The Big reTHiNK: Cast of Wayward Seniors caught on cam

(Clockwise top left) "Ruth", "Doug", "Sandra", me, "Alma" and "Jasper". Photo / Erin Gaffney 

Here's my team!

They surely did surprise me in rehearsal today. It was awesome to see them co-operating and trying out my requests, however over-the-top those seemed.

Saw them feeling a bit squeamish at times, but it seemed like they just sucked it up, powered through and cracked a few limitations that may have been hidden away in their psyche.

They listened, took in advice and delivered on a level exceeding expectations. Hoorah! Finally saw what I wanted to see in their performances.

The chemistry was there as they chose to reveal the idiosyncrasies of their characters, and also, a commitment to their lines which was wonderful to see. From what was observed in the time given to show what they were made of. They showed their capabilities, and then some.

I have been hard on them, must admit that point. The understanding is, the play's eight minutes. But, if those eight minutes stick out in your mind when you watch the show. Then pride and joy will be shooting out of my eyes. 

Ultimately, it will be for you to judge whether my nuttery was called for or not.

In five days, the great wish will be for you to experience what I'm talking about.

Until then,

Joselyn Khor

Tickets: From Q Theatre.
Ticket prices: $20 - $30 (Wed 03/10 to Fri 05/10), Gala Night Sat 06/10 $30 - $40.
Further information: Click here. The shows will run from Wednesday, October 3 to Saturday, October 6.
Facebook events page: The Big reTHiNK at Q.

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An ode to actors I cannot forget

Fascinated by the stage.

It's a curious position to be in. Sitting in the prime spot, smack bang in the middle of the seating area. Here, able to soak in the intensity, drama, minute facial expressions, and subtle brilliance of performances. This confounding situation I've alluded to is masked by the captivating interplay of darkness willing your eyes to focus solely on the vision before you. A vision which is enthralling, if done right.

The curious position I found myself in tonight, was that of an audience member, watching actors feeding me their passion through their impossible-to-fake tears, their taut bitchy faces or extravagant kingly gestures.

Watching all this unfold in the audience is magnificent and frightening at the same time for you know not what will come, and have no power to control what should be.

As a director, you advise, you bark orders, but on the night there is nothing left but to trust. These actors whom you see possessing a multitude of abilities are trusted to relive those rehearsed moments, but not only that, bring something inexplicably raw and uncompromisingly real to the stage.

In these moments, the voice of the director is a faint memory as actors themselves conjure up unforeseen capabilities that no order could inspire.

It is this capacity of actors to relive past pains, draw from that experience and drown in the sorrows of their stage skins that made being in the audience such a curiously wonderful experience.

In rehearsals, what we see, are sometimes tired faces that have memorised lines; walking the familiar walk to their positions.

However, on performance night. These sluggish specimens seem transformed. Their complexions glisten with a wilful wisdom as they strip away their inhibitions. From these expressions of complete concentration, you can almost envision their minds eye, seeing them enclosed in a cocoon, seeing the exterior slowly cracking away with each step they take towards centre stage so that as soon as the light hits them, these slugs become unimaginable creatures you cannot recognise. The beauty and grace of these stage vixens and beasts overcome their calloused, tired, human lineament. Inhabiting an otherworldly presence. One that can grasp your gaze and hold your breath at the same time.

'Acting' n.: the art or practise of representing a character on stage or before cameras.

Simple to read, hard to act upon.

In the dark, you see these forms before you, playing out the scenes. The fine line between reality and fantasy exists on a scale that the actor must balance precariously on. The weight of their performance can see them falling over the edge becoming too superfluous dragging you out of the scene, or so lacklustre as to make you aware of the dust dancing above their heads as they deliver their lines without sincerity, or even expression.

No, walking that fine line between reality and fantasy is an uncompromising necessity. A tyrannical rule which seeks to defile the sanity of directors and leave actors in a bubbling mess of self-loathing over the slicing words of harsh critics.

It's hard to walk on this tightrope of stage craft. Hard to find that balance, but when it's struck and the actor unfailingly captivates the audience as a daredevil does on that rope 200 feet in the air, you know you've chanced upon something extraordinary. You've laid your eyes on a person with the devilish finesse of a con artist twirling you around her pinkie. The stage vixen however, not only wants your attention, she craves your emotions. By the pure daring of her vulnerability laid bare, it seems you are allowed to open yourself up to the scene unfolding before you.

True beauty lies in performances that no longer allow for the definition of acting. The beauty of stage craft is the moment you no longer see the world around you as seats and the stage. The beauty becomes the moment you're invited into the life of that being in the actor's minds eye. The one you could've sworn you caught a glimpse of as he was heading towards the spotlight centre stage. The one that now exists before you as the remnants of the cocoon remain in the wings. A new being, a new life. Explosive energy and vivacious technique. The master of the craft is a master at trickery. Able to con you with their tears. The beauty of it is when you are awoken by the dampness of your cheeks having fallen as you caught that glimpse of theirs.

Actors. Like ghosts, the visions of you will haunt me as I walk out of those theatre doors.

Humbly yours,

Joselyn Khor

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Big reTHiNK update: One week and a bit left, eek!

Fuzzy peek at what I've been using in my DIY room for props and other things. See if you can make anything out. Photo / Joselyn Khor

Hi guys,

So the Wayward Seniors team has one week and a bit to go before they stun you onstage at Q Theatre.

Progress has been fantastic. Their deadline to remember lines came and went, with lines sticking to memory (for the most part).

Stage directions have been sussed and we just need to make sure you guys can hear them, so a bit more work on voices to go.

In the video I say they just completed their fourth to last rehearsal - not good with numbers on the spot - I meant fifth (or sixth) to last.

Costumes have been organised and I'm in the process of adding finishing touches to one of the actress' costumes. Praying everything will stay in place, otherwise feathers will be ruffled.

In other news. Sunday saw me driving to Titirangi's Lopdell House to meet a strapping gentleman who goes by the name of Henry Atkinson. Gathered around this stoic figure of a man - we had comedians, artists, writers and directors posing in green and pink for the Titirangi Tatler.

Photographer for the day: Taimi.

If you want to check out the behind the scenes shots, have a gander here.

Nice little trip, got to meet others involved in The Big reTHiNK, plus I got a free coffee out of it. Score.

Another photoshoot's coming up this Sunday and this will involve everyone, I believe. So all those acting and directing will be present.

Wonder if chaos will ensue. From what I've seen of this photogenic bunch, doubt there'll be cat fights or evil glares from across the room because at this point something definitely is amiss: egos.

Guess that's what you get when you're involved in something like reTHiNK, "craziness" is accepted because what's "normal"? Idiosyncrasies and oddities take centre stage leaving egos in the cold, and owners of upturned noses find themselves stumbling as the door hits them on their way out.

At least, that's my impression so far. We'll have to wait till Sunday to see if egos appear. As they say it's all an act for the camera. Now the real show will be what appears behind the scenes.

As I watch it unfold, wonder if there'll be any free coffee?

Until next time,

Jos

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Big reTHiNK: Behind the scenes Titirangi Tatler photoshoot

Here's a peek at what we got up to on Sunday with Henry.

Was like drawing blood from a stone trying to get him to crack a grin. Photos / Joselyn Khor

Taimi trying to cheer Henry up.

Flynn Allan with a head piece. 

Taimi setting up the camera.

(From left) Paul Rogers (artist), Flynn Allan (actor), Stewart Allan (musician) and Rob Wigley (musician).

Snapped this as everyone got ready to put on smiles for the other cam.

The Westie reTHiNKers and lothario Henry. Photo / Taimi Allan/Facebook

Renovations underway to restore the theatre at Lopdell House.

Theatre light room.

Past performers enshrined in a photo collage.

Chilaxin area.

Paul Rogers and Jennifer Rogers on up.

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Big reTHiNK's Wayward Seniors play: First rehearsal

I threw a giraffe. Photo / Wikimedia Commons image posted by user Roland H.

Booyah!

First rehearsal done ... and dusted.

Got the actors to throw crocodiles and paper airplanes at each other while I threw a giraffe. For a warm up.

This warm up involved a person moulding an imaginary ball into anything they wanted then throwing it at another person to catch.

Don't worry guys, we weren't harassing animals at the zoo. We were becoming animals through the craft of, acting. (In my mind I'm saying "acting" very dramatically, it's fun!)

Firstly we tried out laughter yoga. Think it's pretty funky. Weird, but funky.

At least we got to say we chased people out of the room with the power of our laughter. Don't know if that's a good thing ...

Man, there are so many different kinds of warm up techniques I never knew existed out there. Really going to have to wade through them all to find out the ones that will be suited for theatre actors.

Will be fun trying to figure that out.

This is going to be short, because as you may be able to see in the video, my brain's just refusing to cooperate right now.



Until next time,

Jos

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Singing ... me?? That's preposterous! Apparently, not

Could I possibly sing like Adele? Photo / Wikimedia Commons image posted by user  nikotransmission

Yes, I sound like Adele, choking on a lemon.

No musical talent whatsoever. That's how I can describe myself when asked.

Then where does Adele factor in to all of this?

Well apparently, there's a chance that with proper training, I may sound like her when she's got a cold.

Gives me hope anyway.

That's the lesson learnt from a vocal seminar attended today.

Michael, our vocal coach, gave a two-hour powerpoint presentation on how - with the right techniques - "singing talent" can actually be learnt.

Your voice is a muscle, the more you use it the better you'll become.

I won't go into extreme details but one thing that hit me was: you don't have to be born with a good voice. Or that "special gift" because according to Michael, that really is a myth.

Many of the talented people who seem to be beyond greatness in the vocal arena started singing when they were in diapers.

So they've had plenty of time to practise, and you know what they say about practise.

Of course there are those who are born with good voices, but they've also gotten to where they are with a lot of training.

According to Michael the majority of great singers have been at it, learning, practising and training for eons.

That means, for those of us who have ever said "I can't sing", there's evidence to refute that.

The idea, in essence is: no-one is really "born with it".

So you don't have to be afraid of your own voice in a karaoke bar.

Usually the thought of stringing together sounds to go with music through my mouth, terrifies me.

So, this was actually really encouraging to hear. Refreshing insight to prepare me for the next stage of life: Becoming Lady Gaga.

There are no shortcuts to good singing though, just hard work and interest in the techniques.

As a result, it seems I don't think Gaga's the way to go. If I were to train, who knows what I could punch out with this muscle of mine.

Plus, "I wasn't born this way, but there's hope I will become that way if I work hard enough ... " just doesn't have the same ring to it.

Anyway, the thought that people who have always wanted to sing but never tried it because of that little voice that said "can't", made me want to share this.

In reality, you can.

A baritone could potentially sing mezzo-soprano if he stuck in the hours and wanted to achieve that feminine allure. Or was that a contralto singing countertenor?

There were a lot of fun terms.

The point is, if you've always wanted to give singing a try, there's nothing holding you back. It's not that you weren't born with it. It's that you haven't actually applied the right technique to get that muscle going.

With the right education and training, there's a chance I may see you in concert one day.

Or learn another skill, like, lip synchronisation.

Until next time,

Jos

P.S. I haven't been able to ask Michael for any further information but if you're interested I can see if he can share a few of the slides. Or pass on his contact for you. For now, here's 'Voice Training 101' found courtesy of Google.

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