all the world's a stage!!!

Rehearsals And All That Jazz!!! Part 4

10:55 AM, Wednesday, May 31, 2006 | Link to this post | 0 comments

It’s unbelievable!!! I passed ES 13 and take note, it’s more than passing! And I got a 1.00 in PI 100! GOD is so good! Thanks to those people who prayed for me. God really loves me! Galing talaga ni God! Grabe! Who would never believe in grace!?

Anyway, I just wanna give you an update about what’s happening with our rehearsals. We did a run yesterday with Tr. John again as our keyboardist. The run is just fine. It’s just that we sometimes drop our energies making us look awkward on stage. We’ll have our TDR (Technical and Dress Rehearsal) later this night at the AFP theatre and tomorrow is the Big Day!!! So you better watch us guys! And we need your prayers! The Big Day just means one Big Thing: Playshop 2006 is over! Mamimiss ko sila lahat!!!

- Gian

Rehearsals And All That Jazz!!! Part 3

11:58 PM, Tuesday, May 30, 2006 | Link to this post | 0 comments

We had rehearsals last night. And we did ‘good’ but we could have done better if we just let ALL our energies burst out. A new keyboardist is in the house. Anton became one of his students at CSB last term (I guess). We have a hard time adjusting to the music since he’s still studying the pieces while he’s playing the music. Tr. Mayen Bustamante was there to watch us for the second time and to give some notes after the run. Most of us have a hard time giving out our best because of the adjustment that we need to do with the music. And yes, Audrey II is in the house! The plant (in 3 sizes: small, medium and large) that was made of foam just arrived yesterday. The large Audrey II was scary since it looks like it can really eat you. At the end, as usual, we evaluated the run. A lot of notes were given to us by Tr. Dianne. I was given two notes; one was when I got off key on my part in Skid Row and the other one was when I came too early in Somewhere That’s Green. Well, I wasn’t disappointed when I was given those notes because I feel like I’m really part of the show! Tr. Mayen gave us notes about the basics of musical theatre. She reminded us with a lot of things with our singing, acting, and dancing. And mind you, she has a lot of stories to tell about her theatre life that inspired us to do our best. She left us with this quote from a famous thespian (partly rephrased): “Without an outer technique, the actor has in no way of expressing inner life. But without this inner life, he will not be able to say anything.” Profound no!?! She said this just to remind us to use the techniques that we’ve learned from the past workshops and continue to master the craft even after Playshop. Because you know, the magic of Playshop is about to end. Aaaaaaawwwww…. so sad!!! How I’m gonna miss everyone!?!

- Gian

Rehearsals And All That Jazz!!! Part 2

12:09 PM, Monday, May 29, 2006 | Link to this post |

It's a sunday yesterday. A time to rest and a time to reflect. But MT-F still managed to attend the rehearsals at Shang from 1-4pm. I came first at the venue and Rigg came second with a bandage on his left eye (may sumapak sa kanya!). When Tr. John came, he started to work with each of our singing parts (at least for the people who are present at that time). He taught me how to sing my part in Skid Row. I need to sing at a higher note from now on for that part. We first did a run of The Meek Shall Inherit before doing the whole show. The rest is history! At the end, we evaluated the show taking note of the things that we still need to improve. Tr. John said it's much much better now! (Woooohhoooo!!!) We finished 5 minutes before 4 but I wasn't able to go home right after since my family is still travelling from Bulacan to fetch me. So I took a walk in the mall with Ton, Anton, Simone, Pam, and Nikki.

- Gian

Rehearsals And All That Jazz!!!

11:25 AM, Saturday, May 27, 2006 | Link to this post |

We did a run of Little Shop for the second time last night and this time, it's a lot better. Before we begin the rehearsals, Tr. John reminded us a lot of things: 1. be focused, 2. be energetic, 3. keep your notes and be at the right pace while singing, and 3. be exagerated. Yes, be exagerated and do everything over the top. Know why? He wants us to feel the energy that we need to bring to the stage on the day of the showcase. We put all these things in our heads and we keep reminding ourselves of these things as the rehearsal progresses. And Tr. John was right! Our exaggerated movements, acting, and singing (in the right notes) brought us closer to the real performance. I mean it's more than just performance level. Though at times, we forget about this energy and Tr. John needs to yell 'ENERGY' at us. One thing that we need to practice more is our timing during musical numbers. We need to coordinate our movements with the music, the lyrics, and with each other. Last night's rehearsal was indeed energetic and funny even though Tr. John yelled at us countless times. Too bad, I wasn't able to see clearly the acting of the lead characters because Anton borrowed the frame of my eyeglasses (yes, just the frame excluding the lenses so I need to take off the lenses from it!) for him to use during the run. At the end, we evaluated the run and we find it good. Tr. John told us that we are a TALENTED class. (Applause!!!) All we need to do is use our talents altogether and bring it to the stage. It's a bit flattering you know!!! Hehe! We finished at 9:45pm (that's a rough estimate) and I came home at 11:30pm (a rough estimate again). We're gonna have our rehearsals again tomorrow at Shang from 1pm to 4pm and I think we'll also have a run on Tuesday before TDR. Gosh! We only have 4 days to rehearse and we're starting to feel the pressure of it. Prayer needed here!

- Gian

The Meek Shall Inherit...

3:25 PM, Friday, May 26, 2006 | Link to this post |

TRUMPETS PLAYSHOP MUSICAL THEATRE TEENS SECTION F CLASS PRESENTS

June 1, 2006
7pm
AFP Theater
Tickets at 150Php

- Gian

Summer Lovin' Had Me A Blast!

9:33 AM, | Link to this post |

Summer Classes are over! At last! Now's the time to work harder for our upcoming showcase on the 1st of June at the AFP theatre. I admit it! I've had a hard time juggling my acads and Trumpets. It's too tiring I tell you. Now I've learned my lesson: never enlist in a 'semi-major' subject during the summer classes because you won't enjoy the heat of the summer. I took the ES 13 final exam yesterday. I took the risk to change the solution to the first problem during the last minute giving me a different final answer. But after the exam, I realized that trusting your instincts is better than taking risks. I was so frustrated when I've found out that my first solution (the solution which I disregarded) was the CORRECT solution to the problem. I feel like crying afterwards. I texted Dwight about the whole thing and he replied with this message: "Wag n icpin ang xam, la k n magagawa dun..(smiley) ipagpray m0 n lng..(smiley)" Yes, I need to pray for it. So help me God!

- Gian

Just fot Kicks!!!

8:15 PM, Thursday, May 25, 2006 | Link to this post |

Your Stress Level is: 64%

You are prone to stress, and you're probably even pretty stressed right now.
Life's problems seem to pile up on you, and this often makes you feel depressed and burned out.
Learn to take time to relax and enjoy life, even if things are stressful. It's the only wa you'll get through the bad times.

How Stressed Are You?

You Should Be an Actor

You have a flair for the dramatic, and you probably already do a lot of acting in your day to day life, just to entertain yourself.
No need to steal the spotlight from your friends... You'll get plenty of attention once you start acting professionally!

What Sort of Artist Should You Be?

Your Theme Song is Back in Black by AC/DC

"Back in black, I hit the sack,
I've been too long, I'm glad to be back"

Things sometimes get really crazy for you, and sometimes you have to get away from all the chaos.
But each time you stage your comeback, it's even better than the last!

What's Your Theme Song?

How You Are In Love

You take a while to fall in love with someone. Trust takes time.

You give and take equally in relationships.

You tend to get very attached when you're with someone. You want to see your love all the time.

You love your partner unconditionally and don't try to make them change.

You stay in love for a long time, even if you aren't loved back. When you fall, you fall hard.

How Are You In Love?

Your Birthdate: October 21

You're a restless rebel with an unpredictable nature.
Bright but unbridled, you tend to seek out wild experiences over new ideas.
People are frustrated by your great potential, but you love your unconventional life.
You're a heartbreaker. People get attached to you, and then you're gone.

Your strength: Your thirst for adventure

Your weakness: Not taking time for slow pleasures

Your power color: Hot pink

Your power symbol: Figure eight

Your power month: March

What Does Your Birth Date Mean?

Your Linguistic Profile::

40% General American English

25% Dixie

25% Yankee

5% Upper Midwestern

0% Midwestern

What Kind of American English Do You Speak?

Your Political Profile:

Overall: 35% Conservative, 65% Liberal

Social Issues: 50% Conservative, 50% Liberal

Personal Responsibility: 50% Conservative, 50% Liberal

Fiscal Issues: 25% Conservative, 75% Liberal

Ethics: 25% Conservative, 75% Liberal

Defense and Crime: 25% Conservative, 75% Liberal

How Liberal Or Conservative Are You?

- Gian

I'm Singing In The Rain

3:10 PM, Saturday, May 13, 2006 | Link to this post |

After weeks of bathing in the scorching heat of the sun, the rain finally came down. But it brought me tears more than excitement. The mere fact that it's good to sleep while the rain is falling doesn't excite me anymore than it was before. I'd rather watch the rain fall as if it's crying with my heart. You know, a lot of things around me make me feel bitter, bitter than the coffee that I drink every morning. But whatever those things are, I always find peace that can only come from God.
Our Rizal class trip to Banahaw was postponed for some obvious reasons. Buti na lang because I still need to do a lot of stuff, like the prob set in ES 13 and the research report about Rizal.

TRUMPETS UPDATE: We started choreographing the opening number of Little Shop with Tr. Francis. The steps were nice with funky finger-snapping moves. Astig! Though we haven't finished it yet, (and we still have a long way to go) I can say that we're gonna break our legs on the 1st of June!

- Gian

In My Moments Of Grief...

1:30 AM, Saturday, May 06, 2006 | Link to this post |

Summer is about to end. For most of us, we've been halfway through it. A lot of things happened when summer classes began. I took 6 units (3 units of ES 13 and another 3 units for PI 100) in school for this summer. You know what? It's not an easy task. Though I have a lot of free times, I still can't manage it properly.You know, waking up 6am in the morning for the 7am class and doing an assignment right after that class. It's been my routine for the past three weeks and you just don't know how stressed I am every day. Since I enrolled in TRUMPETS for this summer, I also need to take extra time for the workshops, rehearsals, and everything. And gosh!!! It's very tiring! Workshops are scheduled every MWF from 6pm to 830pm at Shang which is quite far from my school.

Speaking of TRUMPETS, we began working for the showcase as early as this month started. We'll do LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS for our showcase at the AFP theatre on the 1st of June at 7pm. I got the role of the WINO. You know, the typical lasenggero on the street. But don't expect something big from me becaus I wouldn't say any word at all. I'll just be in the background singing and dancing. Yeah! And mind you, I didn't like the concept of "blind" auditions! Ironically speaking, I enjoyed every workshop that we had since I learned a lot of things from my teachers and my classmates and I came to develop some sort of a bond with them. Though sometimes, I feel the pressure between me and my classmates, I can still see that it would make me a better actor. Haha!!! Oh well... And one thing I learned about our class is that we love to take challenges especially when we are given acting tasks.

How's my studies? It isn't good enough and I'm starting to get frustrated by it. Staying in the library for the whole afternoon and sacrificing even the most precious times with my friends aren't good enough for me to get high scores or worse, passing scores at least. Grabe!!! Sobrang Hirap!!! I still don't know if I need to drop the course asap. I lift it all to God na. Haaay!!! I still have 3 exams to go for that subject and I hope and I pray that those remaining exams will be alright.

I can't write anything na and I need to rest! God bless!!!

- Gian