don't cha

Just returned from RJ DramaFeste 2006. In brutal honesty, it was worth the 6 bucks/bugs put together. The items put up by each house was certainly very spectacular and you can really see the effort and professionalism in each of them. The acoustics of the PAC was also very powerful, so powerful that actors could speak without a mic and still be heard from right at the back. However the hypothermia-inducing aircon and dryness of eyes as a result of 3 hrs in the PAC was really quite irritating.

Anyway, school ended and i basically joined lynette and her mahjong tai-tai gang at the subcanteen. Drag and drag until 4.30 then finally leave for Far East Flora to get Justina and Poey their flowers. Couldn't get any arranged bouquets (should learn flower arrangement =) ), so got 2 bunches of blue flowers and some yellowish small flowers as a complement to the blue flowers. Thought it was a good idea to walk home and try and "handmake" the flowers. Took longer than expected (not lynette's fault. she's really pro lah) then ate instant mee for dinner. Finished in 5 minutes. Walked out and saw a taxi at the clubhouse then managed to reach RJ on time. I think we damn pro, should join amazing race considering we left my home at 6.45 and got to sch by 6.55 and somemore i bathed.

Ms Ung and Mr Richard better appreciate the flowers. (and get rid of them soon too, dying liao...)

So fastforward to the plays. Moor-Tarbet started with their "you're". It was quite an overwhelming performance and definitely abstract. Their weakness really laid in the fact that they kept using the change and transitions of scenes which made the whole play seem to lack flow and structure. Then the ambitious attempt to explore too many issues at a go (abortion, love, homosexuality) just left everyone quite speechless and stunned, not knowing really what it was all about. But perhaps it would have faired better if the story had more stage time to develop and allow the audience to internalise the many thought-provoking scenes. Moreover, it might have been a disadvantage that they were the first house to act since everyone's brain still not very warmed up.

Buckle-buckley's play came on next and I felt it was really quite ingenious of them to use the scenario of an imminent plane crash to uncover the faultlines in the relationship of the family. Somewhat like An Inspector Calls. It was really hilarious at some parts (i esp dig the hokkien babbling ah ma) and i felt the casting was really good. Although there were some weird parts, like the use of the tribal council and the very abrupt ending. Even though it was clear where the moral of the story lay, they didnt exactly get a concrete message across. But, i felt the line uttered by the mother: "So what if i don't cook or wash your clothes or sew for you, i am still a mother nonetheless right?". Quite some food for thought.

Hullett-Hadley's was quite average. Nothing much to say about it except that as the judge very aptly put "its very Friends-influenced." I kinda agree that the use of certain words and phrases to get the attention of the audience kinda felt flat as they had totally no link to the story whatsoever.

Morrison-Richardson came on next with its damn bomb play. Although the storyline was really simple and kinda cliche, it excelled in its excellent direction by navjote and powerhouse acting by isabella and gao shen at the end. I was kinda skeptical at the start as to how some people say MR's production could induce crying but the last scene with the amazing grace and use of the 6 blocks to make a coffin really made me understand how the scriptwriter could make the story touching nonetheless. Sadly, tear duct died so couldnt cry. And i believe one of the winning points was that it was the only play that the audience got and it still managed to get everyone thinking about the true message of it at the end. Not simple to move a whole lot of 17/18 year olds with a very "drama serial" kind of plot. So kudos to MR. They were undisputably the best performance of the house.

Bayley-Waddle's production was quite original. They try to poke fun at the government and religion and stuff and the acting was quite good. But i guess it was just entertaining and nothing else. I dont really have much to say about theirs.

So expectedly MR won best production and best director and best actor (Gao Shen). BW got best script and best actress. BB got credited for having the best ensemble but don't have such an award.

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And next we bring you the story of how the main character of our story (ie me) got totally owned by the one Wilson Lim. So as the curtains lowered after BW's play, the judges adjourned to make their decision. So 2 RP alumni came back and decided to play the game "Lines from the bag". It basically required you to act out a scene with your own lines but when they say "beep", you must read wads on the strips of papers that they give you. They can be really really random so you must make up shit on the spot.

Expectedly, they called for volunteers and the one heck of a genius wilson lim decided that my name sounded quite nice and started shouting MY name. So as with all sad dudes in such a pathetic situation, i decided to pretend i dunno who they were shouting. But then mr aaron tan decided to join in and they both gave one very very loud and clear shout and the emcee heard it. gg-ed. pwned. destroyed. owned.

So i took it like a real gentlemen and walked up the stage with utmost confidence and pride, determined to have fun and totally indulge myself in this spot of the limelight. Yah right. I basically trudged my sorry ass up on stage and tried to overcome all the humchee-ness in me. Luckily spotlight so bright cannot see anyone in the audience.

So the scene was romeo and juliet eloping. Except the lines werent the "oh romeo.. romeo.. wherefore art thou romeo!" kind.

girl: okay we need to run away.
me: uh ok.
girl: (beep. reads the strip of paper) Oh i'm in a gay bar
me: erm why the hell are we in a gay bar?!
girl: cause actually i'm a guy.
me: oh really? actually i'm a girl.
girl: then we're perfect for each other.
me: (beep. reads my strip of paper) Somebody gonna get hurt reaaal bad (in russel peters accent)
girl: oh who? you gonna get hurt by me.
me: (uh wtf?! expression)
girl: (beep. reads strip of paper) So who started the first fire?
me: the first fire? prometheus lah. he got it from mount olympus.
girl: (said some random stuff here which i don't remember liao)
me: (beep. read strip of paper) You ungrateful brat!
girl: why did you say that?!
me: Cause I am your father...(in Star Wars accent)
The whole shit ends.

Stragely enough I totally couldnt remember what i said on stage once i got off and me and teddy hypothesise that its a natural body mechanism to repress all unpleasant memories. So the above transcript was kindly brought to you by Windows data recovery and the "kind" help of friends who were bent on reliving my painful experience. Apparently, my line on prometheus was "witty" and the ending was "hilarious". Am just glad that people laughed. For those of you who were fortunatly not there and don't understand what went on, good for you.

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So left school at around 11pm and then waited for 54 to come. Was seeing the pictures in my camera and then two dudes walked past and were like staring at my camera with mild interest. Then they sat at the bus stop bench next to mine and started taking out a pen knife and play with it. Was seriously damn freaked so i moved to the farther end of the bus stop where there were more people and took out my metal water bottle just in case (yes laugh if you want. damn humchee) Fortunately they departed on bus 13 and everything was well.

Bus took damn freaking super unbelievably long to come. Like longer than long john silver. Finally caught 156 and walked home. returned home at midnight. bomb.

And to end the night on the right note, saw the girl who was the "juliet" on stage with me on 156. What a fitting end to the night.

The End. Well done MR.