Sunday, August 27, 2006

Went to watch Beckett Project by TTRP on Friday night with Michael, Renee, Stacey, and friends. Beckett is a hard nut to crack. You need a lot of patience, energy (not to fall zzz), and great appreciation of all things dark and absurd, to barely scratch the surface to begin to appreciate his brand of ... theatre. I didn't think this was a great showcase of the talents of this batch of TTRP graduates, especially if this is going to be their swansong production. The first and final pieces, looked and felt like,anyone, (and with no disrespect to the actors who donned the roles), can do those standing and sitting roles. PLAY was easily the most satisfactory playlet out of the four, even if the script was equally tediously and baffling to follow, just like the other three. Oh well, Beckett what. I thought, it was a worthy try on the part of the team, but the overall result just fell a little short of expectation.

Saturday early morning was our first combined A Nation In Concert rehearsal. Went early to Clementi Interchange to wait for Valenisha, Wei Xin, Nadiah (on time), Levin (late), Umar (very late) and Siti (missing in action). The NUS High School was a strange design of old and new architectural ideas. While the layout was pretty modern and impressive, yet the walls and paintwork felt very old-school. Hmmm. The hall was ... I have no idea what the hall was trying to be built for, actually. It looked like, as usual, trying to be multi-functional as possible, and as usual, failing to impress on anything in the end. It was good to see everybody again, and welcoming Scott to the group. Anyway, the rehearsal began late, not unexpected. Happy to see Amalina, apparently she is part of the youngest cast in the production. The groups need polishing up, and generally the changes need to be much tighter. After a few pointers from Jon, hopefully the next rehearsal will be more solid.

Went out with Valenisha, Wei Xin and Nadiah to go to Junction 8 for lunch. Decided to catch Ant Bully. Gee I hope Film Society will not screen this at there next regular screening slot. I am not sure how much of the beginning I missed, as I zzz ... The animation was average in my opinion. The plot was nothing to crow about. I see similarities in recent Hollywood animation with this one. The initial flood-out scene, and the final battle with the ex-terminator scene, were pretty alright. The adventure to the house, with the flight of the petal, was sweet and cute. There are the usual lessons to learn, and all in all, very much forgettable to me lah. Beyond this, there is no great film in the near future to catch. I will try to catch Don't Come Knocking, since its been a while since a Wim Wenders film appears. Next week, Akeelah and the Bee seems promising. Will also try to catch Smell of Rain at the Arts House too.

♥ 10:44 am