the same in terms of concept, so although I joined in the rehearsals much later than my other classmate who's doing the sound op., at least I know roughly the gist of the plot.
I thought "The Odd Couple" was really an interesting play, and I actually enjoyed sitting in for the rehearsals. I'll try to see if I can do a bit of video recording of the rehearsal next time round during rehearsal.
I was taking snapshots of the set before rehearsal commenced and I saw a shadow zoomed past; it was my SM Caleb trying to get all the props ready. I think my troupe's "SMs" should consider themselves very, very lucky and pampered to only turn up on performance day without knowing a single thing about the plot!
My LD Wang Meng with 1/3 of the cast in the background
The temporary "dressing room" for our cast; I can't imagine myself doing costume changes in such a chaotic place!
I have been very anxious when I first got the brief production schedule early last month, and being a bit kiasu, I actually went to get a zapped copy of the script, only to realised lately that we were producing the "female version" of the Neil Simon play and not the original male version which I had originally conveniently assumed. What a waste of money, but anyway both versions are more or less the same in terms of concept, so although I joined in the rehearsals much later than my other classmate who's doing the sound op., at least I know roughly the gist of the plot.
I thought "The Odd Couple" was really an interesting play, and I actually enjoyed sitting in for the rehearsals. I'll try to see if I can do a bit of video recording of the rehearsal next time round during rehearsal.
I was taking snapshots of the set before rehearsal commenced and I saw a shadow zoomed past; it was my SM Caleb trying to get all the props ready. I think my troupe's "SMs" should consider themselves very, very lucky and pampered to only turn up on performance day without knowing a single thing about the plot!
My LD Wang Meng with 1/3 of the cast in the background
The temporary "dressing room" for our cast; I can't imagine myself doing costume changes in such a chaotic place!
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