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
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
posted by Jo at 1:28 pm
2 Comments:
hi darl! Am reading Diamond's Collapse too. But it's a bloody big book, and pseudo depressing (because of self-helplessness of sort). So i read it in bits and pieces.
Re-reading 1984. Aiyor, everytime I habis one chapter, I get all depressed, have a headache and need a lie-down.
Post 9/11, five years down the track. People STILL can't let it go and move on. F**king pisses me off. i know alot of ppl died, but many ppl die everyday!! *gripe*gripe*
Anyhoo, books are great... keep reading! miss talking to u abt them. if indeed we did much talking of them in past. Mmmm....
xx
hehe. glad to know you're finding the actor in you. congrats on your participation in TOS!
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