Last week was Short+Sweet Malaysia Musical and just like 2011, there were 10 musicals competing. Besides submitting a script "Goodbye", I also acted in another musical "Out of The Box".
So how was it overall for me? It was a good experience to be participating again in S+S Musical. Participating as both writer and actor have allowed me to see things how 2 different productions come together. The best part, of course, is to working with old friends and making new ones.
As mentioned before (I think), I wasn't planning to write this year. I am more of the man with the idea but not a writer. I need time for my ideas to grow inside me before I start anything. And even then, I would still need a co-writer. Somehow approximately 1 month before the deadline, I suddenly had the idea of writing a dramatic musical. So I had to force myself to write this.
After taking about 1-2 weeks to write the first draft, I felt tired to compose and so I asked a church friend, Daniel Sim, if he would be interested to compose the songs. At the same time,
wifey suggested another friend Kerry-Ann since she has mentioned before that she would like to direct a S+S musical.
After reading the script, both of them agreed to be part of this and that was how we started. Kerry-Ann managed to assemble her team of people and we eventually have Joshua Gui as musical director, with Safia Hanifah & Nick Davis as our actors. Both Safia & Nick won Special Awards for their performances:)
As for the one I acted in, it was by the same creative group that did last year's "Disorder in the Court".
Terence decided to try drama this year as well. We have been talking on FB chat about what we wanted to do this year and he shared his idea with me. I thought it could be something that suited me. After the audition, I was offered the role of the father. I found out that Lynn Goh, who played Ah Girl in "The Geongxi Is A Vamp" was offered to play the daughter. Eventually a newcomer, Arvin, got on board as the supporting cast, playing the assistant named Chong(don't ask why a chinese name).
The biggest winner of the festival was Nick Choo's "Dreaming Outside The Box". The moment he confirmed his participation, most of us were expecting to see something wonderful. True to form, His team deservingly won 8 awards, breaking Geongxi's 7-award record. While it was a bit painful to see them break Geongxi's record, at least it was Nick Choo and Freddy Tan who also directed Geongxi.
And with that, all the anxieties comes to an end and I look forward to Short + Sweet 2014. What will I be doing then? Most likely, wifey & I will be joining S+S Song (if they are going to keep it) and most probably we will work together again to write a musical. We should be returning to comedy, which I think is our stronger genre than drama. I already have something brewing in my head and this could turn out to be a very educational musical. More on that when the time comes :)
Also, if I am free, I will be applying to direct a musical. After doing numerous plays & musicals, I think it's my turn to shout at actors. Hahahaha!
