I have never been in a play before though I have been a choir singer for 16 years.
When choir member KM Lai asked if I was interested to be in a musical play and since it was to be a new experience, I jumped at it.
We both thought it was time to be in the spotlight instead of being merely one of many voices and faces in a choir. Acting was fresh and exciting and being seniors, an opportunity to try out in a musical rarely comes.
The musical was Guys & Dolls SR, produced by Cheryl Teh, director of KL Sings and an advocate of active ageing through the arts.
The musical is about a gambler and a missionary falling in love through gambling set in New York in the 1940s. This Broadway Senior Edition meant it is a condensed version meant for actors, dancers, and singers over 55 years of age. Fact, 49% of the cast were in their 60s, 33% in their 70s and one is 82.
This is a labor of love for Cheryl. She did most of the production work, secured sponsors, trained the choir, publicized the play and even fund raise for a charity.
I submitted my details to audition for the role of Lieutenant Brannigan, a tough New York police officer. Thought it would be easy to portray a detective from watching many detective movies.
Many thought likewise and this role was much sought after. Audition day came. I read not only the Brannigan part but of other characters to Marina Tan, the staging director and then asked to wait.
Marina is a galvanizing and motivational staging director and pocket dynamo. She provided clear instructions, feedback, exercises, and anecdotes about her experiences, and using our own life experiences to bring out realistic emotions to suit a situation.
Most importantly she drilled into us to stay in character, meaning not looking for your relatives amongst the audience or wondering what’s for dinner when acting.
Bubbling with energy, she engaged the actors in whole body and vocal exercises, criss crossed the stage endlessly and jumped up and down from chairs to direct and inspire at rehearsals.
Callista Chuah choreographed the slick, synchronized moves and ensure curvy gyrations for the dances. There were plenty of tired bodies, aching hips and knees but no dropouts.
Two weeks after audition, I learned I was casted as Arvide Abernathy, grandfather to the protagonist Sarah Brown. KM Lai was casted as Harry the Horse, a gambler. Both of us were over the moon but also apprehensive and wondering what have we got ourselves into.
Rehearsals began immediately and for the next four months, gave my life away three days a week to rehearsals. As though that wasn’t enough, there were frequent Zoom sessions with Marina, daily dialog practice with my wife, and singing practice.
Those with major roles, the choir and dancers’ breath, live and dream or had nightmares as they had additional rehearsals and practices. But being good troopers, everyone soldiered through and then it was showtime.
We were to run three shows and surprisingly all tickets were sold out within a short time. Demand remained high and an extra show was added and sold out too.
For many, it was the first time either singing, dancing or acting in a theatre. Cheerful banter and jokes abound to calm nerves and butterflies together with encouragement and support. Facing an audience of 200 in the spotlight for some first-time actors like me was going to be a challenge.
My mind went blank when I had to do a voice check in front of my fellow actors and singers at rehearsal in the theater. I mumbled a few incoherent and incorrect lines after some agonizing moments.
Fortunately, choir singer Karen Sze Tho rescued me. She pointed out sparring with someone to help jolt my memory. We went through my lines together and my nerves were calmed and the lines returned.
It’s was not all tension and anxiety during those four days. Dressing up and make up was fun especially for the ladies and the guys too as gamblers and hustlers. I was dressed conservatively as a missionary but I had a drum to beat loudly.
With the costumes and make-up, the actors and dancers look glamorous and suave and everyone posed and took photos of each other.
There were some notable fumbles and glitches during the shows. One standout was when Victor Chua slapped Suzan Manen on her thigh instead of his own to simulate a slapping noise on his face. Loads of giggles and suppressed laughter back stage when it became known.
Exits and entrances are a vital part of a play. I had to do nineteen exits and entrances and manage all correctly bar one thanks to my Mission band, Elsie Soh, Ginnie How, Leanne Khoo, and Lynette Toh.
Waiting for entrances into the stage was a most difficult and anxious time. Keeping quiet and calm while your lines tumble around in your head and having to be alert when you need to go on stage saps a lot of energy. Some sit silently with their eyes closed, some have quiet chats and others paced up and down, everyone has their own way to deal with the anxiety and tedium of waiting.
Props are a vital part of any play and the placing in correct places and sequence, and timely use of the props were drummed into us constantly by Marina.
The many costume changes during the play especially for the ladies’ part were handled efficiently and smoothly and there were no “wardrobe malfunction”.
During the last show, the music for two songs went silent, but stalwart actress Suzan Menan and Swee Chin just sang without the music and the audience did not think any less of it.
We mingled with the audience after every show and many said they enjoyed the show and complimented us.
Social media reviews were good too. One even commented thinking we were professionals rather than amateurs.
It was a wonderful and memorable experience and there is highly likely a Guys & Dolls rerun in second quarter of 2027. Don’t miss it this time.
Koo Wee Hon (kooweehon@gmail.com) is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
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