Friday, December 29, 2006

-Ghaz's experience with mama & cat-

Initially this entry was supposed to be about underwear... dun ask.
Maybe I'll talk about it on a later date...

So, I shall dedicate this entry to a new-found friend, Ming... Hey Fik, strangers do read my blog after all.

As you all might have known (or will know since I'm talking about it now), the last production that I had was with the Theatre Practise in the restaging of "mama looking for her cat" written originally by the late dramatist Kuo Pao Kun. I have heard great stories about him. It's too bad that I have never got the chance to meet him in person. However, I am glad to be acquainted with the rest of the family (Mdm Goh, Jian, Jin, Chris and the oh-so-adorable Olivia)... Always thought of them as theater royalty but I'm sure they hated to be call that. Such modest people.

Anyway, on February 2006, a young theater enthusiast by the name of Ghazali called TTP to ask a slot for an audition... This will be the first time he auditioned for anything. He has been involved in theatre before, mainly as a crew member (sweeping floors and operating light controls and such) or act as extras ("dead body/Higgs" was his first acting debut... haha... He received a good review for it. Even though it was only a line, but still...) I remember he had 3 auditions that week. One of them was for LEGEND ALIVE ONLINE...

Audition was unnerving but fun. Martina was quirky. blah blah blah and a few days later, he recieved a call for a callback. blah blah blah and forward to the future...

7 months later: Rehearsal for Mama starts. At that point, young Ghaz suddenly realized what he has got himself into. The other actors were theatre veterans who has had at least 10 yrs of experience. Ghaz on the other hand, is a relative baby struggling to pronounce "mama"... But of course, the ever-resilient Ghaz snapped out of it and focus on the task at hand.

It is always a challenge to work with a new director because you are adjusting to his/her style of directing. Frankly speaking, Ghazali had trouble understanding what Martina wanted.. at first... but he realized that all those gestures and sounds Martina made were to demonstrate the kind of energy, vibe or feeling that she want the actor or audience to get out of the scene. Any word used to describe it would be wrong.

They did a lot of improvs... ugh! how Ghaz hated improvs... but you can't blame him. He is still learning. The best improv he did (which he was so proud of) was when he acted as the missing cat. They loved it. Too bad there was no way of inserting that scene in.

And rehearsals continue as usual... Ghaz slowly getting into it. Trying to complement the rest of the actors... until showtime! and then.. everything is history.

Oh... it must be said that a lot has happened within that 7 months between the audition and the rehearsal for mama... Remember those 2 other auditions? They were for Wi!d Rice's Young n Wi!d actor training programme and Teater Artistik. He managed to nailed them. So, he has had acting training and some experience.

So there... The journey of a young aspiring actor


| ghaz says hello @ 8:11 AM|

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Tuesday, December 26, 2006

-alaMAK!!!-

My mother is a strange little creature. She tend to say the strangest things to me sometimes. Take for example the time i bought this shirt for myself and she asked me,

"Why didn't you buy it 2 sizes bigger so your father can wear it too?"

And some mornings when the whole family overslept, she would grumble and asked me, "Why didn't YOU wake me up for subuh?!". Mind you, this was said to me AFTER she woke me.
Mak, you are the reason I managed to wake up. (With the excessive sound you create so early in the morning when the sun is not even visible yet, who wouldn't be?)

And when i am engrossed doing my work at the computer, music blasting through the speakers, totally oblivious to the outside world, she would suddenly yelp.

"It's raining!!! Why didn't you tell me it's raining?!!"

other examples of her strange questions will be:

"Why didn't you cook the rice?" (Mak, I have never cooked the rice. And how the hell am I suppose to know the rice cooker is empty when I have just freaking reached home?)

"Why didn't you call me? I needed you to buy some groceries." (Mak, why didn't YOU call me then?)

[Am I missing something here? Am I missing a telepathic gene I am supposed to inherit?]

After dialing a number, she would wait for only 3 seconds before asking, "Why is noone picking up?!" Then, she would put down the phone.

[To my fellow cast of "Play.Play: China", I finally realised why I asked too much. I believe it's an inheritance from my mum.]

My mother is also the master of reasonings because only she could understand them.
When my grades were bad, she would say, "See! It's because you have stopped reading the Quran!"
When I have lost my shoe, it's because I have wronged someone.

But still, I love my mum. She, who is willing to fight and claw her way to the remote so she can watch her favourite Indon soap dramas. She, who walks around the house in her batik sarong and scrambles to her room when someone knocks. She, whose voice loud and strong resonating through the other line, "MY VOICE THAT LOUD, HUH?!!" She, who loves her mother even though they never understood each other.

To all those who have mothers: Get to know them before they are gone for good. Love them and earn their blessings. In Islam, the path to paradise is not without the blessings of she who gave birth to us. Syurga terletak di tapak kaki Ibu. (Heaven lies in the sole of the mother's foot - it's a metaphor)


| ghaz says hello @ 11:45 AM|

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Thursday, December 21, 2006

-Season's Greetings-

Ah... festive season is here again. Selamat Hari Raya Haji, merry christmas and happy 2007 everyone!!!

Singapore is snowing! Well, it would be if we were in the temperate region. Here, the snow all melted.
There's something magical about looking out of a windowpane where the rain flows down the glass on the other side and music is being played in the background. It always give me a sense of nostalgia. A lot of dramatic moments in my life happened when it rains. sigh... sorry, tripping for a moment there.

Anyway, yes! Festive season. Festive music everywhere. Although, i realize that we don't have a Hari Raya Haji song. All the Hari Raya songs that is being played on Warna 94.2FM and Ria 89.7FM are meant for Hari Raya Puasa. Even though, the music diretor tried his/her best to choose non-specific hari raya songs, why play the same old tune over and over again? Kau! Bingit tau! (Man! Irritating, you know!)

But still, I am glad for this short period of time when my brain can rest. (remind me of my time in NS) Speaking of which, Fikri and I were talking about it. NS, i mean. Having been there and done that, I realize that NS is truly a rite of passage. A lot of things that made me the way I am today happened during NS time. A lot of things that I have learnt of reality happened during NS. But the thing is, all these lessons I have gained has got nothing to do with NS at all but the people i was forced to be acquainted with.

Well, to all these people who has helped to shape me, have a joyous festive season! And to all, Selamat Hari Raya Aidiladha and a Happy New Year!


| ghaz says hello @ 12:44 PM|

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Monday, December 18, 2006

--

Oh yeah?

Again

Which one is this?

The one you had since you were a kid?

Tell me again how it goes

Strange

You have this recurring dream for so long right?

And you should remember every detail by now right?

What do you mean not exactly?

But?

But?

But?

Ah

Erased?

Uh huh

Ok... [whistles to tune from the twilight zone]

Sorry

So what do you rememeber?

How old?

Ok

What game?

It could be

Well?

[laughs]

What happen to your He-man?

Ok. sorry. then?

Wait! who else is in the dream?

Oh? I was in it?

Well, you said everybody

They were your ex-neighbours right?

That's everybody?

What were the parents doing?

Where were you?

Uh huh

Were you happy?

Were you happy?

It might be

Do go on

Ah! the climax

Ok. sorry. what did the voice say?

mm hmm

uh huh..

You're right

It does not feel complete

I do like to know what your reactions were to the "CUT!"

| ghaz says hello @ 10:10 AM|

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Sunday, December 10, 2006

-of cat... of PGL... and of tuah-

It was a wrap for "mama looking for her cat '06"... and the comments that I have received so far had been positive. Since I won't have the chance to give any thank you speech in any kind of ceremony anytime soon, I shall do it here then...

Thank you! Thank you all those who have supported the show. Especially friends, who have supported me in pursuing my passion in theater. Thank you to TTP for, yet again, giving me this chance to work with a great theater company amongst great actors who i can learn from. Thank you Martina for believing that there is something in me that I can offer for the show. Thank you Guat Kian, Yann2, Ema and Alvin for guiding me and helping in my acting craft. Thank you to my SM, Joanna, for being patient with me (you have not actually thrown a shoe at me yet. i am guessing that's a good sign)... Thank you.

end of speech.

And finally i got my OST from Puteri Gunung Ledang the Musical. Great songs, although it can be argued that it is not quite suitable for a musical theater. But still, I can so imagine them as wedding themesongs. And the musical itself was entertaining with some stunning effects, although as a musical theater, it was not as world-class as they were said to be. But I had fun. And was moved enough by the love story to watch it twice. Although, i am still perplexed by that one number by the Sultan where he sashayed throughout the entire song. And also as to why the director decided that it was cool to see Hang Tuah doing a little ballet move.

Story-wise... everybody will disagree with the decision to twist the hikayat tho. But do you want to know what i think?
I think, the actual "cinta teragung" was not between Puteri and Hang Tuah.

My version of what I think it was supposed to be...

KISAH CINTA TERAGUNG SEBENAR: HANG TUAH dan SULTAN MELAKA

SULTAN: Datuk Laksamana!
TUAH: Tuanku.
SULTAN: Katakan Datuk Laksamana, apakah disebalik kain pelikat Datuk? Atau, apakah Datuk gembira melihat kehadiran beta?
TUAH: Sememangnya patik memang berbesar hati menyambut kehadiran Tuanku. Dan untuk menjawab soalan tuanku, disebalik kain pelikat, terletaknya senjata kepunyaan hamba.
SULTAN: Boleh beta melihatnya?
TUAH: Sudah tentu Tuanku. Inilah keris patik.
SULTAN: Sungguh besar senjata yang Datuk miliki ini. Boleh beta memegangnya?
TUAH: Segala yang dimiliki patik adalah milik Tuanku.
SULTAN: (ketawa) Beta kagum dengan kesetiaan Datuk kepada beta.
TUAH: Itulah kewajipan hamba kepada tuannya.
SULTAN: Bagus lah tu.
TUAH: Tuanku, senjata patik telah patik diberikan nama. Taming Sari.
SULTAN: Beta gemar akan pahlawan yang menamakan senjatanya.

end of scene.

ok, that was for fun only ok. Nothing related to the truth or the actual Hikayat. OK... See you once i come back from my Hols. Gonna meet Puteri Genting Highlands pulak.


| ghaz says hello @ 7:47 PM|

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Thursday, December 07, 2006

-Opening Night!!-

Tonight is opening night for Legend Alive Online: Mama Looking for her Cat...
Check out the advertising space (that's the last star on the left) for the ad and click on the title to go to the official website.

To clarify frequently asked questions... It is not only about a cat that has gone missing and mama searching for it throughout the entire show. C'mon lah, I'm sure Kuo Pao Kun has much much more sense than that.
It is about mothers. Our relationship with our mothers. So, this play is for all mothers out there. And also for those who have mothers.
I play the ensemble cast. what does that mean? come and watch lah!


| ghaz says hello @ 11:21 AM|

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Wednesday, December 06, 2006

-Ribboncutting ceremony-

welcome one and all to the revival of aperjer-ghaz.blogspot.com....

First of all, to commemorate this day, let us look and remember the past life of aperjer-ghaz.blogspot:
In 2004, aperjer.blogspot.com (as it was called then) was deleted because
a) Nobody seem to care to read it
b) I did not seem to care to write it
c) Dun see the point of continuing

BUT...

The new an improved aperjer-ghaz.blogspot promises to be (insert own positive description of this blog)

A friend that i shall not named was sceptical though...

friend: what's the point of writing your diary online for the whole world to read? What's the point of having a diary when it's not going to be private?
me: so I'm a narcissistic exhibitionist...

besides, it's not all going to be about me... wait for future postings and you will find out what i mean.

ok... end of opening speech. i think an applause is in order.


| ghaz says hello @ 3:10 AM|

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