revival

Hello! Time to revive the blog, following the long spate of events e.g. Drama Challenge, EOYs etc.
This is going to be some super long post, so go grab a cup of Milo or coffee or whatever you drink first.

Ok. Let's start with Drama Challenge.
What's Drama Challenge? For those who are not in RI, Drama Challenge is a project where you take a particular scene of Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice and modify it for a modern audience.

So we all went along, coming up with a simply hilarious script (There were those that said it was 'retarded and lame' but they're all uncivilised barbarians). The final cast was:
Uday Duggal: Bassanio.
Uday is a very gifted actor. And I mean really gifted. Without him our play would have fallen apart.

Me: Portia
Yes, I know, acting as a girl. What can I do? I mean, it's the second most important role, and I'm the second best actor in class (or so I hope), so...

Rui Jun: Gratiano
Rui Jun really tries very hard, and I applaud him with the deepest respect. Although he does have some slight pronunciation problems, coming from a Chinese family background. (We don't blame him)

Lih Khuang: Nerissa
Lih Khuang tries too, but I wish he was less playful and more focused at rehearsals.

6 random guys: Guards/Escorts
They're the guards of Portia's house. And the escorts. NO, NOT SOCIAL ESCORTS!

So it was all fine and dandy (fine, maybe it wasn't but it wasn't terrible either). The Sounds and Lights people were all novices. Like first-timers. So I don't blame them for their inexpertise.

The day of the performance came. People looked at us with expectant looks (or maybe it was because I was in a flouncy dress). Then our turn to perform arrived.

The sounds people screwed up. Big time. The sounds didn't play. Not ONE of them was played at the right time. And the lights didn't fade out or in as required. This was especially pronounced at the end, when we were all waiting for the lights to fade out for our exit. I had to improvise an exit line: "Well then, we'll leave you [Gratiano and Nerissa] to your own devices. Come on then, Bassanio." Uday caught on, saying, "Yes, before Morocco comes." THEN the lights faded.

We forgave them after anyway because the audience said they didn't notice a thing. *phew*
However, it was a splendid performance. The whole audience loved it and they laughed and clapped at our most splendid jokes ("Ward him [Morocco] off with the finger [the ring finger], Bassanio!")

Then the moment of truth arrived: The oral defense. Uday and a few other guys went up for this one. Me and the other actors were backstage.

Then Mrs Suhaimi said into the microphone:" Your class has violated two major rules. Firstly, you have changed the script to modern English. Secondly, you have changed the scene. Explain yourself."

This came as quite a shock to us.

Ok, maybe more than that. We were like WTHHFHFHH!HHTHSHAKJHLUKGH^*&^(&*TG*OEG*&V!&. Let me explain why.

Our relief teacher, Mr. Siva, though claiming to be in 'correspondence' with the other teachers, gave the ok to our script which was in modern English. So we naturally felt quite wronged as he had unwittingly compromised our marks. Personally, I don't think he did it intentionally but he could have made sure before telling us.

Then for the scene-change. What the teachers didn't understand was that the enture THEME of the play was CONTRAST! See, in the play, Portia is racist. She hates Indians (such as the Prince of Morocco, whom she despises for his skin colour). So, we decided to create a large contrast: Portia and Nerissa (her serving-maid) are prim and proper individuals who are very traditional (thus the flouncy dresses), whereas Bassanio is a flirtatious, impatient, and stunningly modern Indian (who is wearing a suave suit and long pants and sunglasses). So thus two different 'time-zones' is created: one with Portia and Nerissa, the other with Bassanio and Gratiano. Then we further this contrast by actively pulling Portia and Bassanio to the same side of the stage. What the teachers thought was that we changed the scene because of this. It is not their fault, rather, it is Mr. Siva's fault yet again. The moment you change the language, characterisation will inevitably change. If not then the play's content would be irrelevant to its language and therefore its audience.

So we were all devastated. Not to mention a terribly done advertisement and flyer (what was those committees doing??)

so thats that for the drama challenge. whew, i need to stop speaking in good english for a while.

so then many random things happened (we went hunting for Mrs. Suhaimi, we hunted Mr. Siva down etc.) But on the bright side, the teachers now recognise me as a respectable English force! Whee! (as well as a good actor)

then the EOYs were around the corner! Massive amounts of mugging. I think I did like 8 hours of mugging on a good day.

Not much to say for EOYs, so.

Anyway, i'll be churning out an 02 post soon, so stick around!

Joshua (and no, its 'Porshua', not 'Joshia').