I is singing - for real!

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I is the singing again (as stated in 'And SING again I shall'). Thought I'd put up the poster. I'm on a poster. That hasn't gotten old for me.

LOL.

So, do drop by and support me if you have the time. Call and book if you can though cause places are limited.

Day 1 & Day 2 done.

If you have read "The Director in Me", you would know that I have decided to make a short and enter the BMW Shorties competition. Here's a brief summary of what has happened with the whole process thus far.

- After all that brainstorming with Anrie and Davina - I eventually came up with a strong idea.

- Met up with Nick, Jeremy and Amy (my initial Editor) at Coffee Bean in SS2 - discussed further. At this point, I had only scripted Scene 1 and Scene 2 of my short.

- Amy pulled out of the team because she has too much work to deal with - I should know - I see her working her ass off at the office everyday.

- But nevermind, I have faith in Nick. He's one talented bugger.

- I went for the BMW Shorties workshop.

- Managed to get feedback on my script from Gregory Wee and James Lee - both are Judges in the competition.

- Met up with whole crew (Nick, Anrie, Davina, Jeremy) at SS2 McD's - sorted out schedules and duties.

- Bought some EQ - then myself, Anrie, Nick and Jeremy went to recce some locations.

- Yesterday - we shot Scene 2. Went rather smooth for the first time out.

- Everything is set at night. So, it's always going to be tough.

- Today, was tough as hell. Shot Scene 1 - indoors, Anrie's attic - very intense but also smooth enough. I got the best out of Davina.

- Then we went out to shoot Scene 5 around Hartamas between Davina and Colin. Tough. Very tough. Rain. Traffic. Lighting. Everything was a problem.

- Hopefully we got all the shots we needed and we can use all of them.

And thats a very brief brief. :)

I'm out.
p/s: To my cast an crew! You guys are 'da bomb!!!!' - also, We Jun - thanks for stopping by and helping with Scene 1 man ... I really appreciate it.
 

And SING again I shall.

Dearest Friends,  

I'll be singing again - in another open mic which is going to be headlined by the amazing Mia Palencia. The group organising it will be the same people who deal with her sessions too. And this is the 2nd time they are doing it - and if the first one that I attended last December was anything to go by (also at NO BLACK TIE) - then it will most likely be one of the biggest crowds I've ever played - to date. (My own songs mind you.) 

I'd love it if my own friends were amongst that huge crowd - to lend me some support when they call on my name to go on stage! *Grin.

PASSES

Passes are at RM20.00 only at any one time. Only 100 passes are allocated for each series on a first come first serve basis so the audience are encouraged to get them prior to the event due to the limited numbers available. There will be no bookings for tables. A promotion of 6 passes for RM 100.00 purchased only in the month of January is now available.

GETTING IN

18 years and above are allowed to enter strictly with passes only. Since the venue can accommodate only 100 people at any one time, there will be no allocation of free passes.

The Bedroom Musician Series "Pop / Folk" 
27th January, Saturday 
NO BLACK TIE @ 9.30 pm.



TYPICAL TIMELINE



4.00pm Sound Check

9.30pm Opening Act – Master Of Ceremony - Bubu Azzura

9.45pm Main Section – 1st Session of 30 minutes showcase by
- Sad Angry Babies

10.15pm Interval

10.45pm Middle Section – Bedroom Supporting Acts
- Maximum 3 Supporting Acts of 15 minutes per performance

10.45pm Wanted

11.00pm Michael Chen

11.15pm Michelle & Ling

11.30pm Kim Hesselberg

11.45pm Main Section - 2nd Session of 30 minutes showcase by Headliner
- Mia Palencia

12.15am Closing Act – Master Of Ceremony – Bubu Azzura



Note: Due to uncontrollable circumstances of availability of musicians unless otherwise confirmed, the producer have the right to change the musicians so Headliners may vary


 

My new car?

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Front View

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Rear View

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Interior View - but the car I might get will have black leather and not red.

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My Citroen ZX is now officially sold. Today will be the last day I'll be driving it. As happy as I am about getting another car - I have grown more attached to my ZX than I thought. I will be sad to see it go. sigh...

Oh well ... stay tuned - will be putting more in this post eventually.

My 1st time.

Shit!

I just wrote a long ass post about my first ever stand-up act. And it got all deleted! I hate it when that happens!

Anyway, this is the gist of what I wrote. I'm glad I decided to take the risk. The high I'm still feeling right now due to the adrenaline rush I had on stage is amazing.

So, for those of you who came to support me - I thank you. You have no idea how much it meant to me to have all of you there.

For those of you who missed it - do not fret - if this high is anything to go by - I'll definitely be doing it again one day.

I'm out.

p/s: Click this link to read about the show I was apart of. "FREE FLOW"

Interested to be a M'sian APPRENTICE?

As mentioned in an earlier post "Being a PA / Kickboxing Instructor / etc.", I'm working on a 3rd Reality show. It is now OK to reveal what that show is. It's called THE FIRM (and can be described as a Malaysian APPRENTICE).

Currently, our Donald Trump equivalent (ie our CEO) is still a secret but rest assured the prizes which could include attracttive cash prizes, potentially a car, a job opportunity with our 'secret CEO's company' and loads more (I'm still working on the prizes).

I am thinking that you can't lose much by just sending in an application and seeing if you can get in. By that time, the prizes and CEO can be revealed to you and if you feel like its not worth it - you can always just decline to be on the show.

General Sypnosis: The Firm is a corporate reality television programme in search of the next Malaysian corporate high-flier. The Firm attempts to weed out the weak from the strong, the underachievers from the overachievers and the followers from the leaders.

Through a nationwide search, 10 young up-and-coming professionals (male and female) between the ages of 21 and 35 are selected to join The Firm. In addition to measuring success via quantity achievements, the winner is selected based on qualitative factors (ie. Business ethics, moral values and best practice).

After various tasks and assignments, the best candidates will be left to compete with one another, until one who has outshined the rest wins. The winner walks away with attractive prizes. The Firm plans to reflect what the real world of business is like ? tough, demanding, ruthless, and full of temptations to carry out unethical business practices and ignore moral values (short cut to success). It will be exciting and fast-paced. The Firm will galvanise the entrepreneurial spirit of Malaysian youth .

Visit http://www.ntv7.com.my/thefirm/ for more info and application forms. The closing date for applications is JAN 26th.

So please spread the word with much haste! :)

Feel free to leave a comment here if you have any questions.

That's it. Before I sign off - hope y'all had a superb New Year celebration!

The 'Director' in me.

Dec 18th: The same day of my graduation - my brother brought back his Sony DV camera for me to use.

Before that day, I had wanted to shoot an idea for a short that I wanted to do as my 1st foray into film-making. The idea was aptly named "Crazy 8" - which is basically a short about a guy who could tell the future using a 'magic 8-ball'. I wrote it in less than an hour after thinking about it for several weeks. With specific friends in mind for each role, I wrote the entire thing seated on the floor while the crew was shooting something else. (I was the driver for the day and as such was not needed during the shoot.)

So, since Tuako (my eldest bro) was coming to KL from Singapore to attend my graduation. I told him to bring his camera along. No tripod though - this may be a problem. Also, I haven't figured out how to use the camera properly. Definitely a problem.

That aside, I read about BMW Shorties and decided that I want to concentrate on this first. I was a bit apprehensive about the whole idea in the beginning. After all, I don't even know how to use all the equipment that I have in hand. Like my brother's camera. And I've never edited before! (I bought and installed the latest Adobe Premiere editing programme into my computer.) On top of that, I don't know the first thing about using this programme. I suspect editing will be the toughest part of this whole experience.

Anyway, I thought about it, and decided, 'What the heck' - I'm gonna jump into this head first and see whether I float or not. I have enlisted Davina to be my main Actor - I think she looks amazing on camera, so I'm glad I've got her on board. And I feel like I have a strong story to tell. As long as I script it properly and then storyboard it properly and then shoot it properly and then edit it properly - it should make for a great watch. haha

All I am aiming for is to be shortlisted as the top 10. If I make it there - I'll be more than happy. If I don't - I haven't lost anything. :)

We had our first meeting on Christmas Eve and it lasted from 11am till about 5pm. Anrie came in halfway and she is now my "Creative Consultant".

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So, this is how madness looks like at the very beginning.

So far, I've spent about rm10 on buying the Adobe Premiere Prog. And thats it.

At least it's not costing me money yet. :) Alright - I'm out.

Anti Climax

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Myself.
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Well, I am now officially a Law Graduate. I have graduated with a 3rd Class honours LLB Degree. By the way, LLB is short for Legum Baccalaureus which is Latin for Bachelor of Laws. In case you cared to know lah. I figured I should at least know since I am holding an honours degree in it. And at one point, I believe I did. I just forgot about it for 2+ years and have now decided to dig it up again. So there.

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My Parents & I.

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I am very glad to be done with it and am very happy with the current path I am on. I am convinced that I am in the right line. Just what exactly I'll end up doing - for example,

a) Will I strictly be a Producer (which is what I'm gunning for now)?
b) Will I branch out into Directing (which I am working on trying my hand at with some personal projects)? Or
c) Will I end up just acting (in tv and theatre) and hopefully create some kind of a 'celebrity' status for myself so that I can make a living by emcee-ing events ... blah blah - you get my drift.

To be honest, I'd love it if I could just do option (c). Unfortunately, I haven't been blessed with that sort of luck yet. Maybe it'll come one day. I don't know. But I know that I can't be counting on that happenning and just wait around for it. I have to get my hands dirty doing something else now. Which is essentially what I'm doing.

Anyway, all that is one kettle of fish. Something which I believe will sort itself out eventually since I feel like I'm on the right track.
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My Brothers & I.
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This entry is not about all that. This entry is supposed to be about my 'anti-climax' of an end to me studies in Law.

If you know me, you'd immediately know that I was never into doing Law. It was something I ended up doing because I was convinced into believing that it was the best thing to do. And to a certain extent, I agree that studying law was indeed the best thing to do under my circumstances. The fact remains however that I could have done much better at it. But that is also, another story which I am not bothered to deal with since there is pretty much nothing I can do about it.

Moving on, my Graduation Ceremony was, to put it in a nutshell, 'anti-climatic'. There was no swelling pride in my belly for having finished law with an honours degree. No tearful display or any hint of such when I held my scroll in hand, wearing my graduating robe - shaking the hand of the person wishing me congratulations for a job well done.

Even when the Dean of External Studies from the University of London (UOL) said in his speech that graduating was no mere simple feat and that the UOL External LLB degree is easily one of the toughest degree programmes in the world. And touting statistics like,

"There are about 1 000 students graduating today. The number of students who registered for the external programme 3 or 4 years ago was approximately 3000 ++. That means only 1/3rd of you from that batch are graduating tonight. Think about that."

For a blink of a second, I thought about it, and I felt like ... "Wow. That's true. When you look at it that way , graduating at all is a cool thing." But I grounded myself immediately, knowing full well that I told myself from the very beginning, I didn't want to just graduate with a 3rd Class. Anyone can get a 3rd Class. It is not really that hard. And I know I'm better than that. Oh well.

At any rate, the anti-climatic feeling was not because the Graduation Ceremony and Dinner was a bore and terribly unorganised. (Although, that could have attributed to and compounded the feeling even further.) The reason for my feeling that way was more due to my utter feelings of detachment from the entire proceeding. In fact, I guess, throughout my 4 years of Law studies, I was never in it fully, I was always detached. I didn't feel like I was apart of that 1/3rd that was graduating that night. So, I couldn't feel proud of it.

It was a f*cked up feeling to feel.

I went home feeling like nothing happened. And this was supposed to be a sweet victory over my struggles with Law. And because of that, I did feel a little like I gained nothing from my 4 years of Law. Sure I got some insight and understanding with the mechanics of law. Sure I can now write better because of my practice with writing law essays and such. Sure there are other things too...But it still felt like nothing.

The next day I had a talk with my Dad. And he gave me one of those 'talks'. He did mention one thing that made more sense to me than anything else he said. He gave me a good idea on how not to feel like I've wasted my last 4 years studying Law. He advised me that, graduating with a Law Degree - although not planning on being apart of the practicing community, I am now inadvertently part of the fraternity. That because of that, I should keep abreast with the Bar Council. That I should be more aware about the legal surroundings of Malaysia and the world. Because I have studied it and have a grasp on the concept of law - better than that of a layman, that will set me apart from the next guy ... in whatever it is I end up doing.

You must think I'm silly for not thinking about that in the 1st place. But you must understand. I hated Law. I hated studying it. I hated myself for doing badly in it. I just wanted to get out of it.

But here I am, out of it - and still feeling like shit. Maybe I should do what my Dad advised. Maybe that way, I won't feel like I wasted 4 years of my life. Maybe then I can feel proud about being part of that 1/3rd that graduated that night.

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Anrie & I.

Being a PA / Kickboxing Instructor / etc.

Just in case you haven't figured it out - PA is an abbreviation for Production Assistant. Before I continue blabbering on about what my life has been like of late - I will first attempt to address the questions put forth to me in my blog entry "Ouch" by In3cate and Anonymous (Whom I assume is my eldest brother or as I call him -Tuako).

Basically, at present, I am aspiring to be a Producer.

In3cate: "What does a Producer do?"

Well, a Producer is essentially in charge of the financial aspects of executing a project. For example, now I am working on the new season of Nescafe Kickstart (Season 3). The Producer would have to oversee the overall financing of the show. Technically, we (Popiah Pictures) have been hired by Tv3 to execute this show for Nescafe / Nestle. In order for Popiah to make any kind of money, we must not spend over what we are being paid by Tv3 to do the program. (Obviously.)

Therefore, everything from searching for sponsors for the show, to the hiring of the camera crew, rate that we will pay the host, rental of whatever venue we may use ... etc. To put it in a nutshell, a Producer's mantra would probably be, "Bring down cost! Find lots of sponsors for everything! Tell them we put them on TV - we'll make you famous!" - you get the drift. That's the financial aspect largely covered.

Another essential aspect would be the Time-line - ie when does "Pre-production ie planning" starts, then "production" and finally "Post production". All the little nitty gritty things that goes into each stage of production has to be planned by the Producer with the help of his or her team of course. It's a lot like when I was doing Event Management really. Making phone calls to get dates, debating on pricing and planning out a calendar ... I'm helping out on all of these things now. In my capacity as a PA, I pretty much help with and do everything.

Also the overall conceptualising of a show and how it will be executed - the Producer also has a say in it since all that has to do with money! I have been privy to some of this conceptualisation and execution (for a 3rd project) as well - and this is the aspect I am enjoying most at present.

When I started work at Popiah Pictures, I was working on 3 projects simultaneously (doing all of the above). "A Brand New Christmas" directed by Douglas Lim for RTM was the first project I dealt with and the pre-production and production of that has come to pass. Now they are at Post -Production of which I am not privy to since Douglas is doing that on his own some place else.

The 2nd project is the current project I'm on ie Kickstart. We are now at Production phase - where I am constantly planning for outdoor shoots (trying to secure venues, sponsors, etc) at the office and then going out for shoot for a few days then back to the office again to plan for the next shoot. It's been riveting. Once again, I really feel like I'm working event management. But the end product being a show - which makes it that much more interesting for me.

At the same time, I'm also working on another reality program - for some reason, Popiah seems to be handling lots of these reality shows - and for those of you who have been mamak-ing with me of late, probably know what this 3rd project is. For the rest of you, I'm not sure if I should be flat out mentioning it here just yet. Although, who reads my blog anyway? lol

That being said, it's fun working on the 3rd project because I was pulled into it right at its very humble beginnings. I hope to be able to realy contribute constructively and effectively to make this a great show to watch. You'll probably read about it here in a more straightforward manner sometime in the near future.

Aside from all that, I still teach kickboxing when I can. Days when I don't have shoots - my working hours finish at about 6pm. So, I get to teach 7pm and 8.15pm sessions at TNT. I also still have some "Personal Training" (PT) students whom I arrange to have classes with as and when I am available. I usually do those classes on Sundays.

My schedule is pretty jam packed. But for some reason, it feels manageable. Still have time to come home for meals every once in a while. Still can hang out with my close friends now and again. And I even have time to spend with my girlfriend on most days.

It would be sweet if I could still act in theatre or TV. But unfortunately, I doubt that I'll have the time as long as I'm in this line at this stage of my life. Sigh...

We'll see how things go.

I'm out. Gotta be up at 6. F*ck. :) heh.

Ouch.

Last Tues night, I attended the 'official' Frankenstein in Love (FiL) cast & crew party. Unfortunately, many couldn't make it. And that's really too bad since Gavin said a lot of good things about people who deserved to hear the recognition he was giving to them in his little Director's spech.

I was glad for having been recognised as an actor with a good work ethic. That's the kind of actor I want to be. Always trying new things to discover different aspects of the craft - just to do justice to any character I play. Just so that I can communicate something special and personal to the audience. If I could learn how to do it effectively and move people who watch me - that'd be a dream skill to have.

Anyway, it all still feels a little surreal. Having immediately jumped into working with Popiah Pictures as a Production Assistant a mere 2 days after closing FiL, I believe I haven't had the time to let the reality that FiL has actually just come and gone - sink in yet.

So much has happened (as I have been saying in the latest string of blog posts) - from graduating Law (after so many years of doubt and struggle) to getting to play Cockatoo in FiL (and acting in Pentas 1 again!) and now getting a job with Popiah - learning the TV & Film production trade in a journey to realise my dream perhaps?

Not forgetting some of the in between stuff, the rough goings on at the home front (which I haven't really talked about here and probably won't - but those of you I've spoken with; well, you know how it is - things are better now), a painful but inevitable break up and then the meeting of someone who completely caught me off guard and has now burrowed her way into a solid place in my life. Appearing in a few local TV shows, some good friends have left the country, some good friends have returned to M'sia...

And come to think of it, all this has really only taken place since June - that would make it approximately 6 months. I feel as though a year and half has passed. Odd how that works eh?

I digress, forgive me for all the blabber above - this was supposed to be a short post about the only FiL review I have read thus far. I heard that there are some reviews here and there and the response is decidedly luke-warm. The Kakiseni review however makes no qualms about being 'nice' to FiL. In fact, it would be apt to say that it ripped FiL to shreds. My name was even specifically highlighted. Unfortunately, not in a positive light at all. And while I do admit that saddens me a little, I am not all that affected by it for some reason.

Moving along, I'll put the exerp highlighting my 'lousy acting' here - and if you're interested - you may go to the link provided below to read the full review.

"We laughed more at the death of Cockatoo, El Coco’s right-hand man, the night I watched Frankenstein in Love. Played by Michael Chen, this apparently tragic scene in the second act was made comic because of the performer’s inability to get into character: every time he had lines, Michael would noticeably turn to address the seats, instead of actually engaging whichever fellow actor to whom he was supposed to be talking -- and this tic extended to his supposed demise."

http://www.kakiseni.com/articles/reviews/MDk4Mw.html

Thats it for now.

I'm out.

FiL done - now PA begins.

As the title suggests, FiL is over now. I'm actually at work and don't really have time to elaborate.

Which leads me to say that I am now officially working with Popiah Pictures as a Production Assistant. If you're wondering what a PA does - basically, I'm running around getting lunch for people, carrying equipment and such.

I've been to the office 3 days thus far and have just been attending meetings and making phone calls and sending out emails. So far, so good. Also, not much time to elaborate now, so I'll leave it at that.

Above - you can see a picture of Cockatoo. (I ripped it off Nicholas's blog = misunderstoodcreature.blogspot.com)

Cockatoo was a cool guy - I'll miss playing him.

I'm out. Later.

Frankenstein In Love (FiL)'s TVC.

Well...time has really flown right by. Not too long ago, I was still worrying about whether I got through my Final Law Exams. I was scared shitless at the prospect of failing and having to do the whole year again. On top of that, I was worried about my future. What was I going to do with the rest of my life?

In such a short span of time, my life has taken on a new form. It's a little unnerving and exciting at the same time.

"La di da" right? Everyone goes through this sort of thing at some point or another. So I shan't ramble on about something I'll probably ramble about some day when I actually have time to sit down and ramble. *Grin.

FiL update:

Frankenstein in Love TVC

We open on the 27th of this month. Talk about time flying by! This is a scary ass play. And I don't mean that in a sense that it is a horror play.

FiL is so freakin' cool on so many levels and yet it is a play that can bite at the actors if it is not performed well. It has become so apparent to me (and the whole cast), especially so in this last leg approaching opening night - that the level of focus and commitment required for every role in this play and in evert scene of both ACT 1 and ACT 2 - is so demanding that a single person losing focus is enough to bring down the energy of the entire cast! I've seen it happen in rehearsals - and that scares the shit out of me.

It's amazing how on one night - the play can be so riveting that I can hardly move when I'm watching the play (when I'm not involved in the scene lah that is) and yet on some nights, the play can be a painful thing to watch.

Anyway, I won't go into the intricacies of why this is so right now. Suffice to say, getting a big role in a play of this nature is certainly a double edged sword. But the bottom line is the same I suppose, I'll either suck big time or I'll be bloody brilliant!

Ok, that's it for now. Visit frankenstein-in-love.blogspot.com for more on the play. Or refer to my previous post Frankenstein in Love (FiL).

Once again, for those of you who are coming to watch the play, drop me a sms when you're there, I'll make a conscious effort to come out and see you guys for coming!

Sparring philosophy.

its now 2.45 am (Thurs).

last night, i worked at TNT and decided to stay back and train with our Head Instructor (Khoo) and the rest of his buddies who are seasoned local (and some national level) fighters. it seems that they are training for a local 'muay thai' tournament and were really going at it during training.

Khoo asked me whether i wanted to spar as well. i hesitated for a moment because i am recovering from an injury on my right shin. that takes away one of my main weapons (my Roundhouse kick) but i ended up saying 'yes' anyway. i've developed a real taste for sparring since the beginning of this year. i was careful about it though. i put on a groin guard, head gear and mouth piece as is the practice. and i of course put on 'shin-pads' and put an extra layer on my right shin since it was still bruised.

then i went to the hardest punching bag in the gym and start roundhousing it. when i stopped, my leg felt fine. there was a *little pain but it was endurable. and i was set.

the plan was, the 3 guys who were taking part in the tournament were going to stay in the ring for 5 rounds each. 4 people would be in the ring, as if there are 2 separate fights going on at the same time.

3 main guys: Khoo, Alex and Kumar.
3 punching dummies: Myself, Carl and Leong.

each round lasted 3 mins and the break in between is 30 secs.

1st round: Khoo Vs Alex / Kumar Vs Leong
2nd round: Khoo Vs Me / Alex Vs Carl
3rd round: Khoo Vs Leong / Kumar Vs Alex
4th round: Khoo Vs Alex / Kumar Vs Me
5th round: Khoo Vs Carl / Kumar Vs Leong

something like that lah ... i know for sure that i fought 2 rounds - one against Khoo and another against Kumar.

i thought i was alright - not that good but OK. clearly they were holding back a little on me. i took quite a few shots, kicks and punches to the body, back and head but nothing that knocked me out. so i stood my ground and got in a few nice combinations and some spinning backfists here and there.

i was feeling a little dejected once all the sparring was done. Khoo then said, "Your backfist very strong now...(bla bla) ... you can fight now you know ... but you must learn to get hit - take it then counter ... you're quite good already but you still cannot take hits properly ... (bla bla) ... you must have it in your mind that you want to fight! Then you can take hits and hit back properly!"

in one fell swoop - he pegged one of the flaws of my own character.

the reason i can't take hits properly is because i'm scared. i do so many things in life and people think, 'There goes a guy who's willing to try stuff' - when actually i have to psyche myself so much to do something sometimes, i think its actually rather silly.

and after all the psyching up - i go up and end up not putting on everything i know i *could put into whatever it is i'm doing. i generally walk away satisfied because i know i've achieved something that i wanted to do - but then again, there's always a nagging feeling inside thats telling me, 'Dude, you know you could have done more.'

so the way i approach my opponents in the ring while i spar - is almost akin to the way i approach life.

i'm not too bad. i can hold my own. i know what i should do. and i don't get knocked out anymore. i have the skills.

i just need the balls to go all the way all the time maybe?

so there, 'Sparring philosophy 101'.

then again, maybe its just my mind going on overdrive. *grin.

i'm out.
p/s: come watch FiL!! and read the production blog - (click here to get to FiL production blog) - i just added something about my rehearsal experience.

Frankenstein In Love (FiL)

Tickets are now available for purchasing!!

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once again, i am advertising my play! below is the poster ...

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if you have yet to read about what the whole play about - read below ...
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Executive Producer: Dato' Faridah Merican
Artistic Director: Joe Hasham
Playwright: Clive Barker

Director: Gavin Yap
Cast: Rashid Salleh, Mary George, Melissa Maureen, Michael Chen, Patrick Teoh, Douglas Lim, U-En Ng, Rauf Fadzilla, Ari Ratos, Reuben Arthur, Bharani and Kennie Dowle

Inspired by Mary Shelly's classic horror story, Frankenstein in Love is acclaimed horror writer Clive Barker's updated interpretation of the terrifying tale.

It is the last few days of the world. Human life has become meaningless as mass genocide and sickness spread throughout the land. Revolutionaries loot and pillage for answers, the faithless betray the faithful, the dead refuse to die and one name stands out amidst the screams...Frankenstein.

A sprawling collection of variations on the idea of human vivisection and reconstruction set in a grim, Gothic world of putrefaction. An unlikely place for love to emerge...but it does, forming a bizarre, tragic love triangle between the creator and his creations.

For more information, log on to the production diary: http://www.frankenstein-in-love.blogspot.com.

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OR related posts:

"WORK & THEATRE"

"Life as a Graduate"

"Updates on FiL"

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TICKET PRICES AND DETAILS + other Promos ...

SPECIAL YEAR END PROMOTION!
- Frankenstein in Love (27 October to 3 November 2006)
- The Odd Couple (6 November to 12 November 2006)
- Broken Bridges (15 December to 24 December 2006)

Purchase tickets for any two of the above shows and get 20% OFF total ticket price
Purchase tickets for all three of the above shows and get 30% OFF total ticket price
Terms & conditions apply.
Call our box office - 4047 9000 (KLPac) & 2094 9400 (TAS@BSC) to find out more!

Price : RM60, RM50 and RM40 (students, disabled and senior citizens).

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SHOWTIMES:

27 October 2006 (Friday) 08:30 PM

28 October 2006 (Saturday) 08:30 PM

29 October 2006 (Sunday) 03:00 PM

31 October 2006 (Tuesday) 08:30 PM

1 November 2006 (Wednesday) 08:30 PM

2 November 2006 (Thursday) 08:30 PM

3 November 2006 (Friday) 08:30 PM

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well, the info in this post should be adequate to answer any questions about general details about the play. stay tuned to this site for my own personal updates on how rehearsals have been for me and visit the production blog: http://www.frankenstein-in-love.blogspot.com/ : to check out 'BEHIND the SCENES' stuff.

purchase your tickets and send me a text if you are coming - i promise i'll come out after the show to "THANK YOU" for coming to watch the show! (Just be patient when waiting outside lah - cause got make up to remove and all one ... *grin*)

and just in case - here's a map to KLPac:
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p/s: my girlfriend (Anrie) is also putting on a show - refer to "16 Girls, 1 Night" to find out more! it's on before FiL, so check it out soon!

Guilt.

Here are some exerps lifted from Wikipedia:

Guilt is primarily an emotion experienced by people who believe they have done something wrong. From a legal perspective it can also refer to the condition of having done something legally wrong, regardless of how one feels about it.

Some thinkers have theorized that guilt is used as a tool of social control. Since guilty people feel they are undeserving, they are less likely to assert their rights and prerogatives. Thus, those in power seek to cultivate a sense of guilt among the populace, in order to make them more tractable.

Guilt can sometimes be remedied by punishment (a common action and advised or required in many legal and moral codes), by forgiveness (as in transformative justice), or by sincere remorse (as with confession in Catholicism or restorative justice).

Psychopaths typically exhibit a "lack of remorse or guilt" in the face of wrongdoing. This is seen by psychologists as part of a lack of moral reasoning in comparison with the majority of humans, an inability to evaluate situations in a moral framework and an inability to develop emotional bonds with other people.

thats enough from Wikipedia.

i believe guilt can be mirror'd with pain.

if you didn't feel pain (as in physical pain), you wouldn't know when to take your hand out of the fire. and you'll probably just burn to death.

guilt keeps you human. it keeps you grounded. it could even be seen as a tool for survival (you can't just keep fucking people over - eventually, all the shit catches up with you).

it reminds you to think twice before doing something. the evident difference from the reference i make to pain - is that chances are, you'll get burned first - before guilt comes in. as opposed to 'pain' which hits more directly and is more immediate in nature.

bearing that in mind, most of the time, i know guilt will be an inevitable consequence of some of my actions at times. does that necessarily mean i did the wrong thing? haven't you ever been in a situation where doing the right thing will most definitely lead to guilt?

this beckons to mind a phrase i lifted off someplace - "sometimes you win only to lose and sometimes you lose - so that you can win."

it is without a doubt that i carry within me a certain amount of weight that is made up entirely of guilt. to say that i am proud of that baggage would be wrong. however, to say that i regret having made those decisions would be equally, if not even more, wrong.

i've suffered losses (some really big losses - some of which i probably can never be forgiven), so that i can win.

this phrase is lifted from 'THE LIBERTINE' - a freaking awesome movie i have only just watched moments before typing this out, "Any experiment of interest in life will be carried out at your own expense."

i shall now vary that phrase to fit my own little blabber of a post here, "Any lesson worth learning in life can sometimes only be learnt at your own expense."

guilt is a lesson for the soul.

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before i sign off, here is some food for thought: Why and how do good people end up in hell?

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good people end up in hell because they failed to forgive themselves in life.

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Updates on Frankenstein In Love.

rehearsals have been great fun for me. i love being in a play again. and playing a character like Cockatoo is freaking awesome. i get to be play a guy who is completely off the hinges. wild and violent yet having amazing traits like loyalty and wanting to bring down a corrupt government.

i feel like i haven't given myself completely to Cockatoo yet. i have to forget that i'm good natured Michael and just 'lose it' to become Cockatoo.

i'll try that tonight. *grin.

anyway, some of you may know that i am trying to look the part too. other than letting my hair grow again. i'm also growing a goatee of sorts.
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its the first time i've let it grow for so long. feels weird. oh well...

come watch the play then you'll see a REALLY different me on stage - physically and mentally!

16 girls - one night.

Besides my play - there's something else which would most certainly be a good watch too! So what you waiting on? Go get yourselves tickets to watch this ...

Visit "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" for more info.

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Join LiT Performers, KL's all woman A Capella in this fun filled pop musical which celebrates the importance of sisterhood and girlfriends featuring unique arrangements of These Boots are Made for Walking, Don't Cha', hits from the 60's, Elvis, Queen and other surprises. With their special blend of choreography and powerful vocals, let the girls redefine and challenge the way you experience A Capella music.

VENUE: The Actors Studio, Bangsar Shopping Centre

DATE: 11th - 15th Oct 2006

TIME: 8.30 pm

TICKET PRICES: RM 38, RM 48, RM 68

You can call the Box Office: 03-2094 0400 / 1400 or Email: tickets@theactorsstudio.com.my

Life as a Graduate.

hey all - sorry i haven't had much time to blog lately. at least, i haven't been able to blog about anything really interesting lah. most of my creative energy is now being channelled into FiL.

in case you've not visited the FiL blog, here are some exerps i put up there about my character - "Cockatoo":

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Moving along ... the process of finding Cockatoo (or the process of Cockatoo finding me...) has been a freakin' riot. He's a real cool character lah. The first time I read 'him' during the audition with Gavin, I thought to myself ... "Kewl..."

Cockatoo is beyond insane. He's so insane that he knows exactly how insane he is. He knows when he's doing something that seems morally wrong but enjoys himself immensely doing it because he doesn't care. At least, thats how it seems.

On the other hand, his loyalty to El Coco is unparalled. He believes in the REVOLUTION, he believes that El Coco has a vision and he truly believes in that vision as well. And Cockatoo understands that a revolution is not a pretty thing. People get hurt. Sometimes the innocent. Casualties are imminent. Cockatoo is willing to do all this. He understands that the end may not even justify the means. But it has to be done. And Cockatoo can do it.

I don't know about you, but if I were a leader of whatever, I'd want someone like Cockatoo by my side.

I'm even trying to grow a goatee or something - to look more like the character. I'm a Chinese dude trying to grow a goatee - a big 'no-no' in my books. I scare myself every morning. I'm also letting my hair grow instead of leaving it short as I usually do.

Everyday I read the script, everyday I think about him, the closer Cockatoo is to me. I find myself actually 'being' him when I'm out driving or walking around or lying in bed. Eyes wide and wild, mouth breaking into a huge maniacal grin for no reason every now and then ...

And here's the scary bit - "I like it... muahhahahahahahahhahahaha"

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and here's a post i put up there in character ie as 'Cockatoo'...

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I found myself remembering things from when I was just Juan Thomas Navarro again the other day.

We had just cleared a whole village made up of people who were not with the People Revolutionary Militia. And if they are not with us - then they are against us. And all those who are against us must fall. Nothing can be allowed to stand in the way of our goal - Cesar's, El Coco's vision.

So there I was, at what was left of the village, skinning a corpse - because I had nothing else to do - and I remembered always being good with a knife, even before I became 'Cockatoo'.

I remembered how I would geld a foal. First, I would speak to it as a Priest would speak to a dying man assuring him that death is nothing to be feared. Thats how I would speak to it - fool it into believing that whats going to happen next will be painless ... and then I plunge my knife in ... it would all happen quick. Very quick. Just a blink of an eye, and I would have been finished while they bring in another foal waiting to be lulled into a false sense of security before I send a piece of cold steel into its nether regions.

I remembered thinking - even then - that it would always be over too quickly. I was always good with a knife.
I remembered all these things and I couldn't help myself but smile ... as I took my own sweet time - skinning the corpse I had in front of me ... just because I had nothing else to do ...

*end*

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and here's a little something else which you might find interesting ...

For those of you not 'in the know', Mary George (who plays 'Maria' who probably has the most stage time) is my lecturer. Well, perhaps it would be more apt to say she used to be my lecturer since I have just recently graduated (*phew*). The reason I bring this up is because my character, "Cockatoo" gets quite/very/relatively intimate with her. Cockatoo even calls her a 'whore' and is very blunt when commenting on how good or bad a 'lay' Maria is.

Needless to say, its been awkward namely because - and let me state this for the record - she is one of my favourite lecturers! It's true!

Anyway, because we've only done 'readings' and 'blocking' so far, things haven't really heated up yet. But 'blocking' will be coming to an end soon - so things are gonna get mighty interesting lah (stay tuned for the ongoing saga of the ex-student/ex-lecturer sex scandal ... )

(*in case you don't know what 'blocking' is: it's just a process of 'walking' the play so that we start familiarizing ourselves with what the set is going to be like and we can know where to stand where we say a certain line and such...)

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anyway, besides that, i'm also still teaching at TNT on days i don't have rehearsals for FiL.

i've also just signed on to be a PRODUCTION ASSISTANT with FiL. i'll be Jia Wei's (FiL's Production Designer) assistant. as far as i know, i'll be helping with sourcing for props, co-ordinating stage help maybe ... and anything else she may need me to do.

and, in case you're wondering, (which you probably are not - lol) - i am not abandoning my quest to become a Producer.

recently, i've spoken with Gavin Yap, Rashid Salleh and Douglas Lim a lot - and they've given me a lot to go on about what the industry is like. with the info i've attained from them, i have in my mind a better direction to go. right now, the idea is to jump into the industry of Production. i'll probably join a Production Company and become an intern or something to that effect to learn the ropes from scratch.

bottom line, i'm not going to be making money anytime soon - i'll still be leading a frugal student's life. but hey - as friends and people keep telling me - "At least I'm doing what I want to do."

the tricky bit to that is, i'm not really sure if that's it for me either. but i've made the decision to go into it who heartedly with a goal and vision for myself. if things don't work out - at least then i know that i should try something else and won't be bothered with all the "WHAT IFs"...

so ok lah - that's it for now.

signing off, the commonjack.

p/s: to all of you who are actually visiting my blog ... leave me a line or something - let me know that someone is keeping in touch with me ... this blog has become a way to keep people i don't see everyday in touch with whats going on with my life ... it's not really a self indulgent writing place for me now. so it'd be nice to know people come around here ... holler out YA!

And so life begins ... "WORK" & "THEATRE"

hello all.

i'm glad to say that i've now officially finished one chapter of my life. a chapter i'm not very proud of - but happy nonetheless.

i've passed my law exams. i am now a 3rd class law degree holder - a graduate of the Uni of London External Programme. i'm not very proud of my results. i'm just glad its over. everybody says you'll look back and miss the good 'ole days.

maybe i will - however, at present, i certainly don't think so. the only thing i'm grateful for taking up the UoL External Programme at ATC is that the course provided me with a lot of free time to indulge in all the other activities that i'm very happy to have found.

THEATRE. KICKBOXING. WRITING. SINGING. etc ...

all those years ago, after form6, had i chosen to accept to go to USM in Penang and take up Mass Comm - (it was my 3rd option on my application form - my 1st 2 were to do Law at UM or at UKM) - would life be very diffferent? perhaps i wouldn't have picked up kickboxing then ... or maybe i wouldn't have had the time to really indulge in acting here ... who knows?

WORK:

ANYwho... if you've read the "24" post - you'd probably be thinking that i'll be hopping on the next wagon of life - that is to look for a job that'll lead to me being a "Producer".

an exerp from "24" -

"...i've decided that i want to be a PRODUCER. i will start with TV but i want to get to a point when i have the ability and know-how to produce anything from theatre, radio, tv and etc. i want to be someone who would be able to conceptualise new shows, combining all sorts of elements to blow people out of their socks.

yes, i've decided that i will take that plunge into the 'entertainment' industry. so now, i'm not just working on trying to get in front of the camera, but i will also learn to be behind the camera."

and i shall. even though i'm having some doubts about it at present - it could be just 'cold feet' - i need to do it. there's another option to continue studying (ovreseas....) - something related to media - my Father put it to me after i told him about my results. as much as i would like to go overseas ... the thought of putting off going to 'work' and figuring out what i want to do with the rest of my life is not very appealing.

that being said, i'm going to be sussing out some more contacts and details before i make my final leap and start working.

THEATRE:

but i've got something to keep me busy while i suss out my details. i've gotten a role - my biggest role yet - in Gavin Yap's next play. it's called FRANKENSTEIN in LOVE (FiL for short - click to get to the production blog).

FiL can be described to be a "play of dark, airless places taht have been long sealed from any hope of sanity". (cool right?)

below is an exerp from the production blog written by the director himself ...

" Inspired by Mary Shelley's classic horror story, Clive Barker has has taken the Shelley's tale and basically put his own spin on it. The result is a sort of 'what if' scenario. What if Dr Frankenstein had actually succeeded in creating a race of half dead-half alive creatures? And what if these creatures still had the ability to think and feel the way normal people do, but yet at the same time be very much aware of what they are and the fact that they have no real place in the world.....what would happen?

What happens is that it causes a huge uprising and there is a revolution. This serves as the backdrop for the play. The emotional core of the story is a tragic romantic triangle that develops between El Coco, the leader of the revoution (played by Rashid Salleh), Veronique, one of Frankenstein's creations (played by Melissa Maureen) and the good Doctor Frankenstein himself (played By Mano Maniam). Its a beautifully tragic relationship that doesn't just hint at the unimaginable but actually has the balls to go there, which is what I love so much about it. This is a play that truly grabs you by the short and curly's and dares you to try and run.
Aside from the three romantic interests, there is a host of colorful, equally fucked up characters that inhabit Barker's crazy world. There is Maria Reina Duran (played by Mary George), a dead fan-dancer who also serves as the play's narrator. Cockatoo (played by Michael Chen), a crazed revolutionary who loyally serves El Coco, all the while wearing a crazed broad grin on his face. Then there is Lazaro (played by Douglas Lim), a half-witted friend of Maria's. There are the two flesh-eating creatures Follezou and Mattos (played by Rauf Fadzilla and Bharani Rasaselvam) who assist Veronique in her quest for vengenance, first on the list is a faithless Cardinal (played by Reuben Arthur)! We have President Garcia Perez (played by Patrick teoh) the nation's current President that El Coco seeks to overthrow (amongst other things) and lastly the hilariously morally ambiguous duo of Camilo Bozuffi (played by Reza Zainal Abidin) and Dr Fook (played by U-En Ng), a tailor and pathologist who have a hideously amusing business relationship.

Indeed, this is a play that is designed to scare and disturb but trust me, it isn't without its share of good laughs. We had a our first reading of the play last night and there were points where we had to stop cos we couldn't stop laughing. We'll be reading through the play all this week (without Douglas, who's finishing off Broken Bridges and Reza, who's doing Second Link) before we start blocking Monday next week. As rehearsals progress, you can expect the usual input from the cast and crew. Only this time, we've got a lot more goodies coming your way as you'll be treating to previews not only of the set design but also the costumes and make-up, which I promise you, is going to be off the fucking chain."

as you can see, i'm in the company of players whom i have great respect and admiration for. hopefully, i can hold my own in their company. i am indeed very excited about this play because it's a f*cking cool play! and also, because it's the biggest role i've ever had!

so yeah ... it'll be staged in LATE OCT and EARLY NOV - so stay tuned!

once i'm done with the play - chances are - i'll start a job. so that's my life from the way it looks on this day.

sounds exciting...

signing off, the commonjack.

Open Mic Aug 6th 2006.

and as promised ... a post about my open mic.

actually, i've done two. one was with the Troubagangers and the other was Project OMG (last Aug 19th).

Troubagangers:

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this was quite nerve wrecking - cause it had been such a loooong time since i last sang at an open mic - not only that - this was only my 2nd time ever singing an open mic. to make things worse, i was in the company of people who were really used to singing open mics. most of whom had their own CD's for sale that night. plus ... there were lots of people walking in to sing who were realllly good too.

however, all things considered, i think i put up a decent performance. good enough to give me confidence to try another open mic last Aug 19th!

anyway, i went up right after this band called 'Ask Me Again' ... who were really, really f*cking awesome. i wanted to buy their CD immediately! the place was packed with people whom i can only imagine have heard of them before. when i was told that i was going up right after them - i was a wreck!

when my name was actually called, people actually started getting up to leave. luckily, i had a fair amount of friends there to support me (THANK YOU GUYS FOR COMING!!!) and they clapped loudly for me - that got the attention of most of the people who were getting out to leave - so they stood around a bit to check me out 1st.

i was given 15 mins. i sang 4 songs. 3 are my own compositions ... "Come Back to Me", "I Do It All to Myself" and "Don't Judge Me". my 4th song was my own rendition of U2's "With or Without You". i f**ked up a bit with some lyrics with my 1st and 3rd song. chiefly because there are new songs and also because i was nervous as hell!

i felt quite good towards the end of my 1st song because there's a part of the song where i go acapella and i just sing without playing my guitar. people were clapping along to my singing! which made me believe that i had their attention and they were actually listening to me! lol. i even saw some people who got up to leave earlier sit down again ... which was a nice thing to see.

whatever it is, this open mic has given me the confidence to want to invest in a proper semi-acoustic guitar so that i can give a better performance. i intend to do more open mics. eventually - i want to record my songs proper and distribute them DIY - very low key and see where that takes me. if i can get ONE person to come up to me after an open mic and buy one of my CD's which i will probably only sell for like rm10 or something ... i'll feel immensely sated.

Project OMG:
this was done very near my house ... at a place called FOOD FOUNDRY. (click on Project OMG to check out the blog.)

OMG is an abbreviation for 'Open Mic Gig' - they are pretty much a greener version of the Troubagangers. they are a younger crowd looking to help show off local students works ... be it short films, shorts, poems, songs and such. very cool. i found out about them when i was surfiing through kakiseni.com for auditions.

i sang 3 songs ... i planned to sing "Insomnia", "I Know Why" and "I Wanna See You Everyday". the 1st song is quite emo and the 2nd one is a song i haven't played in a loooong time (which is the reason i wanted to play it). while the 3rd song is a really, really new song.

when it was time for me to go up to sing, i surveyed the crowd and realised that most of them there weren't really interested in listening. they were largely there for 'dinner'. as such, i figured an emo song would just turn them off even more. so i had to change at the last minute and played another one of my gushy love songs "If I could Only" and snubbed "Insomnia".

it wasn't too bad. although, i did not practice sufficiently and was a little shaky singing and playing it.

"I Know Why" was better. but i don't think i did my best. and on my last song, i screwed up royally, i forgot my bridge and final verse lyrics! i had to make it up as i went along and in the end - it sounded a lot like the 1st song i played. *sigh* ...

oh well ... of course, since it was my own song, no one was the wiser. once again, i had a fair amount of supporters (THANK YOU ALL!!!).

they all had nice things to say ... but i personally know i usually do a lot better than that ... oh well. there will be a next time. :)


so that's it lah. i'm off...

p/s: coming soon - i'm in another play! and i've gotten the biggest role i've ever had the honour of getting! (it's practically a lead role!haha) the play is called "Frankenstein in Love" and will be staged on OCT 27th till NOV 3rd. stay tuned for a production blog and my own personal entries about it here ... !!