I think I’m going to like this movie Moonriser Kingdom. I can be a sucker for quirky and whimsical love stories.

It’s week 2 into Elves and the Shoemaker’s run at the Drama Centre. It’s been a real fun show to work on. Most of the cast are from my batch of Young and Wilders, or the 2nd batch. The 3 or 4 that aren’t from Young and Wild, I’ve had the pleasure of working with in previous shows. Essentially, we all know and enjoy the company of each other, so the rehearsal space is always filled with laughter.

And the kids and parents coming to the show have been giving us great feedback. Brian’s script is something special; Julian’s music has real catchy and singalong hooks; and Wenfu’s arrangements are filled with awesomeness. Here are some pics

Check out Tara Tan’s blog. There’s a lovely mix of everything I enjoy about Tara’s unique taste and what’s happening in the arts scene here in Singapore. I got to know her while she was an arts reporter…and we met when she interviewed me for The Straits Times 30 Under 30 actors to look out for that I shameless put in all of my resumes. This may very well be the last year I get to use that line to open my bios with credibility.

Part of the Singapore Arts Festival 2011, Conference of the Birds opened last night and closed tonight. There’s a pleasant “human” resonance in knowing that we’ve given ourselves to a part of humanity while at the same time partaking in it. This is what I’m taking away as William Teo’s theatre.

Some of the words repeatedly heard over the last few days have been “zen” “seeing ourselves” “the Simorgh” “looking” “searching” “a theatre with humanity” “sacred”

I can’t remember when exactly or how exactly but the sacredness of theatre was intuitively part of my understanding of the craft – a craft I discovered in America, in a Catholic prep school from a theatre maker old and frail (a bit like Jack’s drama coach, from Will and Grace) that freaked the hell out of me but still somehow managed to let me discover the joys of simply being a different character. Conference of the Birds reminded me of the importance of these rituals. Rarely these days do we get to partake in the rituals of theatre, traditions that help us embrace why we work so hard for art. Theatre these days can be quite industrial. It is usually an expensive craft and for sure the audience and critics rarely provide that affirmation. And making it past the bottom line isn’t the most fulfilling for the actor – unless you’re an actor producer of course.

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The Straits Times, Life! May 12, 2011

Bird story to be restaged
It will be lavish, just like the 1991 production by late director William Teo
By Adeline Chia, arts correspondent

A landmark piece of Singapore theatre is being restaged by one of its original cast members as part of this year’s Singapore Arts Festival.

The Conference Of The Birds, staged in 1991 by the late theatre pioneer William Teo, will be reprised by director Jeremiah Choy next month.

The Sufi story of birds searching for truth and wisdom originally took place in a disused Merbau Road warehouse, and was groundbreaking for its multicultural and multi-disciplinary approach.

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Excerpt from Farid ud-din Attar’s Conference of the Birds, translated by Afham Darbandi and Dick Davis, London: Penguin, 1984

A bird complains of his sinfulness

Another bird complained: ‘Sin stains my soul; How can the wicked ever reach our goal? How can a soul unclean as noisome flies Toward the Simorgh’s mountains hope to rise? When sinners leave the path, what power can bring Such stragglers to the presence of our king?
And the hoopoe answers him
The answer came: ‘You speak from ignorance; Do not despair of His benevolence. Seek mercy from Him; throw away your shield, And by submission gain the longed-for field. The gate stands open to contrition’s way –
If you have sinned, squeeze through it while you may, And if you travel with an honest heart, You too will play the victor’s glorious part.
Shame forced a vicious sinner to repent. Once more his strength returned, once more he went Down his old paths of wickedness and lust; Leaving the Way, he wallowed in his dust. But pain welled in his heart, his life became — A second time — the source of bitter shame. Since sin had brought him nothing but despair, He wanted to repent, but did not dare; His looks betrayed more agitation than Ripe corn grains jumping in a heated pan — His heart was racked by grief and warring fears; The highway’s dust was laid by his sad tears. But in the dawn he heard a voice: ‘The Lord Was merciful when first you pledged your word.
You broke it and again I gave you time, Asking no payment for this newer crime; Poor fool — would you repent once more? My gate Stands open always; patiently I wait.’
Gabriel and the unbeliever
One night in paradise good Gabriel heard The Lord say: ‘I am here’, and at His word There came another voice which wept and prayed — ‘Who knows whose voice this is?’ the angel said. ‘It comes from one, of this at least I’m sure, Who has subdued the Self, whose heart is pure.’ But no one in the heavens knew the man, And Gabriel swooped toward the earth to scan The deserts, seas and mountains — far and wide He searched, without success, until he cried For God to lead his steps. ‘Seek him in Rome,’ God said. ‘A pagan temple is his home.’ There Gabriel went and saw the man in tears — A worthless idol ruled his hopes and fears. Astonished, Gabriel turned and said: ‘Tell me, Dear Lord, the meaning of this mystery; You answer with Your kindness one who prays Before a senseless idol all his days!’ And God replied: ‘He does not know our Way; Mere ignorance has led this man astray — I understand the cause of his disgrace And will not coldly turn aside My face; I shall admit him to My sanctuary Where kindness will convert his blasphemy’.”
The hoopoe paused and raised his voice in prayer, Then said: “This man for whom God showed such care Was one like you — and if you cannot bring Great virtues to the presence of our king, Do not alarm yourself; the Lord will bless The saint’s devotion and your nothingness.

One week into rehearsal Conference of the Birds rehearsal! It’s been about 3 rehearsals and I feel like we’ve covered a lot, but there’s still a long way to go.

We met our birds (puppets) on the first day of rehearsal. A motley crew. Jeremiah, the director, laid them all out and we were to go to the birds that “called to us”. Sounds like a lot of hoopaloopa and actor mumbo jumbo but it’s strange that there are some birds that felt more right than others. Okay…to use an easy analogy…imagine Harry Potter choosing his wand. Yes…the right bird would feel right. My bird was the Guilty Bird. It wasn’t an immediate affinity but I’m growing to understand it better. It’s a funny little bird too. I’ll show a pic soon.

Conference of the Birds is originally a Sufi poem. For lack of a better word, it’s an epic and the stage version we’re doing was adapted by Peter Brook. According to William Teo: His Work in Theatre:

“The Conference of the Birds was a turning point for William. William was drawn to works that offered hope. Conference of the birds was his search for a hope, his anchor. (I paraphrase).

In rebuilding Conference of the Birds, we’re spending a large part of it on the process. We’re only performing for 2 shows but rehearsing over 2 months. It’s a very rare treat for an actor these days to be so process oriented and I’m really thankful for the opportunity. It must be more than serendipity that I’m encountering William Teo’s legacy in this stage of my acting career/journey where I am taking stock and re-evaluating the paths ahead.

Theatre stirs our feelings, reminds us we are human, and gives us courage.

Theatre tells us we are not alone.

I do theatre to offer a prayer, and to tell stories that otherwise never be told.

Hey! Tomorrow’s gonna be a big day. ST Life! Theatre Awards – Charged is up for a number of nominations and Metamorphoses too. But I’m looking forward to getting sweaty with Conference of the Birds.

This is a staging, “realised by director Jermiah Choy” who has worked closely with William Teo, which this staging is a tribute to an “earlier landmark production” by William Teo. “This performance not only recalls the work of a much loved director (departed in 2001); it is also significant in that many actors and designers working in theatre today made a start in their careers in that production.”

I’m quite excited.

Some background information I found about William Teo, from an event held at The Substation

William Teo (1957-2001) was one of the pioneers of Singapore’s English-language theatre in the 1980s and 1990s. That was a time when English-language theatre in Singapore took off, with a new generation of theatre artists, playwrights and directors who grew up in the post-Independence era of the late 1960s and 1970s exploring and expanding theatre styles, techniques and methods.

Growing in confidence as Singaporeans, they sought to put Singaporean culture, themes, languages, stories, and visual styles on the local stage. Among the influential figures of Singapore theatre in this period was William Teo, who founded Asia-in-Theatre Research Circus (later Centre), or ATRC, in 1990. William’s work as director was known for its qualities of a highly-visual staging, the influence of traditional Asian performance forms in the storytelling, acting, and a commitment to in-depth research and actors’ preparation and training.

Kuo Pao Kun had written that ‘although Asia-in-Theatre has not been very productive (an average of only one production a year), nor has it had a huge audience, the quality of the group’s presence in the Singapore theatre scene outweighs that of companies doing many more shows and commanding bigger audiences.’

William passed away at the age of 43 in 2001 but he touched the lives – and indeed, the theatre practices – of many Singapore theatre artists and is fondly remembered by artists as well as by his audiences. One of the hallmarks of his productions was the care for the audience’s experience of theatre, from the moment they enter the theatre building to the close of the performance. It was a view of total theatre, through which the magic of the theatrical experience emerged.