OH!

Awesome!



Make it a point to catch The Blue Mansion and 2012. (:

And Valentia kindly reminded me that Adam Lambert's album releases the same time we're in LA. I'm going to get it there. Fresh. Piping hot. From the land of origin.

Plus, an original Rocky Horror DVD. Haha!

As of now, time has been so unfruitful and meaningless, I am thoroughly unexcited by anything.

Not even graduation. Not even the US trip. Not even FOH. Not even the emptiness of my daily schedule.

Not even... The Onion! D:



Okay, maybe The Onion.

Now that the exams are finally over, I shall immerse myself in frivolity and insignificance, before I become part of a possible massacre next week (that is, on the receiving end).

... It is not liberating.

Some might slap me for this. But I don't exactly feel extreme post-exam joy. I am a pessimist when it comes to academic matters. The worst will happen. Eat dust.

Therefore, to counter this attitude, I need to be optimistic and set high expectations, so that the "worst" won't be too bad after all...

(See? This is insignificant babble. This is what I plan to spend my time of freedom on. And yours. Thank you for reading.)

SILICON VALLEY AND L.A. YES :D

Itinerary

17 Nov: UC Berkeley
18 Nov: Stanford University, NUS College
19 Nov: Monta Vista High School, Google
20 Nov: Henry M Gunn High School, Electronic Arts
21 Nov: Roaring Camp at Salinas
22 Nov: Gilroy (SHOPPING)
23 Nov: Los Angeles City Tour
24 Nov: Los Altos District Office, Los Altos High School
25 Nov: UCLA High School Visit
26 Nov: Universal Studios
27 Nov: Disneyland

HELLO IS THERE A BETTER ITINERARY? NO.

I would very much be appreciative if anyone would sponsor the following:

US trip: $4000
Braces: $8000
Laptop: $1500
Summer school: $6000
Total: $19500

Meanwhile, I can only dream and leech.....

Yesterday was the 10th anniversary of my paternal grandmother's passing on.

I miss the bus rides and long walks home in my kindergarten days.
I miss being wrapped in blankets like a ba chang because you feared the air-con was too cold for us at night.
I miss your soups.
I miss how you spoilt every one of us rotten.
I miss your hearty laughter.

Sometimes, when I think of you, I still cry.

I miss you, mama. )':

(I understand that I am making a very dangerous attempt by reviewing this... But what the heck. I doubt anyone will understand what I'm rambling about anyway.)

I Will Go Home
by Fundamental Multi-Disciplinary
Drama Centre Black Box
3 October 2009, 8pm

This piece made me feel... young. Oh so youthful, ignorant and clueless. Don't mistake me; I Will Go Home was not senseless jargon. Inspired by Antoine de Saint-Exupery's The Little Prince, the piece was a tough one to swallow.

According to the programme, Director Nick Ng views his style of theatre to be "post-modern" and "fragmented". Indeed, the show was full of disjointed stories and vignettes which kept the audience bewildered.

It all starts very cleverly, with reasonable exercise of lighting effects (given the venue's limitations) and purposeful movement. Throughout the play, there is also thoughtful use of props and music. But oh, when the actors begin to speak, I jump out of my seat a little.

No, they did not begin to spew Hokkien vulgarities (those there is some Teochew spoken). It is their enunciation. At some points I could not understand what they were saying, no matter how well their voices were projected (I was seated at the front row). At this point, I was hoping that the actors' original accents were intentional but as I looked through their bios, the prospect seemed unlikely, given their lack of experience. Only Serena Pang had perfect control over her speech, though I thought she may have been too exaggerated for such an intimate space throughout the entire play.

Nevertheless, the ensemble made up for their speech in their own ways. Tan Mei and Law Kian Yan had soulful soliloquys, Tammy Soh transitioned smoothly between two alternating characters and Mike HJ Chang made very sensitive observations about his childhood. I appreciate the fact that the play has multiple contributors although some its significance may be lost in, well, translation.

As for the central theme, I thought Ng and Lim Koon Hiong (music & sound director) had made a rather keen analysis of The Little Prince's role as a migrant. The play is consistent in its observation of flux in the human society.

However, I was not completely satisfied by the choice of stories used, particularly that of the crew member who journeyed with Cheng Ho. While I understand from the post-show dialogue that the intention was to keep the examples to the Asian context in different eras, the lack of explicit identity in the character instinctively made me feel that it was fictional and unbelievable. In fact, I was not really paying attention to that story and that of the Malayan communist's. Where was my theatre etiquette? Lying somewhere, under the bed. Pardon me, but it really did get dull.

Alright, now on to the technical bits. Chang's frame-by-frame videos of charcoal drawings were indeed impressive; his artistic style complements Ng's. I also thought the use of the 'live' video camera (with its fuzzy image) at the beginning was extremely relevant in creating the atmosphere for the piece. Music was rather decent, though at some points it was really too loud (I could practically hear my eardrums sizzling).

What really bothered me, though, was the costumes. All 5 actors wore a long beige hoodie like a dress (whether there were pants underneath is no business of mine) and long, knee-high socks. I could hardly see the significance of the costume other than the fact that the hoodie resembled pyjamas or kidswear (are they taking The Little Prince too literal in context?). The functionality of the costume should also have been considered as it left the actresses at a disadvantage, with their large, leg-sprawling movements. Nevertheless, it is not a big matter.

If, as an audience member, you take I Will Go Home seriously enough, it plants an answerless question which only grows and branches out into more doubts without ever meeting at a conclusion. Yes, perhaps I am thinking too much into it. Yet I have arrived at nowhere. (Or have I?) Perhaps, sometimes, a journey doesn't mean having to take a single step at all.

To conclude, this was a total mindf*ck.

Note: Director Nick Ng and actor Mike HJ Chang are staff at the reviewer's current school.

(Sorry, this review may be rather unfair. I am terribly sleepy.)

H T Woo played a very special part in all of our lives.

We may not know who H T Woo was or what H T Woo did, but H T Woo left the greatest impact on humanity ever possible.

H T Woo sacrificed himself for humanity to pursue life and knowledge.

We may not see H T Woo, but H T Woo is always with us.

We may not feel H T Woo, but H T Woo is everywhere.




H T Woo is also the way someone I know reads H-TWO-O. Yes, the sports isotonic drink. H T Woo.

Diction, check.
Tone, check.
Audience, check.
Purpose, check.
Emotive, check.
Persuasive, check.
Logical, check.

I decided that these career options would be interesting:

1) Assessment book cover designer
2) Advertisement critic
3) Plain-clothes parking coupon auntie

---

I caught I Will Go Home with fellow theatre groupie Angelin on Saturday. Review will be produced post-21 October. Hopefully I will still remember everything by then.

Another ramble.

A certain very irritating person keeps commenting on how fat I am.

Well guess what, betch? I. don't. care. So what if I have a face that is "ballooning" at an exponential rate? I still can at least proudly say that I don't possess a lardpot of a belly. Do you want maternity clothes for your next birthday? Christmas, perhaps?

And, I have hamster syndrome. So screw you!