HAPPY

Of recent I directed a digital media music theatre that I wrote. The play was titled "Happy" and it was staged in Exeter, UK.

The two duets in the play was written by composer and Jazz singer- Charis Vera Ng.

The actors include Eleana Georgouli (Greece), Lin Chien-lang (Taiwan), Nina Minshull (UK), and Thomas Angell (UK).

An intimate black box theatre space, with minimalistic staging, deploying live video projections to televisions, butoh, live instruments, singing, and acting.

The dramatic score of the performance straddles across different acting approaches, requiring the actors to access different journeys to arrive at their final performance.

It was a test of the actors' acting resources in approaching a wide spectrum of styles, and allows the actor trainer to open up the performance range, and pliability of the actors.

Deploying Derridean's approach to performance (no prior), to contact improvisation (Anne Bogart, Theatre de Complicite...), and Artistolelian acting approaches, I explored the landscape of the theatre piece.

Thematically, the play focused on exploring how one would stage "miscommunication" and "absent bodies". The story was catapulted from a quasi-autobiographical source, and takes its inspiration from my absence away from my wife, and my heritage from a society of missing bodies (immigrant society).

After staging it for a preview audience, a dress rehearsal audience and for performance, I am now able finalize the final copy of the script, further developing on the layering and juxtaposition of my dramatic elements.

Personally, I would like to enhance one of the character's presence (character 4), and infuse greater contrast and humour into the play.

When this play be staged again, wherever in the world, I hope to be able to collaborate with a digital media artist, and a music composer to further work on the theatricality aspects of the play.

Two days later after the staging of "Happy", I watched "Red Sky" written by Stan Lai (Taiwan), and adapted/directed by Bobo Fung (Hong Kong).

Watching the play made me want to fly to Taiwan to study playwrighting and dramatic structures under Stan Lai.

I started as an actor with high proficiency in the theatre craft, and now reading the many books on dramatic actions, playwriting, and leading directors from around the world, I am fascinated by their world, and how my world as an actor is entering into their domain.

Its like exiting a jungle which I know like the back of my hand, and entering into an different kind of jungle. One that smells different, and feels different...