Lights, Smoke, Music, Action!

More than a week since i updated this thing, thanks to THE BIGGEST event in kyuem, 'Bangsawan' (literally translated as Noblemen), a form of Malay theater characterised by olden-days Malay language, arrogant Sultans, a dance number, fighting scenes worthy of a Bollywood movie and most importantly, huge amounts of stress levels.

How big is big, you ask? To get a clearer picture, these are the sub-groups involved in each production (from a uniquely Sapphirean perspective ;)):

1. Directors' circle

-From conception to completion, The Directors were always present, working their asses off to make this whole thing work, coming to practises long before anyone and only going to bed after everyone is in deep sleep. If i were in their shoes, i'd faint. Respect giler ar. =)

The Directors. Sounds like a group of trained assassins.

2. Actors' and extras circle

-Of course, a theater wouldn't be a theater without acting. Featuring 'mantop' performances by last year's Best Supporting Actor and an equally credible cast *ehem2*, the actors had to endure constant constuctive criticism in an effort to match Istana Budaya performances. Not to mention enduring a 'psychotherapy' session that was...enlightening ;)

p/s: don't worry Herman, we know you were supposed to receive the Best Actor award this year...the judge couldn't tell a supporting actor from a main one.

3. Dancers' circle

-Dancers must be superhuman beings. I mean, how could you dance while balancing bowls on both hands? The answer is shrouded in mystery (and a thing called 'finger supports held by super glue'), but needless to say, its the dancing that counts. And their dancing was fantastic and flawless.

Proof?

They won 'Best Choreography', together with the fighting scene guys. No further explanation needed.

The author, once a part of the team before acting duty called

4. Prop circle

-Recreating a scene from the 60s (1760s, i mean) is no small feat, and with two large backdrops to paint, plus a ship and a palace to build, the prop people got their hands full, like, most of the time. After my short scene finished, i joined the audience and overheard somebody say 'weyh, laju gila Sapphire tukar props'...Nice work guys =)


5. Costume and make-up circle

-It may not be so clear in this picture, but that costume was like old Malay 'bling-bling'. You could see it from a kilometre away on a moonlit night. Ok, maybe i exaggerated, but it was really shiny, and the costume people did an elaborate job of finding something to make everyone look good..=) If you look closely in the picture, you can see the cursed version of Tenggang, looking like a rock star.

In the opening scene, the sultan, his daughter and his son-in-law all wore blue..so Sapphire-ish.

6. Technical circle

-What's a good story without winning technicals (lighting, OST, etc.)?

Yeah..brag all about it ;)

And the secret weapon for Sapphire:

7. 'Pit-Stop' crew

- Between scenes 1 & 2, i had to change into different clothes. So i hid behind the curtains and..stripped, while 3 or 4 people put me into 4 pieces of clothing. It was done in more or less 1 minute. I feel like a race car. Thank you 'pit stop' crew! B)

And there you have it. 7 wonders of the world that make up a thing called 'Bangsawan'. And we won only one prize less than the champion. Good job everyone.