Let's say Merdeka...

[Ok so there's something ironic about posting about the opening night of a show close to the end of its run. But my Internet's been utterly hopelessly wonky, and I've been rather wonky myself. The show's been taking up far more time and energy than expected. It's no bad thing as I know I'm giving my all for the show. So I'm posting this slightly unedited version as-is, to get it out there instead of sitting here in draft for 3/4 weeks.]


So ends our opening night of Tunku the Musical. Of course, it's a damned confusing weekend for all of us - last night we performed our full dress rehearsal to an audience of about 30 or so (an estimate from observation), tonight's performance was completely sponsored by The Star (though there was a handful of non-Star people, however they are stars in their own right) and tomorrow's our first show for the buying public. But whatever. We got a standing ovation, which absolutely rocks.

It ends 3 months of uncertainty regarding the whole production: not that we doubted the value of the story being told, but rather how well the many disparate parts would fit together. Would it connect perfectly like a jigsaw, and what image would show up? Unfortunately, we still don't know and we'll never know as an audience - but hey, people seem to like it. With song, dance, videos, cameras, live feed, an orchestra, falling stuff, countless mics, multitudes of cues and mad arrays of costumes; holy crapamoly if we didn't count on so many things working seamlessly.

Cast-wise, there were concerns. Attitudes, Mindsets, Professionalism.

Technically, mics, orchestra, props, videos, cameras.

With stage management, that's a whole mother kettle of fish. Inexperience, attitude, poor communication, poor groundwork.

Costumes deserve a special mention. Something I'll need to visually describe (at a later posting once I get the visuals) is my opening costume. Here's the context: I start with a full baju Melayu - top, bottom, sampin and songkok (black socks and shoes, of course). After that, in 30 seconds I need to be in a shirt, tie, trousers and hat. After that, in 30 seconds (or so) I need to be in shorts, short-sleeved shirt and white socks. Fuck me if that ain't madness, I need Superman's phone booth off stage man. Just FYI I'll need to be in the white shirt, different tie and different trousers (and black socks) again in a minute or 2. It is said that Tunku Abdul Rahman was a clothes-horse, and I guess in this musical that would be what I'm channeling.

What have I learned thus far?
- confidence in voice
- value of hard work from the get-go
- value of dedication over an extended period of time
- value of having a fit body
- there is no excuse for not being on stage on time in character in costume
- tucking the singlet into the underwear is damn useful
- decent make-up skills
- Sentul Park kicks ass
- masks rock
- hats rock
- Dettol disinfectant spray can be bloody useful
- I absolutely love theatre

Read the programme book from cover to cover. Always nice to know more about the ppl you've been around almost daily for the past 3 months.


On a random other note: male push-up underwear!!!

Raw

(Note that "tonight" refers to last night: that's what happens when your internet connection goes dodgy and bloody TMnet can't diagnose the problem accurately)

It happened tonight. Tonight, I looked into the mirror, in the restrooms of Pentas 1's Dressing Room 3, wiping my face. It hit me right there, as I dried my face the way I always do - this is last year, +1. The Earth has swung a full circle around the Sun since that time I thought, hey wow I think I could do this for the rest of my life.

The setting: Tunku the Musical is in its final week of rehearsals before we open this Saturday night to a fully-sold house. We've just seen our costumes, and did less-than-half a tech run tonight. The past month's been hectic - finalising movements, learning our last songs, sorting out the technical details - and with little rest. It's been 6 days a week for the past 5 weeks, except one little break last week where it was 5 days a week. Yes we call it a break.

I think it's safe to say we're tired. Physically, from being on stage and on the ball almost every night. Mentally, from being alert and planning our moves almost every night. Emotionally, from giving our all and putting up with a lot almost every night. Lately it's been the little things that are falling in place that are keeping us going strong - the wonderful orchestra (I am a huge fan of strings, especially the cello, and the timpani), the gorgeous lighting, the unconventional-yet-striking set, the stunning costumes. And of course, the sheer buzz of an audience - that's magic.

Me, personally? I'm exhausted, but I think I've learned a good lesson about myself today. I haven't done much, though I believe what I've done, I've done well - and I'm unhappy. It seems that somewhere, sometime, I picked up a 'quantity better than quality' mindset, and it bared itself from whichever crevice it was hiding in. It explains very well why I always end up trying so hard to multi-task, which usually means that none of those multiple tasks get finished (or well).

But I just feel raw at the end of rehearsals now. Somewhat numb from the rollercoaster of it all. Well it makes for a good tired, doesn't it? I do so love it.

Quote of the day

Live well. It is the greatest revenge.

- The Talmud