The Monologue.

我爱中国

14 Aug 2010 1 Comment

by fooga7 in Uncategorized

The Merchant of Venice is over! Rejoice, comrades!

Anyway, that isn’t my main point. Let me start off by asking a question to all students.

CHINESE SUCKS; Agree?

Without even gathering data, finding people dozing off during Chinese lessons, fiddling with their stationery, discreetly playing games on their computer is something most have been accustomed to [习以为常].

Frankly speaking, I am able to empathise and may just have committed one of the few wrongdoings mentioned above. The things we do can be a little mundane, compositions, lengthy comprehensions, go through vocabulary in the textbook, attempt incomprehensible passages in which we have to choose words amongst 4 options which trust me, is not as easy as it seems [并非易事].

You know, in primary school, I actually used to enjoy Chinese. I was taught by this senior Chinese teacher who was a little boring sometimes but the regular trips to the Computer Lab and the Chinese Centre were interesting. Well, maybe it was because of how I used to excel in that subject which led to a piqued interest.

I think it is peer influence which has caused me to increasingly grow distant from a subject I used to enjoy. [I am not blaming anyone in particular] Perhaps it is this atmosphere of drowsiness and restlessness which lingers which prompts me to dream and frolic in the playground of my imagination. Sometimes after a Chinese class, I would hear a close friend exclaim, “LIBERATION!” Very mean but quite representative of the masses’ feelings. Hmm, I think what I really want to say is, as much as we have preferences for various subjects, an open-minded mentality would be something  good to possess, avoiding all sorts of negative influence which might prompt us to procrastinate or to be lackadaisical in our attitude. I guess this is why those who score so well maintain their stellar grades, its rare seeing them grumble and they are always so conscientious and diligent. And strangely, the term ‘mugger’ is used so derogatorily.

Un Changement

08 Aug 2010 Leave a Comment

by fooga7 in Uncategorized

I was just reading through my blog and I thought, what kind of crap am I churning out. This would only get me 2 ACE or even lesser! In other words, I kind of felt I was a little flippant and happy-go-lucky, and in relation to other blogs such as Dylan’s whom I admire, mine pales in comparison. As such, I will [or at least attempt to] talk about something more serious and sombre today.

http://theonlinecitizen.com/2010/08/the-youth-olympic-games-why-the-great-apathy/

I think this is a pretty pertinent issue. And I shall be crude here, I personally feel our government has screwed up this time.

Yes, I am being heartless to discount all of the efforts that the government has put in to try to make this event a success, but the more I read up on it, I start to feel it is turning out to be an unmitigated catastrophe.

Firstly, I believe it is widely known how the event has severely exceeded its initial budget of $104 million, even up to threefold I have heard. And well, the public could always close one eye to the exceed in budget if the event turns out to be a booming success, comparable to the standards of the impressive Beijing Olympics. But, it turns out, no one really cares, even if this is the first YOG which would be held in our nation, no one really gives a heck.

At this point, I would like to draw an analogy to the Harry Potter film franchise. If I am not wrong, there was no Harry Potter film a few years ago despite it being filmed already and ready for distribution. Why? There was another blockbuster that year and the intelligent producers calculated a risk, and did not want the other blockbuster to outshadow the film, as such, they delayed the production and in the subsequent year, it raked in huge earnings. So, presuming the Harry Potter film refers to the YOG and the other blockbuster would be the World Cup. After the World Cup frenzy which is considered pretty recent, would one be interested in watching teenagers compete? It actually is pretty understandable how the public would naturally be a little disinterested.

Furthermore, International Olympic Committee ambassadors, Michael Phelps and Usain Bolt are going to forsake the YOG. Does this not further highlight how disinterested the people are? Locals have complained about their hard earned money being used to import foreign talents in the sports arena, and in turn, our local talents are being deprived of attention and resources. So ultimately, as much as Singapore wishes to make use of the YOG as a platform to boost itself to global awareness as a metropolitan state, there has been much contention over issues a single event has generated and surely all the money spent on this event could be actually used in a more worthy manner.

I am being a little biased over here, nitpicking on a government which is internationally known for its bureaucratic efficiency and lack of corruption. I love Singapore, really, there are so many things here which I take for granted and when I go overseas, I am just appalled by the unkempt surroundings. But still, shouldn’t the government have noticed how further they are sinking into this financial quagmire, and that all the precious money spent could actually go to more useful areas such as education, or attempting to close up the fissured income gap between the rich and the poor which had so drastically widened over the past few years.

Now, everything has already been done for the YOG and there is no way we can turn back. And yes, “It is hard to feel as a sense of pride when there is the growing recognition that citizens are merely being treated as government fodder for increasing some vague notion of prestige that has nothing to do the real lives and challenges faced by ordinary citizens.” At the end of the day, we remind ourselves of the main objectives of the Olympics, fostering camaraderie. If the public don’t even feel the slightest bit involved in the YOG and students being reluctantly summoned to the games, maybe it is time the government reviewed it’s actions and give the people a proper account.

Villainous Goodness

07 Aug 2010 Leave a Comment

by fooga7 in Uncategorized

I admire a lot of people, both fictional and real.

Most are actors; fabulous actors who have evil on-screen characters. And do you know what is so good about them, these people create a character so firm and solid and undeniably evil in just a film, creating a lasting impression in you. We all love a good villain, don’t we. (: Just looking at the villains is something so fascinating, their elaborate costumes, the makeup, the props they use, their speech, the air of pure turpitude they command. I’m in love.

So, without further ado, a compilation of  a few of my favourite villains, in the sequence of cartoon to film!

1) MALEFICENT

Her lovely green skin reminds me of Elphaba from the Broadway musical ‘Wicked’. Anyway, I know what you are thinking. WHAT THE HELL, DISNEY? DISNEY?!?!?! Yes, as much as Disney may be the epitome of childish cheesiness, I have to laud them for the many fabulous antagonists they have created, like Cruella de Vil [Another personal favourite] She wields this staff with a green orb at the top and her voice is simply heavenly. Eleanor Audley is amazing, making this evil sorceress possessing this foxy charm and yet fatality beyond control.

2) THE RED QUEEN

How can I not mention this regal queen? Impatient, oddly shaped and devious, her memorable one-liner ‘OFF WITH HIS HEAD’ is loved. She likes power and authority, being at the helm and able to command people. The actor, Helena Bonham Carter is stupendous. You may not know her name, but surely you know Bellatrix Lestrange from Harry Potter, or Mrs. Lovett from Sweeney Todd. I guess her specialty would be slightly delirious and nefarious characters, with this air of mystery surrounding her.

3) WILHELMINA SLATER

I feature her a lot. Bigshot in a fashion magazine company with an insatiable thirst for power. Her schemes are just heavenly, creating discord between people, emotional blackmail and her elitist nature just makes many of her lines hilarious. It’s really sad Ugly Betty ended at Season 4. It should have been longer. ):

Of course, there are others like Regina George from Mean Girls etc, but this is a very short list of the famous villains I like. Very pointless post, to be frank. But hey, I indulge in such phantasmagoric elements once in a while to escape my immense workload. Works pretty well for me. What’s your favourite villain? Leave a comment!

Oh and just to show my inspiration for this post of female fatale, it would be the song ‘Cell Block Tango’ from the Chicago musical. A little burlesque but deliciously nice.

Regrets

06 Aug 2010 2 Comments

by fooga7 in Uncategorized

Every night, I find myself collapsing into the comfort of my bed. But I do not sleep immediately. There is a moment of pensive reflection, where I lay like a pharoah in his tomb in the darkness and involuntarily, thoughts permeate my brain.

I should have taken ‘jealousy’ instead of ‘joy’ for the EDC exco photoshoot. What happened to my ‘fierce’ image?!

Damn it. Why is my handwriting getting uglier by the day.

I should have retaliated ________ today.

*blah blah*

I regret a lot of stuff, evidently. But somehow, I live with it and I don’t enter a state of depression over trivial issues. This constantly rings in my head, DO NOT CRY OVER SPILT MILK.

Seriously. Do not. It’s a damn waste of time. It really is pointless, lamenting about things which already has happened and cannot be salvaged, like a decision to slap someone. If you have done it already, face it [the music/your actions] and continue with life. Life is too short to be filled with dumb old regrets. Be happy, carpe diem! After a test, quit grumbling over the lack of time, just move on. You have tried your best, and the grade will speak for the amount of effort you have put in. [I'm a very hypocritical person, so I may not practice what I preach]

Essentially, try not to regret whatever decisions you have made. The guilt always hinders the exploration of new opportunities. Instead of grumbling, learn. And hopefully, 船到桥头自然直.

“When one door closes, another opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us.”

Production Day!

07 Jul 2010 Leave a Comment

by fooga7 in Uncategorized

Imagine this.

You are a pivotal actor in a full-length play. Your appearance may be a little fleeting but it is absolutely necessary for such a character to be present as it contributes quite a bit to the entire story line. And having trained for the past 3 months, staying back in school till as late as 6:30pm, it is finally Production Day. The day which ends all the rehearsals, the night which is a culmination of an entire team’s hard work.

Behind the red curtains, you get ready in position, freezing in a tableau, and getting into character. You hear the audience’s laughter, chuckling at the few jokes the emcees were making to set the atmosphere for the play. Then, cloaked in an uneasy darkness, you fidget, suddenly realising how hot you were in the entire business attire. You desperately run through your lines in your head, wanting to have a smooth run and not screw up the play. Then, you grab the handkerchief in your pocket as you attempt to breathe slowly, but it was to no avail. Fear still inched into your brain, encapsulating your entire body in this frame of paranoia.

The curtains open. The time has come.

***

The introduction to this post is a little melodramatic, pardon me. And as you would have guessed by now, this post would be dedicated to describing what happens on the day of the performance!

Basic Schedule [As quoted from the FB message sent to the entire drama club] :

1 PM – Dismissed for Lunch
1:30 PM – Gather outside DC and prepare for Rehearsals. (latecomers will be eaten by hanwee)
2 PM – Rehearsals
4 PM – Dinner
4:30 PM – Warm-ups and Costume Change
5 PM – Preparations for Production
- ALL Belongings to be moved to LT3
- Actors to go for Makeup at LT3
- Sets to go Backstage for Organization of Props and Set
- Front of House + Ushers to go to the DC
- Lights and Sounds to go to the control room and test the equipment
6PM – Begin heading for your respective positions
- Actors and Props: Backstage
- Lights and Sounds: Control Room
- Front of House and Ushers: DC
6:30 PM – Everyone should be in position by now
7 PM – Production! (be calm, be ready and be in position)

I left class at 1pm, half an hour before lessons end, amidst jealous eyes and headed for lunch. Everyone was feeling tense, when passing by a fellow actor/member, a brief smile flickered before we returned to our previous nervous state. Next, we began warm ups at 1:30pm, when all students were dismissed. As the drama centre would only be open at 2pm, we did our warm ups outside the drama centre, in front of the staffroom.

Our usual warm ups can be divided into 2 portions, physical and vocal. Physical warm ups would help in loosening ourselves and feeling at ease for it is imperative that an actor be in full control of his body. Vocal warm ups was what got us a great deal of attention. And being the fame-loving, attention-seeking person I am, I enjoyed people’s perplexed glances at us, a slight melange of awe and bewilderment.

During rehearsals, we had delays and it dragged till 4:30. And I’m going to be frank. There were several last minute changes, be it props, lighting or stage positions. We had to choreograph some fight scenes once more, so as to make it appear less unrealistic. And the rehearsals before production is usually the craziest, with teachers screaming and students freaking out. C’est de la folie!

Then at 4:30, it was dinner. Which was horrid. Ok, maybe I am exaggerating a little. My stomach was feeling a little queasy then and I didn’t ate much. And the food didn’t look appetising too. [I know I sound pampered, which is SO not true]

Next, make up and costume changes. We were all lazy and changed at the little corridor at the back of LT3 instead of going to the toilet. Make up was fine, apart from the gel which was awfully hard to wash off. Basically, they applied foundation, blusher [for good characters], lipstick [ew] and gel. The process was pretty fun and need I add, awkward. Fellow actors teased each other and I found it a little awkward to have a teacher who is my project mentor colouring my lips a deep shade of crimson. :p

ANYWAYS, after that, we did warms up again, this time more focused on character. And then, production.

It started off  on a pretty good note, and screw-ups were present but overall, I think people enjoyed it. (: After the production, where we were allowed to meet our family and friends before returning for a debrief, me and Ryan saw Grady and Hui Ming and screamed for 3 minutes. Fun times…

POST PRODUCTION THOUGHTS:

I heard the Nanyang Theatre Club left during the intermission and some NY people felt that we have disparaged Shakespeare’s work by adapting it to a modern context. First thoughts which came to my mind was a string of uncultured profanities. And to such comments, I have come to a conclusion. That, is just YOUR opinion. You ain’t coming to our production and tellin’ us it sucks! Nuh-uh girl, this ain’t happening. In any case, I quote Mrs Laura Ng,

[She was] enthralled by the richness of the play, of unabashed wickedness, fatal backstabbig and grim betrayal explored in the fascinating modern day adaptation of Shakespeare’s story of Lear. I was captivated by the scene changes, the vibrant action and the actors’ success with delivering the tough lines.

There you have it. All the behind-the-scenes actions. If you went, I hope you’ve enjoyed it.

Pain

28 Jun 2010 Leave a Comment

by fooga7 in Uncategorized

Since 5, I knew I was not one who dealt with pain easily.

When I was 5, my finger got dislodged while clamped between the door. I practically died while on the journey to the hospital. The pain was excruciating, shooting up my entire hand. I clasped on tightly to anything I could hold on to. And that incident is still quite fresh in my mind, a constant reminder to myself not to get injured and suffer any repercussions.

But obviously, accidents do happen. And now, as I type this post, I am having one ankle bandaged up and I cant quite walk properly. And it sucks. Big time.

What hit me instantaneously was that I would have to shuffle. No more confident strides. Just a limped stagger. And that is disgusting. Following that, Production on Friday. Would I recover in time? I don’t know frankly. I’m clinging on fervently to the thin thread of hope that all would turn out well.

I would be such an implication. This is horrid. When the chinese 跌打 guy pressed my injury, I winced, convulsing like a fish out of water. I looked exactly like the guy on the left. Except less hairy.

But in this onslaught of horrid events, I meet kindness. Little acts of compassion which helped me a lot. And I am so grateful. So if you’ve helped me in these times of crisis, I sincerely thank you.

The Past

25 Jun 2010 Leave a Comment

by fooga7 in Uncategorized

We think of the past as water under the bridge, a current that carries away the mistakes of our youth. The loves we lost; the addictions we gave into; the opportunities we threw away. But sooner or later, reminders drift back into our lives, of the mistakes we made, and the sins we committed…  The past is never truly behind us, ghosts lurk in the shadows, eager to remind us of the choices we made, but if we look back, we might find an old friend with open arms, or an old enemy with a hidden agenda, or a grown up son with a forgiving heart. Sadly, some of us refuse to look back, never understanding that by denying the past, we… are condemned to repeat it.

[Desperate Housewives, The Distant Past]

I find the past mesmerizing, the fact that it holds both good and bad memories, possessing the capability to salvage or destroy a life. I find the quote above very apt in describing how the past makes a huge difference.

I don’t exactly have the most glamorous past, and I did several things I’m not proud of. And I don’t quite think anyone else is much different. Some say the future is something to be afraid of, with global warming and all the disasters with Man being the root cause. But I share different sentiments, the past is equally, if not more, worrying. Imagine all your secrets, lies, scandals to be exposed at the most unlikely of time. It would be catastrophic.

So it seems like I hate the past. In a sense, yes. But yet again, don’t expect a straightforward answer regarding such issues from hypocritical me.

Being curious by nature, I always had interest in other people’s past. And I know quite a bit about some people’s past. I like meeting interesting individuals, it gives me lots of insights to different kind of characters etc. And being a member of the EDC, “getting into character” isn’t as simple as it seems. The past moulds your character and determines certain things.

I try to be a perfectionist, for I prefer my record unblemished. But sometimes, it can be challenging; constantly up keeping and maintaining a flawless display. All I can say is, don’t try to erase your past, it’s a futile attempt as the past always resurfaces. Accept the past, embrace the present and anticipate the future.

Remember the words of Mr Oscar Wilde, “Every saint has a past and every sinner has a future”. So, if you have let go any grievances or melancholy in the past, well done. And if you have sinned horribly and feel awfully guilty, it’s time to repent and let go.

DO IT OR ELSE #1

23 Jun 2010 Leave a Comment

by fooga7 in Uncategorized

I will not talk about my personal thoughts on this brilliant piece of literature but rather, I will talk about something under the same arch of Shakespeare.

Mr S. wrote many many plays, the more prominent ones being Romeo and Juliet, Othello, MOV etc. But have you ever heard of the play he wrote, entitled “KING LEAR”?

Essentially, King Lear is a play on family betrayal, loyalty and love. But the version Shakespeare wrote is a little dull, which is why HCIEDC is adapting King Lear into a modernized context and putting up a fabulous play!

So, I would refer you to http://www.facebook.com/#!/event.php?eid=119596991411797 to learn more about the production we are putting up. DO NOT STEROTYPE. This will NOT be boring. In any case, only the first act, but anyway, there is VIOLENCE AND BLOOD AND VULGARITIES. Are you getting interested? Well, what I said above is true. Come down and watch REAL: HISTORY REPLAYED in its full eye-plucking gory! Mark it down in your calendar, 2nd July, 7pm at the Hwa Chong Drama Centre. A ticket cost a mere $5.

So, COME AND WATCH. It is a night you won’t forget.

DO IT OR ELSE #2

19 Jun 2010 Leave a Comment

by fooga7 in Uncategorized

Novel – Night [Elie Wiesel]

Film  -  Saving Private Ryan

I preferred Night much more than the film. Blood and violence was never my cup of tea. But in any case, these 2 masterpieces were indeed an eye-opener. If you wish to view my mindmap, click on it and zoom in.

In conclusion to this very short post, I feel compelled to quote a song…

“Raise a glass to mend all the broken hearts of all my wrecked up friends”