WAWAS! - Concerning Afro Hair and Purple Corsets

--9 of 19--

The next day we woke up at 11am. We had intended to awake at 8am for a visit to Central Market (suggested by Cikgu) but none of us could wake up at that early hour so the visit to Central Market did not materialise. Instead we washed up, had brunch at Kancil Restaurant (where I was again mistaken for Hadis in my shades), and made our way to Stor Teater. Cikgu had already declared yesterday that there would be no rehearsal today, so hooray!--we lounged about and had little run-throughs of the Opening and Ending.




I remember one completely nonsensical occurrence some days before when we were making props. I was cutting some designs in styrofoam when suddenly a hideous mass of afro hair and purple corsets which turned out to be Nizal paraded onto the stage. It was a complete turn-off. He disappeared backstage and reappeared some moments later, a scarf wound around his huge afro in a feeble attempt as a tudung.

By then we were rolling about in laughter! It was an inside joke; it is rumoured that under Mai's tudung lies a full head of afro hair. If it were to be loosened--whoosh!--hair would burst out of every seam!

Needless to say, Mai was not amused.

WAWAS! - The Second Performance

--7 of 19--

The schedule for today was a full dress rehearsal, plus the curtain call. Nothing much happened, except that Cikgu suggested changing the character of Ray & Do in SHIT to a blind man and a half-blind man. Jeff and I played these roles, and so we were the most affected. We went through the full dress as these disabled people, and decided at the end that they were not suitable.

The idea was scrapped.

That night's performance seemed very prestigious! Even though there were lesser people than the first night, those that came were more renowned. (My parents and grandparents came too!)


A small LED light was set up backstage. It was used as illumination during the show because backstage lights switched on would spill out onto the stage. Sash (our lighting woman) said it did not matter because no light could be seen, but I disagreed with her view. Thus the lights remained turned off and the LED light plus an electric lamp provided sufficient illumination for the backstage area. All makeup and costumes were done outside, and during the show the backstage served as a waiting area for the actors.

The highlight of the night (of every night, come to think of it) was the part in Kucing where the prostitute seduces the old man. Nizal was the prostitute, and Jihad was the old man. On the first night Nizal did not sing his song! He simply forgot, and said out the lyrics as dialogue. Dressing up for him was a hasty affair: he only had about a minute from Pelita to Kucing to get into costume, and even then it was without his purple corset. *That* went on just before his seduction part. Very flustered, the costume people were.

The audience there was very cold. They didn't laugh much, and on the rare occasions when they found something funny, most simply smiled. So the jokes prevalent in our plays carried on in silence.

Jihad's sarong was quite loose. It came off twice in two nights. He managed to hide behind some boxes and correct his sarong, we were relieved to see.

I had the Bright Eyes Syndrome, an anomaly which happens when only one eye is exposed to bright light, and the other left in darkness. Peeping through the curtains led me to suffer this, and I walked for some minutes slightly disoriented.

Didi looked at the box.

3 seconds passed.

Why didn't he kick it?

Then he continued.

All the Kucings were left wondering why he didn't remember his actions. Mai was left to carry the box into its rightful position.

And in SHIT, Jeff mixed up his lines. Luckily I recovered in time with the tempo. "#@!x*& memang hebat..."

WAWAS! - The First Day

--2 of 19--

The Nasi Goreng, Telor and Teh Tarik from the train's Dining Cabin was delicious! Thus was the testimony awarded them by Nizal and Nadiah, among those of us who went there at the unearthly hour of 4am. (They refer to Fried Rice, Eggs and "Pulled" Tea respectively.)

Aizat was all enthusiasm the next morning. "We ate MacD!!!" he exclaimed.

Well! It is now 9am, and we are seated at McDonald's KL Sentral Station. We have just finished breakfast, and some of us have gone for a smoke.

Then, hailing five taxis, we depart for Wisma Puspanita, our accommodation during our stay.

Wisma Puspanita is actually a sort of hostel. Goodness knows where its students study, for I don't remember any educational institution nearby. It is currently empty, save for one "Mama India" residing in Room 2, who was kind enough to mop our rehearsal space for us, in the South Wing of the building so that we may walk around barefoot.

Girls go into Rooms 9 & 10, boys in Room 12 & 13. (I'm in Room 12.) Each boys' room had 6 beds and a toilet, plus a little balcony full of mosquitoes. Jihad promptly produced a mosquito coil, and it was lit. Everything had to be set up properly on the first day, according to him.

The man who led us up to our rooms told us not to be too frivolous during the night hours. "You guys don't be too happy at night," he warned.

And with this sinister pronunciation, he left us.

After a short nap and a bath, we proceeded to our rehearsal space and had a run through of the plays we were to perform.

Lunch was a tasty affair. The stalls we ate at reminded Nizal of Geylang, back in Singapore!

Enough of that. Now it is rehearsal time again at Stor Teater.

I might as well describe the reasons for us being here in Kuala Lumpur.

We have been invited here to perform our award-winning plays from Singapore. Cikgu Hasnah, our teacher and advisor, had arranged for us to perform in Stor Teater, within the prestigious Dewan Bahasa & Pustaka. All 19 of us were to go to KL, props, costumes, music and all, and perform Dot.Dot.Dot, Pelita Wawasan, Wawasan Anak Geylang Serai Roboh (better known as Kucing), and S.H.I.T, which stands for Selampit Hari Ini Tiada. There was supposed to be 20 people but Efin, our missing person, is to join us later.

This is what Suzana has to say (pardon the informal language):

"They've been rehearsing ALLLL day & I'v been sitting on È steps aLLLL day and I'm sooooo hungry...:("

And this is what Nadiah has to say:

"Not enough sleep!! even afta a "long" rest while the others train for kuching. At least something lar har. It's freaking cold in here!"

The rehearsals continue.