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Wednesday, April 23, 2008

RACE: Four Original Short Plays

I had the pleasure of meeting actress (and self-described theater practitioner) Soefira Jaafar in the middle of last year, and I was asked to help her produce a stage production that her company, RPT (RATHER PECULIAR THEATER) was preparing. Although I was around for some preliminary meetings with her and the writers, I, unfortunately, had to leave RACE due to other commitments (the telemovies CINTA TIGA SEGI and KURUS), and also because I was well aware back then that I was possibly coming to Tokyo to continue my studies, thus making it impossible to stay around for the actual performance in the end.


However, life is full of surprises, as my brief involvement in this had also given me the chance to know the other director of RACE, Kimmy Kiew, whom I've spent most time speaking to only on Gmail chat last year because she was in Korea most of the time. And due to that, as you may know by now, Kimmy ended up with a main role in my short film, CHICKEN RICE MYSTERY:

Mom (Kimmy) readying dinner
Kimmy as Mom in CHICKEN RICE MYSTERY

(Ahem, remember, you can watch CHICKEN RICE MYSTERY at BMW Shorties.)

So here you go, after months of preparation, RPT is finally putting RACE up on KLPac. In fact, their first show is TONIGHT.

Now, here are the info I got from them:

Dates & Times: 23-26 April 2008 @ 8.30pm; 26 & 27 April 2008 @ 3pm ONLY SIX SHOWS!

Venue: Pentas 2, The Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre (KLPac)
Sentul Park, Jln. Strachan, 51100 Kuala Lumpur.

Directed by: Soefira Jaafar & Kimmy Kiew

Written by: Ridzwan Othman, Shanon Shah, Kimmy Kiew & Fauzuly Hamdan Tahir (D’boy)


The directors and writers of RACE
Bilingual: Malay & English

Cast: Shanthini Venugopal, Sarah Shahrum, Adrian Seet, Nor Hazlin Nor Salam, Chong Keat Aun, Ahmad Firdaus (Markyong), Sherry Abdullah, Lakshman (Lax) and Iedil Putra Alaudin.

Sound Designer: Melvin Ho

Lighting Designer: Teo Kuang Han

Tickets: RM35 Adult
RM25 Senior citizens, OKU, students (Limited seats)

PROMOTION: **Saturday Matinee Special**
All Seats @ RM25!

Box Office: The KLPac (03-4047-9000)
The Actors Studio @ BSC (03-2094-9400)

Website: www.klpac.com

Facebook Group: Rather Peculiar Theatre (Global)
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=8186458238

Facebook Event: RACE Four Original Short Plays
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=9994139074

Email Inquiries to: helloRPT@gmail.com


Four writers were challenged by Rather Peculiar Theatre (RPT) to each come up with a 15 minutes piece, based on the word ‘race’.

Born into the era of Vision 2020, these maturing young writers bring to the table their own brand of industry recognition, artistic experiences and personal attitudes. What result are unique pieces, in English and Bahasa Malaysia, and of varying perspectives and approaches. These reflect the complexity that comes from one word, one generation and one country.

Winner of the BOH Cameronian Arts Award for Best English Play in 2005, Ridzwan Othman, would like you to know that playing a Scrabble game beginning with the word – Angsa, is not a simple laughing matter when played by a child with a knack for using inappropriate words. Or is it? Watch the peculiar effect it has on her parents and teacher.

The multi-talented, award winning singer-songwriter, Shanon Shah sets aside his familiar musical endeavours to share some gossip with you. Once You Pop, You Just Can’t Stop! (Sekali Dah Mula, Susah Nak Berhenti) lets you in on two neighbours, Pn. Farah and Mrs. Nathan, yakking away about each other in the privacy of their separate homes, on stage at the same time. * Gasp*

Fresh from a cultural exchange program in South Korea, Kimmy Kiew seeks a new challenge with a devised piece that is One In A Billion. Drama can be a funny thing. Witness the catastrophic trials of team that is desperate to win a billion dollar prize in a marching competition. Each participant's predicament is compounded by the lack of a good captain. Sedia! Cepat Berjalan!

Fauzuly Hamdan Tahir (D’boy), awarded Best Student three years in a row by the ASWARA Theatre Faculty, sets his ‘mini musikal’ in a detention classroom with four students. Stuck there for different reasons, they get into a battle of Snake & Ladders. Simple though it may be, the unpredictable children’s game sends the students Up & Down, Satu Mini Muzikal, to amusing effect. Performed in Bahasa Malaysia.


The production also features two capable women directors, Soefira Jaafar and Kimmy Kiew, who wield a melting-pot cast of experienced performers (Shanthini Venugopal, Sarah Shahrum, Nor Hazlin Nor Salam), emerging ASWARA alumni/graduating students(Markyong, Lax, Sherry Abdullah, Iedil Putra Alaudin), and other media talents(TV newscaster Adrian Seet, Ai FM Dj Chong Keat Aun.)

It’s a BOH Cameronian Arts Award acknowledged cast & creative team, with 7 wins and 15 nominations, including:

• Most Promising Artist – Shanon Shah (2005 Winner)
• Best Director – Kimmy Kiew (2003 Nominee)
• Best Original Script (English) – Ridzwan Othman (2004 Winner), Soefira Jaafar (2002 Nominee)
• Best Original Composition – Melvin Ho (2005 Nominee – Monkey Business)
• Best Lighting Design – Teo Kuang Han (2007 Nominee – P. Ramlee, the Musical)
• Best Group Performance, Best Community Arts/Arts Education Project, Audience Choice Award and many more.



I would've gone for this if I were still around. Anyone going to this? It should be pretty good.