Yep..I know its way too early to be called Monday Morning, but hell yeah...its already 12.00am so I have another 8 hours to go before my first lecture this week.Not exactly lecture, since the lecturer just basically talk and talk and talk and talk...damn it!
Tomorrow's earliest lecture is my minor theatre lecture. Means, no boring books, no writing no nuthing. Just basically sittin' there and wait for the three hours to pass by. Yup! I'm not kidding! Damn 3 long hours.Since this is my final minor year (6th semester is considered minor program's last semester), we are supposed to handle theatre production. The script is already chosen (of which i will never have a part in it because of my size - I curse you all damn tiny waisters!!). And talking about the script, its "Uda dan Dara", a typical malay theatre. We plan to do musical this time, so its gonna be a lot of hard work.
Talking about theatre, I think I have been passionately adoring it ever since I was involved with dramas in my college years in KUSZA. Back then, it wasn't theatre at all, cuz we're more into language and literature. I remember reading a lot of literature stuffs in the small room or "mini library" behind the main office of Language Centre. (I wonder why they can't have it here in UPC). There were no librarian, so it was more like, if you're honest, you'll return the book thingy. But of course, the ever-so-honest Azureus here always, i mean ALWAYS return the books at the end of the semester.haha...
Anyways, last week I went to the Perak Theatre Festival, in which we represent one of the two groups from UPC. Didn't get through even the 3rd place, but it's a good experience, since it was my first time to compete in state level(I was only the backing vocal for the main actress, anyways, nuthing much). What I didn't understand is that the judges didn't vote based on the technical aspects of theatre presentation. I mean, the group that won the title was hopeless in blocking (a technical term in which it refers to the state of the actors which cannot block each other from being visible to the audience, and in turn, making it seems lifeless or as u say it in Malay, "kaku"). The judges, it seems, did not have a favour in the genre purbawara, a classical malay theatre (ala2 Jebat, Hang Tuah and the likes). Ironic, isn't it? Since all the judges are Malays...
Now I'm not provoking Malay theatre activists, it's just that, judging from my experience, I think what my group did was fantastic.Not many theatre activists dare to direct or write something on purbawara, which wasn't favoured by many people because they thought it was all boring and old. Wrong!!! I used to underestimate this kind of theatre, thinking that it's a waste of time with all those pantun and old language and names (females usually get flower names such as kenanga, melati, and etc).But after I join the production, my perception changed. I think if it's done carefully, it can be a way of transferring information on our country's history, especially the pre-war history.
I remember one article written by Johan Jaaffar in NST, who said:
"Perhaps Sandiwara (purbawara) did not enjoy the glamour of Bangsawan, the popularity of the "realist" playwrights, or the attention of the experimental dramatists of the 1970s. But the Sandiwara marked the emergence of the "thinking class" in Malay drama productions".
If it marked the emergence of the "thinking class" of the Malays, shouldn't we just give it more focus? Its not lame at all, if we all could only spend more time analyzing what the story is all about. I'm not in the position to criticize other genre of theatre. In fact, I love them all (especially musical). But sometimes people tend to forget their ancestors, which is sad, and they tend to degrade or even underestimate the earlier genres.
Look at me, I started with my "monday morning blues" and I'm already halfway to be bashed by realism and surrealism activists...I'm not complaining because we didn't win, I'm just basically pouring out what I felt, from what I saw, and what I experienced. I'm never into Malay theatre before, but now you can count me in. And looking at the background (mind you, I'm majoring in English), I think I can put aside my Londonish taste in theatre and join the boat marked "Purbawara", which had been waiting for more passengers.
