This week, I put my name and signature against the dotted lines on two exciting projects. Here they are, please do come support:

LAURA'S STAR

(I-Theatre)

23rd May - 4th June 2006, Alliance Francaise Theatre

I'll be playing Laura's Dad as well as the Puppeteer. Melissa Lee, who had played my "child" in "The Magic Paintbrush" is now Laura. Mum will be played by Nicola Sangster, an actress hailing from the UK... 

We will be directed by Tina Williams (UK) who has adapted the story from a children's book by German author, Klaus Baumgart.

We've done a couple of readings, but rehearsals will begin full steam from next Monday onwards to showtime...

Click on the picture above to access I-Theatre's official website and ticketing details...

And, the other show I mentioned is...

FORBIDDEN CITY : PORTRAIT OF AN EMPRESS

(Singapore Repertory Theatre)

8th September 2006 onwards, Esplanade Theatre 

After missing so many seasons, I finally found myself at this show's most recent audition for ensemble. I am very excited to be part of this production, as I had watched the first season and loved the story...

Of course, Kit Chan will be starring again as the young Empress Dowager. Not sure who else is in the cast yet, but I sure hope to work with another of my favourite actress/singer Leigh MacDonald...

I am also hoping to land one of the major character roles or at least understudy one, as I believe I can handle it and would be a wonderful opportunity for me to grow as a musical theatre performer...

Click on the picture above to access SRT's official website and ticketing details...

Can't wait, can't wait, can't wait!!!

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Finally, one of my all-time favourite female singers, Julia Fordham, has released her new EP album entitled...

BABY LOVE

The thumbnails on top are covers from the albums in my CD collection, while the main picture is the cover of the "Baby Love" EP, released on 2nd May 2006 by her Little Boo Records, and featuring her year-old daughter Marley Rose...

Songs in "Baby Love" include lovely ballads like "How I Love You Baby", "You're The Best Thing" and "Angel Without Wings" as well as cool jazzy numbers like "Spoon" and "I Want To Stay Home With You" (my favourite of the five songs)...

I would really like to get a copy of this album, as well as the others missing in my collection, like "That's Live", "East West" and "Happy Ever After - Tsunami Remix"...

JULIA FORDHAM

Why am I such a fan?

I can't really put my finger on it, but ever since I first heard her "Happy Ever After" during my secondary school days (mid-80s), I have fallen in love with her ultra alto sultry sexy soulful soothing voice...

There's something really magical about her vocals and her delivery of her beautiful compositions. I could go on and on...

Here are some of her official links where you could check her out, or listen to her song samples...

http://www.juliafordham.com

http://www.myspace.com/juliafordham

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Being sick is the perfect licence to be Nuaster #1 (aka the great Singapore Idle)...

I have been cooping myself up the entire day and a half at home, taking naps every now and then, surfing the net reading friends' blog entries, and watching TV, occasionally crawling out of the house to indulge in food...

Now it's back to the goggle box, and I have this to say. I lurve...

THE PARENT TRAP

I have watched this 1998-remade movie starring a teeny-weeny Lindsay Lohan as long-lost twins sisters and I loved it then. And watching it for the 2nd time in 8 years, I love it still!

Maybe it's got something to with the notion of putting a father, mother and siblings into a "happy family", a concept somewhat foreign to this sometime loner, but let's not talk about this...

Lindsay Lohan never looked better, cuter, more talented or more beautiful as these two little girls that she played!

Anyway, what I wanted to say is that, with this lovable Disney movie, I forget all the trash that's been written about her, and I respect her as a talented actress...

And oh yes, I loved "Mean Girls" too...

But before you start calling me a fanatic, I do declare that I am not. Just felt like showing my appreciation, putting it on the record, that's all.

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Today marks the first actual rehearsal for I-Theatre's latest children production, "Laura's Star"...

It is also the first time we are meeting the writer/director Tina, and Nicola who is playing "Mum" as well as the underscoring musician. They both hail from the UK and have toured with the original stage production in their home country to considerable success...

Here we are...

So, after an initial round of getting-to-know-yous and physical warm-ups, we had a full read and tried out the first few scenes with me puppeteering the titular "Star" as well as the "Cat"...

During our lunch break, we popped over to Paya Lebar's Singpost Building for a very ang-moh lunch at Delifrance...

The afternoon session went rather well, and we got a general idea of what to do and expect in this show...

Tina and Nicola, both first-timers to Singapore, and both reacting differently to our tropical weather, were a real pleasure to work with...

It was fun working again with Melissa too, reprising our roles as father and daughter after "The Magic Paintbrush" back in 2004...

Nicola and Brian left earlier to get new strings for a cello which Nicola will play throughout the, er, play...

The rest of us finished off at 6pm, and Tina and I took the MRT back to Bugis where I showed her the route back to her hotel, and also explored Chijmes' beautiful al fresco dining setting. I finally took Tina to Chills Internet Cafe and left her to settle her emails...

All in all a fruitful first day. Really looking forward to the rest of the rehearsals!

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Today's rehearsals revolved mostly around some key scenes that involve choreography between Laura (Melissa) and the fallen Star (Me), with Mum (Nicola) underscoring the scenes with cello music...

It was pretty hectic work animating a "star", bringing it to life with some key characteristics and a personality. It was certainly a good cardio workout for Melissa and I...

Lunch was simple economy rice with mixed dishes, which allowed the healthy-eating foreigners to slowly get used to our local vegetable dishes...

We passed by a large fruit stall selling all kinds of tropical fruits. Tina and Nicola were introduced to the hate-it-or-love-it durians, but it'll take some time and coaxing before their first taste of it, I'm sure...

After lunch, Tina rewrote some scenes between Dad and Laura, giving these characters more dimensions without using too much words...

Although this is a simple children's play, some familiar nursery songs and new tunes specially whipped up by Tina were also introduced...

Children generally love music, and it not only holds their attention but also adds layers to the scenes as well...

While on the topic of music, Nicola's cello music form a central part of the storytelling, but presently the cello provided was giving Nicola a hard time...

If anyone reading this knows of someone with a good and seasoned cello to spare from this week to 4th June, please do contact me ASAP, as we'll like to negotiate a loan for the show...

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Amazingly, at the end of only our third rehearsal, we went ahead with our very first full run!

Of course, it was just a simple run-through with the basic choreography and blockings, full dialogue and music. But we attempted this run totally without script!

It really didn't matter if we tripped here and there, trying to get the lines down pat and incorporating the new script updates and learning new music and choreo as we progressed...

Shows how much we have worked on in just a short time, doesn't it?

And on our fourth rehearsal, we tidied up the loose ends, added new tunes and harmonies, redid some scenes and generally made the process a very fun experience indeed!

No wonder I have been totally exhausted after every rehearsal, but it was all worth it!

*pats our own backs*

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We've had several speed runs during our rehearsals so far, working at a steady and swift tempo while at the same time fixing all the details...

For the past few days, Melissa and I have been working on our English intonations through Tina's patient guidance, basically weeding out the more obvious problems in our speech patterns (something most Singaporeans would be guilty of!), and giving more nuances and life to the text...

Don't be surprised if you notice us speaking like the British royalty soon... Just kidding!

Anyway, after every rehearsal we'll all be quite exhausted. I'm sure we're all happy to finish our work for the day earlier than scheduled...

Today, I brought Nicola to explore some Buddhist vegetarian food places at Fortune Centre, before settling down at Koco Cafe at Sunshine Plaza, along Bencoolen Street for a drink..

I ordered a suitably sanguine Sangria, while Nicola had a fantastic green-coloured Fanta soda

Nicola with her sugar fix

After our drinks and a bit of chitchat, Nicola returned to her room at Allson Hotel while I walked over to the National Library...

On the way back home, I walked past Raffles Hotel's Courtyard and found Tina relaxing there with a drink and writing postcards back home...

Tina at Raffles Hotel's Courtyard

With that, I made my way home. Quite looking forward to our next few rehearsals, when some of our major props and sets would be ready for us to play with...

4 angel(s) visited

Today's lunch was at Paya Lebar's Post Centre, as both Nicola and I had to settle some postal stuff, while Tina could enjoy her sandwich in some tropical sunshine, which had been rather elusive lately, at the outdoor fountain plaza...

Nicola and I then went down to the basement food court and I recommended her to try the cannot-be-healthier Yong Tau Foo...

I opted for a Papaya Pork Rib Soup set meal which came with Steamed Egg and Mushroom Chicken, which is supposedly good for the complexion... LOL

Melissa didn't feel too well and didn't join us. Ema, our stage manager, also spent her lunchtime fixing some props...

We did a couple of runs today with costumes. We also got bitten by a battalion of mosquitoes when trying to make a sandcastle downstairs... :x

All in all, energy was pretty low today. Hope tomorrow's rehearsal will be better!!!

On the way home, I had a quick 10min haircut at Bugis's QB House, then popped into Citilink Mall's Coffee & Toast for a cuppa and to read my new library book. Happened to see Leonard and Alex walking past, but too bad they didn't linger longer for a chat...

I bought a CD and a DVD at Gramophone today, namely A.R. Rahman's "Between Heaven and Earth" (how apt!) and "The Beach" respectively...

And when I reached home, I saw my new "Heaven & Earth-Lime & Hawthorne Green Tea" TVC showing on TV!!! Woohoo!!

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The past few days of rehearsals saw us doing speedy run-throughs of the play followed by the fine-tuning of the individual scenes...

The show is now full of layers and subtleties that might speak to both children and parents on different levels...

More photos here...

Following our rehearsals last night, our director Tina revealed some very exciting plans that might involve getting both Melissa and I abroad and to perform "Laura's Star" in the UK!!!

So we popped into Chill's Internet Cafe to check out some airfares as well as the theatre space that we might perform in...

I'm really keeping my fingers tightly crossed that these new plans would come true!!!

After that, I rushed over to Sitting In Pictures for a casting session with the director Sam Loh, for an upcoming series. The story seemed pretty exciting and magical, something rather rare in our local TV programmes, and also something that I really could identify with...

I wished I could attend that session fresh and not in the exhausted state I was in then, and given another chance, would attempt more subtlety and shades of reality in my portrayal...

I am keeping ALL my fingers tightly crossed indeed!!!

After the casting, I walked over to the Chinatown Heritage Museum to find Tina and Nicola, who were having their dinner at Porridge King Restaurant...

Food's pretty expensive (imagine a cuppa Kopi-O that costs S$3.50!!!), and too bad the boss Alvin wasn't around or I WILL ask for a good discount...

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For the past two weeks, we have been rehearsing at a studio which is also a church space in Aljunied. Today is our final day there before we move into the theatre at Alliance Francais...

The ever efficient Ema was busy preparing all the necessary stuff we'll be needing for our play, and mending props and costumes as soon as we encountered any problems...

We were all visibly worn out today and our energy level needed boosting. After a run-through and some adjustments to fine-tune our scenes, we were eager for lunch...

Lunch was again at the Post Centre. Melissa stayed in to wait for her boy. Tina again enjoyed her cuppa and sandwich in the sunshine, while Nicola and I tried out different food stalls at the basement food court...

When we returned to our rehearsal, we worked on the remaining parts that needed more attention and practice, and finally did one more full dress run-through before calling it a day...

Naturally, some photo-taking is in order...

Melissa's beau came to fetch her, while Ema had to stay on to clear up the space, so Nicola, Tina and I left for the MRT and headed back to town...

Don't they look mighty fine with the sunshine behind? Hehe...

Nicola went on to City Hall station, and I brought Tina to the Central National Library to have a look at the internet services there, but I couldn't figure out how to register (I am a techo-blur, after all). So Tina decided to go back to Chills Internet Cafe anyway...

Since I was already on Victoria Street, I decided to have my early dinner at the food center next to Allson Hotel...

This is one of my favourite stalls there...

Now as I am typing this, I could feel a craving for supper...

Better sleep early tonight, for tomorrow morning we shall be rehearsing for the first time at Alliance Francais...

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Today's rehearsal was our first at Alliance Francaise Theatre, and we spent the first part of it at the Olio Dome cafe upstairs...

Meantimes, Ema, Hatta and another crew V ("V" for Vivanti!) were working on our props and helping with our scene changes, while Suven's getting the lights plotted...

The run-through was jittery, as could be expected, but this is the stage where all the potential problems should surface and be resolved, so we took it in our stride...

Rehearsals ended soon enough, and I went over to Orchard Cineleisure and The Heeren for some shopping. Got some pretty cool stuff, which I shall reveal in due time...

Bumped into Boon on the bus home, and I gave him my blog url, so he might be reading this right now... *waves to Boon*

I'd barely reached home when I had to go out again, to fetch Tina and Nicola and bring them to Holland Village for dinner...

We walked past the super-sized billboard of my "Drink Driving Shatters Lives" ad and Tina even took a photo of it! LOL

Then we shopped a bit at Lim's Attic (if I recall the shop name correctly) which sells some ethnic asian products. Most of them seemed to be imported from Thailand or India. Tina managed to get some gifts for her folks back in the UK...

Dinner was at Crystal Jade Kitchen, where we had some plain congee (which actually had conpoy, or dried scallops!), vegetarian and crabmeat fried rice, lemon chicken and kailan...

Tina was distributing our "Laura's Star" flyers to any kids who dare ventured into our vicinity, a very direct way of getting our show known to our target audience and their respective parents...

Met Alvin, my ex-polytechnic classmate, and since he's now a married man with a kid, he gets our flyer too...

After dinner, we took a cab to the National University of Singapore's University Cultural Centre (NUS UCC) to catch Dick Lee's latest musical, "Man of Letters"...

It was a good show, and both Tina and Nicola said they liked it. Well, I certainly did! However, I have bumped into a couple of friends who didn't think so (one of them even left during interval!). It's his loss actually...

Certain scenes were reminiscent of other shows like "Les Miserables", "Cyrano De Bergerac", "West Side Story", "Grease", "Beauty World", "Passion" etc. In fact, I could easily call this an English version of "December Rains"! Still, the story is pretty coherent and the songs and moments thoroughly enjoyable...

There were certain parts of the show that might be slightly awkward for me, sitting in between the two English ladies. Especially the scenes where the characters were shouting "British Go Home!" and also tearing off the Union Jack! Oh well, it was historical and all by-gones by now, and anyway they were rather good sports about it...

Sebastian Zeng's sets and Shao An's lighting provided a very effective backdrop to this story set in the 1950s' student revolutions. Dick Lee's compositions were full of tuneful gems, and his romantic songs were, well, just lovely. The direction was good too, with a steady pacing that didn't leave a boring moment. Would love to work with the director, Darren Yap, someday...

And all the actors including the ensemble cast did a commendable job despite a few minor hiccups. Emma looked gorgeous, Celine cutesy but gutsy, Robin brought a tear or two out of us, George was a suave samseng, Gani looked damn good in hippie wear, and RJ piled on the cheese in an entertaining pageant number. Even from my circle seat, I could easily spot Justin, Jinli, Jonathon, Gordon, Filomar, Jackie, Eleanor, Andrew and Hansel in the ensemble. Pats on their shoulders for all their efforts...

I wouldn't mind watching "Man of Letters" again, and Juju might have complis for Sunday night! Thanks in advance!

And oh oh oh, I couldn't resist taking this pic while at the UCC...

On the way out, we bumped into Stephen Ahsen, and he accompanied Tina, Nicola and I on bus service 96 to Clementi MRT Station. I got off soon after, and by the time I reached home, I was totally spent...

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Today, Monday,  "Laura's Star" is going on air!

We'll be interviewed by Mediacorp Radio's NewsRadio 93.8 FM at around 1.30pm, but I doubt it will be aired live. Most likely to be a pre-recorded session, but to be confirmed...

Things are getting rather exciting now, with our first performance on Tuesday morning! The first week of shows have been fully booked, and hopefully we'll get full houses throughout the 2-week run!

Do come support if you have young children or young relatives who might identify with the story and learn a thing or two about friendship and coping with loneliness...

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I've just caught the trailer for next Sunday's "True Files" and it's the episode that I acted in, "The Transvestite" (Episode 9)!

:: 28th May 2006, Sunday, 10pm on Channel 5 ::

Links to the past entries and pics:

Part I

Part II

Part III

Part IV

Part V

I'm also thrilled that the "Heaven & Earth - Lime & Hawthorne" ad that I did, which was a new version of the earlier one sometime back, currently running on TV!

Link to my past entry:

:: Click Here ::

Also, in another two weeks, I'll be appearing in "Incredible Tales 3 - Paper Bride (Episode 5)"...

:: 31st May 2006, Wednesday, 10pm on Channel 5 ::

Watch this space for updates!

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"Laura's Star" finally opens!!!

For good luck from the stars, literally, I'd made some gifts for Tina, Nicola and Melissa. I wanted something that would represent this special show, and our friendship and teamwork throughout this production. So I chose some Swarovski crystals shaped like five-pointed stars and had them made into neck pieces. I had a larger one made for myself too..

A STAR for Edric, Tina, Nicola and Melissa...

Monday noon found the four of us being interviewed by Eugene Loh at Mediacorp Radio's 938LIVE (formerly NewsRadio 93.8FM) during his F-Cube segment...

Eugene (the Senior Producer/Presenter and Music Director) asked us mostly relevant questions which, hopefully, would generate more interest in our show and attract a larger audience for us. We had fun during the interview and couldn't resist taking some photos. But oh, why not? Hehe...

While at Mediacorp, we also had our lunch at the canteen, which has a wide variety of yummy food stalls at very reasonable prices. Bumped into Timothy Go, Gwendolyn, Brian and several other familiar faces there too...

Earlier on, Tina had given Kheng Hua our flyer at the reception area, and hoped she'll bring her 8yo kid to our show...

After we've completed our business there, we made our move over back to our final full dress cum tech rehearsal at Alliance Francaise...

But not before taking some more photos at Mediacorp's newly renovated reception area...

Nicola couldn't resist "trying out" for Singapore Idol too!!!

Rehearsals went on stop-start mode as our technical crew made their final touches. Thank you, Ema, Hatta, V, Purpink and all who've been working hard behind the scenes to get our show ready!!!

Dinner time arrived in due time, and we walked over to Balmoral's Bistro Symphony Restaurant to fill our tummys...

For the same price as, say, N.Y.D.C. Restaurant, I think Bistro Symphony served much better fare and deserves a couple more visits...

But with so much good food lately,  I really really need to watch my meal budget, and watch my waistline as well!!!

After dinner, Tina settled some admin stuff at an internet cafe, then we continued back for a full dress run for Tina and Brian Seward, our producer and founder of I-Theatre...

It's been an exciting and exhausting day, and finally our show is opening!!!

BREAK-A-LEG!!!

2 angel(s) visited

Finally, "Laura's Star" opened today!!!

Before our very first public performance in the early morning, Nicola led us through a simple but rigorous warm-up to wake up and prepare the actor's most important equipment: the body and the voice...

Then after a few final touch-ups, and with the noisy chattering kindergarten-level kids streaming into the auditorium, we were all set to go!

The first show came and went... and it turned out longer than we'd rehearsed. But that's to be expected, taking into account of the audience's response and laughter...

It was a reasonably good show, but obviously changes could be made to enhance it further...

Tina, the director, made some last minute amendments to our lines, stage actions and general pacing of the show, and we stayed on to try these out before we broke for lunch...

While the ladies were visibly worn out and prefered to rest, I decided not to let my energy dwindle further by staying at the theatre. Moreover, I felt I needed some space to breathe and digest everything that's going on and run through the changes in my head alone...

So I made my way over to Far East Plaza and had a nice comforting Oyster Mee Sua noodle from Shi Lin Taiwanese Snacks stall and Kopi-O from Ya Kun Kaya Toast...

Then I found a bead shop selling more Swarovski crystal stars and I got some to make matching lucky star pendants for our technical team. This shop is MUCH cheaper than the other one at The Heeren...

After some window-shopping and getting myself relaxed, I returned to the theatre and got ready for our second performance...

The second show came and went too... With the last-minute amendments in place, the pacing was much better this time and our energy higher too, and the lower-primary audience were more engaged in our performance...

At the end of the second show, Tina again decided to enhance it further "by cutting out some of the embelishments and leaving only the nitty-gritty", which will allow the kids in the audience to focus on us throughout the show...

All in all, today was a good start for our show's run! And it can only get better!!!

ERRATA:

Eugene Loh from 938LIVE has already posted some of our photos onto the radio station's official website: http://www.938live.sg/fcube.aspx...

Also, he has pointed out my error of announcing the station by its former name, "NewsRadio 93.8 FM". For the past year, it has been renamed "938LIVE" and Eugene's programme segment is "F-Cube"...

For those who missed the radio interview or might wish to listen to it again, it will be aired next Tuesday, 30th May at 2:45pm and 9:40pm, and the following Saturday at 7:40am...

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Our third performance went very well, with all the new changes, and our energy level, in the right places. It could get even better of course!

Tina noted happily that there was no disrupting mid-show exodus to the toilet like the first day, for the kids were warned beforehand not to expect any intervals or toilet breaks during the show...

During our own post-show chit-chat, Brian was commenting to Tina and Nicola (all from the UK) on our cultural differences and how the kids in both countries vary in their responses...

(Same Same, But Different...)

That said, we have already tailored "Laura's Star" to fit our local target audience of 3 to 8 year-olds. And I'm sure the kids who've watched us will take home with them a bit of the lovely story and the warm messages behind it...

On a separate note, my left foot have been giving me an awful pain for the past few days. There's a deep cut right in between my toes, possibly due to a recent dry skin condition. Talk about "breaking-a-leg"... -_- ||

After the show ended and we left around noon, I decided this was a good chance for me to catch a movie. So I popped over to Orchard Cineleisure for lunch, then got myself a ticket to...

The Da Vinci Code 

I have read Dan Brown's book a couple of years back, and thoroughly enjoyed it. In fact, during my Europe tour in the summer of 2004, I'd made it a point to visit some of the places mentioned in the book, making my trip even more meaningful and enriching...

It was great to revisit the Louvre Museum, the "Mona Lisa" and "Madonna of the Rocks", the Westminster Abbey and all the other wonderful places, in the context of the story. This time, watching the words come to life in this movie, I experienced the same excitement that I'd felt in Europe.

I was quite okay with Tom Hanks and Audrey Tautou in the main roles (don't know why people are giving Hanks so much flak), although I'd personally cast Hugh Jackman and Rachel Weisz as Richard Langdon and Sophie Neveu. Ian McKellen seemed a rather good choice as Teabing, and Paul Bettany made a very convincing and tragic Silas...

As to whether this film compares favourable with the best-selling and controversial book... again I have to say: same same, but different!

It's just a totally different medium, and I didn't go into either one with any expectations other than to enjoy myself thoroughly...

That I almost succeeded, if not for the constant annoying noise of crushing plastic bags from the people seated behind me...

Oh well, some people just don't geddit. Just like the kids who couldn't behave during a show, they would most likely grow up to irritate other people at the cinemas too...

Different? But same same...

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For good performances and our shows to go smoothly, it is not unusual for the cast and crew to exchange "good show" gifts (as what the Hongkongers would call them)...

It's not obligatory, for course, just a gesture of goodwill and blessing...

After giving the cast and director their "lucky star" pendants, I've made one each for our hardworking 3-person technical crew too, namely Ema (Stage Manager), Hatta (Stage Crew) and Vivianti (Lighting & Sound Operation)...

Tina gave the cast flowers as well as chocolates for the crew...

(More Lilies...)

Today's show went really well too, and the very young but very well behaved audience members loved it so much they requested to have their photos taken with us after the show!

Besides working on "Laura's Star", Ema, Hatta and V also served as crew to I-Theatre's other show "The Glass Menagerie" which is sharing our stage and running concurrently with us...

So while the crew were busy striking our stage to prepare for the next production, and Melissa had to rush off soon after to another gig, Tina, Nicola and I explored the internet service at the Alliance Francaise's library, and checked their mail...

After that, I brought Tina on a brief bus tour to parts of Orchard Road and showed her some al fresco dining areas, before guiding her to the bus for the Singapore Botanical Gardens...

I had my lunch again at Orchard Cineleisure's basement food court, and despite the odd hour, I chose the western food stall's yummy breakfast set and a cup of cappucino...

And now, I'd better finish this entry and get ready for dinner with friends, followed by the "X-Men III - The Last Stand" movie!!! Can't wait!!!

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(Long Story...)

Last night, I met up with a group of bloggers (most of whom I have never met before) at Plaza Singapura, to watch the latest blockbuster, "X-Men - The Last Stand". As expected, I was the odd one out again...

Okay, the movie...

It was AWESOME, BREATHTAKING, EVOCATIVE, HEARTSTOPPING!!! And more!

The above adjectives could be applied to just the special effects alone, but they could also describe the intricate story and tortured characters in it...

For a non-comic book reader, I didn't feel out of place at all throughout the film. In fact, this movie (and the first two films before it) made me want to pick up the Marvel comics right from the beginning and follow its entire history!

Okay, I suck at writing reviews and I shan't try to describe this movie. But I could write about what I noticed...

Like how the collar pin on Bezu Fache in "The Da Vinci Code" (a cross within a circle) is so similar to the logo of the X-Men...

Like how much Anna Paquin as Rogue reminded me of Wendy Pepper in "Project Runway Seaon 1"...

Like how Famke Janssen gave us a nostalgic glimpse of her breakthrough role Xenia Onatopp in "Goldeneye" during her scene as Phoenix with Wolverine...

Like how Sir Ian McKellen is such a charming actor, both in "X-Men - The Last Stand" and "The Da Vinci Code", in fact, he's good in almost all his movies. And also how handsome both he and Patrick Stewart looked at the beginning of this movie, didn't matter that there's some obvious airbrushing work there... 

And perhaps more importantly, like how the discrimination between the Homo Sapiens and the Mutants could be an analogy of the straight people vs. the gay community, or also between the different racial communities and religions...

There are many such analogies and metaphors within the X-Men series that could possibly inspire us or give us insights to how humanity works...

If you have seen this film, I hope you had enjoyed all the above-mentioned, and the terrific effects and gorgeous casts as much as I did...

For those who haven't seen it, PLEASE DO!!!

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We had the best show by far yesterday morning, and upon my insistence, we stayed back a bit to take some production still shots...

Will post these pics in my next entry...

Then after some note-taking by Tina, she returned to the hotel while the rest of us were so famished we headed over to Wheelock Place's new Cedele by Bakery Depot outlet for lunch...

It turned out to be more expensive then we expected, and the service was slow (possibly due to the new staff). It took about half an hour before our food arrived... :x

Thankfully, the food portions were ample and tasted good enough...

(Feast Your Eyes...)

2 angel(s) visited

As I mentioned before, I was very insistent upon a photoshoot for "Laura's Star". This wasn't my job or obligation, but I really wanted something of "Laura's Star" that we could present to the world...

I just wished we could have the professionals doing this, but thankfully, Hatta and Cynthia were there to help take the pics for us...

And so, here's a glimpse of...

LAURA'S STAR

( Singapore * 2006 )

(Click Here For The Production Photos...)

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And here are the hardworking folks behind the scenes of I-Theatre's "Laura's Star" (AND "The Glass Menagerie"...

Thank you, guys, for all your help!

(Things Will Only Get Better...)

[break=The Glass Menagerie...] 

Going back a bit, Nicola and I watched the Saturday matinee performance of "The Glass Menagerie", featuring Timothy Nga, Christina Sergeant, Emilie Oehlers and Paul Hannon. It was directed by Paul Falzon... 

Although I am not really a fan of Tennessee Williams' (any relation to Tina Williams? ) somewhat longwinded literary works, I must say he does great character studies...

And the four characters in this play all had their idiosyncracies that's kind of engaging to watch. All four actors did well in their roles, and watching Christina Sergeant for the first time, I was really impressed. Tim was made a convincing angsty stud and romantic-at-heart, while Paul was quite the Irish joker himself. Emilie wasn't as strong as the rest, but perhaps that could work for her character, whose physical handicap and insecure nature made her rather eccentric...

Watching "The Glass Menagerie" with Nicola, at Alliance Francaise Theatre , made me feel as if it's "Laura's Star" gone all off tangent...

There were many parts of both (vastly different) shows that seemed to coincide, such as the Chinese father and angmoh mother, the daughter who's called Laura, and a son who's called Tom (in the sequel to the children's book, Laura has a brother called Tommy). Like how both Lauras spend most of their time playing with toys and glass figurines, and other synchronicities...

After the show, Paul Falzon offered us some lovely cupcakes, and Nicola had one with cream and colourful sprinkles, while I had one with orange jelly (both were sort of featured in "Laura's Star" too, haha!)..

I'd enjoyed their performance, and felt it was a pity that there weren't more people in the audience... [/break]

[break=Food For A Rainy Afternoon...]

After today's morning show, we were all caught in the dismal rainy weather, but Melissa left earlier anyway. Nicola and I hitched a ride with Hatta on his way out to town, and we alighted at Far East Plaza...

We had a simple but yummy lunch at the basement, at this new Hong Kong-styled desserts and snacks place called Full House...

The verdict on the food? Tastes great, is reasonably cheap, has more varieties than Ya Kun offered, and can go there again and again! [/break]

Oh, I just watched myself on my episode of "True Files 4 - The Transvestite" on TV today. I looked so short and stout. Dohz...

Thanks, Patrick, for helping me record this show!

Can't wait to see how I fared in this coming Wednesday's "Incredible Tales 3 - Paper Bride"!

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Tina Williams, our director, returned to her home in the UK on Monday night...

But before that, she came to watch our two shows in the day and we had a nice lunch and chat over at Bistro Symphony at The Balmoral Plaza again...

Tina Williams

Lunch at Bistro Symphony

(More Lunch Pics...)

Here are some pics taken with Tina at Alliance Francaise...

Cast and Director of Laura's Star

[break=More Pics...]

Tina and Nicola with some kids in the audience

Tina soaks in the tropical sun while Nicola looks on...

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Tina was pleased that the two shows went well, and made us promise that it will get even better. She'd also made some minor changes before she left, setting a faster pace for the play...

After the second show, I went home to make a CD of the photos I'd taken and posted on my blog for Tina to bring back to the UK. I met up with Tina and Nicola at the Raffles Hotel's Courtyard where they were enjoying a Singapore Sling. Brian Seward, the show's producer, joined us soon after...

[break=At Raffles Hotel...]

Tina and Nicola at Raffles Hotel's Courtyard

Sipping the Singapore Sling

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Brian, Tina and Nicola

We'll definitely miss Tina's motherly/sisterly/friendly presence, and hope we'll get to work with her again soon. May the December run for "Laura's Star" in the UK really go through successfully...

Meantime, we'll carry on working hard to get our current shows in tiptop condition!

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Watch out for me in tonight's episode of

"Incredible Tales 3 - Paper Bride"

at 10pm on Channel 5...

More pics will be posted here shortly, stay tuned...

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