(Note: I've been very busy with finals and theatre and stuff, but now I'm finally freeeee)
Okay back to the main issue at hand, the Short and Sweet Theater Festival, in which I acted in, became a director and also a playwright. This was the second time I took part as an actor but the first time as a director and playwright (kedekut sikit nak conquer everything this year. hehehehehe).
For those of you who don't know, Short and Sweet is an event organized by PenangPac, KLPAC (I think they have one in Australia too) and it's an event for the arts. They also have a festival for musicals, dance, stand up comedy and of course, theater. This year, my script "Good Girls" got short listed which made me the happiest person in the world for a moment. Also, this year I directed a play called "Shooting Star" written by Terrence Toh and was acted out by Hazim and Tera (both TTS members). Whereas I acted in "Good Girls" along side Hajar and Rafiq, under Doc's direction. This time ladies and gentlemen, I played (drum roll please)
A PROSTITUTE
And to be clear, no, I wasn't a female prostitute. Not this time. There are three sides to this story so let me break it down individually.
AS AN ACTOR
Playing as a prostitute was not easy (shocking kan?) There was a lot of, errrr, touching and movement involved (padahal I'm not even the main character pun). And everyday Doc would always say I'm not slutty enough or I need to be more of a bitch. But on the bright side, my punch lines did reach the audience. They laughed where they're supposed to. But apart from being on stage, I like being off stage in the dressing room just as much. Cause the actors were nice and friendly and completely mental. They were supporting if we felt down about our performances and they were just that amount of gila that we needed when everyone is stressed waiting for they're turn to get on stage. They were awesome and despite knowing them for a short moment, they were like family (corny habis)
AS A PLAYWRIGHT
My script, "Good Girls", was basically about a housewife having a conversation with her alter ego and complaining about how her husband is a jerk and how her family sold her to that man to keep they're land, while the alter ego becomes her voice of reason and tries to convince her to leave. But there was a catch, she couldn't leave because she caught her husband cheating and therefore pushed the housewife to her breaking point and killed the husband and his bitch. She became mental in the end. Buuuuuuuuuuuuuut, what Doc did to my script was, Lisa (Hajar), the housewife, was having a conversation with her two alter egos which was represented by her dead husband (Rafiq), who also happens to be a sultan and the man-bitch he slept with (Me). I was worried at first that this was too much and the audience would be confused with Doc's translation of the script. But the audience loved it. So I was ok with it. Lesson learned, trust in Doc, Doc knows best.
AS A DIRECTOR
So the script I directed was "Shooting Star", written by Terence Toh. The basic idea of the script was this guy, Andy (Hazim), has a crush on Rachel (Tera) and wants Rachel to make a wish on a shooting star but Rachel refuses because it brings back memories of her mother's death. So instead, Andy made a wish on the shooting star that Rachel would be happy. And she was happy....with another boy (FRIENDZONE!). As this was my first time directing, I became a wee bit paranoid about a few things. Okay I was overly paranoid. I had to worry about they're acting, and the props, and the stage setup, and the lighting. There was just so much that I was overwhelmed. And worst of all, I couldn't even watch them during their performance because I had to prepare for the play I was in. Luckily there was Doc there to be my third eye. In the end they pulled through and everything went well.
In the end everything went better than I expected. Why?
Best Overall Production
Shooting Star
Best Director
Alvie Cheng (Hope & Hopeless)
Best Script
Mark Sasse ('No' In Spite Of Itself)
Best Glitz & Glamour
Good Girls
Best Actor (Male)
Hazim Halimi (Shooting Star)
Best Actor (Female)
Hajar (Good Girls)
Tera (Shooting Star)
Aimee Choon (Grave Affairs)
Best Supporting Actor (Male)
Alvie Cheng (Hope & Hopeless)
Best Supporting Actor (Female)
Tesa Sasse (Noticed)
Jackie Ashkin ('No' Inspite Of Itself)
Best New Comer Youth Award
Ysabel Loh (Noticed)
Festival Director's Award
Grayden (Homo | phobia)
Audience Choice Award
Good Girls
6 out of 11 of the awards. We won 6!!!! It was an unbelievable experience. All our hard work payed off in the end. I couldn't have asked for more. There were even members of the audience who came to congratulate us personally after the show and there was even this one lady who cried after watching Good Girls. The feeling was overwhelming and I thank God for everything. Alhamdullillah
So what's next? well "Good Girls" will also be playing in Short and Sweet KLPAC next month with a whole different cast, and concept. KL is going to be a totally different ball game because this is the first time we're performing at KLPAC. Come watch us!
Despite all the ups and downs faced on our journey, I wouldn't have traded any of them for anything in the world. So thank you for the experience PenangPAC. Next stop, KLPAC!!!
Ok tu je
Bye~
