Interim post-mortem of Uncut Untitled Paper House part 2
We recently got interviewed and filmed by Japanese TV crew, in a project funded by Tourism Malaysia Japan. Met the beautiful Miki Mizuno and her team who, in typical Japanese fashion, were so eager to please and were so willing to try hard to understand and communicate with us. No idea how that show's gonna turn out as they shot lots of footage and I really doubt they'll use everything. Anybody in Japan wanna tell us once it's done?
Value of great marketing & publicity
I have to say that the publicity for UUPH has been the best I've seen coming out of KLPac so far. The frequency we've appeared in the mass media has been amazing. The number of sold tickets is testimonial to their excellent work. I suppose having sexy mama Aishah Sinclair helps quite a bit as well.
Think about it - 3 of us nobodies (with the exception of Mark) writing and directing a triple-bill. The only big names are from TV. Of course, that in itself could be a strong sign of how to market - using mass media celebrities.
Whatever the cause may be, on a personal level it's awesome news. Having my face semi-regularly exposed to the public consciousness with a different take (ie not just for my face or my big mouth) is an absolutely wonderful angle. Writing AND directing is a nice added two-pronged thrust, too.
Handling of reviews
The 'necessary evil' of doing anything creative. Or anything worthwhile. Reviews are fine - criticism for criticism's sake is painful. What happens when a show sells well is that many critics come out of the woodwork - everybody wants to have their say, and they want that say to sound clever. Check out the charming review of UUPH at Kakiseni, then scroll down for reactions to that review as well as counter-reviews.
It's quite a stinging piece, actually. I'm so thankful that I'm in this stage of my life now - I don't know if I had the mental toughness to handle so much shit before. Now at least I know the context that the reviewers/commenters/critics operate from, and allow their viewpoints in. Or leave them out, depending on how useful it is.
Nervousness
And that sums up what my opening night nervousness was all about - what people will say. Well, not completely. Opening night symbolises the moment the director lets go completely and allows the actors to do their thing. And letting go isn't the easiest thing to do.
In the end, everyone wants the audience to take something away from the show. I remember having to steel myself for the absolute worst that Friday evening. Will the people enjoy it? What will the reviewers say? I knew I'd get shit - I think it's ridiculous not to expect shit. Not in theatre, anyway. I guess visualising the harshest criticisms leveled at me helped in handling it.
I'm ready to move on to the next show.
Cost of tickets & programme books
A possible big contributing factor to the success at the box office is the price. At RM25 for adults and RM15 concessions, it's a bargain that's probably too hard to pass up. I think we've gotten at least 4 busloads of students from various universities, and in total probably 300+ students throughout the run. More, I'd imagine - I feel we have a younger crowd in there than usual.
Also, at RM3 per piece, the programme book is selling well. I don't have the numbers and I have no idea how well these things usually sell, but I feel that every fifth or sixth person has one. If we have 120 ppl a show and every sixth has one... 120x9=1080, /6 = 180 books sold. Not bad.
The question then becomes: how do we keep the price this affordable to everyone?
Thoughts on Uncut
What I liked:
- starting rewind mechanism
- beautiful words that come back to haunt protagonist
- plays on words
- spoken-out thoughts
- "It was pornography, but with animals! Unfit even for animal consumption!"
- "Strange, this feeling."
- handling of twist of tale for both parties
How I'd do it differently:
- staging & set use - an idea I had was to circle the office like a sparring match (play with strong & weak positions)
- add more colour to Ning's character
- clarify who Zakaria is talking to (God vs audience)
Thoughts on Paper House
What I liked:
- sharing of great stories
- family tale that does have some sort of storyline
How I'd do it differently:
- more consistent use of boxes
- clearer, stronger emo-sharing moments
- shorter
More thoughts on Untitled
What I'd do if I were to re-stage it:
- rework some parts of the script (clarify and emphasize the sister's influence, show some semblance of possible change of heart in the mother, build and emphasize on the turmoil faces by the son; some possible ideas and options)
- work more and harder on the dance if it remains the finale scene
- play more with the set, maybe
What next:
- work on another script; practice practice practice!
- study playwrighting
- try my hand at directing someone else's script
- suggest another such collaboration for next year, or whenever
- focus on How I Learned To Drive by Paula Vogel, produced by The Oral Stage
What a ride. Last KL show tomorrow, and then a road trip for 2 shows in Ipoh and another 2 shows in Penang.
Value of great marketing & publicity
I have to say that the publicity for UUPH has been the best I've seen coming out of KLPac so far. The frequency we've appeared in the mass media has been amazing. The number of sold tickets is testimonial to their excellent work. I suppose having sexy mama Aishah Sinclair helps quite a bit as well.
Think about it - 3 of us nobodies (with the exception of Mark) writing and directing a triple-bill. The only big names are from TV. Of course, that in itself could be a strong sign of how to market - using mass media celebrities.
Whatever the cause may be, on a personal level it's awesome news. Having my face semi-regularly exposed to the public consciousness with a different take (ie not just for my face or my big mouth) is an absolutely wonderful angle. Writing AND directing is a nice added two-pronged thrust, too.
Handling of reviews
The 'necessary evil' of doing anything creative. Or anything worthwhile. Reviews are fine - criticism for criticism's sake is painful. What happens when a show sells well is that many critics come out of the woodwork - everybody wants to have their say, and they want that say to sound clever. Check out the charming review of UUPH at Kakiseni, then scroll down for reactions to that review as well as counter-reviews.
It's quite a stinging piece, actually. I'm so thankful that I'm in this stage of my life now - I don't know if I had the mental toughness to handle so much shit before. Now at least I know the context that the reviewers/commenters/critics operate from, and allow their viewpoints in. Or leave them out, depending on how useful it is.
Nervousness
And that sums up what my opening night nervousness was all about - what people will say. Well, not completely. Opening night symbolises the moment the director lets go completely and allows the actors to do their thing. And letting go isn't the easiest thing to do.
In the end, everyone wants the audience to take something away from the show. I remember having to steel myself for the absolute worst that Friday evening. Will the people enjoy it? What will the reviewers say? I knew I'd get shit - I think it's ridiculous not to expect shit. Not in theatre, anyway. I guess visualising the harshest criticisms leveled at me helped in handling it.
I'm ready to move on to the next show.
Cost of tickets & programme books
A possible big contributing factor to the success at the box office is the price. At RM25 for adults and RM15 concessions, it's a bargain that's probably too hard to pass up. I think we've gotten at least 4 busloads of students from various universities, and in total probably 300+ students throughout the run. More, I'd imagine - I feel we have a younger crowd in there than usual.
Also, at RM3 per piece, the programme book is selling well. I don't have the numbers and I have no idea how well these things usually sell, but I feel that every fifth or sixth person has one. If we have 120 ppl a show and every sixth has one... 120x9=1080, /6 = 180 books sold. Not bad.
The question then becomes: how do we keep the price this affordable to everyone?
Thoughts on Uncut
What I liked:
- starting rewind mechanism
- beautiful words that come back to haunt protagonist
- plays on words
- spoken-out thoughts
- "It was pornography, but with animals! Unfit even for animal consumption!"
- "Strange, this feeling."
- handling of twist of tale for both parties
How I'd do it differently:
- staging & set use - an idea I had was to circle the office like a sparring match (play with strong & weak positions)
- add more colour to Ning's character
- clarify who Zakaria is talking to (God vs audience)
Thoughts on Paper House
What I liked:
- sharing of great stories
- family tale that does have some sort of storyline
How I'd do it differently:
- more consistent use of boxes
- clearer, stronger emo-sharing moments
- shorter
More thoughts on Untitled
What I'd do if I were to re-stage it:
- rework some parts of the script (clarify and emphasize the sister's influence, show some semblance of possible change of heart in the mother, build and emphasize on the turmoil faces by the son; some possible ideas and options)
- work more and harder on the dance if it remains the finale scene
- play more with the set, maybe
What next:
- work on another script; practice practice practice!
- study playwrighting
- try my hand at directing someone else's script
- suggest another such collaboration for next year, or whenever
- focus on How I Learned To Drive by Paula Vogel, produced by The Oral Stage
What a ride. Last KL show tomorrow, and then a road trip for 2 shows in Ipoh and another 2 shows in Penang.
posted by Jo at 3:28 pm
1 Comments:
Glad to hear that you also doing constructive criticism on yourself man. For what it's worth I enjoyed all three of the shows. And hey it's your first step into directing and writing.. well into another realm from acting. SO don't be too hard, you know you've got supporters so just aim to be better :)
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