2006 just ended with a blast for me. Chilling at M's, with abundant food, ample drinks and awesome company; apexing with several rounds of
Lupus in Tabula. Now THAT is one bitch-ass of a game! My only regret right now is that not enough pictures were taken. But cameras were the last thing on any of our minds as we pitted our whole beings in a battle of Villagers vs Werewolves - with a variety of weapons such as perception, observation, empathy, sheer gut-feel, intuition, body language, persuasion and a whole nother host of emotional intelligence shit that would make
Daniel Goleman feel warm and fuzzy all over. Enjoyed ourselves so much that I'm hosting another session soon. Drop me a line if you're interested!
So what's up for Johann in 2007? I recently told someone that it'd be "a big step on my journey to financial independence, a big step in my acting career, a journey into my roots and further discovery of my voice." Yes that's lovely sir, but what does it mean?
Financial independenceAnyone born in Malaysia (or any Asian country, probably) begins their adult life with a substantial debt to their parents. The more well-off the family is, the larger this debt usually is. Everyone pays it back some way or another - sometimes financial, sometimes by sheer weight of life achievements; very commonly by 'taking care' of the parents in their older years. My biggest heartache here is that with my Dad, it's "be happy with your life and make it have worth" while with my Mum it's "all of the above and more, but I'm not telling you what that more is". But that's another story for another time.
I've recently taken a massive turn in my life by deciding that I want to act 'full-time', ie be an actor. All well and good, except that when you start out it really doesn't earn much. Why not "do acting part-time while you have a normal full-time job like other people"? I believe that one cannot consistently do both and perform well at both in a truly fulfilling way. If you know of anyone who breaks this belief of mine, please send him/her my way. 'Normal jobs' in Malaysia are unfortunately massive time-suckers. Acting requires a massive time commitment. We humans are endowed with a daily 24 hours, of which about a third is required for sleeping. Thus and therefore, I don't have the time to earn decent money and actually do decent acting at any regular basis.
So what could make sense for me, such that I could somehow still earn money and yet devote the necessary (and volatile) time to my passion? In a word,
Agel. I'll do a monthly update here and see how it goes.
ActingMy 1st half of the year is comfortably lined up.
Ah Steve for 3 weeks after Chinese New Year (18th Feb this year, my dear fellow bananas); Jarum Halus, which is shooting in April - more on this in Feb once the ball has really started rolling; Philadelphia, Here I Come in end May. I will, of course, audition for Tunku once it happens. Thence my interest in further developing my voice. Something else I'd like to do this year is convert
Dear Indonesia for a stand-up skit for the next
Free Flow or it's equivalent. So I need to find stuff to do over the 2nd half of this year. Any info is much appreciated!
Someone recently asked me where I see myself in 3 years. That is a damned good question. Something I'll have to think about.
Seeking rootsNo, not Mandrake. If you get that, and you understand what I mean about searching a particular spot at midnight (or was it 2am) near Yew for more, drop me a line and we'll rave together about the best RPG ever. I'm referring to the Cina within. For some unknown (to me now) reason, I've always objected to studying Mandarin. I'm intending to admit defeat and take it up, and even to successfully pass it off in Singapore. It IS one way of becoming a superstar in the Chinese market, after all. Anyone know of any good Mandarin teacher adept with bananas, please tell me. Anyone know of any hot female teacher adept with bananas, PLEASE tell me.
The voice withinI have to take up singing. I love it, and why not? I have the strength, I have a decent range, and I have had the exposure of BB - it'd be such a waste not to develop it and take it further. And, as mentioned above, I'm going to audition for Tunku - I want a shot at a lead role.
TenderAs in the verb, not the adjective. I've been given 2 especially unusual gifts for my birthday that has quite surprised me. One is a plant, and one is a fish. Now the plant is a damn cute idea - I think you're meant to hang it off your phone (no flashing lights or Hello Kitties, no fear). Yes, it's tiny, and in a case. Unfortunately, mine appears to be in a sorry state. My fault. Sorry Nick. I'm keeping an eye on it for the next week or so, and if it's still this sorry then... dunno, I'll get another?
The other's a fish. A
Siamese fighting fish, or betta splendens. I like. Been thinking of a name for it, something suitably fishy, something apt for a fighting fish. Any suggestions?
The writer withinSomething else that seems to be taking off this year is writing. I've had the great fortune of meeting some editors recently, let's see where that goes. I love it, might as well get paid for it right?
TheatreBeen quite happening with the sitting down side of theatre. A great big thanks to Faridah who invited us (the
Ah Steve crew) to 2 shows.
Betrayal was absolutely fantastic. Tight, gritty, tense. Great actors, simple set, fantastic plot. Dark, sad and smoky - 2 of the 3 leads effectively chain-smoked. Must see. Lessons learned:
1)
PROJECTION. So damn important. As an actor, if you can't be heard YOU ARE SCREWED.
2)
SMOKING. As an ex-smoker, I watched them smoke (it gets easier in time, trust me) and noticed that even (especially?) for something as habitual as smoking, you have to plan as an actor. It's the on-stage paradox - it's gotta be planned, it's gotta make sense, AND it's gotta be natural. The length of intake, the time of inhale, the kind of exhale, the holding of the stick - all needs to be thought of. Why I bring this up is that when I first saw the 2 smokers, their first cigarettes seemed to be that of on-stage nervousness than any character emotion. There was also a moment where I thought the timing of the decision to intake was a bit off - you've got a line there, mate.
3)
BELIEF. That's where the sheer beauty of this play lay - in the belief the actors had in their characters and their situations. We got it that it was really happening to them, so all the emotions and the words became even more effective.
Breakfast Club was, unfortunately, fundamentally flawed. I was excited about it initially, upon hearing about it. A play based on the definitive 80's teenage coming-of-age movie? Awesome-nation! However, the premise was not 'based on' or 'adapted from' - it was 'directly extracted off' the movie, which means a lot of confusion over where they were, where they were going, whether they were visible to each other or not. The direction was horrendous, and he cannot act. I feel sorry for the actors whom I worked with before, I hope they manage to take something useful away from this experience besides how not to do a play and how not to direct. Better luck next time guys. Lesson learned:
1)
BE CHOOSY OF WHO YOU WORK WITH.
Fundamentally Happy is an interesting Singaporean play with just 2 actors. Interesting because it deals with paedophilia, a rather taboo subject here. The play tackles it from various angles, and does end up making it quite confusing - which may be the intention. I recommend it based on the sheer strength of the actors - they did such a magnificent job that I felt truly drawn into their world - the emotional turmoil, the confusion, the loss of faith, the joy and the pain. I didn't think to watch it initially because their synopsis / blurb was so utterly boring I feared the worst. "Man comes back after many years away and finds old neighbour, and they share the stories of their lives." Bloody yay. Only the last line piqued my interest with, "this play explores the subject of paedophilia". I enjoyed it, wonderful performances from the actors. Lesson learned:
1)
ENERGY. It constantly has to be created and directed, every single moment on the stage. It's a toughie to describe, directors usually have a hard time describing it to their actors. It's usually a very internal thing - creating an emotion and communicating it.
2)
PROJECTION. These guys made themselves so damn easy and clear to hear. You'd only miss words if you weren't paying attention or didn't quite understand their slang / Malay. Wonderful to not need to strain.
Doppelganger updateHis multi-variegated interests are
explained.
Indonesia's giftOther people
express themselves about Indonesia's annual gift to Malaysia.
I just can't get away from that whole "one chapter closes" thing. Anyway I love books so who cares.
