Opening the world's smelliest durian

Preview night's over. Effectively, fiftynine minutes' opening night's over (thought technically, that's meant to be tonight... I don't know, the guy's a Gemini, how am I supposed to understand?). Last night's show was "by invite only" - every member of the cast (and production team?) received 2 tickets to give to their friends & family. I managed to get a few more tickets so that I had all the biggest aunties of Broken Bridges there (ie M, SY & CY). Hey, start with the toughest crowd and everything else is smooth sailing from there. Piss-easy, as the English like to say (damned if I know why). BTW my monologue is called The World's Smelliest Durian.

Conveniently, 2 of the recipients were the BB writers, a part of my diabolical plan to ensure that I'm uppermost in their mind for all their future works. Visualisation exercise begins:

Writers: Thanks so much for taking in our play. (in unison - they're cute that way)
Director: No problem, it's great. Do you have anyone in mind for any of the parts?
Writers: JO!!!
Director: Ah... is she any good?
Writer A: It's a he, actually.
Director: But your play consists of 10 women.
Writer B: Don't worry, he'll manage fine.
Director: 10 Indian women.
Writer A: Aiyah, small thing only.
Writer B: Trust us, he'll be fine.
Director: Right...... (mutters) crazy Ipoh boys.


Great thing is that they all really enjoyed my performance. With this group, I know their feedback is honest - which is the most valuable thing for performing. In fact, M was so blown away and impressed and convinced of my acting skills that I'm almost insulted. MelBabes is going to get her crew to come, which is nice.

How'd I feel? Great. I had a mildly spicy Kerabu Fried Rice next door at the Food Foundry just before the show, so that totally wiped out any butterflies that were unfortunate enough to end up in my stomach. Yeah, queasy, but not the usual kind. But I knew I was ready - no worries about lines, no worries about blocking, no worries about emoting. Just had to bear in mind my director's notes. Which is THE best place to be for a show, I think. I always want to be in this zone before a show - so get all the rehearsing over and done with early, and get thoroughly prepared before every show. For me, passing through the backstage curtain last night was like the first open water dive - you've gone through all the training, you're more or less ready, gawd knows what'll happen out there, just go through the practiced routine... dive... and enjoy yourself. Could be like skydiving too. And bungee jumping. If anyone's going to do either of these, CALL ME!


Saint Petersburg

What a bloody amazing game. I'm still hooked, and thoroughly enjoying it. Playing a little too much two-player though - I'm beginning to get all the nuances and strategies already. Need more kaki! It seems that a German magazine, published last year, issued a mini-expansion to this game - with twelve new cards. Check it out here. Addictive strategic and highly competitive board game, anyone?


Bookworming

To fill in the blank from a previous post, the 3rd book I bought (and am currently reading) is called The Geography of Thought, by Richard E Nisbett (yes I got the image from Amazon). "How Asians and Westerners Think Differently... and Why", it says. So far, so good. Easy to read, a bit simplistic in its explanations (esp after Jared Diamond's Collapse), and mostly belabours the same point (Westerners - focused on smaller-picture, more object-oriented, linear; Asians - focused on bigger-picture, more environment-oriented, cyclic), but presents numerous experiments with interesting results. Of course, what I'm especially enjoying about it is that it clarifies some of the conflict in the way I see things as a certified banana. To be continued after I finish it.

Collapse, on the other hand, paints a scary picture. It's a wake up call to the state of the world as we know it. It's also a bit of a call to arms for us to start doing something about it. I love it. 2 things stick in my head: 1. He is "cautiously optimistic" about the future of Gaia. Lots of shit happening, but there is lots of evidence of us humans doing something about it. 2. It's a horse race (Horse A being 'Self-Wrought Apocalypse' and Horse B being 'Paradise Recreated'), and we can't tell right now which one's going to win.



The future of the world is in your hands, ladies and gents.

What are you going to do about it?

Musicals and movies

So I'm on the bus down to Singapore. It's the First Coach from Bangsar, next to the 7-11 next to the LRT. It's pretty decent, I like the seats and it's generally comfy. More importantly to my essentially-Penang soul, it's cheap (RM40 to go down). To M's great amusement, a screen pops down in the middle of the bus to show us... Snakes On The Plane. What a bloody charming show. We got the uncensored version, so the snakes were full-on ham sup - titty-biting, kuku-biting. Those was probably the best parts of the whole show... aside from the amazing translation. The most classic being "Ianya di keldai saya!" Yes sir, there may be a snake on your donkey / mule, but I think you should be more worried about the one biting your butt! Oh THAT's what you meant. Ugh. Samuel L Jackson, bro, you just might need to be a leeetle more selective about the parts you take man...

Forbidden City is loooovely. Seeing as I've just gotten new eyes (and ears) for musicals, I thoroughly enjoyed this one. The set was amazing (so simple, so effective, and so nice!), the costumes were great, the songs were good, the leads were wonderful. Gripes: sound balance (it was always a struggle to hear what the people sang), ensemble enunciation (I generally couldn't understand what they were singing), and some of the choreography. Some of it was great to watch, but the rest I struggled to see what they were doing (esp the intro scene on the train, for "Dragon Lady"). Yes, generally minor gripes - I was quite disappointed that I couldn't really hear George Chan, as I heard he's meant to be amazing.

Anyway Kit Chan (main lead) was bloody brilliant; Hossan Leong and Sebastian Tan (Record Keepers) were grrrreat; Hal Fowler (Morrison), Sheila Francisco (Empress Dowager) & Leigh McDonald (Kate) did very well. The songs are memorable - in fact we bought the CD (S$20 - we were initially disappointed with it as it only has 13 tracks, but it pleasantly surprised us with its completeness and quality - great stuff!) (note that it unfortunately contrasts with the BB CD - initially impressive and unpleasantly surprising with its quality, sad to say) and I'm listening to various songs every day. Yes, some of the songs do run through my head at random points of the day.

My favourite parts of the musical:
1. The set! Man, it is bloody fantastic. From the clever representation of a train for the first scene, to the introduction of the frame, to the multiple (and smartly effective) uses of the frame and curtains. Kudos to the set designer (one Francis O'Connor, according to the programme)!
2. The ending of Act 1. Wonderful set-up for Act 2, with a sexy hint of what's to come. See M's blog for her reference to it.
3. Kit Chan's representation of a Yehenara that matures and grows. The way she changes her voice, her poise, the way she speaks as Act 2 progresses is so subtle and yet so wonderful to behold.
4. The programme. It's S$2! The print annoys me a bit (quite hard to read some things due to lack of contrast to background colour and font size), but it's two bloody dollars! Wahey!


The Banquet is meant to be based on Hamlet. I'm embarrassed to say that I don'ch know Hamlet. It (The Banquet) is gorgeous, it is entertaining, it is utterly visually orgasmic. Story... I don't know. Suffers from minor dodgy points, and the ending is just... wtf. The sets and settings and scenes were great, the fight scenes are bloody brilliant (I'd watch it again for them). I'll have to compare it to my favourite period Chinese piece, which is Hero - and it just can't compare lah. Zhang Zi Yi is, of course, yummily gorgeous. Conclusion? Watch it. Looking at what I've written, it appears to be very much a guy's show - hot chick, great fight scenes - what more do you need? Heh. On a quick side note, the cinemas at Mid Valley stink. Bring potpourri. Or something.


S'kali (currently showing at Damansara Cineplex) is a quintessentially Malaysian show. In the words of a friend, "it's something everyone has thought of doing, but no one did until now." A coming-of-age trials-and-tribulations of a group of 5 friends, who had just completed college. It is simple, charming and entertaining, and overall I enjoyed it - mainly because of the genuine feeling of camaraderie among the group, and the bonding with each other. The story had great potential that was unfortunately not explored. I think they could have afforded to dig deeper with all the themes in the show - are mixed-race relationships all about the race? How do you support a friend who seems to have dug him/herself into a hole and is still digging? How does the reluctant benefactor of a racially-biased policy really feel? How does a group deal with the potential emigration of a member? What they had built up could have easily supported further exploration.

My biggest gripes are with 2 of the actors and the editors. Tehmina could have done so much with her character - the role requires a lot of emotional intensity, which would have made it a very powerful and moving part of the tale - but I just never connected with her. Tzao felt very one-dimensional - I don't know if that's because of the actor or because of the script - and I never really got to see any reason these people hung out with him. There's an "action replay" sequence lasting about 2 minutes that really pulled the movie down - don't know what the editors were thinking there.

Conclusion: go watch it. Support filem Malaysia. Anyway it's better than 90% of the crap that Hollywood's churning out right now.


Boardgames

I've been introduced to St Petersburg, and my love for a good boardgame has been re-ignited. Man, so simple, and so damn good. If you've any penchant for strategy, you'll be hooked to this. In its purest essence, it's all about what to do with your money - of which there's never enough. You can spend on 3 things - cheap income (and minimal Victory Points - the point of the game [pun intended]), expensive income (with more VP) and big VP (with minimal income). Of course, the value of each of these 3 things changes over the course of the game - initially you want lots of income, while at the end you'll want lots of VP. The magical element to this all is, of course, competition. So every card has some cost, plus how valuable it is to you now according to your current strategy (which might change according to what comes out and what others do), plus how valuable it is to the person after you, plus it's value to the other people. All of which change on a turn-by-turn basis - why did he not buy that? Why did she take that but not buy it? Why is he passing? Which one is more valuable to me in the long run?

All in all, it's a wonderful mind-fuck, and I love it.

BTW if you're in Singapore, go check out Paradigm Infinitum at Midpoint Orchard (near Somerset MRT) - it's geek paradise. Loads of boardgames (the selection is amazing) and miniatures. You can experience Warhammer 40k tabletop firsthand, if you want. I feel like buying all the boardgames there just to see what they're like... you know, get some friends together, lots of snacks (but no alcohol, otherwise cannot learn any new games!) and just play boardgames. Now if I could only find some way of getting paid to do that...

Oh and about the most classic of all boardgames (to Westerners) - chess: Lego has made a chess set. Man, it is SO DAMN FUCKING COOL. Do one for Chinese chess too and I'll build a shrine to you. Made of Lego. Obviously.

On a tiny side note: Lego Star Wars 2 is out! Sing hallelujah, Star Wars geeks!!

fiftynine minutes

In case you can't read what's on the images I posted last time, I've updated that post to include the text as well as maps to the venue. Do come (and support Malaysian theatre) - I promise that you will be entertained.


Positively contributing to society

Make a stand against online child abuse: http://www.lightamillioncandles.com/

Say NO to Rape - tougher rape laws in Malaysia: http://www.safermalaysia.org/

fiftynine minutes

The Oral Stage is back with its third season!
fiftynineminutes.

original short plays and monologues performed within one hour.

"Two friends discover faith, direction and the truth. An actress whom we all like to hate. A bitter past haunts a bitterer couple. A girl finds beauty in ugliness. A man and a woman make love over dinner. A fellow Malaysian makes the country proud. And a group of roommates bring back the dead- all within
fiftynineminutes"

When September 28th - October 1st 2006 @ 8.30 pm

Where The Dram Projects, BG06 Happy Mansion Apartments, Jalan 17/13 46400 PJ


Tickets RM10

Ticket contact Louisa Low @ 0163757833

Founded in 2004, TOS is a group of theatre-curious youth who discover its magic by immersing themselves in the theatre experience. A growing nonprofit theatre company, it members come from all walks of life and are brought together by the belief in entertainment, education and self-expression through the stage. Now in its third season,
TOS strives to banish the misconception (if there ever was) that theatre is for the elite by making it more accessible to the public, mainly young people.

theoralstage@gmail.com

http://theoralstage.blogspot.com

Do come if you can.

MAPS:
From Sprint (Jln Damansara) / NKVE - link
(yes you can ask me questions about the map, except "who made it")

From Federal Highway - link


And a quick apology for the last post's kelam kabutness. A clear reflection of my mind at the point of writing. I'm off to Singapore to watch Forbidden City and buy some CDs. And see what else there is to offer there. Give me a yell if there's something in particular I should do / see / eat / get, or if there's something you want.

Voice dropping

I went to drop my voice today. If you're thinking, as I did when I first heard the term, "why yes that's a good idea, I've always thought your voice a little high and squeaky", it's the equivalent of leaving your calling card for your vocal talent. So that anytime the place wants to do a voiceover, they can consider your voice. In English, a voiceover is the advertising voice that you hear on TV or on the radio. "Teeeee-weeee teeega, rangkaian anda!" is a voiceover. It's a bigger business than you realise (unless you're in it, then you're very aware) - in US they even call the professionals 'voice actors', which is a very apt description.

So I wound my way to Lorong Riong (Bangsar), discovering along the way that the map I bought was WRONG. To have a map that's misleading is... well, mildly acceptable... but WRONG?!? Fucking idiots. Wrong road names, imaginary roads, imaginary connections between roads... I mean, how can you sell this shit?!? Gah. Moronic beyond belief, hang them, shoot them before they die from hanging, shoot their whole families too to cleanse the genepool of sheer moronicity, etc etc rant rant.

Anyway it's in a really old place in Bangsar, and I passed this lovely super-old-school house there that reminded me of my aunt's in Penang. A one-story bungalow, with green-stained glass windows. Goooorgeous. The place I head to is absolutely lovely as well, I think it's a real heaven (and haven) for artsy people doing artsy stuff. A real beauty. So I get a few scripts to read - a documentary style, a "soft & romantic", and a hard sell. And then I get a few more, even some in BM.

I eventually get ushered into a studio, and then into a sound room, which is so damn cool. Yes I'm a sua koo (Hokkien mountain tortoise) here, but the sound equipment! Phuarrrrr!!! I'm in a sound-proof room, with these super-clear-kickass headphones, and kickass microphones; and when they mute their mic in the studio, I can only hear my voice in pure silence. Even small sounds like rubbing my hands together gets picked up and amplified into my ears. Yes it's cool, shaddup.

Seeking for more places to drop my voice. It was fun.


Retail therapy

What's new with Apple. Here's the latest incarnation of their iPod lineup:
Steve Jobs is the latest god of marketing lah. Or whoever it is who's ultimately responsible for the sheer sexiness of Apple's stuff.

Now, you can try arguing with the polis with this - the iBreath:
Yeah I know, WTF.


Blind driving?!? Well, some drivers here sure behave that way...


Anyway just wanted to record my experience down. Peace.

The Oral Stage

I'm speeding down the LDP, cursing the slow road-hoggers and wishing awful things on the road planners of Petaling Jaya as I turn into Section 17. I don't even spare the traffic light designers. I park outside The Dram Studio and rush in to a calm and compassionate repose on my director's elfin face. Yes, I have decided to convey the tale of The World's Smelliest Durian, under the auspices of The Oral Stage (TOS).

It's a monologue about a man and his dream. I'll play 3 characters. As for the rest, come and see fiftynine minutes, running every day from 28th Sept - 1st Oct. Yes, just got the script and I'm already promoting it.

After my rehearsal, I join in TOS' workshop, conducted by my director - I shall call him Lee Ko Lan (younger brother of Lee Ko Las, a Fellow of the Ring) - who takes us (there were almost 20) through numerous exercises to warm up (physically and vocally) and really stretch out (in mind, imagination, acting, etc). Some visualisation stuff too. Very interesting experience, very NLP and AsiaWorks (in a tiny way) and all that. Thanks to Mr Unscrewing-a-light-bulb, Ms You're-intimidating, Ms I've-got-a-Kit-Kat and Ms I've-got-to-nap for making it all especially entertaining.

Then it was showtime. I got to see a full run (minus 2 plays - mine, for obvious reasons; and the female monologue, because she didn't come) of fiftynine minutes. Very interesting, I thoroughly enjoyed 2 plays in particular - very intense stuff. Another one has big potential to be very clever and funny. Anyway it's 2.5 weeks to go, how exciting.

More to go today.



Something else that's new today is Playwrighting, by Gene Sha Rudyn. Yes, I've decided to take this course, which is at KLPAC. Expanding my horizons and all that. Or just missing that damn place, I'm not sure which. We'll see.

Inspiration for today

I've missed over 9,000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times I've been trusted to take the game-winning shot...and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life.

And that is why I succeed.



- Michael Jordan

One chapter closes

'Tis with great remorse that I take down the poster & linky on the right sidebar. However, that chapter of my life has closed, and it is time to move on. So here it is again, for the last time.

Next one? It'll have different dates, and the venue will be Ipoh's equivalent to Istana Budaya. Expected dates are November 24th-26th, but with a "slimmed down" version of the play (to accomodate for the smaller stage etc). Come if you can - whether to compare, or to make up for the fact that you didn't come to the KLPAC one, or for something to do in between 'sar hor fun' and 'ngar choy kai'. There's a possibility of another staging here at KLPAC, which I'll keep you updated about.


Books, beloved books

I finally bought some books after a loooong time having not done so. Here are 2 covers:


The 3rd book, I forget what it's called. Something to do with how and why Westerners and Easterners / Occidentals and Orientals see and think things differently. Yes, it does sound interesting (and maybe a tad dry) but who knows - maybe I'll learn a thing or two about the banana fence I'm straddling.

Yes, with a cover like that, how can you not pick it up? Appealing in its cover design, the Dangerous Book for Boys is bloody blimmin' awesome. A quick prelude: Conn Iggulden wrote the Emperor series of books, which is a fictional retelling of the Caesar tale. Highly entertaining, fact paced, exciting and informative (wanna know what a maniple is? Read the book!). So I'm biased to the topmost name on the book, and I'm lured by the cover. I flip through the book, and it's got brilliant stuff. You might need to be a guy to understand this. 5 knots you need to know. The golden age of piracy. Famous battles. Rules of cricket. The solar system. Juggling. Dog tricks. Spies. The list goes on. How. Cool. Is. That. The ultimate clincher was the sticker on the top-right: Border's 20% discount (yes I have Penang blood). Take a look at it at amazon.co.uk .

Now Jared Diamond is THE MAN when it comes to huge-scale human history. My introduction to him was his Guns, Germs and Steel, an unusual gift from a very dear good friend. A tad dry, but what a tale - movement of peoples throughout the world, how crops have travelled, how technology has affect the relationships between peoples; all in pursuit of the answer to "why do whites currently dictate the way of the world". Truly wonderful, fascinating and epic. Collapse is shaping up much the same, but attempting to answer the question of "why & how ultimately societies choose to fail or survive".

Um, the last book I'll tell you more about once I've read it. Yeah, very much an impulse buy.


The Audition

In a sudden explosion of surrealism, I find myself sitting in a café (Food Foundry - seems cheap and interesting but didn't try any food) with a glass of Carlsberg in front of me. This café resides in Section 17, in a block called Happy Mansion Apartments. It's 3.30pm on a Friday afternoon, and it's threatening to rain heavily. Over the next 15 minutes, I get 3 sets of papers placed in front of me: an application form, an audition script, and a monologue.

This is the next step in my journey into the performing arts. At 4pm, I walk into the lot next door - The Dram Projects - and submit my filled-in form to apply to be part of The Oral Stage. After a quick chat with the 2 guys behind the table and a quick pee, I present my audition - the script lays out 6 characters' lines (excerpts from books / plays), from which I choose 3 to perform. I start with Tim - a gay dude with a non-serious description of his birth - which allowed me to be camp. The lines conveyed comedy, which always helps, and forced me to go "WAH!" like a baby, which is useful for getting self-consciousness out of the way. Next I did Emily - an auntie-like lady hosting a party - with which I wanted to accentuate my Malaysian-ness. Lastly I did Paravicini - an attention-drawing drama king - which allowed me to play a bit with volume and tone but more importantly allowed me to portray a certain machismo.

So far, so good. I'm enjoying myself, and the guys (plus the girl who wandered in at some point) seem to be enjoying themselves too. Next, the monologue. And they jumped straight to the point. "Read the Malay lines please." Oh bollocks... at this moment I most regret that damn beer I just had. A few deep breaths, a quick prayer to my 6 years of primary education in the national language, and off I go, riding that wave as best I can. It's smooth, it's going well... why do I sound bloody Indonesian? Reuben behind the table saves my day by laughing and saying that I sound exactly like one of the ministers (menteri, not Father). Phew.

I perform the monologue as I envision it. Well, with the precious little thought I gave it (yes yes Joe I WILL I MUST think about it), and I'm portraying 2 characters. It's quite fun, and the scriptwriter (who wandered in at some point) seemed to like it too. Then came my day's bombshell: "the last part of the audition is improv. Be the worst stand-up comedian ever."

WHAT?!?!?

Crappity crap. Now THAT was unexpected. Shit, I don't watch bad stand-up comedians! So I think fast - what makes a stand-up comedian bad? Laughing at own (unfunny) jokes. Anecdotes with no meaning. No common thread of themes. Hmmm come to think of it, I DO have a role model. Thank you, M. I give it my best shot and I think it's my balls rather than my performance that wins the day.

That was fun. More auditions, please.


Stretching the body and belly

After a BB-induced hiatus, I finally went back for some yoga. Gentle Flow, it was called. The instructor's voice was gentle. The aches flowed into my body. Love it though. There's a part of me that absolutely loves getting into ridiculous positions (together with a mad bunch of people) just to see if I can do it.

My love for Vietnamese food began in Bayswater, London. It was as a simple family-run restaurant called Mekong River. Perfect for students (their bowl-of-noodles/rice dishes were about a fiver), I fell in love with the way they did a couple of things: beef, fried spring rolls, mee hoon (mai fun / vermicelli) and nuoc nam (fish paste sauce). And they had this woooonderful dish of mee hoon with veg + meat, dry style except for lots of nuoc nam. Pua tam tar, you might say (half wet dry). Damn I'm salivating thinking about it. So we went to Sao Nam in Hartamas Shopping Centre. In short, I am well impressed. 1) Cheaper than the one in town. 2) Fast service. 3) Spring rolls (fried ones) one bite can die. Think 'explosion of taste and flavour'. 4) Sweet & sour soup noodle thingy dish also can die. Seriously, try it out, it's the best Vietnamese food I've had in years. And in Malaysia.


Planned activities

• Paintballing - Sunday 24th Sept. Tell me if you're interested!
• Forbidden City @ Singapore - Sat 16th Sept.
• Butterfly Lovers - TBC

I jumped over the moon...

... skipped off cloud nine,
slid along the silver lining,
and danced among the stars.

Never could I have foreseen this very day when, about 6 months ago, on a most fateful day (which happened most nonchalantly, as they always do), I sang the words "fly me to the moon... and let me play among the stars..." and proceeded to be called back for the 2nd part of the audition process for Broken Bridges, based upon my lips and dancing. Ecstatic does not even being to describe it. God-like is more apt. In geek-speak, it would approximate OMGWTFBBQ. Allow me to story thee, o seeker.

The day began with ominous portent. Awake after an inadequate 4 hours of sleep for an unknown reason (8.30am on a Sunday, for fucks' sake), I attempted to force myself to sleep for another 3 hours. As you may have experienced before, telling your awake body to sleep some more makes it respond in weird ways - in my case, my mind started swimming with disparate images of the play. Botak heads (Colin) singing and shouting, spittle and pens flying, strange background colour changes, bloody slippers flip-flapping, shifting kaleidoscopic snapshots of Ipoh town. Finally, I awake, eat, prepare and rush over to KLPAC - needing to get tickets for my uncle and not wanting to be late for our final show.

Cut to our sound check. A vivid moment occurs when I walk over to a solitary Chuang Yik and I see a look in his eyes. He tells me that he's savouring the moment, and I turn, right into a moment where I see through his eyes. It's Yen Lin testing, and things are as they alway have been for sound checks - our stills in disarray, our mic trolleys on centre stage, people scattered over various seats, Sky and Donald making sure the mics are in the right place. Wham #1: that's the last time I'll ever see that with these eyes, with this heart.

Fast forward to our "song check". That's where we do a run of the overture that goes into "Ipoh Town". I look up to the 500-odd seats of Pentas 1, take it in, and slowly turn around to take in our full set. Wham #2: that's the last time I'll ever see that with these exact same people around me, with that melody soaring overhead.

Clips of various points of the play. Last costume changes, last prop uses. The play, of course, "flows" (see Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's book - I haven't read the book myself, but I think I get that concept he talks about) flawlessly. I later find out that it was the best "Drink Drink" solo that I've ever sung, the most evocative lines I've ever delivered, the most emotional and powerful singing I've ever done. Then it was "Broken Bridges" already. Wham #3: the song takes on a-whole-nother level of meaning - to me, it used to always be to and for the audience; today, it was more to and for each other, the wonderful people I've been with for the past 4 months. Finally having the writers on stage with us, taking a long-overdue bow.

Kisses. Hugs. Millions of pictures. SMSes from the more-than-expected family & friends in the audience. Wham #4: so many people in my life have come and enjoyed my debut performance, which has been thoroughly blessed by innumerable strokes of great fortune - the array of skill and talent all around, from acting to singing to dancing to set design to graphics to music to lights to sound to stage management not forgetting the core of producing and directing. It really is magic when everything comes together so well.

Yeah yeah so I'm a sentimental bugger. A soppy dumbass. Whatever. There was a wonderfully poignant moment where we had just broke out the champagne and were liberally toasting all the crap that happened. Fishballs, slippers, "what a wonderful time I have had tonight", slapping, pens, "KL office sent me back to KL", music timing, flying spittle, "Ming is dead", SMSing while turning the set, "not only for y-me but for you", tray is the new three, the list goes on. My tears were just flowing when the speeches came out - Chuang Yik, Ky-Gan, Mervyn, Douglas, Faridah, Joe.

I received my paycheck for the production with another piece of joyous news - I had been cast in Mark's play! I had briefly mentioned it before but I didn't think much of my audition. Yeah what can I say, I'm better than I thought. I later discover that the other 2 positions were taken by fellow members of this cast! Awesomeness. Seems that I've taken large strides into the arena of theatre, and I've been thinking: is this what I want? Can I see myself doing this for the foreseeable future? Truly, "At this moment to myself that I need to be true, So can I abandon now the life that I once knew..." I don't know yet, I really don't. You WILL see more of me in theatre definitely, but I don't know what else. Yet.

A most loquacious cast member once mentioned an ancient Greek concept where, during a warrior's triumph (or the Greek equivalent, ie whatever massive celebration they have to honour their most heroic), the crowd actually chants "die now"; the concept being that it is the pinnacle of a man's life to die at one's most glorious. I truly felt that at one point of the night. Comfortably sprawled in one corner of Maison, cigar in one hand, whiskey coke in the other, surrounded by the variegated members that comprise the production. Finally dancing and partying was such fun.

On an offside note, I discovered that a fellow cast member has a good friend who has been tracing his family roots, which happens to coincide with mine in the face of Kapitan Cina Chung Keng Quee. Small world.

What a wondrous journey Broken Bridges has been. Making great friends for a lifetime. Meeting people of such talent and spirit that I consider an honour to know and work with. Taking leaps and bounds on the path of self-discovery and, dare I say it, self-actualisation. A liberation, an exoneration, an emancipation of a large part of myself that I have been unwittingly, cruelly holding captive without trial. After all, as a Sagittarian, creativity and eccentricity are written in the stars, no?

Okaylah time to stop. Hope my words can adequately capture the essence of how I feel in this moment, which will fleet away oh so quickly. To each and every one of you whom I worked with over the course of Broken Bridges, I salute you. It has truly been a pleasure and an honour. Thank you for that privilege.