The VESSEL

I've got a LOT to write about since my last post, but now I want to get today off my chest first because it's the freshest. (!)

This story began at the inception of DUMC Punctuation Ministry's newest initiative and main focus for the year 2011, the Academy for Performing Arts known henceforth as the VESSEL. Courses to be held in the evenings and/or weekends cover the various aspects of the performing arts scene, namely singing, acting and dancing. Applicants had to audition in song, act and dance for admission which was limited to only 15 for this year.
The day for me was quite hectic. I had to shuffle to and fro from my family and DC, cos' it's my grandmother's birthday when we celebrate with a longevity-noodle breakfast and a birthday luncheon, and then I was serving in the choir in church, all the while doing some last-minute preparation for the auditions later. It was gratifying, to say the least, to have Cathy and Amy, the other two MadWorlders serving in worship this weekend, encouraging me and advised me on my singing. Thanks to you both, as well as to Angie, Melissa and my own cell for your support and prayers!

So, in the early afternoon of this hallowed second Day of the Lord, around 20 budding thespians gathered at Concourse 2 of the Dream Centre awaited their entry into Hall 2 at 2.00pm.
And from MadWorld, no less than FOUR turned up: Rebekah, Sammie, Amanda and myself! "All around me are familiar faces", and it was great to know that the Vessel's inaugural batch of students will have a touch of MadWorld influence,  as it can be certain that some if not all of us will be admitted!


Before the actual auditioning process, we were treated to introductions by Pastor Mike Ngui, who as the pastor in charge will be overseeing the spiritual aspect of this Christian theatre, developing the maturity of VESSEL's students, as well as Mdm Chow Hung Lan, head of Punctuation and Principal of the academy. After, the auditions well and truly began, where the auditioned are required to interpret a monologue given beforehand, and then perform it again based on the given direction, followed by singing on the far side of the room "for vocal projection", and finally a short interview by Hung Lan.
During the four hours that followed, we saw friends going in and out, discussing MadWorld and the pros and cons of going first or last during one-on-one auditions. Amanda had to sing a different song because her worship song was too simple; Rebekah had to deal with her flu and so it wasn't her best, but she was using her callback song from MadWorld and Sammie said her projection was excellent (way to go!); Sammie nearly croaked but held it back towards the end of her song, but found it quite hard to do the second monologue interpretation; I had trouble with my first interpretation but was fine after that, but I sang out of habit (that is to say, almost the same with my many practices since Amy's coaching that morning) so I didn't know how THAT one went. It was a really long wait overall. The plus side is the side dishes: Daryll, Gabriel, Mei Yern, Shaun, Melvin, Zara, and Reuben from MadWorld all came and went! Their presence alone lifted our spirits for the unnerving tests, and many gave more besides.


After four hours of waiting till our nerves nearly broke, the last applicant finally finished her audition, and it was time for the dance test, where all of us joined in at once. It consisted of warm-ups, some ballet movements and a jazz (ballroom dance) routine. To be quite honest, I don't know how he would remember which of us he will admit. For that matter, I don't even know what criteria they were using to screen us...
This reminded me so much of MadWorld! I kept looking at Amanda to gauge her reactions to the exercises that I believe are all too familiar to her! Besides which, I finally appreciate what my sister is or will be doing in her ballet classes, and the jazz just threw me back to my boarding school days when I took beginners' ballroom dancing classes at RM10 per class! It was quite similar to the samba and rock n' roll steps that I learned, and I would be all the more enthusiastic if he would just ... slow down! LOL Honestly, my old instructor William took it quite slow for us, which is just nice and made learning the dance so much more enjoyable. But the "after-effects" are exactly the same: on my way home I kept rehearsing the moves, in the carpark on my way to the lift, and even in the shower (okay, too much info!), much like what I would have done back in school!


The auditions officially ended with a prayer led by Hung Lan, who informed us that the "results" will be out by the end of this week (ending on the 16th), and for the successful applicants a team-building exercise will be held sometime on the 23rd or 30th of this same month.
Briefly? Phew! One whole week of waiting! I don't think I can stand it! All fingers and toes crossed and praying for the best!






Reflections:

For me it was terrifying and exhilarating at the same time! There were some things that I was proud and glad of, less that I was not, and at the end of the audition I find myself just enjoying learning the dance steps so much I didn't feel like an audition for me. I am just yearning for more dance lessons so much that I am desperately wanting to be accepted into the academy now!


But above the drama coaching (which would be a refreshing first for me in a LONG time), the vocal training (that I REALLY need), and even the dance lessons, my main inspiration for joining the VESSEL is the spiritual aspect of it. I am most eager (yea, even ecstatically excited!) for the accountability programme that Punctuation offers, complementing the artistic training. The spiritual input and guidance from church pastors and leaders in the course of grooming our performing skills would not only bolster our course of study and training in Christian theatre, but also a wonderful and God-breathed addition to the spiritual goals I set for this year! Hence my reason for trying out for the VESSEL, as nervous as I was: I want to develop my interest in the performing arts and use whatever I have in this area in the service of our Lord, to give back at least a little something for all that He has done for me, and will do in times to come!