yes, because i love the theatre, i've again shown my support by attending a musical show, in which my tesl friend fara (tria) is involved. i went with my other tesl friend kak nan, and after a whole day of activities, we made our way to DBKL (no, not about the thrash) and screaming in the process of doing so as we (that means I) realised that there are roads that i cant just turn to the right or left.
the show started with a clueless guy who is educated by a theatre manager on the musicals that have been staged throughout the twentieth century. to my delight, the first performance was taken from Hello, Dolly which, as a movie, has Barbra Streisand as Dolly Levi. the song "Put on your sunday clothes" was nostalgic to me, and i was still humming the song until this evening. the rest of the snippets were taken from other world-renowned musicals such as The Westside Story, Oklahoma!, Chicago, Miss Saigon, Oliver, Grease and others which i cant recall offhand right now. yes, i had fun. the performers are all good, because it's a challenge to be able to dance and sing at the same time.
hats off to you, fara.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Friday, February 13, 2009
Why You Should Watch Puteri Gunung Ledang the Musical
part of my Literature background is a love for the theatre, which was first planted by my Seri Puteri English teachers when i acted in various English dramas which included Wizard of Oz, The Merchant of Venice and A Midsummer Night's Dream. because of this too, i had the chance to attend some Shakespearean plays, and when i was doing my TESL, we acted in slapstick comedy dramas and also watched plays which included Lloyd Fernando's The Scorpion Orchid (starring Zahim Al Bakry and Hans Isaac) and Instant Cafe Theatre's production of Macbeth and Actor's Studio's The Tempest.
and so, it was no surprise that i went to watch PGL the musical last wednesday night. thanx to another colleague who purchased the tickets in October, i was able to enjoy the show with the other teachers. it's nice to see the celebrities up close - AC Mizal is good, although i wish he didnt have to rasp, Tiara is the best, Adlin is such a natural on stage that he can act so selamba and Stephen Rahman Hughes *sigh dreamily* yup....the macho and handsome Hang Tuah who made me wish i was up there on the stage with him.
it is a good move to stage a play on such historical figures, and i like the way they blend the cultural aspects into the dance and the javanese as well as malay accents in speeches - for example, in the scenes set in Majapahit, one can instantly recognise the Indian influence as well as the Malay folk dance when they feature the Melakan port scene. one can also recognise the Broadway influence in some of the dances, which makes this play a postmodern play - a marriage of the old and the new.
kudos to the actors and the dancers, for a job well done - i marvelled the way they can act without a hitch. it's no joke when you're performing a play live along with live singing.
a money well-spent.
and so, it was no surprise that i went to watch PGL the musical last wednesday night. thanx to another colleague who purchased the tickets in October, i was able to enjoy the show with the other teachers. it's nice to see the celebrities up close - AC Mizal is good, although i wish he didnt have to rasp, Tiara is the best, Adlin is such a natural on stage that he can act so selamba and Stephen Rahman Hughes *sigh dreamily* yup....the macho and handsome Hang Tuah who made me wish i was up there on the stage with him.
it is a good move to stage a play on such historical figures, and i like the way they blend the cultural aspects into the dance and the javanese as well as malay accents in speeches - for example, in the scenes set in Majapahit, one can instantly recognise the Indian influence as well as the Malay folk dance when they feature the Melakan port scene. one can also recognise the Broadway influence in some of the dances, which makes this play a postmodern play - a marriage of the old and the new.
kudos to the actors and the dancers, for a job well done - i marvelled the way they can act without a hitch. it's no joke when you're performing a play live along with live singing.
a money well-spent.
Monday, February 09, 2009
The Dance class
sounds interesting, isnt it?
i came across the event to be held in the metro section of the star. i dont know why, but suddenly i felt like going and see whether it's just like in the movies - you know, those dancers in those dance leotards and tops and leg warmers.
i went with sazi to join in the open day of the Dance Space, the name of the dance studio at plaza damas. they featured a dance for a 20 mins, giving the public a taste of what's coming should they decide to join. when we arrived, we saw the actual dance class, with seasoned dancers learning a move which i recognised from movies. of course, i was a bit alarmed, since the public who came were mostly teenagers and young adults! i told sazi " i feel old". then when i spotted some senior citizens, i quickly corrected myself "now i feel young."
the first on the list was tap dancing. although i pride myself for not having 2 left feet, i must admit that tap dancing is a challenge. up until the end of the 20 mins, i didnt know where i was heading, colliding into a guy next to me to stepping on sazi's toe. next was my favourite, which is samba. there're 2 brazillian dancers to teach us, and i liked it so much that i never cease to grin during the entire 20 mins!
after samba, there's cha cha. although cha cha is something that i like, the dance requires a couple, and partnering with a girl friend is very awkward, since it's a sensual dance. and so, not even half into the 20 mins session, sazi and i decided to stop. she waited for belly dancing, which i used to do, so i wasnt so keen on joining.
well, i signed up for samba class. although on my way back, i have second thoughts... hmmm....
i came across the event to be held in the metro section of the star. i dont know why, but suddenly i felt like going and see whether it's just like in the movies - you know, those dancers in those dance leotards and tops and leg warmers.
i went with sazi to join in the open day of the Dance Space, the name of the dance studio at plaza damas. they featured a dance for a 20 mins, giving the public a taste of what's coming should they decide to join. when we arrived, we saw the actual dance class, with seasoned dancers learning a move which i recognised from movies. of course, i was a bit alarmed, since the public who came were mostly teenagers and young adults! i told sazi " i feel old". then when i spotted some senior citizens, i quickly corrected myself "now i feel young."
the first on the list was tap dancing. although i pride myself for not having 2 left feet, i must admit that tap dancing is a challenge. up until the end of the 20 mins, i didnt know where i was heading, colliding into a guy next to me to stepping on sazi's toe. next was my favourite, which is samba. there're 2 brazillian dancers to teach us, and i liked it so much that i never cease to grin during the entire 20 mins!
after samba, there's cha cha. although cha cha is something that i like, the dance requires a couple, and partnering with a girl friend is very awkward, since it's a sensual dance. and so, not even half into the 20 mins session, sazi and i decided to stop. she waited for belly dancing, which i used to do, so i wasnt so keen on joining.
well, i signed up for samba class. although on my way back, i have second thoughts... hmmm....
Thursday, February 05, 2009
Migrating to the morning session and some personal issues
i received a call from the principal when i was about to pray asar 2 days ago. she first asked me where i stay. then she proceeded to ask me if it's okay if she transfers me to the morning session. okay? i've been teaching in the morning session for 11 years, of course it's okay! i'm supposed to start the morning session next tuesday.
words quickly spread in the community. now that i got my wish, i realised that i'm going to miss teaching in the afternoon. i sincerely want to help the weak students (there are students who can barely read in English) and to prepare them for PMR. the life in the afternoon session is easygoing, with no hassles (something that is considered an alien concept in the Blok Premier at SS, because we're always busy, busy, busy from Day 1 until the end of the year) but i guess i've to go back to the old life of being busy. when i was in SS, i'd rather teach at Blok Premier than being "exiled" to Blok Bestari, because in SS (in certain cases) problematic teachers are sent to the latter, while teachers who perform well teach the exam classes. of course, i made noise and complained when we had too much on our hands like the district camp and the also the school level camp all at once, or handling debates and annual LCDS summer camp in the same week, but in the end, i realised that i thrive in this mayhem. haha talk about being mad.
but because of that, my confidence of being in the morning session at the new school probably irked a friend of mine. to my friend, i'm sorry. i guess i've the knack of becoming obnoxious (which is a family trait) and after discussing with my close friends, i hope i can tone down and become "humble" as told by my Lit Chief.
words quickly spread in the community. now that i got my wish, i realised that i'm going to miss teaching in the afternoon. i sincerely want to help the weak students (there are students who can barely read in English) and to prepare them for PMR. the life in the afternoon session is easygoing, with no hassles (something that is considered an alien concept in the Blok Premier at SS, because we're always busy, busy, busy from Day 1 until the end of the year) but i guess i've to go back to the old life of being busy. when i was in SS, i'd rather teach at Blok Premier than being "exiled" to Blok Bestari, because in SS (in certain cases) problematic teachers are sent to the latter, while teachers who perform well teach the exam classes. of course, i made noise and complained when we had too much on our hands like the district camp and the also the school level camp all at once, or handling debates and annual LCDS summer camp in the same week, but in the end, i realised that i thrive in this mayhem. haha talk about being mad.
but because of that, my confidence of being in the morning session at the new school probably irked a friend of mine. to my friend, i'm sorry. i guess i've the knack of becoming obnoxious (which is a family trait) and after discussing with my close friends, i hope i can tone down and become "humble" as told by my Lit Chief.
Monday, February 02, 2009
back at home
i spent the weekend at kak dah's house in bukit mahkota. i appreciate her inviting me to the house, as i m glad to be surrounded by people. it's like a retreat there, because of the quiet tranquility (well, it is in the middle of nowhere) and the breeze.
we had a family tahlil yesterday at my bro's house. i ordered some creampuffs from the teacher at my school, and as i was about to open my purse to pay her, she said "tak payah, it's free." i couldn't believe my ears, and this is a true testimony that we cant be cynics as kindness can be found anywhere.
so up to sg buluh we went, and waited for the rest of the family members to arrive. we then started our tahlil before zohor, with lil adam to entertain us as we were reciting yaasin. i missed lil adam, and was looking forward to seeing him yesterday. he was the apple of my mother's eye in the last of her days, and so when i asked him where "boyang" was, he answered "boyang kat rumah cokelat". which was quite strange and a bit disconcerting, because we figured out that rumah cokelat is the coffin, but nobody told the 2 year old that his boyang isnt around anymore.
well, after the tahlil was the great feast, and i m happy to report that the creampuffs were the first to finish.
abang najib told me to stay on at bukit mahkota but i realised that i need to face my demon and start living on my own again. yesterday i had sazi coming over to the house, and we talked about life until 10.30 pm.
yes, life goes on as usual. but now i celebrate the human compassion that we all have in us. it is the one thing that makes life bearable when you're grieving (aside from prayers, tasbih and doa).
we had a family tahlil yesterday at my bro's house. i ordered some creampuffs from the teacher at my school, and as i was about to open my purse to pay her, she said "tak payah, it's free." i couldn't believe my ears, and this is a true testimony that we cant be cynics as kindness can be found anywhere.
so up to sg buluh we went, and waited for the rest of the family members to arrive. we then started our tahlil before zohor, with lil adam to entertain us as we were reciting yaasin. i missed lil adam, and was looking forward to seeing him yesterday. he was the apple of my mother's eye in the last of her days, and so when i asked him where "boyang" was, he answered "boyang kat rumah cokelat". which was quite strange and a bit disconcerting, because we figured out that rumah cokelat is the coffin, but nobody told the 2 year old that his boyang isnt around anymore.
well, after the tahlil was the great feast, and i m happy to report that the creampuffs were the first to finish.
abang najib told me to stay on at bukit mahkota but i realised that i need to face my demon and start living on my own again. yesterday i had sazi coming over to the house, and we talked about life until 10.30 pm.
yes, life goes on as usual. but now i celebrate the human compassion that we all have in us. it is the one thing that makes life bearable when you're grieving (aside from prayers, tasbih and doa).
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