Bun & Stone by ECNAD

I must confess that I'm usually baffled by contemporary dance, so I'll do my best to give my own interpretation of the performance.

The performance started off with an "excursion" where the audience stood round the Front Lawn of the Arts House to watch the special prelude of the performance, before proceeding to the Play Den for the main act. The former was actually performed on a stone installation (Stone Awakening) specially created for the performance by 1 of the artistic director, Lim Chin Huat. The latter saw the interplay of segments of different themes, with some video feeds in between. It was quite humorous at some parts.

As I thought about the show, the speech (there was some) and segments after the show, my interpretation is that the buns are like dreams and stones like reality (I tend to try to relate the title to what's going on). You know, buns are soft, white (pure?) and "fluffy" and at times warm, while reality is like pretty hard, solid and cold, like stones. And maybe that's why the prelude was Stone Awakening. That segment saw a "bun" (well, the dancer in white) being slowly woken up by a "stone" (dancer dressed in brown) that sounds a small gong (the Chinese type which used to be used to 敲三更 type). So there is an interplay and blending of dreams and reality, which was aptly described in the synopsis: "...reflections of our pragmatic society and the need to search for breathing spaces".

《收藏》

In the course of my work, I came across this beautiful poem by Chew Kok Chang (周粲). It seems so simple, but was put together so nicely, bringing out a much deeper meaning. 

《收藏》

看见树上那朵花

美

就采了

来收藏

看见沙里那枚贝壳

奇

就拾了

来收藏

看见天边那颗星

亮

就摘了

来收藏

也收藏了

一截折断的彩虹

两颗骊龙的珠

以及数块

女娲补天用的泥

正想也收藏银河

收藏在大气中

衔枚疾走的岁月

不意岁月它

不声不响地

收藏了我

Makan Drama Festival

Browsing the SISTIC events calendar brought to my attention this theatrical festival by Action! Theatre, which had an interesting concept/theme. So yesterday, I went with my friend to check out the double bill ("main course"), along with some free performances ("appetizers" & "desserts").

The double bill included Perfecting Prata by Desmond Sim, and Cravings by Chong Tze Chien. The former was a short 20-min play, but a tad more serious and portrays the relationship between a father and his son. Cravings was pretty hilarious about how couple tries to plan for a passionate evening after the wife has given birth to their 1st child. I thoroughly enjoyed this as the script was well written and the players acted it out well, which had familiar faces like Jo Tan & Edward Choy, whom I've seen before in Awake with Nenek as well as Fanny Kee & Tony Quek. However, I think the "cravings" aspect didn't come out as strong as the writer might have intended, although they tried to emphasize it nearer the end by mentioning the word a few times. I guess it was analogous, like how couplehood & marriage are like food cravings.
(sidetrack: I seriously think that Jo Tan looks like my friend Alicia, and I think I was schoolmates with Edward Choy in JC)

After the double bill, my friend and I proceeded to catch some free performances - Eat Here or Ta Pao? and excerpts from Hokkien Mee - The Musical based on Ovidia Yu's play. I felt the Hokkien Mee musical wasn't too bad (has some potential), although I think it's more of the intro to the full story, which I believe would be the play out of the Cantonese girl who strives to earn the recipe from her mother-in-law. I don't know how the full-length show will turn out though. I've not read the original play before.

And hearing it's from Ovidia Yu, it made me recall her workshop during the Singapore Writers Fest last year of her perception of Singapore theatre. She referred Singapore theatre to a buffet spread and it made me wonder if she had any influence on the concept of the makan drama festival. Unfortunately, I've lost my notes from that workshop (think I accidentally threw it away during my CNY 大扫除...Arghh!).

book reprinted

On Sunday, Ps Cesar Castellanos, the founder of the G12 mission, of which our church shares the vision, was the preacher. There was an analogy he used which I thought would be interesting to share here.

An English translation of one of his books was published and they had printed 10,000 copies. However, someone discovered that there were some serious mistakes in the translation. As much as he wanted to salvage the 10,000 copies, the only way was to destroy all 10,000 copies and print copies from a version that had no mistakes/has been rectified, all because the original (proof) had errors.

Just as the original was tainted, so was Adam, the 1st man, when he sinned. Hence, those after him were also "tainted" and were set for destruction. So the only way to salvage the situation was to have one who had no sin (Jesus) to replace the original.

Adjusting to new scope

My friend just gave me some notebooks and on one of them was printed,

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, 

"plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

~ Jeremiah 29:11

As some might know of what I'm going through at work, the uncertainty and pondering and slowly accepting the fact, this is a sort of reminder which I believe, though still reconciling.

Mosaic reflections

Mosaic Fest is over and it got me pondering over how I came to explore these "new" genres (I used to only listen to mainly classical and oldies or some pop). And I realised it was predominantly the influence of 1 person.

A few years ago, I came to be acquainted with someone who actually made electronic/ambient music. I don't think I would have, on my own, gone to explore this as I usually kept to the "traditional" form of music I knew. Surprisingly, I actually liked it. Through him, I also discovered a greater range of music like indie/alternative, more electronic music and got to know musicians who created their own music, like Sufjan Stevens, The National, Radiohead, Explosions In The Sky, etc. AND discovered www.emusic.com (one can find a lot of indie/alternative music here). This created in me a sense of curiosity and wanted to explore all this music out there. There was actually so much more to music! Of course, not everything was to my taste but once I started, I wanted to experience more, and started attending Mosaic & Baybeats. Also, I discovered another friend subscribed to emusic.com too, so I asked her for recommendations and with all these explorations, exposure and browsing, I built myself a collection and found new genres of music and musicians that I liked. I also found a whole new arena of music business, even though we can't buy music from iTunes here. The wonder of technology.

I think it's an exciting experience to explore and you'll never really know what to fully expect. It's good to have variety and I must thank this person who started me on this.

Mosaic Music Fest 2010

Just covered some gigs at this year's Mosaic, and well, even though I felt last year's line up was the best so far, this year had a few that I decided I should catch. Just in case you didn't know, this is the time I get to experiment/expose myself to various genres of music and usually, I don't really know most of the performers. I generally listen to quite a few genres of music these days - indie/alternative, electro-pop and contemporary folk. Of course, I still listen to classical, pop and oldies, but I think I've gotten into the habit of wanting variety and exploration, experimenting here and there.
Anyway, the way I select what to catch is by reading the write-ups and listening to samples. If I like what I hear, I'll go for it. So this year I managed to purchase tickets to 5 shows.

Makoto Ozone (14 Mar)
I started off my Mosaic experience on Sunday at the Recital Studio with Makoto (pianist), who improvises classical music with jazz. As he plays, he taps along with his feet and sometimes goes off his feet. I was wondering if his feet were acting as a metronome. I think my favourite piece for the evening was Laura's Dream which had elements of tango, followed by Wild Goose Chase. The former had me imagining a dancer and I think it got me thinking about how musicals could be structured in a way like orchestral movements.

Au Revoir Simone (14 Mar)
I then ended off my Sunday night with a trip to the Heneiken Music Club (Theatre Studio) where the Brooklyn trio were performing.

I would describe their music as light psychedelic/electro pop with strong beats, as they played on their synthesizers and keyboards. As it was standing room, one could easily move/sway to the beats. The songs were a little dreamy-like. Some songs played were Shadow and Through the Backyard.

Pink Martini (17 Mar)
Hailing from Portland, Oregon, this was one of the most enjoyable performances for me during the festival. Mainly bossa nova, the band displayed versatility and showmanship making you want to 'groove' to the beats. They performed songs and the lead singer sang in various languages, like English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, and even did a rendition of "等着你回来" and a Malay rendition of their song “Let’s Never Stop Falling in Love” that was made popular in Malaysia by Sean Ghazi.Other popular songs included "Lilly", "Je Ne Veux Pas Travailler", "Dosvedanya Mio Bombino" and "Hey Eugene" which had a response "But Now I'm Back". The pianist Thomas Lauderdale was fantastic and we saw him getting off his seat to dance in between and running back to his position for his segments. Very entertaining.

Kings of Convenience (18 Mar)

I heard good reviews about this Norwegian duo and the first show released was sold out within 2 days of priority booking! But fortunately, Esplanade added 1 more show, so like trading stocks, I guarded the sistic website and quickly went in to buy when they started selling.

Their music gave you the laid back feel with great vocal harmonies, acoustic and dreamy with thoughtful lyrics. I felt that they brought a part of Norway here (well, at least what I imagine Norway to be like).
I don't know many of their songs, but I do know that I really liked I Don't Know What I Can Save You From and Cayman Islands (their ending encore piece) which to my pleasure, they performed. :) But I did buy their latest album the day before hoping they might have an autograph signing session (which unfortunately, they didn't). The performance was almost 2 hours, starting a little after 7.30pm and ending close to 9.30pm, where they performed songs like "I'd Rather Dance With You", "Know-How", "Second to Numb", and many more. Erlend also played a tribute to the late Alex Chilton (frontman of Big Star) with a cover of Thirteen which was really nice. It was amusing too when he mimicked the trumpet for songs like "Live Long". And of course, each took a turn at tinkling on the piano, which Eirik said he felt compelled to play since it was there and someone must have made a lot of effort in putting it there.
Nice.

Shugo Tokumaru (19 Mar)
I think I always include a Japanese in my line-up during Mosaic, mainly electro-pop (ok, Makoto is a Jap too, but different genre). However, this was really purely Japanese pop/rock, although Shugo usually does some electro pop for his recordings. He hails from Tokyo, and with his band of 5 (himself included) they created some really interesting music with the "toy" instruments they had as he sang and played the guitar. And nimble he was, with his fingers. Coming bare-foot on stage, he led the group in song after song with barely a pause (we suspected it's because he couldn't communicate well in English). He looked really young, so did his band. The solo he did was nice and the final piece they played was a fun piece as the rest of the band gathered round the set of drums and each played on it during the song. All the songs were in Japanese except 1, which was a cover. The drummer was also very funny (with his flustered appearance) but he played very well. I was always looking out for what instruments was being played for each piece.
~~~~~
So this ended my Mosaic experience for 2010. Can't wait for next year's already!

recent movies

I should get down to this before watching any more movies. Have not had time to write anything, so here's a quick one for a few of them.

The Last Station
This is a biographical film of Leo Tolstoy in his final days.It revolved mainly about his relationship with his wife and the so-called Tolstoy movement. It also talks about love. At first, I didn't know why it was called The Last Station. But nearer the end, it was where he died. Hmm...I can't really give much of a comment of the movie as it was biographical, even though it was only a small section of his life, but the most memorable part was when Valentin Bulgakov (James McAvoy) retorted to Chertkov "Tell me one thing. That image you want to create, just looks like you, doesn´t it?"; Chertkov who refused to let Tolstoy see his wife on his deathbed just to create an "iconic" status of Tolstoy, to the purpose of "the movement". However, how distorted the movement's purpose/what it stood for had become.

Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief
Despite trying to keep an open mind, this show wasn't really great. I felt that maybe there could have been more character development and the story a bit fuller (that could be the editing though). Maybe as my friend said, you couldn't really "feel for" the protagonist (Percy), whose acting at some points weren't that good, especially at the part when he thought his mother was killed. There was no display of grief at all. Maybe if I had watched the 3D it would have been better.
However, Uma Thurman was really cool as Medusa.

Well, can't wait for Clash of the Titans coming out on 1 April. :) Sam Worthington!


Alice in Wonderland
One main reason I watched this was because of Johnny Depp, despite him playing yet another weird looking character (Mad Hatter). Another reason was that it's Alice in Wonderland. I guess many of us have read the story before? But I forgot how it was like, which can be a good or bad thing.
I must say the animation effects were good and created the (dark) wonderland look. Was there a dragon in the original story? The distinctive character was the Red Queen (Helen Bonham Carter, who played the part really well). Anne Hathaway seemed like the comic relief though, with her exaggerated dainty movements. And doesn't everyone agree that the girl who played Alice looked like a much younger version of Gywneth Paltrow? I must say the Mad Hatter dance was a little anti-climatic just after the big battle...the music maybe? I won't deem the show as fantastic though...it was ok. However, I liked the song Alice (Underground) by Avril Lavigne from the soundtrack.

~~~~~
Ok, that's all for now.

puzzling traffic light

While waiting for the traffic light to change to cross over to Wheelock Place from the International Building crossing, I noticed an out-of-place traffic light facing International Building at the intersection of Orchard Road and Angullia Park (the street between Liat Towers and Far East Shopping Centre).
Strange because firstly, there's no (straight) traffic going towards that direction (dead end/T-junction) and secondly, it's calibrated to change signals together with those on Orchard Road, which are perpendicular to it. You'll know it when you see it.

Violin refresher

I finally got my violin repaired last week and now it's all set for use again. The luthier actually repaired it on the spot as it was a very simple repair, replacing the tail piece and changing a new set of strings. I bought a new bow too as my old one was in bad condition and now it's time to decide when to start my refresher.

I dropped a mail to Yamaha but have yet to receive a reply. However, I was reminded (a staff at the shop asked me who taught me violin last time) of my violin teacher who, according to the staff, was still teaching. Maybe I should search him out. Not sure if he'll still remember me, but that doesn't matter.

Hmm...or maybe I should just practise on my own? But I think I'm not so disciplined.

easy to let go?

Strangely, I wonder why it seems easier to let go of career attachments. As earlier posted, I'm facing a major change and I'm still moping a bit, but am I really moping about it? I don't seem to feel much anymore. Am I already resigned to the fate and looking ahead, or am I numb? I hope to believe this is God molding me, and indeed, He's removing the resentment in me, even though I really don't feel anything, just dull, monotonous activities. Maybe it's lack of sleep. Hmm...I guess that's what "moping" is.
Why I say it seems easier to let go is that personally, so far, it's all been directed, by the Master Planner of course. From the time even before I joined the organisation till how my life in it has turned out, it's been directed. And the thing is, there is almost a certainty in what will happen, which I can't change. I've always asked for clear closed or opened doors for this aspect of my life and well, technically, you know there will come an end someday to whatever you've been doing. I guess even though one does get attached to it, the level of attachment is still breakable.

I can't say the same for affairs of the heart though. It is so much harder, maybe because there is that uncertainty (unless something happens), nor will there be someone on the outside who will clearly state the outcome. Also, the kind of attachment is harder to break as it really pulls at your heartstrings or deepest inner being because it involves another human being. Relationships between people...the pain is much deeper and lasts longer no matter how much you pray for it to end.

Although, I must admit that both feelings are different in type. Just some grousing.

Driving around

I recently had the privilege (or not?) to have a car to drive for 2 weeks and well, am getting use to it, recognising new routes (it's puzzling how come when I get to drive, I seem to have to drive to so many new places). I don't drive very often, and mainly just to my fencing class or to church, so learning new routes (& carparks) are pretty challenging for now. 1 thing I keep forgetting are parking coupons! So used to EPS parking.

Anyway, it is nice to have the peace and quiet in the car, and I seem to be in the mood to revisit the classics lately (FM92.4). The radio all to myself, able to choose what I want to listen to. When I get to driving familiar routes, it seems pretty auto, so I get to reflect, or think, though these days, I think I would be better kept occupied than to think too much...still in a bit of a moping stage.

Driving around on your own...one feels protected, closeted, but yet so alone, even though you watch the world going by, other vehicles passing by. However, you are not exactly in your own world; whatever you do will affect how people react or manoeuver their vehicles around you.

Oh, I had the idea of doing some OT while I had the car, but besides the many evening programmes coming or the need to be away from office in the afternoon, I don't really have the motivation these days.

Tanjong Pagar memories

I was in the vicinity yesterday for a reading of musicals and passed through the area. Used to work around there more than 5 years ago and there was some familiarity, yet I felt like stranger too. Quite a few changes.

Well, basically, I missed the food...ok, just a couple of them. I was quite famished after leaving the reading at TAPAC and was in search of lunch. I knew it was told me before that my favourite stalls at Tanjong Pagar Plaza/hawker centre were gone, but I guess I should go there anyway, since I'll need to pass through there to get back to my bro's place and buy lunch for my sis-in-law. Well, the fried carrot cake and nasi lemak I liked were indeed no longer there. *sigh*

Anyway, just some reminiscence.

So many movies opening this week

Wow, so many movies opened this week, probably because of Oscars and it's a feast!
Like this week, I noted down 4 shows opening this week that I intend to catch:

1) Alice In Wonderland
2) The Last Station
3) Up In The Air
4) Crazy Heart

There are other shows I have to catch up with too, like Agora (though reviews not so good), Percy Jackson and Shutter Island (waiting for my friend to return to watch with her).

Looks like I need a movie marathon this weekend.

The assurance of GOD on my black Monday

I was on a 2-hour shift of prayers last night (my church is on a 40-day, 24 hours prayer mission till Good Friday) and I was assured of His control in my life.
Initially, I was thinking if it was warfare. After all, the 40-day prayer started on 21 Feb, and the whole saga started when our CEO officially announced the re-org on 22 Feb. Ok, just to give a brief on what's happening in my near future. The moment I heard of what kind of changes were involved, I had a bad feeling. Although some colleagues said that maybe it would not be so, my intuition told me otherwise. And my bad feeling came true, with an added dose of dismay, this Monday.

Firstly, My arts projects will be taken from me (there are two). They are like my "babies" as I was involved from the beginning, nurturing and fighting to keep them alive. Finally, there are results and they have taken flight in a way. Even though I was prepared to hear this happening (this was my bad feeling), it still affected me in a big way. Will the projects survive? How will their scope be changed? and many other questions. It felt like a part of me was severed from me as these projects have been my driving force and motivation in my current position, that remind me that at least I was doing something meaningful of which I'm passionate about. It felt like when a musician loses the ability to play music (not sure if this is an apt analogy). I have to release 1 of my staff too (she will move with 1 of my projects), whom I have developed rapport with. She's a little worried if she'll fit in the new place, but I believe it's better for her there. Also, I feel safe that the project would still be in good hands.

The extra dose was when I was told I would most likely be transferred to another dept that's coming under our division's wing, which I don't exactly like. Some colleagues would know what I once said I would not do (*sigh* as they said, never say "never"). This was unexpected and I shan't explain too much here since it's not appropriate.

So this Black Monday was my darkest day in the organisation so far. Even darker than when another event happened previously which I've learnt to live with. I know re-orgs are common and at least I still got a job, but the loss of the opportunity to work on content development and the chance for professional development towards where I want to move to...all my focus areas for development seem wasted.

Anyway, back to the prayer meet. It occurred to me that it might be a time of testing, or something wants to to get me down to doubt God. But thank God it never occurred to me to "blame" God for this. Nevertheless, I was perplexed, upset, emotional about the whole thing...I wanted to cry, but yet couldn't, the frustration that caused a "constriction" in my chest, etc. I moped around mostly after that, trying to collect myself. What was happening? What future would I have?

But God sent his assurance through one of my leaders yesterday as she prayed for me (who didn't know what's happening) and it totally described what I was going through. The anxiety, the unchartered grounds, the assurance that God is good and what He plans is always good. I'm relieved that I'm assured of God's presence in all things, even sending someone to tell me so. I'm not saying that He will deliver me from this position as I'm not sure of what His plans are yet, but a lot of things are still going on in my mind. What is the purpose? Is it a time to "remove the plank from my eyes"? Is it His way of making me let go of some things and make a clean break? Is He putting me there to make a difference? Or will there be a miracle? What should I be praying for then?

I'm still moping around, trying to come to terms with what's happening and still seek the Lord in what to pray for and direction. I am in need of taking time off (Friday) to seek Him on specifics and to sync what I know in my mind (the truth of His assurance) and the feelings in my heart. But I know one thing I will still pray for. It may not happen yet, but it must happen.

Valentine's Day

I caught this yesterday evening and I liked it. A good reprieve from the black Monday I had.

The love stories pieced together on a seemingly long Valentine's Day (so many things can happen on this one day) were well arranged, with some outcomes expected, some not, some sad, some sweet, some twists...but the message is there, it's all about love. It started off with bliss, with ups & downs along the way, but ends off happy again (for most, especially the nice people). And I agree with my friend how 圆满 the whole film was, starting with the radio, ending with the radio. It actually brought me round to remembering that it was all happening in 1 day. Although it was mostly romantic love, there was also a touch of friendship and parent-child love. It was also funny at parts.

As unlikely as some stories maybe (but you'll never know), that's how love is isn't it? All this myriad of happenings, bittersweet at times, with surprises along the way, sometimes irrational, sometimes taken for granted but encompassing everything, making it good. At the end of it, it's being there for each other.

I love waffles

My comfort food for today. I think I have a soft spot for waffles. Ice-cream on its own doesn't seem to suffice.

Awake With Nenek by We Colour People Theatre and Company

I should get down to writing this before I forget.

As a start, the title is pretty creative, as you can read it as "A Wake With Nenek" once you know the story.
It tells of a tussle within a family who squabble over the inheritance at the wake of Nenek, in a void deck setting. How those who never visited her when she was alive appeared only to claim their inheritance which they did not deserve. It was all a show wasn't it? Showing off who "looked" like the more filial child when it was all fake. The ugly side of family tussles over inheritance is portrayed, just as we read those published in the papers. There is also the struggle between cultural differences as some wanted it to be a Indian funeral and another, a Chinese one, as Nenek was half-Chinese and half-Indian. The tussle ensues but ends when the family discovers the coffin to be empty (yes, appallingly, the fight resulted in the coffin being opened), by which the lawyer appears to read the will. Each got what they deserved and we are reminded of the harshness of how greed/money corrupts, when the source is forgotten and respect abandoned.

The show started off light-heartedly, but as it went along, the atmosphere and underlying tension and moral came through, thanks to the superb acting of the cast. The humour was smart and certain digs at how things run here identifiable. Even the subtle strain in cross-borders relations is depicted. The prop would have been a real coffin if not for the superstition of the venue sponsor, as it was replaced by something not as convincing, but we get the idea. The cast was able to engage the audience and it was like real-life drama playing out before you. I was pretty moved near the end by the granddaughter's impassioned rebuke as they all eventually repented. I enjoyed the show very much and look forward to their 2 other upcoming performances this year.

In my experience with them, I find this group and their take on social issues creative and poignant. They are a promising group and I am glad that we have such talents.Good for the future of arts in Singapore.