Chinese Drama Anniversary

The Chinese Drama team celebrated its 30th anniversary last Saturday. Due to the Tan Kah Kee epic drama, the Chinese Drama team had to postpone the anniversary from the month of March till now.There wasn't much events/ programs prepared but we were occupied with rehearsing for our short play that we were supposed to present to our seniors at night. After a rousing game of catching, we settled to get ourselves ready for the short play. We were evenly divided, with much disagreements, into four groups. Well, each group is in charge of making a short play with only the script and very little time. As it was my first time actually participating in a play, it was an eye-opener for me. I had a taste of what I would be doing in the next few years, although it wasn't much fun, it was very meaningful for me. Let me share what happened on that day.

Now, I know what to do after getting our scripts, step by step. Bet you don't know what to do. Firstly, we read the script.(isn't it obvious) Next, we assign roles to each member of the team. Democracy overrides volunteerism as everyone will try taking up the easy role --- majority wins. Following, read the lines that you are going to say, to familiarise yourself with what your character is going to say. Lets get started! Act out the play with your script in hand, the director will then assign your standing places, the speed your character speak etc. most importantly, speak out loud. As a beginner, I had problems articulating my words well as I tend to mumble, I also either said my speech too early or too fast. As I got an easy role, no emotions were required but our team main lead did not clearly express his emotions out. I have not have a nerve-wrecking experience on stage yet, as what I had to say was short or little. I feel that facing a crowd isn't a hard thing to do.

Besides experience, I took home some knowledge on acting. Well, do not turn your back to the audience, or face your friend. Despite its simplicity, everybody is still doing it and is a relatively easy habit to kick/ get. Speak loud so that you are audible enough. Infuse your acts with emotions to show the audience that you are not memorising. Act not memorise. Be ready to change your story plan if one of your teammates forgot his lines. Aid him if you known his lines and be prepared to generate ideas if anything goes wrong. Isn't this helping you in your RTA oral assessment?

After the 'not-that-bad' dinner, we headed back to the black box to perform our master pieces. The seniors were scheming and crafty.They went up to the stage, posed as one of the actors in my group and mentioned something totally different from the original storyline. Luckily, my friend managed to think of an impromptu idea and 'chased' the senior back. They also ruined another play by moving the props around and added in an irrelevant part to the story, but luckily they managed to get through as well. After singing the official Chinese Drama song, we had a seemingly big cake to enjoy. Because of traditions and customs, the secondary one were the last to get the cake and I managed to get the last piece of the cake even though some seniors had not eaten yet. Yes! After the celebration, we were dismissed at 9 plus and the school was eerily dark. I had never been at school since so dark, it was definitely a spooky experience.

Despite the lack of fun activities, I still enjoyed the celebration. I am starting to develop a bond with Chinese Drama. It was also very meaningful, for secondary one, as we learned the very basics of acting, felt how it was like acting a short play in front of a small audience. It was really heartening when I heard the 'thunderous applause' from the audience. The chocolate cake, topped with fruits, was real nice as well. Overall it was a fun and meaningful day.