THE NEW WAVE OF SINGAPORE MUSICALS 3 – Day 1
1. Vanity Victorious, Virtue Vanquished (V4)
2. City of the Gods (COTG)
***
12 NOON
Paul tells me that the piano is tuned every morning at 6am without fail. So after a night of banging and clanging away, the piano is back in shape for the performance the next night.
I am SO looking forward to playing on that monster (quote Chester).
***
12:30PM
Eleine puts foundation on my face, says it's to brighten me up. I protest but they clamp me down.
Trey has been ill for the past few days. He tells me and Fad that his fever came back last night. He looks extremely pale. I hope he is able to perform later!
We exchange our ICs for Esplanade security passes. I get to hand over my PINK I/C. Hooray! Along the way we look at other's ICs. How different many of them look from what they are now!
***
OMG the piano is DAMN, DAMN, DAMN, DAMN chio!
Can I bring it home with me pleaseeeeeee? It's a reward for playing on a lousy 61-key keyboard at TAPAC for the past four weeks. YUCKS.
But I only get to see her for two nights L
***
V4 TECH RUN
I cannot wear the top hat while bowing. It has no strap so that the hat stays onto my head. The moment I bow it drops onto the floor.
So embarrassing.
***
COTG TECH RUN
Shahdon is coughing very badly, if not uncontrollably. Paul tells the Gino, the sound guy, to turn off his microphone while he is not speaking. Shahdon has been like this for the past few weeks already. Last Wednesday we went down to Chinatown for the last resort: TCM. Bitter stuff, but it worked.
***
JUST BEFORE 8:00PM
In the wings of the stage, amidst the myriad of props from bras to sequin-sewn umbrellas to top hats to piles and piles of clothes for the numerous costume changes during the show.
***
PAST 8:45PM
End of V4. The cast is jubilant. Highly-energised. I cannot afford to celebrate with them. Instead I must tone myself down to prepare for the tragedy that is to come. I have only 15 minutes to get out of hyper-mode.
I spot fellow Soraccians May, Agnetta, Yi Lin and Wei Zhang in the crowd. Christina came, but I couldn't see her!
It sucks to play for two musicals whose emotional levels are at opposite ends of the spectrum.
***
The cast of COTG is warming up. Jameson gets them to do this exercise where we wriggle all our limbs. Basically it goes like this:
Wriggle left hand: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
Wriggle right hand: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
Wriggle left leg: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
Wriggle right leg: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
You repeat with non-stop rapidity: four counts, two counts and finally one count.
So what happens at the end?
Left hand: 1
Right hand: 1
Left leg: 1
Right leg: 1
Then you do a star jump: "YAY!"
Exercise CUT.
***
Darius is busily de-miking and grabbing his belongings and running out to the audience area in order to catch his creation. Go Darius, go!
***
Karen started off beautifully. "Once upon a time, people build pyramids. And the Egyptians weren’t alone. Two thousand years ago, in the valley of Mexico lay our great civilisation called Teotihuacan. The city housed more than 150,000 people. Our city layout was not very different from what you have now. Streets, houses… and magnificent pyramids. But…"
And suddenly she paused. She looked back at the rest of the cast partially hidden in the shadows.
OH SHIT.
She was probably hoping another member of the cast would do something and get her out of that sticky situation.
Luckily her lines came back to her. "And our story will have to begin with a love that Teotihuacan will forever remember. It begins with our prince Taloc, preparing for the greatest wedding of our time. Behold, the City of the Gods!"
BAM! The majestic opening of "Love of the Century" comes on over the speakers.
Whew!
***
I crash the piano during the part "80 people have died in their sleep!" The sound resonates all over the recital studio.
And one of the black keys get stuck.
Well done.
