March 26, 2004

a long day!

hmm..went out with ed in the afternoon. as usual, he was late! by 45 minutes this time.
but it's not his fault, his wallet decided to jump into the crack between his bed & the wall.

went to the soup spoon, chicken jamalaya was spicy.
don't exactly like spicy soups. cheesy wedges were not bad.

then to the art museum. it was a real cool trip, and the fun bit was listening to interpretations of canvas paintings and readings of chinese descriptions. the chinese bit was actually not bad at all. oh! and they have some video screenings, and one of them was of this boat floating on water with weird sounds. freaked people out. ;)

everyone has their personal moments of returning back to their childhood days.
and so did we, playing with............teddies???
hahaha..was fun though.

there were many abstract works of art, of which the names i am unable to give.
but, intriguing all the same.

then to post production party.
really appreciate the teachers and brian for giving so much to us.
mr. seah, mr. tong & ms. chew are probably the most dedicated teachers in ny.

mr. seah was the one who brought me aside to personally coach me on how to bring out my character, and various important movements and styles. and he taught me the ropes, literally. wow, he's really talented, and i've heard he's great at mime! i'm really thankful for his guidance and for going the extra mile.

mr. tong gave selflessly to the production, and actually stayed overnight in college to do cyclops. and he still had to take charge of the logistics and backstage. he also showed a great amount of concern, constantly talking to me and asking me to take care of my health. he's the one who encouraged me throughout the course of production.

ms. chew was the one who pointed out where i could improve and improvise upon, and ways to bring out my character more strongly. her sharpness and observation skills truly helped a great deal. furthermore, she also gave me speech therapy! hahaha!!

brian, the director, was essential to our production. his expertise and management were what pulled everything together. and he's a very focussed person, a quality we all have to cultivate!

i may not be playing odysseus for the syf, which admittedly is disappointing, because of all the effort i've put in the past few months. frankly speaking, though everyone said it was a good show, i do know that i lacked a lot in acting and articulation, which if they were better would have made drama night so much of a success. it would be ridiculous to blame my poor performance on my health, even though i had a flu & sore throat, i know i could have done a lot better. i guess the main part was that i was nervous in front of an audience, and that's exactly what an actor should totally put aside.

articulation and lack of depth in characterisation have proved to be my weakest points, and i am deeply sorry and regretful towards the entire drama club for not being able to do better. if only i had joined drama earlier, and not in december, perhaps i would have had more exposure to movement and speech. but i guess it's too late to look back. nevertheless, i couldn't be more grateful to the drama club for giving me the chance to play the lead for drama night. i was greatly surprised when i was selected to play the lead, because it was only the second time i went for drama. in fact, it's ironic the youngest member was picked to play the biggest role. i am sincerely thankful and grateful for the chance.

we'll see about the audition results this friday, even though i think ramzi & hasif will be able to do well if they take up the role. i'm not too keen to go through a whole round of auditions for something i've been playing all this while. but since everyone wants it, i'll have to go along with it. all in all, what i really wish for is the odyssey to be a great success, because the endless giving and life that has been poured into it should not come to a waste.

i've seen the literal sweat, pain and tears of the members and teachers.
the bloodshot eyes, the weary faces, the slumped bodies.
the production is a success not because of its ticket sales, but because of how it gelled all of us together, how it made us believe in something greater, how it enlarged ourselves to become bigger than what we are.

an syf gold is good, but not a must.
what's a must is the edification of everyone, and the faith to believe.

after tonight, i saw the understanding and rapport between the members & teachers, things which i believe have been built a great deal during the course of production.

and i'm thankful for that.

to every single drama teacher & member, my most ardent thanks and gratitude go out to you. :)
gid posted at 23:49