Hello everybody! I've been really busy with the show recently and had no time to blog. but now that the show has officially opened, i'll be more free. this may sound strage but in theatre, rehearsals are a hundred times busier than the actual run of the show. everything is already set and things are no longer changing all the time. so this blog will give you all the highlights of the last few days. Please read on.

THE PEOPLE
We have 6 actors in the show. All of them are very good at their jobs but some are nicer to work with than others. one actor is very prone to trouble (no names mentioned due to obvious reasons). there is a grey cap that belongs to him which is being used as part of his costume. on full dress rehearsal night, he decided to take the cap out for a walk. so, poor costume mistress thought the cap had disappeared and we ran all over the place loking for him. and then, during the run, i was backstage kneeling down doing stuff when he came and tripped over me. almost killed me. tonight, on opening night, 15 mins before the theatre doors were opened, he informed me of a costume change. i was like, what the...! he wanted black shoes and please tell me how do you get black leather shoes in fifteen minutes when you are in a theatre in raffles hotel standing by for the opeing night show? luckily, one of the other actors wore black shoes tonight and lent them to him. also, he likes to go for walks. i think he is claustrophobic. so, everytime we need him, we have to run around looking for him. it's so tiring.. I'm afraid that having a group of people all dressed in black running around a hotel shouting for an actor won't do the tourism industry any good. every day he comes up with something new. i'm worried about tomorrow.

then again, most of the actors are very very nice. on full dress rehearsal night, the thai actress gave each of the crew either a bookmark of a keychain from thailand. very nice. and tonight on gala night, 2 of the singaporean actresses also gave the crew little gifts. I have to say that the three singaporean actresses in this play are so wonderful to work with. from the crew point of view, a good actoris one who doesn't have a diva attitude, respects the rules (costumes in proper places, props in proper places, strictly no taking props and costumes out for walks and always being where you are supposed to be) And as a bonus, they are very appreciative of the work we backstage people. it is always pleasant when actors say a silent thank you when you pass them props and costumes backstage.

the crew people are also a good bunch to work with. we are the gossipers of the theatre and we do it in style. there is this system called Cans which is a one-ear earphone and an attached mic for each crew member. through it, everybody can talk t everybody. this makes it easy for stage left to gossip with stage right to chit chat with control room to talk cock with mutimedia control station. actually, the purpose of the system is for the stage manager to give cues. see how technology is abused.

THE SCANDALS
the director and the playwright have been nicknamed Bert and Ernie by the crew, after the the Sesame Street characters. Read what internet forums say aobut Bert and Ernie to understand why.

THE MEDIA
so far, the media people seem to absolutely love this play. there was a huge article in the straits times LIFE! paper the other day. front page photo and half page article. very favorable review. And just now, at the post show reception at Chijmes, I overheard a BBC guy talking to "Ernie". he thought it was fantastic and talked about how he loved the multimedia and how the comic relief moments were very masterfully incorporated in a way that didn't make it seem like the play was making fun of disaster victims. he just went on and on about how he really liked it. coming from the notoriously hard-to-please british press, it's good. very good.

a few days before, on press preview day, a fat ang moh photographer barged backstage (stage left) where I was stationed and started snapping away. I immediately asked the stage manager through Cans whether he was allowed to be there and she said no. so i tried to be polite and told him that i needed to space to move props. he stepped to one side and continued snapping away. i moved my prop. then i said that he had to leave. and he continued snapping. and i said that stage manager said he had to leave. and he asked what's the problem? i'll go and speak to her. and he left and i shut the door tight behind his ass. he didn't return. after the run, i asked to stage manager if he had gone to talk to her. she said no. ahhh... the coward.

THE SHOW
It was opening night tonight and although the audience was small, they really liked the show. I'm very happy. especially when i overheard the conversation between Ernie and the BBC guy (refer to above story). this is what theatre is all about. create a different reality on stage and making it such that the audience goes home thinking that it was fantastic and worth every cent and more. i confess that i personally don't really like the show but as long as the audience likes it, it's fine with me. me goal as a member of the crew to to be invisible and efficient. crew prepares the ingredients, lights the fire and puts on the cauldron and flips the spell book to the right page so that actors can cast the spell. haha what a weird metaphor. excuse me, i'm high on sugar.

ME
i had 2 desserts for dinner. black porridge and ice kacang. the sugar high made me hyperactive and happy. at the post show reception, everyone was drinking alcohol while i was drinking Sprite. so i got even higher on sugar and was laughing at everything and nothing and they thought i was high and speculated that the two cups of sprite were actually vodka. haha funny... i don't do alcoholic drinks. sugar can give you a better kick without rotting your liver.

ahhh.. when the audience applauded.. it made up for all the crap that i had to endure, the late nights, the dusty storerooms, the not being able to meet with LL and XY for breakfast because i was so, so tired, the everything.

so remember, next time you watch a show, be it theatre or dance or what ever. clap very loudly. the actors can see you claapping and they can feel good. but if you don't clap loud, backstage crew won't be able to hear you and they will be very sad

tomorrow, i plan to eat a block of chocolate for dinner. i'll probably be so high that i'll be bouncing off the walls.