Me? No, me. Not I

When I was young, I used to role play with my younger sister. In case your mind is skewed towards some sexual role play action, no, I was not referring to that. We would react scenes from movies we watched countless times, like The Parent Trap. I vividly remember us taking turns at playing (both) Lindsay Lohan's characters' bickering scene in camp - "I know how to fence and you don't; or I have class and you don't. Take your pick". It is amazing how we memorised a 30 minutes scene without any script (just by watching the movie more than a handful of times). Then comes the part where she dipped an Oreo in peanut butter and the part where they figured out that they are twins, separated for years - *pulls pictures together* "That's my mum" "That's my dad"

I guess acting was something I thought I enjoyed when I was younger, but never really gave much thought about it.

Early this year, I signed up for a 3-months scene study class with Joanna Bessey. That was my first attempt at acting in public (school plays do not count as I did not have much dialogue). My first performance in front of an audience was during the script-writing class' graduation night. We read/acted out their scripts for the first time.

Last weekend, I took part in Short+Sweet Malaysia's theatre workshop for actors. I have never participated in the theatre workshops before, only dance. We started with improv work during the first session, followed by script reading and acting out scenes in small groups. For our final performance, we read/acted out scripts submitted by budding play writers during their workshop. 

Tapping back into this creative channel of mine is like discovering an old passion. I was told I did a good job for a first-timer, and that it did not seem like it was my first attempt at acting. Well, unless you count the corny Parent Trap act-outs, it is. 

In one day, I was: a lesbian torn from her lover due to an arranged marriage in the olden days, a mistress of a wealthy Lord during the Victorian time, a psychotic bitch ballerina in the modern age, and an imperial princess in ancient China. That, was a LOT of fun! 

My weekend was so inspiring that I think I have been bitten by the acting bug, again. We had a group of really talented and creative people - actors, script writers and directors, and it was an honour to be in their midst, be inspired by their works. Definitely looking forward to S+S Festival in Sept/Oct.

Performing the Arts

April is here, and I have started dwelling into the arts again. Let's say, a part of my salary is channelled to developing/perfecting my skills and techniques, enrolling into workshops and classes.

Two weeks before last, I did a two-day Contemporary Dance workshop with renowned dancer/choreographer, Suhaili Micheline at the Eximus School of Performing Arts. It was an intense workout, my body was so sore the few days after the workshop. That, is a good feeling, knowing that you are really working your muscles - the correct ones.

Due to certain reasons, my regular Contemporary Dance class for the past nine months was put to an end. Hence it was great to be able to work on contemporary techniques again. It was my first time learning under Suhaili. Before this, I've received good feedback about her teaching, and even girls telling me that she's scarily strict!


I wrote about my experience throughout the two-day workshop in my dance blog here.


Moving along...


Aside from the regular dance sessions, I enrolled into Joanna Bessey's Scene Study Class at Enfiniti Academy too. So for most Mondays after CNY, I have been commuting to Sunway Giza right after work and journeyed into that imaginary section in my grey matter. We did individual 'private moments', which tested our focus and ability to recreate a scene with minimal props. Then we moved on to monologue presentation, did a reading during the script-writing class' students graduation, worked on dialogues with a peer, and had a lot of fun!

 

Photos from Enfiniti Academy

When a window closes, some where, doors open; and I will not give up searching for those doors! April greets with more dance workshops, new dance classes, rehearsing and perfecting my Ballet techniques for September's concert, and.... *drum-roll*

Short+Sweet 2012 Malaysia workshops!! This year, I will be joining both theatre and dance. Wanted to do all three, but the timing overlaps on Saturday and Sunday. Boo-hoo! Anyway. If you are interested to join, head to S+S's blog (link above), download the registration form and email it to one of the contact persons. Each workshop session is RM10, and ends with a performance/presentation on Sunday evening. Can't wait!