The Star Online: Lifestyle: Arts & Fashion
The Star Online: Lifestyle: Arts & Fashion |
- Behind the scenes of Hairspray The Broadway Musical
- Percussion poetry
- A royal night out for the arts
| Behind the scenes of Hairspray The Broadway Musical Posted: Find out just how much work is put into setting up the popular musical in Malaysia. HAIRSPRAY The Broadway Musical is set in 1960s Baltimore where young Tracy Turnblad dreams of becoming a cast member on popular dance programme The Corny Collins Show. However, Tracy is told by producer Velma Von Tussle that she does not have the "right size" for TV. Later, Tracy proves she has all the right moves to be on the show and becomes an overnight sensation. Before the curtains rise for Hairspray The Broadway Musical tonight, get to know the miracle workers behind the scenes. All that hair They don't call it Hairspray The Broadway Musical for nothing! Head of hair and makeup Jenny Maiquez said there are 54 wigs used in the show and each female cast member will go through at least four of them. It takes about 30 to 45 minutes for cast members to get fitted with their custom-made wigs. The tallest wig belongs to Velma Von Tussle's (The Legend Of) Miss Baltimore Crabs look. Maiquez said the cast members do their own makeup and she'll be around to supervise them. "One thing I have to do is remind most of the girls that the musical is not set in 2013. So keep the look retro!"  Chrissy Maddison said there are more than 100 costumes for all the 26 actors . Costumes galore What do you do when you have more than 100 costumes for a musical with 26 actors? You go to Chrissy Maddison of course! The costume supervisor for Hairspray explained: "Most of the costumes were brought in from the original US production. We spent at least six weeks doing the fittings and alterations. It's a lot of hard work, after all, we have 26 actors." It is estimated that the cost of all the costumes comes up to US$125,000 (RM411,250)! One of the dresses worn by Damian Williams, who plays Tracy's mum, Edna, weighs close to 8kg. And the actor has to wear padding underneath the dress. Now, that's a drag.  Reprints of actual 1960s newspaper articles Blinding lights It takes a village to raise a child, they say. Same goes in staging a Broadway musical. Production manager Gary Beestone and his team spent two days getting the set and 140 light units up before technical rehearsals began on Sunday. "For Hairspray, we have 18 scenes and close to 400 light changes!" said Beestone. Old is gold Company manager Nick Bromley proudly claimed that some of the props are actual vintage items. "This television set is from the 1960s and one of the saxophones we used is actually from the 1940s." Bromley shared that even the newspapers – though reprints – were meticulously researched to feature actual articles from the 1960s. Hairspray The Broadway Musical premieres tonight at the Plenary Hall, Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre and will run until Sept 22. It is presented by Yvents! with Star Publications (M) Bhd as the media partner. HSBC Cards is the official credit card. HSBC credit card holders enjoy exclusive discounts on tickets. Tickets, priced at RM190, RM290, RM390, RM490 and RM590 (excluding a RM3 ticketing fee), are available from TicketsPeople. For details, call 03-2287 2727 or visit ticketspeople.com. Related stories: Hairspray The Broadway Musical cast arrives |
| Posted: Lafaz Gema is an unusual performance that will combine literature and drumming. THE steady rhythm and beat of drums is physical poetry, so it only makes sense that Hands Percussion is merging it with the written word in its upcoming Lafaz Gema. Hands artistic director Bernard Goh explains that Lafaz Gema will feature six pieces based on a mix of local and foreign poems and be performed by the percussion group's second team, Hands 2. Goh says this is the first time he's experimenting with more concept-driven choreographies for the second team, which consists mostly of trainee and volunteer members. "Last time, training was just about hitting drums, using strength till they break a sweat, now their brains too will sweat from all this thinking up of concepts," says Goh gleefully. "I want to challenge them and myself to deliver this message with a minimalistic approach, where my drummers don't move about much. They can jump around drumming for an hour, but standing still? Ah, then die," he jokes. The director admits that having the poems read in full during the performance would be too predictable, instead he plans to have it read in parts combined with projecting some lines onto stage. For this, Hands 2 will be collaborating with Penangite videographer Okui (she goes by just the one name), who had recently worked with Lee Swee Keong on the dance performance Green Snake And The Monk. "Like Okui, I know very quickly what I want, when I see the image I want to create. But if I don't understand the poem, it's more challenging," says Goh.  Artistic director Bernard Goh wants to stretch his team with the unusual performance. To help the ensemble better grasp the poems that inspired their performances, Goh had them do poetry reading classes with a Chinese literature teacher. "I don't want them to just follow my direction, I want them to read, feel and hafal (memorise) the poem," says Goh. Of the six poems, four are in Mandarin, one in Spanish and one in Malay. While Goh had the first five translated, he decided to keep Bangkit in its original the Malay-language version. He shares that Bangkit was the result of a three-way collaboration between him, Taiwan-based choreographer Kathyn Tan and Malaysian poet Uji Amat. "Unlike the others, which are existing poems, I started Bangkit with Kathyn's choreography, then asked Uji to write her piece when Kathyn was halfway done," reveals Goh. He added that the piece, which is performed by the female members of Hands 2 would be their most challenging as the girls were not trained in dance, yet had to do the movement piece while having their drum tied to them! The second piece is based on Chilean poet Pablo Neruda's Body Of A Woman. "Just the title already is erotic. Neruda wrote it when he was in love with his first girlfriend, it captures the lust and the emptiness one feels at the same time," explains Goh. With that in mind, he avoided using drums, as it would be too cliched being so associated with pounding hearts and love affairs. Instead, the boys of Hands 2 would be performing with clay urns as their partners. While most are new pieces, the performance from Hand's recent Rhapsodrum has been reworked with the poem Sama Ada Kami Cinta Kepada Malaysia by Fu Chengde. The poem touches on the sentiment of how minority races are constantly questioned about their nationalistic spirit despite being citizens of the country for generations. "It's a bit of an angrier piece," admits Goh, adding "but it's the boys' favourite because they get to drum like mad." Another loud arrangement is Where The River Duo Meets, which uses kompang, gamelan, and Chinese drums. "The poem is written about the Gombak and Klang rivers, how one is murky and the other pristine. Both complain about each other when they merge," says Goh, adding that it was written in 1975 by Yeu Chuan and inspired by the view at Masjid Jamek where the two rivers meet. "As much as we complain about each other, we all end up at sea. It doesn't matter who is keruh (turbid) and who is jernih (clear), we all end up in a bigger space together," says Goh, tying the concept neatly to the mixed instruments used. Not all the poems are so socially charged, though; one of the softer pieces is based on Taiwan poet Yu Guangzhong's Throughout My Life. It pays tribute to Hands 2 full time member, Jack Wan's father, who recently passed away. "The challenge was that there are so many poems for mothers but not for fathers," muses Goh. Roughly translated from the original name, it reads "I cried only twice in my life, when I was born and first met you, and the last time I saw you, when you died". Lafaz Gema by Hands 2 will be performed at Pentas 1, KL Performing Arts Centre (off Jalan poh, Kuala Lumpur), from Sept 20-22; showtimes are 8.30pm with additional matinees at 3pm on Sept 21 and 22. Tickets are priced at RM48, RM68, RM88 and RM108. Check www.ilassotickets.com or call 03-4047 9000 to book. |
| A royal night out for the arts Posted: The Royal Arts Gala returns for the second time with the theme, "The Arts, The Soul Of A Nation". WHAT price the soul of a nation? If the arts truly represent a country's soul, how much would you pay to help keep Malaysia's soul alive? That's a question that will be put to the nation – and especially the nation's private sector – when the Royal Arts Gala returns for the second time, this time themed "The Arts, The Soul Of A Nation". The inaugural gala in November last year raised RM718,000; the event was held at a hotel and featured a show as well as a silent auction of unique and luxury donated items. As with last year's gala, the 2013 event, slated for Nov 23, will also see the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Abdul Halim Mu'adzam Shah and Raja Permaisuri Agong Tuanku Hajah Haminah lending their royal presence to this worthy cause. And this year, the organisers are taking it a notch higher by placing the evening of fine food and entertainment in the fountain courtyard of the old Istana Negara in Kuala Lumpur – the former home of Malaysia's Kings and Queens seems a very apt location indeed for this royal event! What's more, attendees will be taken on a private tour of the palace, which has been turned into a museum. That will be followed by dinner and a 45-minute musical directed by Adlin Aman Ramlie, who played the sultan in Puteri Gunung Ledang the movie; he also worked on P. Ramlee The Musical, Uda Dan Dara and Akademi Fantasia among others. Working with him on the show is award-winning composer Onn San, whose works include The Secret Life Of Nora and Everworld. Hopefully, all this will attract the attention of not only individuals but also corporations willing to come to the aid of the our ailing arts industry. Considering how the arts are so deeply woven into the rich tapestry that makes up this country, it's almost silly not to support them. Certainly, the event's organiser, My Performing Arts Agency (MyPAA), will be hoping for an even better showing than last year come Nov 23. MyPAA was founded early last year by arts enthusiast Izan Satrina to act as a bridge between artists and sponsors. The agency worked with the National Culture and Arts Department and the Tourism and Culture Ministry on last year's Royal Arts Gala to raise funds for deserving art practitioners, chosen by a panel from public nominations. Recently, MyPAA proudly awarded the RM718,000 raised to the 31 chosen recipients; they included Hands Percussion, Rumah Anak Teater, Shakespeare Demystified, Temple of Fine Arts and Pentas Project Theatre Production. The recipients were divided into four categories: promotion of Malaysian artists or works overseas, the facilitation of international co-productions and collaborations involving Malaysian and overseas talent, the development of technical and managerial skills among Malaysian performing arts managers and administrators, and research and documentation projects in the performing arts. The award ceremony was followed by the announcement of the 2013 Royal Arts Gala, after which Izan shared: "I would like to be honest and say that we can't promise you the world right now but we can certainly promise you that it's going to get better. The fact that 31 recipients are here today to receive the funds we raised from the gala, I think it's a really good start." She added that on top helping to build sustainability within the performing arts sector, the gala is also a way of raising the profile of the performing arts to the private sector. "And there is something many of them don't know, and that is, any support for the initiative is tax exempt!" said Izan. The second Royal Arts Gala will see the introduction of the Royal Medallion award. This will be conferred on two individuals: an arts practitioner for his or her achievements in the craft, and a corporate figure for his or her contributions towards the development of the arts. Here's where you can have your say, as the public can nominate anyone deserving of these prestigious medals. Your nomination should be based on the individual's contributions to Malaysian arts from July 2012 to August 2013. Go to mypaa.com.my for further details. While the man in the street can certainly do his bit to support the arts – go watch more performances! – it is the private sector that has deep enough pockets to make a crucial difference. And to that sector, Datuk Norliza Rofli, National Culture and Arts Department director-general, has a message (albeit one that was conveyed with a laugh): "If the Agong is involved in this, why can't you be?" The Royal Arts Gala 2013 will be held on Nov 23 at the former Istana Negara, Jalan Duta, Kuala Lumpur. Tables are priced at RM15,000 (the Gamelan table), RM25,000 (Odissi), RM35,000 (Wayang Kulit), and RM50,000 (Mak Yong) per table. Seats are limited to a total of 250. For further details, go to mypaa.com.my. For reservations, call 03-6207 9566 or e-mail rag@mypaa.com.my. |
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