February 2007

Notes: I was thinking of adding a little variety to the space I was offered to play around with, so I did a commentary and interview. Ciplak was a pure riot, appallingly understated. Thought I could shed some light on this little gem. The interview is with Mark Beau de Silva, a man I had the privilege of working with in the Broken Bridges ensemble. On the countless train rides to rehearsals, it was inevitable that we'd share stories about our ups and downs, and during one ride Mark enlightened me on his upcoming play. I'm glad I decided to give him publicity in February's issue. I watched the show later that month and was blown away by the script and his acting. I felt like a proud mother. Or something like that.

Far from Ciplak

A couple of months ago I caught Ciplak, a local independent film by Khairil M Bakar. It can’t be realistically considered for an Oscar but with the paltry RM10,000 budget that Khai was reputedly running on, I’d say it was nothing short of a fantastic attempt at entertainment. I was later told by one of my friends, who worked on the film, that it hadn’t been well received during its run, one of the reasons being that the sense of humor applied to the story was hard to latch on to. Now, I usually use myself as a benchmark to rate the viewer-friendliness of
a film. I’m quite dense so as long as I understand what goes on and enjoy myself, I can safely recommend a film to just about anyone. For one, I understood Ciplak - the main character himself recounts his current state of affairs to the audience throughout the course of the film – and just as importantly, I laughed a lot for all the reasons intended. So to find that my friend and I were the only folks in the cinema when we watched it was a shame, and quite a filthy one at that in my opinion. For some reason, I can’t see Anglicization as a good enough excuse to overlook the film as for many of us, our movie preferences lean towards that anyway. As for the aforementioned Oscar bit, it’s come as close as it could by winning last year’s Anugerah Skrin TV3 for Best Alternative Film; I’m sure that’s gotta say something. If only the Malaysian movie-going public would put more faith in their homegrown productions, particularly the indie scene. Money can impress but is irrelative to the makings of a great flick; sometimes there’s something about a filmmaker’s genius and passion that just takes the cake.


Mark of Pride

Ah Steve is an all-new comedy about a man dissecting his gender identity and the stigma that surrounds the person he is truly comfortable being. Giving us a brief lowdown about himself and his latest work is playwright Mark Beau de Silva, who also portrays the main character in the story.

Do you ever feel the pressure of living up to high expectations, especially with the critical acclaim of your previous works such as Stories For Amah?
Sometimes when I think about it, yeah. But I try not to compare my plays, as I feel they are quite different- inspired by different things. Of course, people usually measure the success of a play by ticket sales and reviews, but my first sense of satisfaction comes after the last word of the script has been written. How do I say this… You know when you write something sh*tty, you will feel it? It's the same thing when you write something that means something to you. I felt good after writing Ah Steve - I think that is enough, for now at least!

What drives you to pen a play, any 'muses'? Do you have any particular routine of writing?
I tried writing using flowcharts and mindmaps and the like, you know, very organized and structured, but it never works for me. I have to have strong feeling in me to start, and I usually just write and write once it comes. There's one thing I’m superstitious about: I always must write with a pencil/pen on paper. I cannot type it straight into the PC- the result would be sh*tty! I don't have a muse, but the people around me inspire me.

Do you ever get bouts of anxiety knowing that you are working with local theatre greats like Joe Hasham and Ah Steve’s director, Dato' Faridah Merican?
Not anxiety, but I am grateful. I always feel I’d be nothing in theatre without them. They are like my 'theatre guardian angels' who believe in young people like me, over and over again.

The cast of Ah Steve seems to be dominated by rising talents. Was this intentional, and how important is this element to you as a writer?
Joe and Faridah did say that they feel my writing is for 'real people'. So maybe they think these rising stars would provide a fresh and more realistic feel to the play. This one I am just guessing la, I also dono.

How do you feel starring in a play that was also written by you - is it any easier or more difficult?
More difficult. I was very uncomfortable at first but Faridah and Joe think I suit the role best.

What do you hope audiences will get out of Ah Steve?
I hope they will come and leave the theatre loving unconventional people more, and knowing that they are just like everybody else.

Ah Steve is the fourth installment of the Malaysian Playwright Series.

It is staging this month in The Actors Studio @ BSC on 22 – 24 Feb, 27 Feb - 3rd March @ 8.30pm; 25 February, 4th March @ 3pm
and The Actors Studio Greenhall in Penang on 9-11 March @ 8.30pm, 11 March @ 3.00pm