Miss Sherry Kramer

When asking my friends out or planning the next big outing with them, I always sound like I'm going to leave for Australia soon. They'll always ask, "When are you leaving for Australia?". I'll say, "Next year" and they'll be like "Oh.... pffftt... Still such a long way to go. You sound like you're leaving tomorrow." The thing is, I sound like that because I feel like that. A year passes by really fast. If I don't enjoy this year to the max, I'm not gonna have it back. Besides, having that "omg-I'm-leaving-soon" feel really helps you to cherish every single moment you have with your friends like it's your last. : )) 

So, back to the point, class on Wednesday was rather low key because we had the script reading so there wasn't much of a warm up or jumping around like ninjas in the experimental theater. We sat in a circle and began reading our chosen plays out loud. My group, the triplets, went first with 2 chosen plays. "Lynette has beautiful skin" and "Hardboiled". I know I'm not supposed to judge who the characters are right now, but I don't really like Lynette's character, she lets Bobby play around with her and bully her and stuff. Plus, she seems like a blonde. I like my character Kramer in "Hardboiled". She's tough, sexy, hot and she's a lawyer in a very very major firm. She's got sass and style in the way she talks. So, I think I like Kramer more than Lynette.  After reading both scripts, everyone said they preferred "Hardboiled" to "Lynette has beautiful skin" so... yeah... guess we're doing "Hardboiled". I just don't like how the other characters Jackson and Mickey get to say so much more compared to me. -_________- 

ANYWAY... the others read their share of their scripts too and I really liked the one that Filza and Weilim chose. I mean Weilim was sort of dead when he read it but I liked the idea of the play. I liked the last few dialogues of the play too. 

Weilim : "My love" 

Filza : "She's waiting".

OOOOHHHHH!!! NICE!!! BUURRRNN BIIIITCH!!!!! 

Anyway... yes. We're supposed to create lists for our characters and be like detectives to find out every single detail about them. Every single detail about them has to be written down. Basically, it's like studying them and doing a thesis on them. So, I'll have to do mine on Miss Sherry Kramer. The sexy, hot, quick tongued lawyer whom every man wants to fuck. Ohoooo... I'm gonna LOVE playing Miss Sherry Kramer. 

Verb

So... I've been singing and using my voice a lot lately, not that I'm complaining. I've been dying for opportunities to sing my ass off in college and I've gotten myself some pretty good ones. : )) My voice is doing well. It's not fading away or dying... it's doing quite well despite my excessive use of it. Well, actually I treat my daily voice usage as practice. Life in college is going well... better now actually... : )) I'm happy... I really am.

So... I'm gonna cut the crap and get to the chase. Class started at usual with Mr. Rey's morning talks. Yes, sir... I learned that acting is reacting, that you never try and act out emotions. You act out a verb and that will automatically tell you how to feel. I also learned that if a director tells you to "give me more anger!", he's an idiot. My job as an actress is to act out the verb... not the emotion. Then, we talked about characters. How to get into characters and stuff like that. Same thing applies here, you become the character and not feel the character. I don't think I'm explaining it in detail enough here... but I understand the concept very well and it's forever engraved in my head.

Then... we got up and did our warm up. We did random movements at first like hopping around and running. I don't know about everyone else but I turned sideways and flapped my arms like a retarded ostrich. WHAT? He said RANDOM movement! Then, we had to play Malaysian characters, any Malaysian characters. I played my mother at first... ordering people around and stuff. Then, we had to be specific Malaysian characters in Pavilion. I turned into this Chinese lady who was busy shopping around for clothes. I imagined the Chinese ladies I see in shopping malls who come to see branded things. When it was my turn to portray her, I went all "Woaaahhh... Ni dit dou hou leng woh!". That means "Woaaaahhh... these things are really pretty too!". I even carried a small handbag on left arm and walked around like I was too busy checking out the stuff. Then followed by Lih Seng who was a dad in Pavilion taking care of his devil spawn of a child. Josh did the same thing too but I think Lih Seng was better. He portrayed a dad well. Joshua's this kind of I-couldn't-care-less-if-my-son-got-hit-by-a-truck kind of dad. After the Pavilion thing, we portrayed characters who were in preschool. I played this crazy little hyperactive girl who was too excited to sit down. I was jumping up and down and waving my hands about... going... "FLOWERS!!! FLOWERSS AND PRETTY THINGS!!!!" Sometimes I wonder if that was me in preschool. HAHAH!! Then, we froze. Mr. Rey told us to act out our characters but we would switch to the same characters all grown up in Pavilion. So, Joshua started, on the ground. He was balking about not sending him to school and he actually used his legs to push him across the floor as if his invisible parent were dragging him. It looked cute actually. Then, Mr. Rey switched in to Pavilion and we laughed cuz Josh stopped for a while to think of how to do it in Pav. HAHAH! 

After that, we shook out and did some serious character work. Mr. Rey brought masks and wigs! He demonstrated how to be a character from the mask. First, you pick the mask you want. Oh wait... you don't pick the mask... the mask picks you. : )) Then, you look at it. You just look at it and let it talk to your heart. You go to the mirror and continue looking at it. Finally, you put it on and you look at yourself in the mirror. You let it completely take over you. Instead of just feeling it, you let it come inside of you and mold you into it. The feelings, the acting, the way of walking or whatever, will come after you surrender to the mask and become it. Lycel picked a woman mask and she became this really flirty, model girl with a high spirited attitude. She was all flying kisses and glitter. Lih Seng was like... Joker meets Spider Man. : ) Adam picked a happy mask and became this faggy guy who's always dancing and is extremely high with a permanent smile on his face. The way he put on his clothes was so funny. So, yeah... the mask told him what to do and he sold it. Adam was brilliant. I thought Sam was brilliant too. He was very feminine, having picked a woman mask. Sam was Alexis going out with the jock, Teck Sern. Sam was so good at being a female. Plus the blonde wig, he REALLY looked like a girl. I even started to think he WAS one. He really had his character down flat and he was crazy good. : )) I especially loved the last scene where Sam and Teck Sern supposedly kissed. When it was finally my turn, I went up with Vhina and Wilson. I actually found it hard cuz none of the masks I liked. I wanted the woman mask but it was still on Sam that time. So, between the happy mask that Adam wore and the sad mask that Muhammad wore, I chose the sad mask. When I was looking at myself in the mirror with the mask on. I didn't just feel sad. I was the girl who was depressed, she was insecure and always threatened. She was the misfit. I really felt that coming through the mask. Then, Mr. Rey wanted Wilson and I to be husband and wife in Paris. So, I had to improvise a little. From being the sad, high school misfit to the sad, wife. I was miserable in my marriage. The sex is bad mainly because I let it go bad. My husband and I are forever fighting and I know that this trip to Paris for him is just another way to get me and him to extend our marriage. So... that was my character. Every time he made me look at something, I'd just look at it... later. Then, something changed me. As I'm served some kind of drink, and I drink it, the liquid changes me. I jump into Wilson's lap and we make out. 

So, yes... I must say that I've learned a lot during today's class. No feeling of verb... only acting of verb. : ))

Hairography

Why Malaysia? WHYYYY!!! Urgh, I swear... if it gets any hotter than it is right now, I'm going to blow a gasket. If I'm not mistaken, there was a time where it got so hot here in KL that I couldn't study without air conditioning at all. I think it was last year. It got so bad that you could step out of a shower and start sweating just because you moved to put on your clothes. I hope this is just momentary because tomorrow, I'm wearing my leopard printed dress ( yes, the very same one from the last post ) and I do NOT wanna be sweating all over it when I get to college. This time, I'm leaving extra early in the morning so my mom doesn't see me in it. HAH!

So, on to the class activities for the day! Warm up, today, was also quite interesting. Mr. Rey had us jumping and running and crawling like crazy people. I was actually, jumping around and waving my arms in the air. I think I looked a lot like a nutjob but who the hell cares right? Then, we had to be drunkards trying to walk in a straight line. I was walking all funny and wonky. I talked with a drunken slur and was like "I'm okay. I'm okay. Then, next thing I knew, I was tripping over my own legs and falling onto the ground. After that... we had to be burglars and I crouched and became wary of my surroundings. Then, I pretended to hear a sound and my eyes went all big and shit. Then... we had to partner with someone. I partnered with Celine and we were both burglars together. We squatted down low and pretended like we were if we didn't do it right, we were both going to get caught. It was quite fun actually... sneaking around and poking about. Acting as though, we were hiding behind shrubs and thick greenery or behind walls. Reminds me of my childhood when I played "make belief". Ahhh.... those were the days. : ))

Then Mr. Rey got us to do something else with another partner, like pick a scene and someone just start it. I partnered with Muhammad. We did something like him trying to coax me to jump over a bench and me reluctant to do so. Honestly... it was a boring scene... but what the heck. Then... we were told to freeze on the spot and crowd around Adam and Valerie because they had something interesting going on. Adam was standing and Valerie was behind him, hugging him on the waist and not letting go. From the looks of things, Adam was rejecting Valerie's love. I remember thinking "Damn!! This is scandalous." So... yes... I was right. Adam WAS rejecting Valerie's love. Later... Mr. Rey yelled freeze and someone else had to come in and completely change the scene. I remember Teck Sern coming in and being this guy who's rejecting Adam in being gay. Adam was trying to come on to him and he kept saying no. Then, I came in as this girl who's rejecting Adam's touch and pushing him away. Then, later, Celine came in and went all "You stole my bf???" But then... Mr. Rey didn't want to much gf bf thing so... he said... "let's try something diff. Okay?". And he changed the scene to me and Celine being stuck in the middle of nowhere. I was like "So, what are we going to do now?" and we got into a slight argument. Then... later it got to the part where Lih Seng became my dad who was asking me about this random boy and he was going to punish me and I begged him not to in our Malaysian accent. Then... later... it got to Celine and Valerie in McD's and Valerie being the nasty customer who's giving Celine a hard time. So... there were a lot of other scene's that happened but I'm not gonna describe them all cuz my post is gonna be as long as hell. I'm gonna skip right to the part where I talk about what I've learned. The thing is... I suck at impromptu's. Yes... I'm not even gonna try and soften the blow to myself here. I SUCK at impromptu's. Why? Simply because I think too fucking much. I don't know how many times I've told myself not to think so much and to just jump at it and DO IT but I never listen to myself. When I think, I worry about what I'm going to do, what I'm going to say, how I'm going to work that pose and then... Omg, am I going to look stupid in that? -_______- I'm pretty sure I wasn't the only one who thought about her every move. Other people thought too much as well. The other thing is... we kept saying "no" to each other. Almost every boring scene, every bad scene had someone saying no to someone. It worked when people say "yes" to each other. So, I am now, going to slap my self in the head for thinking too much and rejecting. I am going to slap myself and make sure I do better next time.

Mental note : FOR GOD'S SAKE... STOP THINKING SO MUCH AND JUST DO IT.

Next thing that happened was the performances. Mr. Rey gave us 10 minutes to practice and we did. Unfortunately, there was this part that required Adam to curl my hair. He curled my hair on the brush side and it got caught and tangled. It got so tangled and Adam didn't know how to get it out so we had to ask Celine. Mr. Rey was in front... he just smiled... and laughed. Meanie. Anyway... we managed to get my hair out but the practice had to get cut short so, Adam and I didn't get to finish our practice. As the meanie, Mr. Rey made US go first. *cry*

OBJECT EXERCISE 

Who am I : I am Leanne Sandman, a rising star in show business. I am cocky, stuck up, rude and unpleasant to be with. Most of the time, I have a frown on my face and my nose up high. I get very unhappy if things don’t go my way.

Where am I : I am in my dressing room, backstage. I am seated on my chair in front of my makeup table and mirror.

What time is it : It is 3 hours before my show. There is still time, so I am in my dressing room waiting to get my hair done.

What surrounds me : My makeup table, my pet poodle on my lap, the script that I’m reading and my dressing room is full of girly whatnots.

What are my relationships : My relationship with my annoying, gay hairstylist is a hostile one because he keeps trying to upstage me before my show and trying to show off his performance skills in front of me when I know I’m the best.

What are the given circumstances : I take pride in my good looks and my showmanship. It is 3 hours before the show and I want to look my best at the same time, I want to revise my script.

What do I want : I want to revise my script and look good. I want to stay focused before my show.

What is in my way : My annoying, gay hairstylist is purposely trying to upstage me by creating all sorts of diversions and singing as if he’s better than I am. He also burns my hair which makes me look bad and pisses me off at the same time.

What do I do to get what I want : I stop being lenient with him and yell at him to show him whose boss and then, I storm off. 

BEATS

Leanne is in her dressing room, backstage. She's reading her script and trying to get focused before her performance and she'strokes her pet poodle. Her hairstylist walks in without knocking on the door and completely ignores her. She doesn't like that. He gives her a dirty look because he's jealous of her fame and she gives him a dirty look for being disrespectful. After a while, they look away. He comes over to her and proceeds to comb her hair. She gets tired of holding her poodle. 

Leanne : Hold my poodle. 

He doesn't hear her. 

Leanne : HOLD MA' POODLE!!

He hears her and gladly holds her poodle because it's cute. 

He talks to the animal. 

Adam : Would you go out with me on Saturday? No? I hate your guts. 

He says so in a cute tone. 

Leanne : *Ahem*

He puts the dog down and continues to comb her hair. 

He pulls onto her hair and she has to jerk her head. 

Adam looks out the window and says 

Adam : Wow! The car just took a corner at 100m/h. 

Leanne looks at the mirror to see where he's looking at and follows his gaze at the window. 

The curler Adam is holding, burns her scalp. 

Leanne : AHH!! 

She jerks to the front and glares at Adam. 

Adam : Ooops. Why game is so fun to play with. Heheheh. 

He mocks her. 

He, then, goes to the table to get some stuff. 

Leanne checks her hair for damage. 

Leanne : Have you taken your pills yet??? 

Adam starts singing : I enjoy singing in the shower

He squirts water in her face and dances around. 

Leanne : What did you have for lunch???

He comes close to her. 

Adam : I look into the mirror. 

Leanne has enough of his nonsense. 

Leanne : I'm about to go on stage!!!!

Adam gives up trying to piss her off and sits her down for finishing touches. 

Leanne sits down. 

Adam : Enter, Sandman. 

Leanne gives him a glare, picks up her dog and leaves. 

So... I think that should give you a rough idea of how we did it. Mr. Rey said it was okay... but could be better cuz he didn't think we were backstage, we looked more like we were in a hair saloon. So, we redid it together while everyone was watching and this time, instead of him coming in, I come in as this diva and I just pass him the dog. Then... while he's talking about the car travelling at 100m/h, he drags me by my hair to see the car as well. There were a lot of changes that could have been made... but overall... I guess it was still sorta okay. : ))  

Hold ma' poodle

I fully intended to wear my leopard printed dress this morning. I really did, until SHE... came along. I swear... if there's one person in the house who can ruin my mood that early in the day, it's... my mother. For some reason, she woke up bloody early this morning and I'm thinking... "Shit. How am I gonna get past her with this dress on?". You see... the dress is short in the front but long at the back. The front might be a little short but it's perfect for me. I happen to think it's a very pretty dress but evidently, my mom didn't like it. First thing she does is... sneak open my door and peep in (I hate it when she does that. It's like she's trying to spy on me). She says "Why are you wearing so nicely? It's just college." She takes a good look at the rest of my dress and goes "Why is it so short?" in a very disapproving tone and that bitch face. I hate it when she does that. I'M FREAKIN' 19. If I don't wear short skirts now, do I wait till I'm 50??? She thinks if I wear short stuff, I'll look like a whore and I'll give out the wrong kind of message. Well, then... all the girls at my age must be whores then because they wear punier outfits compared to me. Mother, I'll wear whatever I want, short and pretty or not.

This is roughly what my dress looks like except the back is shorter to about calf level.
I know this has nothing to do with the class entry but I just felt like sharing it. 

Anyway... class time! Today's class had it's craziness and awkward moments which I'll soon get into. For warm up today, we did something different! We played tag! So, obviously, the person who gets tagged has to tag another. It was so exciting! I kept trying to avoid getting tagged by running away. The problem is... when I get excited, I squeal like a little girl and because I was running, I was breathing quite hard. I think I sounded like Darth Vader in his mask. I also think I squealed the loudest. Whooops. Hahahahah! I got tagged 3 times too! Twice, by Lih Seng (I think). After the individual tagging, we did the group tagging. As in, after a person is tagged, that person has to join hands with the tagger and tag other people. It was so scary!! The more people got tagged, the longer the line of joined hands were! I was one of the last few people who got tagged but Wilson was the last. I tagged Filza! She ran till she fell. Poor girl. Anyway... after that, I was sweating like mad and panting. Urghh... need to get fitter.


So, after the little warm up game of tag, we sat down for a chat. Mr. Rey asked if we had any plays in mind. Neither Adam nor I put up our hands and I don't know why we didn't but... we do actually have plays in mind. We chosen a few plays already... "Eye to eye" and some other play which names I've forgotten. I swear... I will remember them Mr. Rey... I will. Just... can't recall them now. HAHAHAH! Anyway.... after that, we got into our final groups and Mr. Rey got us to write random little lines like, the name of a movie or song. An exclamation sentence.... you know... random stuff. We put the little lines into a bag and yes... Mr. Rey picked them out one by one. This is what we got. 

Gurl! Hold ma' poodle. 
Will you go out with me on Saturday?
I hate your guts.
The car just took a corner at 100 m/h 
What the hell!
Why is game so fun to play with.
Have you taken your pills yet?
I enjoy singing in the bathroom. 
What did you have for lunch?
I look into the mirror. 
I'm about to go on stage.
Enter Sandman. 

Make sense together??? I think not. And yes... the moment he gave the lines to us... Adam and I were like... "He's gonna make us act them out, isn't he." And true enough... HE DID. I went "The fuck? The lines don't even make sense!" I mean... some of them did when put together but... the last few???? WHOAAAA. But we're like... 

Anyway... Adam and I went into a corner like everybody else and began to say the lines. No feeling, no tone... nada. Just pure reading. Then... I was the high status character saying the A parts and Adam was the low status saying the B parts. So, I come in as this prima donna actress who goes "Hold ma' poodle!" in the bitchiest tone ever. Adam's my male bitch who's trying to ask me out on a date but I don't give him two shits of my time. Then, we switched and he was the high status one. I'd say the weirdest part of the day that I felt was the lover part. Cuz... Adam and I had to come WAY close and whisper to each other and it was a little uncomfortable for me but I could feel the love going on. Like... we weren't just... acting... we were reacting. 


THE HEIGHT OF THE DAY was when Mr. Rey said that I was doing well in one of our testing scenes. I was supposed to be A, the one who tries to comfort B, who's upset. It was good because, I wasn't just acting... I was reacting. I was affecting him and letting my words sink into him. I wasn't just having a conversation. He was also affecting me. Whatever he said, I had to react to. So... it was a very give and take thing... and it was good. 

LIKE YAY!!! MR. REY SAID IT WAS GOOD... WHOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!! 


I was so happy I could run into a wall. 

We also had to try this thing where we go into different corners of the room and shout at each other. Everyone was shouting but I think I was the loudest cuz... my voice was slightly higher... and piercing. HAHAHAH!!! I couldn't hear Adam... but I knew his lines... so... yeah... I got them anyway. The whispering part was funny cuz... I kept trying to think of gestures to come up with for what word... and I end up looking stupid. HAHAHAH. 


So... basically, for the next performance, we're gonna have to use those random lines to make a whole new skit. Adam and I actually have some idea... just a matter of perfecting it. 

Divorce

FOREWARNING. 

This post is gonna be about 2 things. The performance on Wednesday and my rehearsal with Adam and Muhammad. On a more informal note, I cannot believe what a blabber mouth I am. I really do treat my journal like my diary. I'm such a good story teller. XDD Oh look, I'm bitching again. Kay... I'm gonna stop and get on with the post. 

REHEARSAL.

Rehearsing with Adam and Muhammad wasn't hard neither was it easy. The first day of rehearsal was Monday, the same day the assignment was given. I thought it was necessary for us to practice early because DUH... the performance is on WED! We started at about 2. I think? Bout' 2 to 4 and managed to get a rough idea of what we were gonna act as and when to come in for which setting. I will admit that it was all very messy  at first and a little awkward. Ideas thrown in left, right, center but I still think we worked everything out quite well despite having to rush. We focused on the restaurant scene first. I think the ideas we had and the dialogue that was given to us really went well together and it was fairly easy to make up a scene from it. I was supposed to be this desperate girl who wanted Adam's hand in marriage and going "Please" in a very desperate tone. Adam is supposed to be the guy who doesn't really care about getting married and so, he ignores me. Later, he says "Alright" meaning he accepted my offer to get married. I get happier but he still sort of ignores me to talk to Muhammad, the annoying waiter and I end the scene by going "Great". We thought it worked but then after a few more runs, we realized that it didn't. My character was very vague. You wouldn't have understood the skit's objective if you saw it at it's first stages. Muhammad's character needed more definition and yeah... it just wasn't right and we knew it. After the second day of practice, we changed it around and thought of my character being the wife and Adam being the husband. I will ask him to sign our divorce papers by going "please" in a very strong, silent-but-deadly tone. He doesn't want the divorce, so he goes "I can't". Then... as the play goes along, we have Muhammad, the perky waiter who just wants to get our order but I reject him. Adam rejects me too. Heck, we all reject each other. I can't possibly put down all the changes we've made to the scene because if I were to, this post is gonna go up to 2000 words and we can't have that. So, I think you get the point. 

The other scene we had to do was the "toilet" scene. Now, this scene... Muhammad, Adam and I had problems. I think the reason why it was so problematic is because we had too many things going on but I didn't get that until afterwards. Anyway... Muhammad was supposed to be the bad character, he's the one who was supposed to ask Adam if he wanted a cigarette but Adam refuses and goes "I can't". I'm the prefect who comes in and tries to catch Muhammad and Adam. Adam didn't take he cigarette, so he begs for me to let him go and I do. So, that leaves Muhammad but then he goes "What's that" and points at a cockroach and he runs for it. I end the scene by going "Okay. Great." See what I mean by too many things going on? Later, we changed it to Adam being the bad boy and Muhammad as the good boy just because Adam occupies more space. Hahahahah! That somehow didn't work either. The scene was just not working  but we didn't figure out why because of time constraints. I was very worried. The first wasn't that great either but it felt right! The second, for me, was just off. 

Other than the stuff I've just said, rehearsing with Adam and Muhammad was okay... there were TONNES of changes we made that are impossible to put down now but all in all, I still think we did a pretty good job together. 

PERFORMANCE.

On Wednesday. I came in my little purple dress. I say it's little cuz it was damn short but then again, I do like wearing tiny things so, I'm not complaining. : ) Anyway... I went up to class and watched Celine and Teck Sern practice. I commented about their stuff but I was actually quite nervous about my work too. Adam, Muhammad and I practiced, alright. We sure did. But... the second scene was making me pace up and down the experimental theater. Plus, Adam and Muhammad were supposed to be there earlier so that we could have early rehearsals. They were late. -________- It wasn't their fault though. 

Anyway... when they came, we practiced for awhile but it still felt a little weird. Like there was something wrong somewhere. Half way through our second scene, Mr. Rey steps in and I'm like... "SHIT. NOOO!". 

So, we stopped and like... sat down while he spoke about Wednesday's performance and what he expected from us... bla bla bla. You know... the sort. Then... we had to stand up and just read the script to each other. No tone... nothing. Just plain reading. Then, we had to read with tone.... followed by reading the thing with tone but with action. MAN, IT WAS VIOLENT. Because I was supposed to be mad at Adam and all. I kept pushing him and he pushed back. My god. Every time he pushed me, my arm felt like it was gonna detach itself from my shoulder. Then, when I push him back, he doesn't move much. URGH. TO HELL WITH BUFF GUYS!!!!! Muhammad and I were like taking beating from Adam. I actually said "Kay. Adam, I know you're buff but seriously, you're gonna break my arm." He laughed. I think the physical violence helped cuz it added changes to our skit. Better changes. And we figured out what was missing in our thing by having Mr. Rey help us and guide us one by one. Honestly... I felt Muhammad could have done so much better. I don't know if there's something stopping him or if there's something missing but I didn't feel as though he cared. It's like he was just there for the sake of it and not really participating and he didn't flow with Adam and I. He stood out like a sore thumb and not in a good way. I don't know... it's just my opinion and some others. My performance with Adam. OMG... SO MUCH better. I found out why our characters were weak at first. It's cause... I think... we didn't solidified our roles and the objective was blurred. Anyway... we did good and I'm proud of us. 

So... This is the beat sheet. 

I am in the restaurant and already sitting at a table. I am solemn and quiet. I read the divorce papers again. The waiter, Muhammad comes in and flops the menu on the table really loudly. I'm not in a good mood and so I glare at him. He shy's away.  I put the divorce papers down and I wait for my husband to come. When he finally does, Muhammad shows him in. He sees me. He hesitates but he comes to kiss me on the cheek anyway. I am revolted by his actions. I turn around and push him away with my arm. He is hurt by my actions. He pulls up the chair in front of me and sits down. I take my time to calm down. My facial expression doesn't change. As he opens the menu, I place the papers on the menu. 
Me : Please (My tone is stern and harsh)

Adam : (He reads it and shakes his head) I can't.

Me : Just try. (I sarcastically answer him and pass the papers back to him).

Adam : I don't know. (He passes the divorce papers back to me)

Me :  Please. (My tone is extremely angry and I dig my clutch for a pen) 

Muhd : (He barges in his perky tone and asks for the order) Can you?

Me : Don't even (I'm still rummaging for my pen so I don't look at him. 

Muhd : But 

Me : (I slam my clutch on the table and raise my voice) NO!

Muhd goes away.

Adam : (looks at me like I'm crazy) You're mad! (He calls for the waiter again)

Muhd comes over. 

Adam : Alright. 

Muhd : Ready. 

Me : You know. (I tap on the divorce papers like I'm about to say something very important.) 

Adam : (Ignores me and points at the menu) What's that? 

Muhd : (Points to where Adam is pointing at) Here?

Adam : Okay. 

Me : Great. (I lean back and fold my arms since they're not listening to me)

That ending part could have been better because we just called "curtain". The better ending would be to storm away from the restaurant since Adam doesn't want to listen to me. Otherwise, we had an objective. The roles were pretty solid... cept for Muhammad's... so I've been told and we all had our individual objectives. 

So... yeah... I'd say... it was a pretty good performance. : ))) 

Threesome!

I actually asked my friends about what they thought of my name. You know... whether it suits the person that I am or not. Whether Leanne = Me. All of them said NO. HAHAHAHAH! Not surprising. The name Leanne sounds very sweet, innocent and all round nice. According to my friends and me... I am anything BUT sweet and innocent and I have a neutral face that looks like I'm about to bitch slap someone. I doubt this description of me fits the name... Leanne. Then, I asked them what name they would give me if they thought "Leanne" wasn't fitting. There were a few names like... Carmen and Monique but the name they stuck with was Penelope. Apparently... Penelope suits me very much. Oh God... I actually hate that name a lot. Sounds so... urgh... I just don't like it. Here's my question... Am I really a Penelope?

Anyway... MOVING ON... Class went on as usual on Monday. I came early so Celine and I were gossiping about abs and who has nice abs. Then... Mr. Rey came in... and all talk of deliciously formed abs was over. Dammit. Oh well. So, Mr. Rey sits down and talks about the midterms. Honestly... my heart pounds like hell. I really wanna do well... but at the same time... I don't think I did as well as I could do. He says the Wed people (my section) were playing characters that were too close to themselves. I was like... "I know I know" and the Friday people were playing characters too far from their realm of experience, except for David and Eric who had managed to make their play work. I am so jealous right now.... JEALOUS!!! Sigh... why couldn't I just be amazing. Why. Oh well...

Then, after talking, we did our usual warm up activity but on Monday, we had to "wake the fuck up" by slapping each other around. Hahah! I paired with someone whom I forgot but I know it was a girl and we slapped each other's asses and arm and *ahem*. Hhaahahah! Just kidding. I think that really woke me up man cuz... my partner, whoever she was, slapped really hard. Then... we did this thing, where we talked in gibberish. I was paired with Val and we talked about something. I just went bla bla bla. I didn't even think of what I was blabbing about. I just let all the nonsense flow. Then, I paired up with Teck Sern. Man, it was weird. We were supposed to tell each other a dirty joke. He started talking absolute rubbish and I acted as though it was dirty and gave a sort of cheeky laughter. The kind of laughter I always give when talking about  the male and female anatomy. Anyway... it was weird because... I don't know... it was just awkward. It's not the exercise that was awkward, just a personal awkwardness between us. Or... maybe I'm just dreaming it up. Then, we had to gossip to each other about something random. I gossiped to him about 'something' in bullshit talk and he gossiped back. It's weird doing this with him cuz... he isn't the gossip type so it doesn't look like we're gossiping, just... talking. Also... gossiping is a girl thing. Doing it with a guy who's NOT Lih Seng or David is just... funny (and not in a good way).

After that, Mr. Rey assigned us to our partners for finals. I'm at the side praying to the Goddess of luck that it's gonna be with Lih Seng. Of course... it wasn't Lih Seng. Lucky bastard got Val. I'm with Adam and Muhammad. I know we're not supposed to go all "OMG WHYYYY!!!" so... okay.... I won't say anything. But... sir... I think you know what I'm screaming about in my head.  ANYWAY... after we were put into our  groups (Mine is the triplet team), Mr. Rey gave us each books of 10 minute plays to read and act from. The minute he gave us the books, I was busy reading through all the plays briefly. I found that some were a quite boring. Hmmm. Adam, Muhammad and I pointed at some of the stuff that we saw and there was this play that needed a kissing scene. Adam and I laughed at it. I don't know what he laughed at but... I laughed because of how possible that could be. More like a nervous giggle. I'm such a blonde.

After my little blonde moment and more talking about the final play, we moved on to the next 'fun' thing which was the neutral script. It's just a dialogue about something... you don't know what it is... it's just something. : )) Let me show you.

A : Please.
B : I can't.
A : Just try.
B : I don't know.
A : Please.
B : Can you.
A : Don't even.
B : But.
A : No.
B : You're mad.
A : Alright.
B : Ready.
A : You know.
B : What's that.
A : Here.
B : Okay.
A : Great.

I hope I got that right. I'm not copying that from the script. It's from memory. : )
So... see what I mean by it's not exactly talking about anything? They're just words but if you were to use different tones of voice in different situations, they mean completely different things. Mr. Rey got us to read the neutral script as just reading first. No tones of voice... nothing... just flat reading. That was hard for some of us, I think. Because we're so used to putting tones into everything we say that saying something without a tone is difficult. Never the less, it was done. Then, we tried the dialogue with tone and all but this time, either A or B had to be high status and the other, low status. So, Adam, Muhammad and I took turns. Adam and I were the high status ones and Muhammad was the low status one. I found that being high status, I have the tendency to speak louder and in a higher pitch like I'm pissed but... does being high status mean that I have to be pissed all the time? No. I could be just a really important person. So, why do I always play mad when I'm high status? It's either I'm mad or I'm really stuck up. I guess that's just me being high status. So, then... we switched places and I was the low status one... on the ground and being picked on by bastards. There was also physical contact and Adam shook the shit out me and pushed me around. I actually felt annoyed at the bullying that I almost forgot to be low status. HAHAHAH!

There was this one part where Muhammad, Adam and I had to lie down and our scene was in a bedroom. Muhammad's like... "This should be a threesome". Adam and I laugh like hell. Muhammad wanted me to be in the middle and I'm like... NO!!! It's so awkward. Really... if this was a bedroom scene between Lih Seng and I or David and I, I really would not mind but... having Adam and Muhammad to a "bed" scene with me... is soooo weird. There's just this air of awkwardness around us 3. I don't know how to explain it but oh heck... I'll get over it somehow. : )))

The new assignment was to do it with Adam and Muhammad. We have to use the neutral script and come out with a whole skit from the scene that he gives us. Mr. Rey gave us three, a fancy restaurant scene and a public toilet.

Fancy restaurant??? Bitch please... I already see the whole scene in my head. PUBLIC TOILET????? HAHAHAHAHAHHAHA. Shit... this is good. XDDDD I don't know how to handle that one. XDDD

THE BIG DAY!!!! *EPIC MUSIC*

So, Wednesday was THE day. The day for midterms and I was feeling good. My character is supposed to be IN a pub so, I put on my super short floral printed dress (It was actually a very long singlet. Haha.) It was bloody short and I wore a cardigan over my dress. I got praises from my grandmom who said it was a very nice combo. I had to literally run out of the house before my mom could come down to see me because she despises it when I wear short skirts that make me look slutty. To be honest, actually felt very sexy in the little thing I was wearing. : )) Just saying. 


Anyway... when I finally got to college, I went straight up and practiced in the experimental theater. I went through my lines, over and over again with Lih Seng and we thought to ourselves, we are as ready as we could be. Practicing in the morning with everyone having their nerves shot... was pretty good actually. There was this constant air of nervs and anxiety. I think most of it came from me. Hahahah. So, okay... I'll admit, I was nervous but who isn't right??? The day I don't feel my nervs is the day I die. Lih Seng and I practiced our voice projection and our lines together and just hoped for the best. 


This is the part where I bring the beats in! 

BEATS

There are two stages. From the audience’s point of view, the left stage will be occupied by Lih Seng (John) and the right stage will be occupied by Leanne (Jane).

John and Jane are newly-weds and they have a baby named Joey. John is at home taking care of Joey  while Jane is out having her ‘ladies night’. John has JUST managed put Joey to sleep and is exhausted after having to tend to the baby 24 hour 7. Jane, on the other hand, is having the time of her life with her girlfriends. Jane calls John to ask about Joey. She doesn't really care about how John is feeling or how tired he is. She expects everything to be well at home because she really wants to stay out and party with her friends. John, however, doesn't seem to be able to handle things with Joey. After Joey cries, he immediately begs for his wife to come home. She doesn't want to but in the end, she does. 

The scene starts for John and Jane walking into the space at the same time. John comes into the bedroom and flops onto a chair out of sheer exhaustion. Jane comes into the toilet and does her make up. Jane takes her cellphone from her bag and calls John to see how Joey is doing.

Scene starts.

John  : *Says to himself* Bundle of joy my ass.

He flops on to the chair.

Jane calls after putting on her lipstick.

John : Hello? *He sounds tired*

Jane : Hi hun! So, how are you? *She sounds happy*

John : I am so tired. I swear to God, this baby is -

She checks her nails and doesn’t really listen.

Jane : That’s great! So, how’s Joey?

John gives his phone a dirty look.

John : Joey is fine. I’ve just put him to sleep.

Jane already has her mascara out and she’s busy with her eye lashes.  While holding her mascara brush in one hand, she says –

Jane : That’s great sweetie! See… I knew you could handle it.

John : Yeah. So… ladies night, huh?  

He still has his back slouched against the chair.

Jane : Yeah. Remember Lisa?

John : Yeah?

Jane : She got a boob job.

John sits up and becomes interested.

John : Oh?

Jane : It’s uneven.

John is disappointed with the news and flops back to the chair.

John : Oh…

Jane : Yeah. *Pause* And then, Carrie came in with this beautiful red dress and it reminded me so much of the present you gave me on Valentine's Day.

She tries her best to seduce him 

John : Huh? Oh... Riiiiight.

He sounds interested.

Jane : Yeah... So, I was thinking... maybe I could go back and slip it on. I'm sure you'd like that wo-

While she says this, she traces her fingers on the sink and John hears the Joey cry. 

John : Honey! I got to go.

He hangs up on Jane abruptly.

Jane : J-John? JOHN!

She realizes he has just hung up on her.

Jane is furious. She hates it when John hangs up on her while she's trying to be seductive.

Jane : Bloody hell!! Why does he always to that to me??

She calls back and waits impatiently for him to pick up the phone.

He takes a long time to pick up. She taps her fingers on the sink.

He finally comes into the room again but with baby puke all over him and he’s frantic.

John : HONEY!

Jane : What did I tell you about hanging up on me?????

John : Joey just puked on me!!!!

Jane takes a while to absorb the statement.

Jane : What???

John : *SIGH* Just get your ass home NOW! Joey is crying and he won’t stop! 

Jane : OH No… This is the first time I’ve been out in 9 months John! And you can’t even give me this?? I thought you said you could handle Joey!

John can smell the puke on his shirt and is dying to get out of it.

John : NO… YOU said that.

Jane : OOOHHHH… Sure… Blame everything on me now! This is the thanks I get for giving you a son!

John : Just come home!!! PLEAAASEE!!!

John tries to end the fight in vain.

Jane : URGH… FINE… I’ll be back in 30 minutes!

John : GOOD!

John and Jane exclaim at the same time : BYE!

John leaves the room while taking off his shirt. Jane leaves the toilet by packing up her makeup and mumbling
Jane : 9 months… 9 months!!

John leaves to change his shirt and tend to Joey. Jane leaves for home. 

OBJECT EXERCISE

Who am I :  I am Jane. I don’t like it when people hang up on me abruptly. I am an independent woman who can pay for her own bills. I’m not a very reasonable wife and my husband and I frequently fight. I have my own fair share of friends and would prefer not to give my whole life up just because I am now a mother. I am 26 years old and I am a fashionista . I work in a fashion magazine. I am the kind of person who believes that I have my whole life ahead of me and nothing should slow me down.

Where am I : I am out with my girlfriends in a pub. It’s my favorite hangout place to go with my friends. We have a great time just drinking and chatting. I go to the toilet to check my makeup and later on, to call my husband. The toilet is fairly clean with good lighting. It’s also away from all the noise outside, so, it’s a good place for a phone call.

What time is it : It is about 10 pm and I plan to be back by 12 midnight. Thanks to my husband, I have to be back by 10.30pm to tend to my baby. Time, for me, flies fast because I’m having fun. Hence why, I don’t look forward to going back home. Also, after 9 months of pregnancy and staying at home, this is the time I go out and have some real fun but my husband puts a stop to that.

What surrounds me : I am in the toilet so in front of me is a mirror and a sink where I can put my purse on. I am surrounded by no one else but the little toilet cubicles around me. I pay very little attention to anything else other than that of the sink, mirror, bag, makeup and my cellphone. At the start, I am surrounded by my good feelings and confidence but then later, I am surrounded by frustration and anxiety, courtesy of my husband’s inability to take good care of my baby boy.

What are my relationships : The relationship I share with my husband is a fairly good one. We do support each other and we do understand each other but it doesn’t mean we don’t butt heads at times. Like all newly-weds, children are a huge issue and my relationship with John may become a little strained. The relationship I share with my baby boy is based on motherly love. I may want to stay out all night and dump the responsibility of taking care of my baby to John but I still love Joey. Hence why, I called to ask about Joey and why I left the pub despite how unwilling I was to do so. I also have a relationship with my phone especially when I’m mad. I seem to scold my phone and violently tap the sink.

What are the given circumstances : I have been pregnant for 9 months and after giving birth, all I want to do is to go out and have some fun with my friends. The circumstances are that I have domestic responsibilities to my husband and my baby that I cannot simply ignore. So, even if I want to stay and have fun, I have to ensure that my child’s needs are met.

What do I want : I obviously want to have fun and hang out with my girlfriends and stay out late. I also want to be able to care for my child but that want is currently downplayed by my need to spend time outside of the house.

What is in my way : My husband who is incapable of taking care of my baby while I’m gone.

What do I do to get what I want : My first want, which is to have fun is not met at all. I actually abandon it for Joey. My secondary want, which is to tend to Joey, is met but with a twist because I fight with my husband, John. 

 ROOM LAYOUT

The stage on the left is for Lih Seng (John) and the stage on the right is for Leanne (Jane). The chair is where John will sit on and the block is where his cellphone will be. The table will pose as the sink and Jane will be standing right behind it and she will be using the fourth wall as a mirror. Jane’s makeup and cellphone will be on the sink (table). 

So, that's how everything is supposed to look like. During the performance, I thought everything turned out quite well... except for the front part when, my phone's media volume was set to "low" and the ringtone couldn't be heard. I had to like... stop to increase the volume. That was quite a bubu but I thought I handled it really well. Mr. Rey's right. Props are enemies. You can depend on them to fuck up one way or another. After the performance and everyone else's performance, we sat down with Mr. Rey for criticism. 

Mr Rey said that my performance with Lih Seng lacked a variance in character because we weren't playing different characters, we were playing ourselves. Lih Seng was still him and I was still me. I had to agree with that because even during rehearsals, I felt that we were playing ourselves. Then... the first few words "Bundle of joy my ass" could not be heard at all cuz Lih Seng was a little too tired. Mr. Rey did say that there was a good energy going on between us. The ending, he said, could have been better. The biggest issue, for me, was that we weren't playing different characters. My honest opinion, I was a little disappointed. I mean... I know... yea yea... sure... learning progress and all but still. I felt a little let down by myself. I mean... some of the things Mr. Rey pointed out, I already saw it coming but I didn't change it. I guess I just shrugged it off. So... I screwed up. I don't think we screwed up midterms that badly but I let myself down because I promised myself that I'd do well... and I didn't do as well as I thought we could. So... I'm not gonna guess grades because I can't and also because I'm scared to know but... I still feel disappointed at me. I seriously hope to God that I did not fuck up my own midterms. 

No no no! I, 16!

So, I went shopping yesterday and I bought nothing. -__________- I hate it when I want to buy something but there's nothing for me to buy. It's worse when there's something I REALLY wanna buy but I have no money to purchase. Then, yesterday, my mom totally whooped my ass verbally for spending too much. I didn't even know I spent that amount. How much, you ask? Well, I can't tell you cuz... I honestly don't know. As of now, I'm broke because I promised myself that I wouldn't take anymore money from the bank till next month. ARGH. Anyway... putting aside my frustrations, let's talk about Monday. 

Before I start, let me just say that the things we did that I'm putting down may not exactly be in order and I may have missed out some stuff but I remember these the most. 

Warm ups was fun this time. We walked around the space and hummed! Yes, we hummed like little birdies. Okay... maybe a lot lesser than little birdies. In fact, I think we sounded a lot like droning zombies. And why shouldn't we? It's 8am on a Monday morning! Anyway... I was just humming in a rather dead tone at first, but then, things started to get interesting. The group began to sound more and more like a choir! David, Celine, Lycel and I were the musical ones, I think, because we were the ones who dared to hit the high notes. I wasn't trying to show off or whatever, it's just... you know. Everyone else is singing the same key or just slightly different and Mr. Rey wanted it to be more musical so that's why I went up. Besides, I don't see why not, I mean... as long as I can continuously hit it, right? So, I sang "aaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh" in my higher note and none of us stopped. Soon, it started to sound better and better, I really liked the harmonization that went on. Then, we stopped to pair up with someone. I paired up with David. It's a little weird pairing up with him because his blue contacts and smiley face always throws me off. >__< Anyway... I ignored the thought and just went for it.

We had to sing "I LOVE YOU" to each other. I giggled because David laughed! He has this facial expression that I find really funny. Plus, the blue contacts add to the humor. Anyway... while singing the words " I love you" to him, I kept wanting to laugh at his expression so I looked away. Then, Mr. Rey said to look at each other and sing it like we meant it. I was like "WHAAAT?? HAHAHA!". So, I did. I looked at him and just sang. Boy, it was hard trying to hold it my giggles. I sang in my high tone too so, it's difficult to resist laughing. AARGH!! Thank God, after a while more, we stopped. Then, we had to sing "I HATE YOU" to each other. I was like... "GOOD... at least this time, David's not gonna have the same expression." And he didn't. Singing "I HATE YOU" to him was so much easier. At least I didn't think of laughing every few seconds of staring at him.

After that, was the contrapuntal conversation! WHEEEEE!!! Doing this was quite fun, actually. We just randomly picked a topic to talk about and went on and on about it non stop to our partners. I got with Adam and Celine and we talked the fuck out of each other. I don't know why some people find this so hard, it's actually really easy. I just talk like I normally do, except I don't stop. Hahahahahah! I was talking about naming my future kids Julian if he were a boy and Eleanor if she were a girl. Adam was talking about... something and Celine was talking about photography. I THINK. Hahahahah! It was so hard to think of what to say while listening to what they were talking about. Also, I was talking really loudly so I couldn't actually hear them. HAHAHAH!

After that, we switched partners and I ended up with Lycel and errrrr.... I think it was Filza. If I'm not mistaken. My God... if it's not her then... I have no idea who. I know it was a girl because I remember we were all girls. Anyway... Lycel was talking about modelling, I was talking about naming my future kids again and Filza (Yeah, I really think it was her) was talking about something completely different. It's the same contrapuntal thing again but this time with gestures. Someone has to be the one who makes the gestures and the rest have to follow but talk about their own topics. So, we decided to follow Lycel since she had the most movements. She did hairflips and sexy moves, she even strutted about with her arms all "t-rexing" and we followed her. Hahahahah. I didn't go out of topic though. I was still talking about my future kids and when Lycel flipped her hair and did sexy movements, I went "Yeah, I don't want my kids to act like that." Hahahahahah! Fliza found it hard to continue talking because Lycel and I were really loud and I think she was at a lost for words? I don't know... but I find it weird cuz... Filza seems to be good at everything and for her not to be good at this? Strange. I found it hard to remain in the same topic while doing all those movements because they were such different things. I had to think really fast and imitate Lycel at the simultaneously. Sometimes when my words came slower, I ended up making sounds like "YEAH!" just to make sure I have a continuous flow of noise coming out of my mouth. So, it really has a lot to do with multitasking. Plus, Lycel moved so much, she made it hard for me to focus on what I was gonna say next but I handled it well non-the-less. : )))

Next was "give and take". 2 people (or more) in a group have to find a word from a teammate and use that word to talk about your own topic. This was quite simple too. The only time it's not is when the person doesn't have a single word you need. HAHAHAHAH! Anyway... I threesomed with Sam and Lih Seng and it was quite fun actually. I talked about Christina Aguilera being the most sexiest singer alive, Lih Seng was talking about another singer and Sam talked about basketball. It wasn't tough, I just had to find words from the both of them and transform the words into what I'd want to say. I think the three of us did well. Occasionally, we would have these silent times but overall, I think we did great.

The other "give and take" thing was between Lycel and I. I was this whore from China who was trying to get Lycel to have sex with me. I even told her that I was available for guy/girl or girl/girl in this really CHINAPEK accent and really horrid English. She was this rigid woman from India that was not only trying to reject my offer but also trying to scold me for being a slut. I, having really bad English picked on things that she said but twisted them because I didn't understand that she was rejecting my offer. Like how she said "How old are you now, huh? 18???" I replied "No no no. I, 16." And she says "16??" I went "Yeah! Still schoolgirl!". I even said it in a very excited tone because I thought Lycel was the kind who liked school girl sex. Everyone laughed at that part. I think I heard Celine laugh.

ANYWAY... I learned a lot. Especially things to do with listening and speaking and using gestures all at the same time. I learned that you can't just blab all day long without listening because listening IS speaking.

First midterm rehearsal

SO! 
Because midterm is a BIG ass thing, I'm gonna dedicate an entire post for my first rehearsal with Lih Seng. As you know, I normally just put my rehearsal and class performance into one post because I am a lazy bum. However, today... I shall not be a lazy bum! So, read and re-read. Hahahahah. 


We rehearsed together on Friday. We met up and talked for a bit before we got to work. By the time we managed to find an empty lecture theater, it was about 9. We got into action and began thinking about what we were supposed to do. We had already come up with the idea of being parents and having kids and all but the script still wasn't down and confirmed yet. So, we made it happen. We orally made up a script first with the stuff that we thought would go well. We were really just having fun at first. Jogging ideas and sentences back and forth. Some of the things we said to each other was so funny, I think we ended up laughing more than we talked. After a few more ideas and stuff, we began to see this beautifully outlined script that felt good to act with. It also gelled nicely together and we felt comfortable with it. We made sure that all the needs were met. The character change, the fourth wall usage, the callback, the focus and etc. We even put in a little Cantonese into the script. 


I'll be completely honest here, working with Lih Seng was a breeze. I think it's because we think the same way and in the same wavelengths so it's easier for us to work with each other. Plus, our choice of humor is also similar. THANK YOU MR. REY FOR PUTTING ME WITH LIH SENG EVEN IF IT WAS COMPLETELY RANDOM.


I doubt I'd have that much fun working with anybody else in the class. Oh wait... there is one more person. CELINE!!!!! I'd like being put with her too. Anybody else... I'm not so sure. I'd really like to do a play with Celine and Lih Seng. We'd be the craziest people around. 


So, anyway... back to the story. By the end of the rehearsal, the script was finalized and we even had some time to practice the whole thing together twice!!! How's that for being productive. We practically did everything in a day in 1 hour and 20 minutes! We kept saying "We got this shit!". HAHAHA. 
 Now, the only thing left, is more practice and further perfection. : ))) 


I REALLY HOPE YOU LIKE IT, MR. REY. 


So, here's the script. The object exercise and beats will come later when I write about the performance itself. 

Scene starts.

John  : *Says to himself* Bundle of joy my ass.

He flops on to the chair.

Jane calls after putting on her lipstick.

John : Hello? *He sounds tired*

Jane : Hi hun! So, how are you? *She sounds happy*

John : I am so tired. I swear to God, this baby is -

She checks her nails and doesn’t really listen.

Jane : That’s great! So, how’s Joey?

John gives his phone a dirty look

John : Joey is fine. I’ve just put him to sleep.

Jane already has her mascara out and she’s busy with her eye lashes.  While holding her mascara brush in one hand, she says –

Jane : That’s great sweetie! See… I knew you could handle it.

John : Yeah. So… ladies night, huh?

He still has his back slouched against the chair.

Jane : Yeah. Remember Lisa?

John : Yeah?

Jane : She got a boob job.

John sits up and becomes interested.

John : Oh?

Jane : It’s uneven.

John is disappointed with the news and flops back to the chair.


John : Oh…

Jane : Yeah. *Pause* And then, Carrie is apparently getting married next month but her fiancé says that-

While Jane is busy babbling about nonsense that John couldn’t care less about, he hears Joey’s cries and immediately jumps into action.

John : Honey! I got to go.

He hangs up on Jane abruptly.

Jane : J-John? JOHN!

She realizes he has just hung up on her.

Jane is furious. She hates it when John hangs up on her.

Jane : Bloody hell!! Why does he always to that to me??

She calls back and waits impatiently for him to pick up the phone.

He takes a long time to pick up. She taps her fingers on the sink.

He finally comes into the room again but with baby puke all over him and he’s frantic.

John : HONEY!

Jane : What did I tell you about hanging up on me?????

John : Joey just puked on me!!! I think he ate something wrong.

Jane takes a while to absorb the statement.

Jane : What???

John : *SIGH* Just get your ass home NOW! Joey is crying and he won’t stop! 

Jane : OH No… This is the first time I’ve been out in 9 months John! And you can’t even give me this?? I thought you said you could handle Joey!

John can smell the puke on his shirt and is dying to get out of it.

John : NO… YOU said that.

Jane : OOOHHHH… Sure… Blame everything on me now! *I say this in Cantonese*

John : Just come home!!! PLEAAASEE!!!

John tries to end the fight in vain.

Jane : URGH… FINE… I’ll be back in 30 minutes!

John : GOOD!

John and Jane exclaim at the same time : BYE!

John leaves the room while taking off his shirt. Jane leaves the toilet by packing up her makeup and mumbling 

Jane : 9 months… 9 months!!

John leaves to change his shirt and tend to Joey. Jane leaves for home. 

Finally

FINALLY!!!! 

I am surprised I didn't get into an accident on that Wed morning. I am truly surprised. I was sooo tired, I could barely even get up that morning. Why was I so tired? I'll get into that later in the post. Just know that I was soo damn tired that I almost nodded off as I drove. Luckily, there had been no road rage or whatever. I mean... there was road rage but it happened to other people and not me. I watched it happen to them. When I got to college, safe and sound, I thought to myself... "Damn... there must be some kind of universal protection thing going on here cuz there was so many times where I could have gotten into an accident." Seriously! No joke. Thank God nobody decided to cut into my lane or whatever cuz... I don't think my reaction would have been fast enough to step on the brakes. I was SOOO tired, I could barely keep my eyes open.

So... It's not surprise that the moment I got to class, I flopped on the bench and just died there. Later when Lih Seng came, Celine, him and I practiced together. We went to the back of the screen and just did our lines together and at the same time. I thought it was very good because, it woke me up and it helped me warm up without the weird feeling of doing it alone. So, then... Mr. Rey came in and briefed us about the whole thing. The rules and all... as usual... just to remind us. Then, he gave us 'bout 10 minutes to just... practice. And thus, we did. Celine, Lih Seng and I just retreated to our little corner and rehearsed again. This time, we did it very loudly cuz Mr. Rey said he wanted to hear SOUND. So, sound we gave him. Hahahahaha.


So, before I get to anything else, I'd like to talk about my rehearsal, how I came up with the idea to my act and what not. So... bear with me. : )

REHEARSAL


Well... honestly... I had a really fucked up situation. See... I had this WHOLE other script planned out. I wrote it all by hand, I even drew out the floor plan and all. It was all set and I thought it was pretty good. I had 3 conversations going on. One with my lecturer, my mom and my boyfriend. I rehearsed it for the whole day to make sure it was perfect or... you know... near perfect. After college... at bout 9 at night, I started practicing again. Then, my mom came in. She interrogated me about my college life and all. It was a very uncomfortable conversation but there you go... Asian parents. She told me to read to her my entire phone conversation. After everything, she said she didn't like it. She said it was shallow and immature and very stupid. At first... her comments were really hurtful because I mean... I spent the whole day practicing. She even told me to change it but I went "No way. It's too late. I'd have to think of a whole new script and rehearse. Rehearsing doesn't take just 30 minutes.". She left me to my own devices in the end but did not fail to express one more time before she left that she REALLY didn't like my script. So... defeated and unhappy. I re-read my script. I began to see her point and I thought that she was probably right. So... I did the unthinkable. I CHANGED EVERYTHING.


*Insert epic drama music*


So, I binned the first phone conversation and began hatching the second. My first conversation would be with a guy who stole my ideas for an advertising project. The second call would take place between my fiend, Grace and I. I tried to slot in a third conversation but I was too tired to think of another one. That time... was like... what... 1 in the morning? So... I stopped at the second phone conversation and honestly, it looked more promising than the first. I'm glad I changed it because it made all the difference. So, I was fucking tired and really wanted to sleep but I still had to rehearse. So... I did. I rehearsed the lines over and over again till it was engraved in my head. There were problems during the rehearsal... like forgotten lines and wrong use of words but overall, I handled it well. I mean... there were times when I stopped to Facebook because I was falling asleep but hey... I did it. By the time I was done... it was about 3 am or more... I can't recall, which explains why I was so tired the next morning.


Here's the conversation. It might be a little different that what I actually said during the performance.

I walk into my room and I slam my bag down against a chair.

I pick up my cellphone from my bag and my pen from the table and I start clicking the pen vigorously.

I wait as he answers.

I am about to accuse him for stealing my ideas.

Damon : Hello?

Me : Damon, I need to speak with you.

Damon : Yeah… what’s up?

Me : You stole my ideas for the advertising project!

Damon : What???

Me : You KNOW you stole it!

Damon : I didn’t steal anything!!

Me : I told you about what my group and I was planning to do in the final advertising project and the next thing I know, your group has the exact same ideas!!! That cannot JUST be a coincidence.

Damon : You’re going senile

Me : I am not going senile!!! You know what, now thanks to you, my group and I have to start from scratch. It’s not easy Damon! And how could you just take my idea like that? HAVE YOU NO SOUL?

Damon : …..

Me : Oh… going all silent now, eh? Well FINE! I’m done with you anyway, you thieving son of a bitch!!!

I slam the phone on the table and collapse on the chair.

After a few seconds to myself,

I get another phone call but it’s from Grace.

I do not have any problems with her… but as an aftermath of the fight I had with Damon, my mood is surly.

Still… I am polite and I don’t scream at her.

Me :  Hi Grace.

Grace : Hey, errr… did I catch you at a bad time.

Me : No, I was just on the phone with that douchebag, Damon.

Grace : Oh right… heard you were really pissed.

Me : Yeah… How can I not be? He stole my ideas.  

Grace : Well, you wanna come down and have coffee with me so we can talk about it?

Me : Coffee? Now?

Grace : Well, why not? It’ll help you feel better. Plus, we could talk.  

Me : Yeah, I guess you’re right. I do need to chill out anyway.

Grace : Great!

Me : Yeah, I’ll see you in Starbucks in 10 minutes time.  

Grace : No problem. See you there… bye!

Me : Kay… bye.

So... there you go... that's the conversation.


The story is like this. Damon is a guy who steals my ideas for a very important advertising project and I call him to give him a piece of my mind. Half way through the scolding, he loses the fight and keeps quiet. That's when I give up talking to him and hang up. I collapse on the chair to recollect myself and then Grace calls me. Her voice really soothes me and I almost immediately feel better. She asks me out for coffee and I agree to it. 

When I passed my beat sheet to Mr. Rey, it was without the Object Exercise. Why? Because I was so tired, I couldn't bring myself to do it. I literally said "Oh God, I can't do this. I need sleep." and just... gave up. So, I'm sorry Mr. Rey... but... yeah. Anyway... I'm here to make it up to you! 

Here is my Object Exercise. 

Who am I : I am Leanne. I hate people who cheat and steal ideas, especially MY ideas. I am very easily angered and I have very little tolerance for people who do not speak up. However, I am very close to my best friends and I open up to them much more compared to other people. My friends also provide me with comfort and a shoulder to lean on and they're always there for me. 

Where am I : I am in my room. There is a table with a pen on top. The room is neat and organized. There is nothing on the floor which means, a lot more walking room where I can pace up and down. 

What time is it : It is 3 o'clock after college. I am tired but I'm also frustrated. This is the time I usually sleep but I'm using it to talk to Damon. By the time I get off the phone, it's probably 3.30pm which is when Grace asks me to go out for coffee and chit chat. 

What surrounds me : My room and all of it's contents. I also surround myself with a lot of frustration at first because Damon stole my ideas but then when Grace calls, all that frustration transforms itself into calmness. 

What are my relationships : My relationship with Damon is a hostile one. I despise him for stealing my idea. Consequently, I get mad and yell at him to make sure he gets the message that it is NOT okay to just take somebody else's ideas and call it his own. The relationship between Grace and I is a cordial one. She and I are best friends and she is the only one who can calm me down when I'm angry or upset. Hearing her voice makes me feel better because she's such a joy to be with. My phone and pen are also relationships because, when I'm mad, I treat them badly like I throw my phone onto the table and I click on my pen violently. 

What are the given circumstances : Damon has just stole my ideas for a VERY important advertising project and I am not about to let him get away with it without at least listening to what I have to say. 

What do I want : Obviously... I want to give Damon a piece of my mind but... really... all I want is to feel better again. To douse my flame by letting it all out on Damon but since he doesn't respond the way I want him to, I hang up and wallow in frustration. 

What is in my way : I want to vent my anger and feel better but Damon doesn't apologize or respond in the way I want him to so, I put the phone down. 


What do I do to get what I want : I go out for coffee with Grace. She is the one person where I can vent my anger to and feel better afterwards. So, my wants are met. 


YEAH! 
So, back to class... 
While waiting for my turn, I learned from people's mistakes. Most of the mistakes were to do with not having an apparent enough switch in personality. It's like their personalities didn't change at all. When talking to a lover, the tone of voice was the same as talking to mother. In that sense, I didn't have to worry because my switch is VERY apparent. XDDD The other thing was the non-usage of the 4th wall which I also didn't have to worry because I used it. There were other stuff as well but I can't remember them now. 


When it was finally my turn, I actually started shaking. Because the night before, I practiced while I was half asleep, I didn't know if it was going to be good enough but I said to myself "fuck this shit... I'm gonna do it anyway." And I did. The entrance was sorta okay... then... came this very embarrassing part where I had to redo the whole thing because I had mumbled something inaudible. It was the part where I said "No, I just got off the phone with Damon." Stupid me. I had to redo the whole goddamn thing but somehow... I didn't quite mind because... from the looks of everything, I thought it was going quite well. So, I did it the second time with minor slips of the tongue because I was thrown off balance a bit. Then... the part where I mumbled before, I made sure I enunciated everything properly and slowly. After the ending was done, I sat down and readied myself for the verdict. 


Honestly, I thought I did quite well, I mean... considering the fact that the rehearsal was a last minute thing because I decided the first idea wasn't good enough. I thought I did very well. Mr. Rey thought it was quite good too. 


Excuse me but I have to do this. 

HE SAID IT WAS QUITE GOOD!!!! OMG!!!! FINALLY!!!! SOMEBODY PINCH ME!!! I MUST BE DREAMING OR SOMEFUCK!!!! THIS IS AMAAZZZIIIIIIIIIIINNNGGG!!!!!!! 

Kay... I said it. 


So... obviously, it wasn't perfect. Next time, I shall remember to ground myself somewhere and enforce my points by hitting against the table or something cuz... when I walk around like that, I'm not grounded and I make it hard for people to focus on me which is a bad thing. The other thing is that I should have not come in  AND then call. I should have just came in, in the middle of the call or starting to call. That would have been a stronger entrance. I shall keep that in mind. The other thing is, to enunciate. I shall never make that mistake again. However, he did say that he liked that there was a clear switch. He liked that I took my time to get the second call and not do it immediately. He also said that it was good that I used the fourth wall. Mr Rey also said that I had most of the basics down so... it was quite good. 


IM SO GODDAMN HAPPY!!!! 


So, I know that this is not the best thing that could ever happen but... I do know that I'm proud that I was able to at least do it right this time and not get another flunk. 


So, yes, I am very very happy and I can only hope to do better in the midterms.