Pubz Comm wishes to congratulate both Hall Play and XQRJ for the success of their events, held last week.

Some pictures for everyone to enjoy while waiting for our 2nd newsletter Imagine to come out in early March:-

HALL PLAY: Till we have Faces

10th Xing Qing Rong Ji

For our very first post of this academic year, we interviewed Chew Zichun, the producer of Hall Play 2008. He has some very interesting stories to share with us on his adventure so far in what is one of the hall’s major cultural activities. So let’s hear him out, shan’t we?

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Guest Profile

Name: Chew Zichun
Faculty/Year: Not available

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• First of all, can you tell us about the purpose of Hall play?

Hall play started out as an initiative to raise funds for the poor students in KE Hall 34 years ago, and slowly became refined and polished through the years into the impeccably organized showcase of artistic talent. More importantly, Hall play has also, through the years, been the outlet for KEVIIans who were bursting with passion and energy to make many firm friends and lasting legacies in the annual event of the year that involves close to a hundred residents of KEVII Hall!

• How did you become hall play producer?

It was a multi-stage process and a totally unexpected ‘arrow’. Having been in charge of the lights last year, I thought I was only going to be ‘promoted’ to be the tech crew head. For a long time after the end of Letters from the Frontline*, apart from hearing that Yi Feng was going to be the Production Manager (PM), Pooja the set décor head, and Vincent the set builder head, I did not know anything else. There was a chilly radio silence with regards to news about next year’s hall play. Meanwhile, I was convinced by a certain block’s head to be the Stage Manager (SM) instead of tech-crew head.

All of a sudden, one fateful evening I was summoned via sms by Trixie (last year’s Hall play Producer) to Leon’s (last year’s Hall play director) room, where an emergency meeting was going on. Yi Feng was present too. It turned out that the reason why nothing has been going on since May was because there was no Producer for Hall Play 2008! After a small battle of wills (which included emotional blackmail lines like “or we could just cancel Hall play next year and end a 33 year old tradition”), it became obvious to me that all arrows were directed at me. I survived the meeting without making any promises, but badly shaken.

Then when Terence (last year’s JCRC President) told me:-

“Zichun, if you know you’re going to have to do it anyways, you might as well accept reality and start early, instead of delaying the inevitable, and end up suffering more like Lincoln (last year’s DnD ‘eventual’ Head)”.

I made up my mind the next day to embrace the task that was laid at my feet.

* Letters from the Frontline was the title of last year’s Hall Production.

• What challenges are you facing this year?

We were faced with massive challenges every step of the way. From the lack of people who were willing to be involved as department heads (we ended up with many Year 1 department heads), to the copyright saga (we ended up meeting Mr. Douglas Gresham, step-son of CS Lewis, author of the novel our play is based on), to last minute changes of schedules. Our main challenge this year is the lack of experienced members and heads, especially in the Operations departments; many of the heads have never even been in hall before, much less in Hall play. And my experience in lightings last year is not especially helpful in my current job as Producer.

• On the Set and Décor side, how is the progress so far?

The sets have all been completed by the set builders as of last week; however the set décor is behind schedule and lacking manpower.

• What can you tell us about the cast and the rehearsals?

We have very good actors this year! However due to adjustment issues and clashes, we have not been able to hold many rehearsals, and only had one combined rehearsal at the communal hall so far for the first half of the play. We will be having a ‘cast camp’ as well as more combined rehearsals in the comm hall in the last two weeks of holidays.

• What can we expect from hall play this year?

With little more than an inspiration and the faith of a mustard seed… a cripplingly incomplete steering committee, no script, no experience, no copyright contact, nobody who’s ever heard of ‘Till We Have Faces’… this year’s production has come to where it is today. Those of us who has been around from the very beginning will know how difficult and in fact, seemingly impossible this whole adventure has been. So, expect a miraculously good performance, because every progress and success in our Hall play this year thus far has been miracles!

• Can you tell us the story of Hall Play 2008?

Here’s a brief synopsis written by the cast director, Yarong:

Adapted from C.S. Lewis’ powerful re-telling of the Greek myth of Cupid and Psyche, the play begins as the complaint of an old woman against the Gods. The woman, Orual, is bitter at the injustice of the gods, who she accuses of having stolen her sister, the beautiful Psyche.

The play then takes a retrospective glance back at the events which lead to this complaint: from her turbulent childhood with an abusive father, her teenage years spent with her sisters, and the troubled situation in her kingdom, Glome, which culminated in Psyche’s sacrifice.

When Orual later discovers that Psyche is still alive, she tries to bring her back but is rebuffed– Psyche says that she is now married to a god. Furious and disbelieving, Orual convinces herself that Psyche must be insane, and sets out on a desperate and ineffectual course of action that leads back to her complaint. Will the gods answer? Will Orual ever see Psyche again? Why should the gods meet us face to face…Till We Have Faces?

• Any final words for the residents staying in hall this vacation for Hall play and other CCAs?

It’s cold these days, what with all the rain. Let’s burn with some KE passion and energy in our trainings and activities to warm up the place!

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Next up: Watch out for our interview with Koh Yueting, 10th XQRJ head this coming Wednesday!

Hall Play this year, Letters From The Frontline, was a resounding success. It played for 2 nights (2 and 3 Feb) to full house at the UCC Theatre. Wowing the audience with a skilful blend of laugh-out-loud humour and hard-hitting scenes about war and the ludicrousness of military conflict, this was a masterpiece which had the audience shouting with laughter one moment and chilled with goosebumps the next. A witty and provocative script, coupled with fine performances from one of the most talented ensemble casts Hall Play has had in recent years, made this a pleasure to watch. Letters From The Frontline will go down in KE history, not just as a vehicle for charity fund-raising, but as a piece of genuine theatrical art.

This was a play which had more deaths, more romantic tension, and more emotional connection with the audience than most of the hall plays in recent memory. Everyone ended up rooting for Joseph Chen, the main character of the show, the young soldier who writes letters home to a girl he has never met. The audience found itself wondering if he would make it back alive, if he would ever meet Victoria, hoping for a happy ending. Cries of “Awww!” and cheers followed the story’s progress.

Hall play 06/07, “Letters From The Frontier”, seems very promising.  Both cast and crew are working hard to put together a play that will set emotions soaring next year.  Trixie, the producer of this year’s Hall play, gives us some insights on progress so far and on her own perception of things, in an interview given to the KEVII Publication team. (NB: This interview was conducted in November 2006.)

Please give a brief introduction of yourself. 
I was part of Hall Play last year as the Assistant Producer. Initially, I was only planning to join Hall Play for CCA points.  I never knew I would go this far. (laughs!)

 What factors pushed you to apply for the position of producer of hall play?

Being part of Hall Play last year gave me the passion to keep Hall Play going. I would like to do a better Hall Play and hopefully it will be a fulfilling experience not to be missed by anyone! Lastly, with the experience of last year’s hall play as well as this year’s Hall Play, I believe I play a part in passing on the knowledge to the newcomers.

How was the experience of hall play last year?

There are both good and bad experiences from last year’s Hall Play. I got to know lots of people and this widened my social network. I had lots of fun working with the seniors as well as the girls from Andrew and Grace Home, our beneficiary. However, there are always obstacles and things don’t always go our way. I was new then and I did mistakes along the way. Things were very rushed last year with lots of unexpected “bombs”, but, thank goodness, we managed to pull it through.

Any lessons that you learnt from being part of hall play last year and that are helping you to manage the group now?

Definitely! The first thing I knew I had to do is to instill teamwork among my Steering Committee members. Without the team working together, things won’t go far. We have around 100 members in Hall Play and it is not possible for me to manage all of them by myself.  

Like I said previously, Hall Play was very rushed last year. Having an idea of Hall Play’s working period helps me in preparing our main schedule and to identify the priorities of each task, so as not to rush everything at the very last minute.

How do you find the hall play team (production and cast) this year as compared to last year?

I find that the Hall Play team this year is very efficient. The cast managed to memorize their scripts and stage crews knew their cues by the 1st half of the Full Run in October! Everyone is very cooperative, be it on the operation or the production side. The Steering Committee coordinated well with the members, especially during the sales of moon cakes period. All of them came and helped out at the booth.  However, compared to last year, the sense of belonging to Hall Play is not entirely felt by each and every member yet. I wish to work on that more.

 Any innovations that are being brought to hall play this year?
This year Hall Play has an original script. It has been a few years since the last time Hall Play did an original script. 

Apart from that, we are bringing the cast out to perform in the public through the ‘CLAP’ program organized by the Central Community Development Council Singapore on 16th December 2006. We are expecting a crowd of 500 – 1000 people which we target to reach out to.

How are the preparations for hall play going so far?

Things are following according to schedule except for a few departments due to some unavoidable circumstances. Do look out for the tickets by mid-November! Our publicity materials are on the way and the first badge of flyers and bookmarks will be out by early December. On the administration side, we are in the midst of liaising with OSA for the standard procedure. As for the Production site, we have already finished building the sets and we are in the middle of painting and decorating it. The crews will be fixing their cues soon for the 2nd half of the script.

 Any difficulties or problems that are being encountered?

Each Hall Play will have its own difficulties and problems. This year, we are facing problems in finding some huge fat grants to support our play. But I believe money will not come so soon. Currently, we are trying to cut down our expenditure to minimize the deficits. The Steering Committee complained of not having enough money to spend. Sorry guys. (Laughs)

 Another common problem we face this year is to gel every Hall Play members together. The committee is huge, thus it is no surprise that some Hall Play members may not even know each other. Perhaps we could have a Hall Play day where every member will wear the Hall Play shirt for that particular day. We are still working on that.

 What is your personal goal and expectations for hall play?
Personally, apart from bringing Hall Play to greater heights, my goal is to make Hall Play a memorable experience for each and every one of my members. I hope all of them will have fun in Hall Play and pick up some skills along the way.

Lastly, can we have a brief synopsis of the story that will be played by hall play this year? What type of story is it and what can the audience expects from it?

This year’s production will focus on an integral part of human history – conflict and war- and the absurdity of it all.

Our war story is told through the eyes of a young man – Joseph Chen, and his letters to a young woman he has never met, Miss Victoria. Through the letters, we see how Joseph eventually falls in love with Victoria and how they eventually meet, which will be a surprise ending for the audience. 

The war will be played out through a series of flashbacks, and the audience will be introduced to a whole ensemble of interesting characters as well, from apathetic soldiers to a loud and boisterous soldier called Donny.

The play will rely heavily on multimedia, specifically music and videos, which will serve to complement, rather than to overshadow, the performers.

- Interview by SL

With a burning passion for drama productions, Wai Kit has taken up the position of Production Manager for hall play this year. Let’s hear what he has to say about his experience in hallplay and how he has be coping with his position of heavy responsibility!

How are you coping as the production manager for hallplay?

I’m doing well=] Everything on the production side is currently running smoothly, all thanks to all my fellow department heads and assistants this year. They are really a productive and efficient bunch. Some of them have previous experience in their area of work and some don’t, but all their efforts so far were really significant to me and definitely lessen my burden a lot.
 
What motivated you to be the production manager?

I have a passion for drama productions and I guess Hallplay is a place where I can really try out my skills and learn new things. For me, I’ve been an actor and a director before and hence trying something new such as production managing seemed like a way to explore new ground. Production managing encompasses and demands a wide scope of knowledge and skills, both on the technical and administrative side. So I see this as an opportunity to really learn much more about drama production, especially when handling things with a higher and more general perspective. 
 
What were some good/funny memories of last year’s hallplay?

Last year I was one of the cast members for “Fame”. Most of the memorable things, whether happy or sad, came from the whole “cast experience”. Many things happened and I can’t really pinpoint a particularly funny or memorable event. But one thing I enjoyed the most was rehearsing together with Shahzad and Hui Zhi. Hui Zhi was rather new in terms of acting but boy can she really dance! I was serious during rehearsals most of the time while Shahzad had always been the joker, the one that sparked laughter among the 3 of us. So I guess we complement each other. Haha… I still remember how Shaz made his funny moves during dance rehearsals and, not to mention, breaking the drama boxes! I truly enjoyed every single moment of it. 
 
What are your plans for this year’s production?

Plans? Hmmm…. That sounds like a big word to me. Why don’t I talk about simple goals instead?

This year, I wish to create a well-disciplined and efficient environment among all Hallplay members, especially the production side, because these are the people who will actually shape the actual performance that night and I believe instilling proper working attitudes now would go a long way. Besides that, I want to make Hallplay a vibrant CCA that many will be looking forward to joining year after year. Of course, I also hope that all effort put into this production will result in a blast and many will remember this year’s “Letters from the Frontline” as the play that really made a difference. 
 
What are the challenges you face as the production manager?

Money! Nothing speaks more in a production than funding itself. Without ample funding, all ideas, dreams and visions of the whole production would never be realized. As a production manager, I have to keep to our budget very carefully. Since our budget is limited, there are times when I have to weigh the pros and cons of various actions or decisions, sometimes I have to make painful sacrifices. Production managing is not just about managing funds but also people. Good communication skills and trying to bring across your ideas, views and demands also stands as a challenge. But this is all part and parcel of production managing I guess. Another challenge that I face personally would be having to pick up all the skills and tackle all jobs of a production manager because I’m fairly new to this area.

 - Interview by P