I've decided to get involved with Fashion Acedemy - a production by Chinese Society which will be held on the 2nd day of CNY (8th Feb) 2008.

I lost count of how many times I've been on stage whether it's for piano performance, band, orchestra or public speaking.. whether i went on solo, with another friend for a duet or with a group for an emsemble or with another 100+ people for an orchestral performance..

I've been on the back stage so many times esp those professional music theatre eg MPO and KLPac.. However, I've never been on a backstage of a professional theatre for plays and productions..

Went to Winston Theatre yesterday to get some training from STA, a society in Bristol Uni that trains students who are interested in plays/productions..

That was when i realized that it's so COMPLICATED!!!!

You see a a huge number of sockets on the wall, or biult in on the floor, 7 rails for you to hang your props or lights on top of the stage, another 6 in front of the audience, curtains and backdrops etc etc

The projection room( a tiny room at the back of the theatre which has full control of the sound and lightings) is worst! but i really like the feel of being in it.. it is just like a recording studio! just reminds me of the recording studio i went to record my piano pieces..

To make things worst, they have codes and different terms for items on stage..
Eg. If you are raising the curtains, you have to say :"Heads on stage! Iron flying out" or "Heads on stage! Tabs flying in" when you close the back curtains and spotlights are being called 'lanterns'

This is an example of the email sent by STA! i still can't get all the terminology in my head! so technical...

Hi all,

Very good progress was made tonight in the following areas:

2 Hemp bars (bars to hang props located on the ceiling) derigged, relocated and trimmed.
Scaff tower (a tower contruscted to reach the hemp bars as no ladders can reach the high ceiling) constructed FOH (=front of house; the little extension of the stage in front of the audience, in front of the first curtain of the stage)
Codas rigged on LX4 (can't rmb what does it stand for but it's a bar for the lights)
LX 2 rigged and patched inc. 2 No. booms (need to check ch. 42 however...)
Gel stock checked
Mike was doing some stuff with camo netting...
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There will be a pantomime in the theatre next week and the backstage crew has started to arrange all their props and lights.. there are so much of work involved! mroe than you can think of!!

I find it really interesting though! to do something out of the blue, soemthing i've never done! yeahh, i love the new challenge! and i hope that we can really make it happen! =))

p.s. If you don't know what's a Pantomime...

Pantomime is as far as I know, a peculiarly British tradition and goes back at least 100 years. Pantomimes always take place at Christmas and nearly always have stories based around well known children's stories such as Peter Pan, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty etc.

They are VERY AUDIENCE INTERACTIVE. You certainly boo the villian, etc., but you should also have several arguments between characters and the audience.

eg.
Wicked queen in Snow White. "I am the fairest of them all"
Audience - "Oh no you're not!"

Queen - "Oh yes I am!"

Audience - "Oh no you're not!"