Saturday, February 19, 2011

A new chapter


Now begins my life as a mech on The Lion King, Singapore. For those unfamiliar with the term it means Theatre Mechanist or sometimes known as Carpenters. They’re the people side stage pushing scenery on, and responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of all the scenery. They build stuff, fix stuff, swear at stuff and paint stuff. And now I’m one of them.

I’m Promt Side (Stage Left) and I started mid way through Tech Rehearsals and a month after everyone else so as well as never really working in theatre before (not like this, anyway), I was also behind the 8 ball with knowing the show and understanding what all my cues meant. Anyways, four days in and I’m feeling like I know the show a lot better now and mostly on top of all my cues. Act II is reasonably relaxed but Act I is pretty frantic, especially around the Wildebeest stampede. If you cast your mind back to the film, that’s where Scar and the hyenas heard the Wildebeest through the canyon to kill Simba, Mufasa turns up, rescues Simba from the branch and Mufasa tries to climb the canyon wall but Scar kills him by letting him fall to his death.
It’s an important scene in the film and one that needed to look good on the stage as well. It’s manic backstage as heavy bits of scenery are set and struck and I’m dripping in sweat afterwards. The Wilderbeests are on huge steel frames that are automated and rotate around and around giving the impression of many beasts stampeding.

Apart from the nerves on my first days of trying to learn everything, not stuff up and at least look like I know what I’m doing, I’m really enjoying it. I get paid to be a carpenter and build things in the workshop (such as a cupboard for hyena legs and the conductor’s podium) and getting through the show and making it all good feels quite rewarding. It’s a great crew who have all been really supportive without mollycoddling. The cast are all mostly super friendly and very happy to assist a new guy with when to page them on and off stage.
I think I’m going to enjoy this.

Sunday, February 13, 2011

Of Grail Knights and elementary discoveries.

I must momentarily borrow my narrative from another excellent blogger, londonrobstuff.blogspot.com, a tenacious Grail knight intent on finding the best coffee and breakfasts in inner London. One hopes that like all Grail quests, it is never realised ere we find ourselves without his excellent musings on elegant espressos or the perfect porridge.


My own san graal has been the elusive western style breakfast in a country more into its kaya toast than eggs Florentine. But like most quests for hidden treasure it was right under my very nose. The cafe next to the swimming pool at Pan Pacific does an awesome breakfast with eggs any way you like it, tomato, hash brown, sausages, bacon and baked beans served with extra toast and jam. And all for $14! (pre taxes). The only bummer is a lack of good espresso coffee to go with it. I savoured this wonderful breakfast while reading one of my favourite Sherlock Holmes tales that features "Ballarat" as the main clue as to the killer's identity.

Reading the name "Ballarat" in a novel is a funny feeling and for a moment if I close my eyes, I’m sitting in the sun at L’espresso with Flic and Mokey, Heidi has just made me a second magnificent coffee, my plate is virtually clean having devoured eggs forentine with avocado, Mum and Jo have just arrived, Mahney is talking excitedly at the table next to us, the annoying guy on his pedal bike has come past and thankfully gone down to Europa, and Freya and Townes are walking towards us.

Is my grail quest complete? Have I found the secret the Templars wanted to protect with their lives? Um...no but for the moment I am content. Now, time to laze by the pool.

Saturday, February 12, 2011

Shanghai, movie.

Most of the movies playing in the hotel are pretty poxy but this was a nice surprise. While it had the Weinstein brother's inevitable thumb prints, it was a good story, beautifully shot, well acted and well told.
I won't go into the plot save to say that it is set in Shanghai in the days leading up to the bombing of Pearl Harbour and America joining the war. The narrative is intriguing and Shanghai is realised with wonderful set dressing and superb cinematography. It was also a welcome change to have a film score that subtly underlined the drama and the action without thumping you over the head and shouting "THIS IS THE TENSE/POIGNANT/MYTERIOUS BIT!". The ubiquitous Hans Zimmer could learn a thing or two (or just take a break from scoring every historical/ epic/ thriller/ action film out there).
Both John Cusack and Chow Yun-Fat have both been guilty of over acting in the past but with a sensitive director, they both give measured performances as do their co stars Gong Li and Ken Watanabe. I’m not a film critic so I’ll shut up now but if it’s on the DVD shelf, have a look.