Monday, December 31, 2007

New Year's Eve: Lookback 2007

2007 is just going to be over in a couple of hours time......

At the final moments of a year that will soon become history, a lookback would be most appropriate.

Thereafter, a lookforward into 2008.

Jan 2007

Nothing much actually happened. I spent the first few days of new year 2007 in Taiwan, enjoyed myself to the max. That was a long long time since I last stepped out of Singapore to a faraway country.

After coming back, I had the new resolve to do better in my studies after the disastrous semester in 2nd half of 2006 that saw my grades dropped from second upper honours to second lower.

Decided to take a short film module again.

Withdrew participation totally from QNT show.

Feb 2007

Huay Guan engaged me to be their SM for August show. Resolved to do much much better after the so-so Ali Baba and the disastrous Zhou Chu in 2006.

Started formulating the script for my short film project.

Engaged my cast for the short film.

Then came New Year. Nothing much. Except that I lost quite abit of money. Had fun with Karaoke and other things. Felt something wrong somewhere. But bluffed myself that everything was fine

Got to know Shanshan from Gekleng. Begged her for a job at Drama Box

March 2007

March was ultra busy. Short film took longer to film than expected. Problems with technical aspects, with script and with cast stretched both patience and resources of me and partner.

Editing took forever. But in the end, resultant product was great. Everyone loved it. Or so I think.

Got news from Shanshan. Offered me a job on 'Momo' as crew. Took it up gratefully. It proved to be a life changing experience. And a turning point in my theatre career.

Got to know that August production had 170 people on it. Formulated my strategy.

Apr 2007

Exams took centre-stage very soon. But I did quite well. Got my first A+ in the Brainforest of Clementi.

Ongoing struggle. By now, something is really wrong

After exams, got news that Huiling would be my SM for 'Momo' Comtemplated pulling out of the show. But decided not to lose before I tried. Bravely continued with 'Momo'

All was forgiven by the time I went for rehearsals. We worked well together. And I gained more and more confidence.

Could safely say that Huiling found me to be very different from the past.

Focused all my energy onto 'Momo'

Got to know this bunch of people I was working with

May 2007

Showtime for 'Momo'. Last day of Momo was my birthday. All ended well,

Heard of the new training programme that Drama Box was going to come up with. Decided that I would probably try for it even if I was overage.

Redemption was complete.

Got to know a lot of friends.

After 'Momo', went on to do volunteer work with Drama Box. Got to know the people there a little more.

Had lots of fun.

After that, helped out with the QNT2 show as welfare. The work was not stressful at all, but I was extremely bored.

Plus I battled other problems. Ended with bitter memories of that show.

Asked for a job on June's Arts Fest Show. With my idol Li Xie (Baobao).

On 'Xiaobaichuan', got to know Xiangbin, Xiaorong, Jesse, Baobao, Bianco, Guanghui, Junwei, Jiaqiang, Guizhi, Jingwen.

Had fun on the show. Learnt alot and alot. Impressed by the galaxy of theatre stars that I was working with.

June 2007

'Xiaobaichuan' on. Had alot of fun doing the show, even though I wasnt at my best effort. But meet standards eventually.

Went for audition for Drama Box Youth Incubator Programme. Performed rather well. Or at least I thought so.

Thought I would get in.

More Drama Box volunteer work followed.

July 2007

Spent 3 weeks interning at Northland Secondary School. I could say that I didnt really enjoy the experience cause the kids were very ill-behaved.

Almost wanted to vomit blood.

But learned new things while teaching. And got to see what the school was like.

Glad though that the rest of the staff treated us interns very well and with huge concern and care.

Could not help but admit that I was damn glad when it was all over.

It was an ordeal, to say the least.

Something went wrong in my private life. We never recovered.

In between interning at Northland, moved on theatrically to concentrate on August show in Huay Guan. Had a lot of up and downs. People made it hard for me. I made it harder for other people.

I enstranged almost everyone. I thought nobody could recognise me anymore. Only very few people could understand what I was doing.

Lost things. Probably it happened earlier but I never admitted up to the moment that it became official.

Gained things. I won the right to cue for the August show. I won the power to make decisions in the theatre. I won laoshi-s' hearts that I was the right man to lead 200 people to put up a successful performance.

Cried and Cried because of the bad things. Lan Laoshi was by my side. But it was precisely because people cared for me that I cried.

To me, this was a world of have-nots, not haves.

August 2007

Was informed that I made it to Drama Box Youth Incubator Programme. Beside myself with joy. Maybe 95% of the full joy?

August Show went rather well. Even though so, I tried my best to recover somethings that I lost.

But I never ever recognise that I didnt have the ability to change things, alter fate and change people's hearts.

In the end, I hurt myself again.

I thought I was very capable. I thought too highly of myself.

After the August show, I moved on with DB Youth Incubator Progamme. Changed to ARTivate.
Was placed in charge of Producing for June 2008 show.

Was engaged to do September Show with Drama Box. 'Ignorland'

September 2007

Did 'Ignorland' in between studies and tuition. Wasnt really paying attention to my studies anyway. Got to know Rei Poh better. Worked with Kunhua on our first show together. Was fun

Started learning with ARTivate. Got to know fellow ARTivators better.

Gekleng and Kunhua left for Taipei. Weiliang left for US. Boonseng went back to Shanghai.

Become lonely. But because of the workload and the amount of learning I had to do, never felt lonely.

Spent most of my time at Drama Box, besides the Brainforest.

Oct 2007

Started classes with Qingliang and Koh Hui Ling. Was damn fruitful and learnt alot of things from them......

Grateful for the opportunity to learn with them.

Lab reports became bread and butter at the Brainforest. Felt like giving up my studies. But pride and the MOE contract made me go on.

Was engaged to do 'Trick or Threat' for Drama Box in Dec 2007. Look forward to it cause studies were boring.

Exams neared. Spent more time in the laboratory than ever.

Went out with Nat and Karin on numerous occasions, since the rest of my gang were all overseas. Had fun though it was always the three of us.

Nov 2007

Exams took centrestage again. Though I felt I wasnt going to do very well in this exams, in the end I did okay.

ARTivate work got heavier and heavier as the time approach for our first show in Jan 2008. Qingliang taught us to write scripts. Hui Ling taught us acting. Move leaps and bounds in terms of theatre knowledge.

During exam week, couldnt wait to get back to theatre work.

Dec 2007

'Trick or Threat' went fine. Got to know Xiaorong, Jesse, Xiangbin and Jingwen better.

Got to know Rei better also. Had a lot of fun. Picked up electrical skills along the way.

My script was chosen for the Jan 2008 show for ARTivate, even though my first script was rejected totally and I was extremely late in the handing up something else. But by a stroke of luck, I was in time and got chosen.

Xi-ai and Rei was engaged to act in my show.

In between cleaning up Geylang East Old Folks Home with Drama Box staff and rehearsals for the Jan show, time trickled away very quickly.

Spend so much time with ARTivate and Rei and it was almost impossible not to get to know them better.

Engaged to do 'House of Sin' with Baobao again next year in March 2008. Get to work with Ching and Evelyn. Sure going to learn alot from these people one.

Spent festive season idling around, in between the massive workload that have descended upon me.

Well that sums up 2007 for me. To be fair, it was a fruitful year. I really learned alot alot and made vast improvements from last year.

To me, I have gone somewhere which I never thought was possible last year. And I felt I was lucky.

I really have my lucky stars to thank. Even if there were serious down times.

Hopefully, 2008 will be an even more fruitful year for me, where I scale new heights, both in theatre and in academics.

And I asked to be hurt no more.

Till 2008. Take care.

Happy New Year

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