Jolly Folly, Mighty Morphin'

Long time ago, especially in my Cat High days when I take the MRT, the digital screen along the platform always shows the estimated time it takes for the next train to come. I remember it was a long grey screen with yellow words. These days, technology gets the better of us and we have actual TV screens. Don't mind them but they are always clouded with commercials which I think no one notices. No sound, can't hear what it's all about. Furthermore, it's gaudy and sometimes, doesn't show the waiting time at a glance. It takes a long stare before the advertisements end and the time finally comes up.

Previously on the old MRT trains, they don't have TVs. Now, they have a small TV mounted on the top of the walls of each carriage, especially in trains in the North-East line. Unfortunately, the top 20 percent of the screen is always blocked by a thick panel of lights just in front of the TVs. Besides, the advertisements on the screen repeats so many times and the sound sucks.

The old trains have more seats. The new MRT trains have less seats to provide space for metal bars to hold luggages for those heading for the airport. From what I see, these spaces are always empty.

Isn't life just better when simpler? Now, back to life.

Watched Shutter today. Quite freaky! Indeed! Very professional, interesting and wise film angles I think. The director likes to bring us to a new scene or location by closing up on an object at that location then bringing us to the bigger picture. That is slick/sleek. Every 2 to 3 minutes, you are fed with something to scare you, which is a great treat to the audience's cowardice, but it made the film quite disconnected sometimes, almost as if the frames were cut to scare rather than to reveal plot or character. Nevertheless, it was a very power-packed movie to relish and it offered me more than just ghosts in photos - it questioned morality. Two things I figured out only after the movie were:
- Tun had a neck problem because Natre had been sitting on him all along.
- The grasshopper analogy.

Went for steamboat with VJ drama peeps. At Marina South. The food was horrid but I still kept eating because the soup was rather sweet, but never as thick and herby as Melvin's Chinese concoctions or rather prescriptions. For those who haven't been there for some time, you would have missed out the new-found jab of competition that has hit the stalls.

The first time I was there, there was no soliciting and we went which steamboat stall we wanted.

The consequent times I was there, there were people urging you to eat at their stalls at the steps of my bus.

Now, the soliciting has moved to Marina Bay MRT. For 10 dollars, people are actually throwing in free transport back AND forth, free canned drinks for everyone, plus bottles of sparkling juice and much more.

It's tough doing business these days. Really.

Posted by Brandon at Tuesday, November 30, 2004 | Permalink

Yesterday I did a first. To be an extra on TV. The experience was a refreshing blast in itself, but it was damn extra, in all sense of the word. There was just so much time to slack that I literally couldn't find anything to do. The whole time, the extras were supposed to be walking around/sitting around/dancing. Yet we couldn't produce a noise at all because the mike would catch our voices, so we had to pretend to talk with only movements of the mouth. It was a stupid thing to do.

I had a line though! Worthy of celebration for the first line of my professional acting life. I'm not mad or what, but I secretly gave out a laugh when the take was over.

Posted by Brandon at Tuesday, November 30, 2004 | Permalink

"If you have killer looks and a killer body in the industry, all you need to overcome is stage fright. Jobs will come to you, not the other way round."

I just have to agree with this comment made by Mr Corbidge in the YC session today. Hate to say it but it's quite true. Damn it, I wasn't born an eye candy or a muscle-pack. I guess it's men's every right and desire to be vain. Why, I just hope talent lasts longer than looks.

Talking about talent, I was rather disappointed with the Shakespeare work we did today. The problem with me is my fluency. My readings of McBeth sucked big time. The workshop was very helpful yes, but I didn't feel a personal engagement to the text like some others felt. They were spouting praises for the language so loosely, like it was some magical verse that we were reading. Guess it never worked for me, this Shakespeare thing. Haiz.

Went to watch When Body Language Goes Bad. It was a great night out actually. Shall save my comments before this blog turns into a review site. :p

Just want to wish everyone who's reading this site, especially the TSDians, a good holidays. I haven't been meeting up with you guys, but I hope you are doing well and enjoying every moment of this precious holidays. :)

Posted by Brandon at Sunday, November 28, 2004 | Permalink

I thought I had lost this someone for a long time already. Someone whom I thought I can so rely on. Ended up she came to pick me up from my fall, and yes, offered a good compromise. It was a dilemma that could only be solved by trust. And somehow, I feel so much more liberated now, and it just feels like a burden just took root somewhere else. Not that it will disappear, but it made my world a different one. A perspective I never thought I'd take.

Today I went back to Cat High to help the drama team. What should I say? I felt I wanted to be there to help, but it seemed like people didn't feel like wanting to be helped. I guess everyone had such low energy levels, poor sense of initiative and lack of discipline that I was rather affected. It was an affair to be taken seriously, but it's just the attitude that just wasn't there. Eugene and Vincent must have agreed with me on this one. Last year, the level of professionalism at which the Sec 4s conducted themselves was simply amazing. It came as a shock to me too, but it happened. We had our fair share of slackers but we still pulled through unexpectedly well. Absolutely looking forward to this batch showing something solid.

Went to ACJC's Drama Club's play, called Snow Queen. I am UTTERLY IMPRESSED. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time and was literally hungering for more. The pronunciation of words, the confidence, the ensemble feel was absolutely fantastic, the dance steps were appallingly fanciful, the costumes were way too cool, the story was one that struck a chord in both young and old. The one thing that I admired about the cast was that the actors were very open, and they were comfortable with touching each other physically. It resulted in a production that oozed marvellous, spriteful, youthful energy, peppered with dashes of subtle sensuality. For a cast of more than 50 people (I think), the acting was very consistent and everyone proved themselves to be competent and flamboyant dancers, both male and female, which I would never be able to achieve :P Besides some cases of over-acting, Snow Queen is definitely worth the cold. (It was freezing cold in there!)

Happy, yea, I'm happy today. And I found a familiar, bursting sense of energy I feel everytime I watch a good production. Makes you wanna stand up, grab a few people and just bang bang bang, start one yourself. I think I wrote this before somewhere, but it really does happen to me.

Posted by Brandon at Friday, November 26, 2004 | Permalink

Job-hunting sucks. You never know who to trust, where to go and what to do. Daniel, YY and Melvin, we scuttled around, first trying to settle down for a quick movie before Daniel and YY rushes down to SRT. We made 3 trips up and down the height of Plaza Sing, not knowing whether to watch Shutter, which had bad timings and bad first row seats or The Incredibles, which was less popular a choice and Melvin was going to watch next week with someone. In the end, we stopped in our tracks and decided to watch neither.

We found this shop which pays incredibly (alright, quite) well, but it was based on commission. And the shop had these glass panes where you cannot see what's inside but you can see what's outside, which made the shop look like a scam business. Basically, you have to attract people on the streets with free gifts and lure them towards a travel exhibition upstairs. They have to earn more than 2500 a month, own credit cards and be 25 years of age and above. If you get one person up, you get 40 bucks. If you manage to entice 8 people, you get 70 dollars PER PERSON. That sounds attractive, but is it that easy? Not really, even if we considered bringing our whole family up.

Bumped into Xi Jie, Carol, Shaun and Rohana. They were running so hurriedly, they seemed like they were (A) on Amazing Race or (B) running after some pop idol. No, they were tailing someone whom they find attractive/special/extraordinary... From what Xi Jie describes, it actually sounds fun!

I was feeling so bored on the train today I thought what would happen/what would I do if I died tomorrow. As in tomorrow. If I knew I had 24 hours to live, what would I rush to accomplish. I strongly advise everyone to think about this seriously, even if it takes 1 bloody hour. Because I learnt that I should never take anything or anyone for granted and I realised truly who in this world mattered to me the most. I think I seem retarded here, because I thought myself a lesson without any impetus or teacher or incident, but do think about it.

Posted by Brandon at Tuesday, November 23, 2004 | Permalink

I finally received my Physicists pay. Finally. It's ... miserable, put it that way. Wasn't expecting it to go so low...

Had a Physicists thank-you dinner at the Swiss Ambassador's residence. It was fairly (if not very) weird, because the Visit of the Tai Tai people were talking at their own tables, and the Physicists people were chatting at the other end of the hall. The food was ohh hoo... madly posh, with dish names stretching beyond ten words. And with so many cutlery (2 knives, 2 spoons and 2 forks), I chose to just use one fork for absolutely anything I was eating.

Ivan Heng invaded our table. And greeted everyone he knew. "So what part do you play in this whole thing(as in the Swiss Festival)?", he questioned me in true mahjong dry-swimming gestures. Well, he was flamboyant in his discourse, yes, but truthfully, he's a deep one. Basically when you are the star of a show, or a prominent name in theatre, when you talk, people just stop eating and listen to you, whether people like what they are hearing or not. Indeed, he has a witty eye for theatre which caught my eye, debunking any previous impressions I had about him.

I saw Luke and Dawyne on Kids Central. (both from YC and previously, TSD) They were doing quite interesting stuff in true Hi-5 style in a show called "In your House". When you perform for kids, you overact so much, that it seems stupid to adults. But why, it's good experience.

Posted by Brandon at Monday, November 22, 2004 | Permalink

In true daphne-style, LYK SO IN BLISSSSSSSSS. A week ago, I was looking around some boutique at Orchard. Then I went in. I was quite surprised to see Taufik. I literally turned around and walked away. It was quite a weird sight. But I realised there was no reason for me to do so. So I just went back and looked around inside. And my eye caught Olinda too. Empty shop, which would otherwise be mobbed by fans if the roof fell off.

Then today I saw Slyboi and Taufik at J8. The girls with their heads painfully poised (alliteration not intended) at 45 degrees were screaming like mad. Imagine a girl screaming Sylvester loudly. It still sounds ok because the end of the name won't be pitched so high. But when it comes to Taufik's fans, the "FIK" at the end could kill birds pasing by and break glass of steel. Just an observation.

I have a new hair cut which has two streaks at the sides of my head. Woo hoooo.

Immaculate Misconception was quite a thought-provoking play. It wasn't spectacular but it was a very fresh theme in theatre I guess. Worthy of exploration. Beatrice Chia displayed great mettle and a good sense of naturalism on stage, quite laudable. But the way she stretches each word in trying to enunciate well sounded quite weird and unnatural (ironically). No matter what she still did very well. The set and media technology must have cost a bomb, but at some point in time, I was questioning myself whether they were needed, especially the Flash animations which were quite inaudible.

THE MOST EXCITING THING ABOUT THE SHOW IS THAT I GOT TO MEET THE PLAYWRIGHT. This guy actually invented the Pill! And he wrote the play. A cross-breed of Science and Arts is always admirable, don't you think?

I met Nurul at Clarke Quay last night. She's back for a brief holiday. So she waves to all TSDians and sends her heartfelt regards!

Posted by Brandon at Sunday, November 21, 2004 | Permalink

For some odd reason, I sense the relief the O level kids are feeling on this very day where MOST of them (the Cat High boys) are let off this journey. I almost feel for them. I remember my last paper was Geog MCQ. The end was a splendid combination of celebration, friendship and extreme joy. It seemed like it was almost the end, the end of an ordeal worth fighting for, and yet a start of more adventures to come. Life screws you most of the time, but sometimes it does leave you some sparks of brilliance.

My tagboard is finally back. Welcome back.

Am I silly or what? But I felt quite bad that Olinda was ousted. It just wasn't a justifiable choice, should I say. She deserves to win, although she looks a little plastic. Sylvester this time was the clear boo-boo. And if he were to win Singapore Idol, I would have absolutely nothing to say. Taufik is actually quite a good bet.

Acting is deceit. It is making something out of nothing. Deceit might sound nasty, but isn't the power to create worth exalting?

I am currently leading quite a decadent life. One with an elusive purpose. I remember telling myself to do lots of things during the holidays. Now when I wake up, brush my teeth, stuff myself with breakfast, I ask myself, "Now what?"

Posted by Brandon at Saturday, November 20, 2004 | Permalink

For some odd reason, I sense the relief the O level kids are feeling on this very day where MOST of them (the Cat High boys) are let off this journey. I almost feel for them. I remember my last paper was Geog MCQ. The end was a splendid combination of celebration, friendship and extreme joy. It seemed like it was almost the end, the end of an ordeal worth fighting for, and yet a start of more adventures to come. Life screws you most of the time, but sometimes it does leave you some sparks of brilliance.

My tagboard is finally back. Welcome back.

Am I silly or what? But I felt quite bad that Olinda was ousted. It just wasn't a justifiable choice, should I say. She deserves to win, although she looks a little plastic. Sylvester this time was the clear boo-boo. And if he were to win Singapore Idol, I would have absolutely nothing to say. Taufik is actually quite a good bet.

Acting is deceit. It is making something out of nothing. Deceit might sound nasty, but isn't the power to create worth exalting?

I am currently leading quite a decadent life. One with an elusive purpose. I remember telling myself to do lots of things during the holidays. Now when I wake up, brush my teeth, stuff myself with breakfast, I ask myself, "Now what?"

Posted by Brandon at Saturday, November 20, 2004 | Permalink

SHANIA TWAIN - FROM THIS MOMENT

I amire this song a lot because it just rocks. Was listening to it when it just started raining when I was on the bus. It was sunny just before it started playing in my ears. My eyes were closed and when I opened my eyes at sort of the climax, it was raining quite heavily. Woo hoo. "You're the reason I believe in love..."

SIMPLE PLAN - WELCOME TO MY LIFE

"Have you ever felt like giving up?" This song is absolutely written for me la. Celebration of truth and rock.

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Ewan Mcgregor is gonna make his theatre debut. Denzel Washington is returning to Broadway for quite some time. I think somewhere, sometime, someone was debating whether it was easier to be a stage actor or film/TV actor. I would definitely say film.

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Amazing Race 6 returns. Still as exciting as ever. This time round, I'd be rooting for Hellboi and Rebecca instead of a Black team. :).

I have this weird liking for old people.

1. They speak few words but they are the people who know best.
2. They know what love ACTUALLY means.
3. It's more heart-warming to see old couples embrace and kiss than young couples.
4. Wrinkles are signs of wisdom.
5. They watch the world foolishly degenerate although they know exactly how to save it.

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There is much unspoken regret of not joining OGL and OCIP and YEP. It is this thing called comfort zone people like to stay in and unfortunately, my brain summons me in.

Posted by Brandon at Thursday, November 18, 2004 | Permalink

When you begin to stay at home, and snuggle in the comforts of things called beds and sofas and utilise machines called TVs and computers, you think a lot. I believe this is where the JUICES come UNLIMITED. Yea, that was inspiration for my new blog name. Juices that lead to life-changing, eartg-shattering novel inventions that rewrite the course of history. I began thinking about weird things which I promise myself to write on my blog, but I always forget.

There's one thing I've learnt these days. I don't know where it comes from but I realise that the family unit is the most important institution of life.

Screw blogspot. I have 3 computers at home and all 3 have been infected with some blogspot spyware of sorts. The computer users at home have been pointing their fingers at me. Who else blogs? This thing leaves an icon on the desktop with the face of a lady licking her finger and upon starting Microsoft, the system KEEPS asking where you live in. Weird eh.

Watched THE SWAN yesterday because I was so bored at night. It was actually quite interesting. People go to GREAT lengths to physically transform themselves. And it makes them happy. I'm pretty neutral about this but I can't understand why they want to go through so much pain and RISK to become a so-called swan? And the biggest irony was that the contestant said after her transformation, "Throughout the show, I realised that beauty comes from within.", as she kept nodded in full agreement of the point she had just made.

Posted by Brandon at Monday, November 15, 2004 | Permalink

After an afternoon nap of utter shiokness, went out.

I feel obliged to recommend Bride and Prejudice. Not a must-watch, but definitely a lot of fun to watch. And it's super funny. Cobra dance, that Koli guy from America and the Indian Auntie. The first twenty minutes was quite spectacular, to my astonishment. The setting was highly exotic and cultural. It drew my breath. And the number of extras involved - amazing. It was so culturally rich - you don't really see it in Hollywood movies. Very fetching.

Satire big time! Americans put on the chopping board. But seemed like the point wasn't made very strong. Also, couldn't really decide whether it was a musical (there were only a few songs in the first half) or simply romantic drama.

But still, really good, only a tad too raw. A very brave attempt I must say. Got a lot to say, only because it was quite an exciting and fun movie.

Posted by Brandon at Sunday, November 14, 2004 | Permalink

Feel like shit now. Shit that just sits on the last acre of unwanted land in the world at the end of the world at the most remote corner of the world. I think I know why but I don't really know why actually.

Had class chalet. It WAS fun to the extreme. Despite (I think) being the only person bitten by unknown insects (besides Jiali), it really was sheer wildness. Playing guitar not knowing how to, guessing some 9-box trick, watching the inner kids pop out from the gaps in our coverings, listening to bimbotic/himbotic stories of Audrey washing off the marinate from the overnight marinated chicken and stuff.

The sunrise was quite amazing. I didn't get to see the sun though. As the minutes ticked by, more and more light was shining from behind the clouds. A sight to behold. Only to be spoilt by a beach littered with bottles and cans and some lack of silence from the surprisingly large crowds strolling in the park at such a time.

It's quite cool that the sun I watched rise today is now shining so brightly at Bishan. Great for a day at the beach but no beach in Bishan. I'm utter crap la.

Posted by Brandon at Saturday, November 13, 2004 | Permalink

It seemed like your smile was always what I'd longed for. Now, I make no claims and I stay unfettered. You still do make my heart speed and my nose run. It's a power that transcends the ordinary, a power that drills a force so strong it cuts, and sometimes hurts. Time is a great healer, but with recovery comes poison, with life comes death and with love comes hate. You stir a coffee in my mind, you spill it all over, but you never clear it up and a stain remains, I cannot remove. All that crap about totality and faith is indeed a crushed lemon juice can, that sits loyally outside a trash bin that is filled to the brim, hoping the bin is never cleared. It's a strand, it's a needle, it's a slip, but hanging on, it's a pain, searing pain. If I was asked to kill a star, I would never, because I know your favourite twinkling is only a mile away, and I'm within reach.

Posted by Brandon at Wednesday, November 10, 2004 | Permalink

PW OP has finally ended. IT HASSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS. I wash my hands, CLEAN, SPARKLING CLEAN, SPOTLESS CLEAN, off that now elusive GPF, those mad courses of action, that one of a toiling torture. EEEEEEEEEEEE ha!!! Now, it's time to mock next year's Year 1s. Ling, Cho, Mich and Bran combined together was when North met South, East and West, but we all came to the centre and alas, WE DID WELL. I thought we did well because it felt like the energy was absolutely high???

Senior Melissa was studying at the concourse when our sudden intrusion caused an outburst. She cautioned, "You all Year 1s har, MUST study now arh! Must! Go home and read your texts. Even if you don't read the texts, go read all your notes arh. Read the intro pages of your texts so you know what's important. If not, you will just burn (midnight oil? disintegrate?) when A levels come. Go away!!!" I could imagine as we scurry off, she would literally collapse into a heap of ashes. It's that scary?

I had another WEIRD dream last night. This time, it's Rashez (TSD GIRL) and Edwin (CAT HIGH CLASSMATE). Perhaps it was the PW jitters but this time it is quite funny. I was presenting my course of action when suddenly Edwin stood up and Rashez followed suit. Edwin kicked Rashez in the face but she stood rooted. Rashez kicked Edwin once and he just fell on the floor. He stood up and tried to fight back, with students (dunno who) trying to hold both of them back. I asked them to shut up. They kept quiet. Then they continued fighting and "adjourned" to the garden. I stood there stunned. Everyone just followed the fight and I was left there alone.

Posted by Brandon at Monday, November 08, 2004 | Permalink

Returned to the Young Co. today.

We're having this party at the director's house late November. Madly enough, the theme of the party is ONE GARMENT. So you have to wear just one garment. And your undies are considered one garment. So you can guess how much skin is gonna be exposed at the party.

We are doing MacBeth next year. It sounds WAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY cool. Whatever ideas Michael (Artistic Director) were proposing were WAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY cool. Huge cage, piles of dolls, wedding dresses, gore... Apparently, he's trying to bring us overseas to perform in England. I'll die for the chance. Literally die.

I hope this time it'd be a speaking role.

Borrowed a few dvds from the library using Yin Ren's Premium card. I quite like the idea of lying in bed at mid-night and watching a feel-good movie. The ones I've watched were quite fantastic.

<<<"PW sucks." Do you agree?>>> sounds like a good essay question to answer because you can give both sides of the coin. PW is actually alright. OP tomorrow. Got this bizarre feeling we'd go wrong somewhere, where we least expected, where we never thought we could.

Posted by Brandon at Sunday, November 07, 2004 | Permalink

The Flying Inkpot reviewed the Physicists. Quite proud of it arh.

Since its stunning debut four years ago with ‘Eleemosynary’, luna-id productions has been churning out performances that have earned themselves rave reviews. This year alone, both its plays (before this one, of course) have been rewarded with many appreciative comments. And THE PHYSICISTS will not prove an exception.

Produced in conjunction with this year’s Swiss Festival, THE PHYSICISTS is written by Swiss playwright Friedrich Durrenmatt and tells the story of three men living in a madhouse who claim to be, needless to say, physicists. One thinks he is Sir Isaac Newton, another Professor Albert Einstein and the last actually is Johann Wilhelm Mobius, a scientist who claims to see visions of King Solomon.

The play begins with the murder of a nurse committed by Einstein. Oh, I beg your pardon, I mean an “accident” (one must not call them murders when mental patients are involved, warns the chief doctor), and the “assailant” was Einstein. This is already the second “accident” that has taken place in three months, since Newton "assailed" his nurse. Tensions are running high in the public prosecutor’s office - they are upset with the sanatorium for not keeping the patients in check - and three months later, we surely enough see a third nurse strangled, this time by Mobius. Yet as the story unfolds, the insanity of the three men becomes rather doubtful, despite their killings.

In the second act, the audience begins to see the light. Newton and Einstein reveal their true real identities to Mobius as Alex Jaspar Kilton and Joseph Eisler respectively, and it comes as no surprise that they are physicists too. Both work for their own respective secret services, both read a dissertation Mobius wrote some fifteen years ago and both realised the nature of his genius and wanted to get hold of his latest theories, hence they infiltrated the madhouse. Mobius resists them and hides behind his feigned madness, fearing the impact his findings could have on the world.

THE PHYSICISTS explores strong themes like Man’s greed for power and recognition, the fatal effects of finding out an earth-shattering scientific theory and even throws in some gender politics. All of these reflect in the play's many ironies. For example, Mobius proposes that to be “free”, the physicists have to be prisoners in the madhouse, because they took fewer lives inside than they would have indirectly taken if released. Other comic little ironies abound, such as how patients are permitted to smoke in the asylum but not the police inspector is not because “it would stink the place out”.

The highly complex characters of Newton, Einstein and Mobius were no easy feat to portray, but the actors took them on with conviction. It was a pity, though, that Sonny Lim’s portrayal of Einstein paled in comparison to Daniel Jenkins' Newton and Michael Corbidge’s Mobius. The Brits possessed a very powerful stage presence which Lim was unable to measure up to. And there were other problems, too... In a scene late in the second act, the three men confront each other around a light bulb which provides the only light on stage. As Mobius explains in an extended monologue why they cannot leave, Newton and Einstein are left with nothing to do. At this point, Lim seemed lost. He kept his head down, looking around him and occasionally at his hands, away from the light. That scene made Lim look particularly weak, especially opposite Jenkins, who faced the light, and whose facial reactions the audience could clearly see.

Of course, the above could have been a problem with Samantha Scott-Blackhall's direction and, if so, it would not have been the only one. The set for the first act created a narrow space for the actors to work with (they were only able to move across the breadth of the stage and had no depth at all to explore) and I had difficulty seeing the faces of Leigh McDonald and Claire Devine who acted as Mobius’ divorced wife and his nurse, Monika Stettler, respectively. Presumably they should have been moved around more so that everyone in the audience would have had a chance to see them. Nonetheless, I have to commend Sebastian Zeng for the creative transformation of the set from the first to the second act. The abrupt destruction of the false front of the sanatorium to reveal the darkness behind effectively prefigured the revelations that the second act would bring.

One final twist came in the closing moments of the play, when Sandy Philips, the doctor in charge of the sanatorium, came out of the closet and declared to the three physicists that she had Mobius’ theories and their duplicates in her hands. Absurdly, she claimed that King Solomon appeared before her because Mobius had betrayed the Golden King's dictates by burying the “Principle of Universal Discovery”, which Solomon had decreed Mobius must proclaim to the world. Hidden beneath a barren, hunch-backed, uneven-legged psychiatrist, was an insane woman, greedy for power. And Sandy Philips did a laudable job playing her.

Looking back, I especially like the production's directorial touches - the places where Scott-Blackhall was really on form. I like the silent patient who sat at the side of the stage throughout Act One, representative of an omniscient character, a madman who exposed the madness of the others by pushing down the vertical set and uncovering the prison behind the pretty facade of the sanatorium. I liked the sound (a la ‘Stomp’), and the visual tricks (such as the cast striking matchsticks for light when Newton leads Mobius down a planned escape route) added interesting layers to the already plump storyline. The flyer for the production says “ingenious and amusing” and “deliciously mind boggling”. Indeed. And very, may I add.

I'm no silent patient. I'm scratcher! :P

The workshop at NEW TOWN:

• was damn hot. There was at least a 5 degrees difference between the interior (fans only, no air con) and the exterior. (it was raining)
• scared (traumatised) some of the kids with some exercise on Theatre of Cruelty. I mean scared.
• tiring. Suzuki once more isn't exactly an easy task. Felt worse coz the kids were looking intently.
• was quite rewarding because the students gradually opened up.
• but less rewarding when the teacher said something like, "One day if I'm rich I will give you all a treat." You don't have to actually if you don't want.

Posted by Brandon at Wednesday, November 03, 2004 | Permalink

Had quite a bad OP rehearsal this morning. Was quite bored of myself.

Went to Esplanade to borrow books.
Sat down at the bus stop to wait for Bus 162.
20 minutes into waiting and the bus was still not in sight.
Regretted borrowing some books.
Went back to library to return and borrow other books.
Went back to bus stop to wait for another 20 minutes.
Realised that the bus wasn't available at that time on a weekday.

By then I was dozing off already. It was stupid of me.

Yesterday in the afternoon, Mrs Neo suddenly called to ask if I sent her some e-mail about "SRT loves you". I said no immediately, myself quite taken aback by the absurdity of this query. It's very interesting. Spam.

Is there a way you can lose yourself and do what your mind directs you to do? Can you lose all inhibitions? I think we are living only to try to outlast others in hiding...stuff. Who has no secrets?

All I can think of now, is rushing to the airport and flying off.

Posted by Brandon at Tuesday, November 02, 2004 | Permalink