February week 4

Class Drama Production -5 Belian 2012 :-D

What fun! This year's annual class drama competition among the form 5s was most entertaining for someone so uninterested about any events at school like me. It indeed forced me to be more engaging with fellow classmates as well as to "show a different side of me(a rowdier one)". So way back before D-day for all the classes to showcase their performance in front of the crowd after weeks fooling around behind curtains and maybe behind the closed Bilik Tayangan door, we, the production crew faced so much challenges that when I look back, feels so bittersweet. 

The class were all smiles when we received news of the drama competition as it is known that seniors can add this piece memory in our diaries for us to look back after we graduate, however the tone switched to aghast and dismay when we were told the theme for this year would be "Environment"!

- the last thing on our minds. Teacher gave us a few minutes to fret, murmur and feel envious of seniors of the years before who got romance and such as the highlight. The first thing I thought was that there was no way we could do a love story in an "environment drama" nor could we do anything else except talk about the hard facts on pollution. BORING..

But that's where I was wrong. I didn't know we could come up with such an atypical story with hints of humour and originality yet still managing to underline the crucial points we wanted to deliver. Credits to our scriptwriter, Wong Sze Yuin who undertook her job well to produce the script although it had undergone one too many changes as the time limit calls for it. Behind the scene: The main idea for our story was put together with a team of 6 girls and 1 guy, Chua Zhi Hao, in our first discussion at Starbucks followed by another similar meeting which was to supposedly add meat to the skeleton. Anyway, the scriptwriter had the final product way much earlier than expected and definitely ahead of other classes. 

Then, came the time of trial. Days and weeks flew by and all we could show is, the script. Since we got a rough idea about the casts, definitely script reading and acting rehearsals are next. I don't know about the rest but I do know that a few of us were beginning to feel anxious and frustrated because many of these meetings were initiated but failed to round up the cast for a rehearsal as some were uncooperative while the rest just couldn't fit in with the schedule. Honestly, it was tough even for me who doesn't have any major role or responsibility in this but seeing and understanding the disappointment of a few who care, particularly the scriptwriter, I concur it was terribly difficult. And this led to a huge discord between the director who we were quite disappointed in, and us. We wanted out, to be saved from all these troubles. We were so stressed that our expressions weren't very bright for that period. The director faced a big meltdown, unhappy to shoulder all the burden just because she's "the director" and vented her anger to whom only she herself knows and also in the social networks. 

But hey, no hard feelings, all that is forgotten as things began to look brighter and took a good turn for the better. With the help of our English teacher, Puan Monica the puzzle was slowly forming a picture. Teacher helped a lot by controlling the hyperactive guys and made sure the people involved would attend the meeting at McDonalds'. Perfect timing! The casts roughly knew about their characters and some were more fervent and committed than others. Changes in the actors were made based on the their acting abilities which reflected how serious they were with this whole thing. Soon we had a rather steady cast that we trust will play their role the best they can. Practices were held as frequent as possible, after school and during the English lesson, most of the time at the Bilik Tayangan ( Puan Monica is our free ticket) as well as on the stage in the hall where the actors would eventually strut their stuff on D-day. Slowly but surely, the pieces were coming together where each time we rehearsed the better we got. We're almost ready for the competition as we had everything worked out, the costumes and props which I must say elevated our drama to a greater height, credits to Hu Yi Lin and the props crew. And most importantly, the actors were radiating with confidence, a total contrast to where they first started out. 

Then came D-day, Thursday 23.2.2012. I was having mixed feelings, a tinge of nervousness and a whole lot of excitement, for one thing we got to skip classes but sadly, only for the first half of school. Imagine what must be going on in the mind of the actors. Anyways, all the actors had already donned their eye-catching outfits and the pupils were all seated at the hall that was filled with sounds of jovial and the whole atmosphere, just lighthearted. Though we were impressed with the other classes as in their sense of style and the mode of story they adopted, we refused to be intimidated and stay hopeful that our story would be as good as theirs, if not better! If there's one thing worth being unhappy about, it would definitely be the fact that the actors had to rely only on their naked voices, to project their lines in order that the already perked up audience could hear the bare minimum of what they're saying.

We were the third class to present their drama and I was one of the audience ready to cheer my all for my classmates on stage. The first scene done, then came the next and then the next. Oh my, how hard did my hands shook and so did the camera I was holding! Our hearts thumped up and down, up and down, up and down, right to the end. Unfortunately, it wasn't so smooth sailing and perfect as we thought it would be because number one, the lines were unclear in certain parts which I totally don't blame the actors, I mean there are limits in how far we can stretch our voices right? and secondly, the sound effects that were supposed to create a more responsive effect messed up due to some blunder in the coordination. Nevertheless, we made it till the end.

 The cast bowed before the crowd and received unto them resounding applause and cheers. And that was it, my class' drama from the beginning to the end. From this whole experience. I have learnt more about teamwork, friendship, commitment, perseverence and that an undying support, one would surely appreciate.

What a lovely tale to remind me of my cherished years in high school, that's when I am disconnected from this school in the coming future. A note to my older self,              "Don't lose hope, don't give up for all will be well once again if you continue to persist on and endeavour further".