Long Time No See

Hi,
It's been a while since I updated my blog.
I've been truly busy doing 3 musicals back to back this year.
Since Broadway Parodies Lah!, I have 48 hours before joining Tunku - The Musical and not having any breaks in between.
Not to mentioned, after Tunku closed a week later, I was offered to do P.Ramlee - The Musical as a back-up choir.
So...no time for breaks and updates as you can see.

But...what's great is I'm back now and I will do my best to keep my blog updated with the latest information of what's going on with in my performing arts career.

Be in touch.
I'll be right back as soon as possible.

Peace.

Broadway Parodies Lah! missing pics

Doreen & me...a few minutes til we open the show


Me & Cheryl Tan, a new promising star performer...only 18 and has so much potential
Kinda remind me when I was her age.

Me & Joanne Kam, the comedienne diva. She always have something to make us laugh behind stage, which truly helps us not to feel too tense before we hit the stage.

Joanne & Doreen ..a few minutes before the show starts

Me & Ivan Choong, another potential new star...great singing voice.

We are the 2 "London boys" in the show, he lives in Maida Vale while me..in Chiswick

I wouldn't have known him if weren't for the show which brought us together

Hi, here are some of the pics taken during Broadway Parodies Lah!

Sorry for the delay

Doreen & me

Doreen & me, a few minutes before we hit the stage for Broadway Parodies Lah!,2007

Doreen & me, chilling during Tunku - The Musical's publicity photo shoot ,2007

I get to do 2 musicals back-to-back this year, Broadway Parodies Lah! and Tunku - The Musical.

Not only that, I get to work with Doreen Tang whom I truly admire and respect as a fellow artist. What a voice!

She's playing Fauzia, one of the 7 principles.

Looking forward for a truly great show.......

Farah & me

Farah & me, on RTM's HMI in 1991

Farah & me on Broadway Parodies Lah! 2007 (did I grow a bit taller now?)

My God, how time flies

It was just like yesterday when I 1st met Farah Sulaiman and attended her jazz and tap classes

Then suddenly, I'm working with her on a professional level for Broadway Parodies Lah!

What can I say, it's such an enjoyable moment to be reunited with her and not to mention, working with her on a different level

I'm no longer the same kid back then...as I've all grown up & matured (yes, and have grown a little taller too...hehehehe) artistically and creatively

If there's gonna be a sequel/part 2 for BPL..I definitely do it again

Rose Among The Thorns OR Thorn Among The Roses?

Sayang Dancers...chilling after our performance. Me (3rd from the right)

As usual, strike a pose before we hit the stage for HMI....

...while waiting for our turn to perform for HMI, me & Li Yen

In my dance class ...anywhere I go, I'm the only guy while the rest are all girls

Sure makes me feel like i'm the rose among the thorns...

or

the only thorn among the roses?...hehehehehe

Well...u decide

I do have to work 3x harder, mostly as I had got no technical training in dancing unlike the rest of the girls, who had taken ballet or modern

Me...I relied mostly on style, emotion, feelings

Competitive?? you bet!

Once...when i was a Sayang Dancer, junior batch

Me (3rd from the right) and my pals chilling out after our jazz class at Sayang Academy of Dancing, 1991

Me in black (centre), Farah Sulaiman (behind me) for one of our many performances for RTM's Hiburan Minggu Ini (HMI). This one is in 1991.

I must say I am proud to be 1 of the junior batch of the Sayang Dancer, under the guidance of Farah Dato'Sulaiman -my dance teacher and mentor.

She's also like a big sister to me.

It's been 1 of my greatest moments during my teens as I get to be trained in jazz & tap.

I remembered back then, against my parents wishes, I took my dance lessons without their knowledge

I would take a bus from PJ and walk up the hill to Bangsar, just for my lessons every Saturday.

I don't know what really got into me, but the passion & drive was very strong....

bottom line...i just wanna learn and gain knowledge

I believe all the sacrifice I made over the years truly pays off as it became clear to me now more than ever.

Hard work, perseverance, self-belief, positivity....and a good clear heart,all the key to success

I do still continue dancing whenever I can

But once....someone told me "Once you are a dancer, you are always a dancer"

Is that right....?

A Long Time Ago...

Brian McIntyre, my director of Broadway Parodies Lah! (1st left), Pan Swee Chin (2nd left), me in brown & Chae Lian of Gardner & Wife (right next to me) in Stand And Deliver, 1990

Me in brown (centre), Pan Swee Chin (left) and Chae Lian of Gardner & Wife (right) in Stand And Deliver, 1990

Where does it all started everyone asked?

Well it began in 1990 where I was one of the ensemble member of the musical Stand And Deliver
I was only 9 when i started

My God....it has been that long

In this production was when I get to know a lot of veteran theatre performers in this city. Just to name a few...my director of Broadway Parodies Lah!, Brian McIntyre, Chae Lian of Gardner & Wife, Sandra Sodhy, Suzan Manen, Pan Swee Chin, Siau Suan....they are all still active in the theatre of KL.

A New Beginning, A New Chapter...Part 2

Hi

I think what people mostly wouldn't believe is, in my career as a performing artist and musician,

I had burned out...twice

Oh ya...that's right.

Tough to believe huh?

I guess back then, I worked too hard on something and I expected rewards and merit to come too quickly.

Maybe I expect too much of myself.

Well...I guess when you are young and full of driven energy and not having a matured mind and a good sense of direction....that's what happens.

Actually, this could just happen to anyone.

NOW...it's all different, it has all changed.

I'm a different person now..artistically and creatively.

I have matured over the years, artistically I've grown so much and I'm much more focus as well as being practical, objective and rational about what I do.

For example, when I did "Broadway Parodies Lah!"

I wasn't nervous...not one bit

I was calmed and relaxed and all set,ready to go.

Brian did tell me about how mean the critics can be, but i just didn't care at all

I took that as an opportunity and turn it around and exploit it positively.

All I care was to give my best, and nothing else matters.

Not to mention...enjoy myself at the same time.

Actually it was a new journey for me...

A new beginning, a new chapter..it's like Part 2 or a new Volume or Updated Edition in my career.

It's another level entirely.

Maturity in ones artistry is priceless.

As a human being, I'm still learning as I go along. Our journey in life is a learning experience and it won't stop.

When we think everything is at the end...it's not. Because actually.....it's a new beginning......

London, London, London.......Homesick

There are times when I wish i'm back in London even as I'm writing.
I would say....I'm "homesick"
I missed my friends, I missed my usual excursion...going to the parks, theatres, having coffee at SoHo, browsing at the bookshops and record stores....missed the morning mist, fish & chips, climbing the double deck red bus, rushing to catch the Tube, doing my dance classes at Pineapple Studios...

Well, what can I say, I just did a successful musical comedy "Broadway Parodies Lah!" and now i'm in "Tunku"
not to mentioned, I'm booked for the BPL tour and perhaps the sequel/part 2
I shouldn't be complaining as I'm in good hands.
Looks like it's gonna be til next year.

Not to mentioned, my dad still hasn't recovered fully from his stroke and I can't just leave him with my mom. That would be very selfish and heartless.
I pray everyday for my dad's full recovery and everything will be back to normal.

Amen

Tunku - The Musical

Hiya,
There's been speculation saying that I'm in "Tunku - The Musical"
Yup, it is true.
I am now a member of the ensemble for Tunku
I was invited by Joe Hasham & Dato' Faridah last Sunday after the closing of "Broadway Parodies Lah!"
It took me 48 hours to decide whether I would join the ensemble.

Well...i did went for Tunku's audition and I got cut off
(sounds like Akademi Fantasia....hehehehehe)
Anyway...what matters most is I'm blending and fitting in fine

I'm doing a 1 month work of rehearsal and squeezing it into 1 week
phew!
So far so good, I'm not complaining, I'm enjoying myself too

I hope it's gonna be a wonderful show

More Coming...

Watch out!!
There's still more to come pretty soon....
Stay tune

Voice, voice, voice

Gosh
What happens when I go on stage and suddenly nothing comes out?
Kinda scary!

During "Broadway Parodies Lah!", I truly admire the 4 vocalists in the group...
Ivan, Soon Yoon, Doreen & Cheryl.

Ivan...great tenor voice (even though he keeps admitting he's a baritone LOL),
real solid tone.
I hope there will be more musicals & shows coming his way and I think he should be given a chance.
Hope he'll go places in the future.

Soon Yoon...what can I say, a real ball of energy. Before the show starts, he'll be singing and he can go on and on and on, wish I got that kinda of energy. I'm truly his opposite, where before performances, I will keep silence and focus my energy entirely for my performance.
Soon Yoon is a real tenor and has a much lighter weight on his voice compare to me.
I have a great chemistry working with Soon Yoon for "We're DeListed".
We can harmonize well and I can see that he's got a lot of ideas when it comes to harmonizing in a group.

Doreen...our very own "Christine Dae"
Great soprano voice.
How does she hit the high notes every nite for "The Bomoh of the Bursa" and not to mention, maintaining the quality...amazing.
She's always been very helpful to all the cast as she will lead the vocal warm-ups.
At one time during the final few weeks of rehearsal, she had some viral infection and she couldn't sing out, we were all so scared if she couldn't sing during the performance week.
Thank God she recovered fast and we have our "Christine Dae" back again ;)

Cheryl...the youngest member of the cast.
Fresh young tone, energetic and not to mention very matured for her age.
She reminds me of myself when I was her age.
At such a tender age, she's very focus and I can see that she really wants to excel in performing arts.
I really respect her.
A true "Wicked" fan, I was blown away when she sang "Defying Gravity" at The Attic.
I would say good luck to her for her future endeavor as she's got so much potential.

As for me, my vocals are much lower compare to the rest of them.
I'm a baritone tenor or higher baritone as how you may call it. My tones are low and it can sound really heavy.
Well, I never like to talk about my vocal abilities as I leave it to others to evaluate it.
hehehehehe...

More more please...cast of Broadway Parodies!!

Here are some of our earlier pics taken by our director, Brian McIntyre

my experience throughout Broadway Parodies Lah!

Hi
Like every performer, I've experienced some of the most unexplainable stuff throughout the show.

My biggest fear during the show was my tap routine, as I've stopped doing tap for 4 years.
Thank God it came back.
Thanks to Farah who has been very helpful to me.
I'm so glad that everyone enjoyed it.
My tap plates nearly came off twice during the performance as the screw was a bit loose,
but that didn't stop me from doing my tap well.

Working with Soon Yoon for the "DeListed" was so amazing.
We had a great chemistry together.
How he does that split every nite sure was incredible.
Give me a million Euros, I definitely for sure can't do that.

I must say there were days when my tap was perfect during the show and there were some days where it was totally appauling.
I knew when i didn't do well as I do expect myself to a certain level and standard where I wanna be perfect.
Am I demanding too much of myself? YES!! As i'm a perfectionist.

The funniest thing about this show was when I was approached by Brian to become "The Bomoh of The Bursa".
I had no idea whatsoever how to come about, but I said yes.
During rehearsal, it's totally different as I couldn't bring the Bomoh to life.
It was during the tech rehearsal as well as full dressed rehearsal, I had an idea how to make it really "alive" and totally hilarious.
As for Doreen, what can i say...amazing voice. How does she hit those high notes every nite....fantastic.
Soon Yoon again....at the beginning, I couldn't keep a straight serious face when he got "possessed".LOL

As for "Aiyo", there were times during rehearsal, I am suppose to fall off the chair at the end of the song.
LOL
I only fell twice during the show and 1 was during our final performance.
Glad i did...hehehehe

I have no comment on my other dance routines as it came out perfectly and naturally.
Come to think of it, I was almost in every dance routine there was.

I had no pressure during the rehearsal of the entire show.
It had given me the least tension compare to other shows I had done in the past.

I would definitely do it again if it get re-staged
Or a sequel, part 2...
Who knows, right?

Broadway Parodies Lah!

Hello
1st of all, I wanna thank all of you for coming to see the show, thanks for your support.
It's totally amazing and unexpected to see the show to become a major success.
I never expected it. In fact, none of us expected it either.
Objectively, all I wanna do is to perform and enjoy myself as well entertain others with my God-given talents, but to have a full house and sold out show entirely from beginning til we closed...wow...it's so unbelievable.

I must say doing Broadway Parodies Lah! has been a wonderful experience to me.
I get to meet other fellow performers and artists who are just like me
plus it's a great learning experience.
It has taken me to another level as a "triple-threat" performer.

I just felt as if it was yesterday when I auditioned for this show.
I remembered...I was a bit late for my audition and I just barged thru the room when Cheryl was still auditioning.
LOL
That's when I first met Cheryl. She was singing a song from "Wicked".

I knew Brian a long time ago when we were in a production of "Stand And Deliver" in 1990.
As for Farah, she was my dance teacher who trained me for jazz and tap.

Time sure flies very fast when we were having fun I must say.
We had 7 weeks to put up the show.
And by week 3, we finished all the 26 songs.
From week 4 onwards, it was just polishing and brushing up our acts.

We totally pull it off at the end.
The audience were constantly tickled with laughter throughout the show.
As a performer, I would say, I've done my job well.

I will truly miss our rehearsal days...Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays.
What can I say...every good thing which starts must come to an end.
Doing BPL will always be one of my sweetest memory.

Peace

Welcome, Selamat Datang, Bienvenue, Bienvenido

Hello y'all
Welcome to my blogspot which is still under construction.
It will be up in a few more days and updated from time to time.
So....tunggu (wait)
hehehehehe