“Mukabuku” at KLPac

klpac presents

MUKABUKU
Uncovering the humanity behind the technology

SYNOPSIS

Whether you like it or not, online social networking sites are here to stay and are out to transform the way we stay connected to one another. Three writers take on the easily left unseen impact that these sites are having on our everyday lives.

The objective of klpac's T4YP Lab is to train young directors, designers and writers in theatre-craft via the production of a programme of short plays.

The very first T4YP Lab project features:

Top Friends by Mark Beau de Silva
Friends made, lost, made again. Topped. Under-ed, and Deleted. Sometimes you send them drinks. First performed as part of TEN: Theatrical Lightning Strikes Human Relationships by The T4YP Ensemble in 2008.

Profile by Mark Beau de Silva
“I think I will not ask him again why he has stopped calling. I am so stupid. His profile picture is so happy. Of course. So I will look happy too. Can you take a new picture for me. It’s for my profile.”

Could’ve Been by Alex Chua
A short story about obsession, idolism and the self-destructive need to be someone else. A man loses sight of himself and the love of his wife to his wanton desire to become Mark Zuckerberg.

Funeral Rights by Alex Chua
There is reason to be afraid of stalkers. Steven’s cyber stalker has come to his funeral, coming face-to-face with his real family and friends.

Addiction by Nandang Abdul Rahman
The demons that haunt us may not only be the ones that lurk at the bottom of bottles or the tip of a syringe. It may come in more innocent forms than you realize.

Remains by Nandang Abdul Rahman
Growing old, marking milestones and dealing with survivor’s guilt the Mukabuku way.

Cast: NABIHAN YAACOB, MICHAEL TAN, NUR ZAKUAN, ALFRED LOH, IVAN CHAN ATIENZA, GOWRI PAARY, FARAH RANI & UJVAL SIDHU-BRAR

Director: KELVIN WONG
Executive Producer : DATO’ FARIDAH MERICAN
Artistic Director: JOE HASHAM OAM
Director in-residence: CHRISTOPHER LING

Date & Time:
20 – 21 NOV 2009 @ 8:30 PM
21 – 22 NOV 2009 @ 3:00 PM (Matinee shows)

Venue:
PENTAS 2, THE KUALA LUMPUR PERFORMING ARTS CENTRE (KLPac)

Ticket:
RM25 (adults)
RM15 (students, disabled & senior citizens)

Box Office:
(KLPac) 4047 9000 (walk-in purchases)

Tickets also available at:
TicketAxcess @ Head office (Jln. Semangat), 1-Utama outlet & Alamanda Putrajaya outlet

Venue Website: http://www.klpac.com/
Venue Map Link: http://www.klpac.org/Welcome.asp?c=venuelocation
Facebook Event link: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=309331105415

Note To Self

I have often reminded myself about it but it only took that one time that I was careless for it to happen.

I had my laptop stolen from the boot of a car.

I should have known better.

I have been giving security briefings and reminding people to not leave their computer in their car for years. The one time that I broke that cardinal rule myself, it came back to bite me and it bit me hard. Oh, the irony of it all!

The signs were all there! I already had misgivings about taking the laptop on my recent road trip. I ended up not even using it anyway while we were away. We also had misgivings about going to Carrefour Subang Jaya that evening. On the way up from the parking lot, we received pamphlets about leaving valuables in the car. We even had to go back to the car when we remembered that we had left some cash in plain sight within the car. Never once that I give much thought of the laptop that I left behind. It was Subang Jaya! It was basically my neighbourhood.

I continued to have a bad feeling about something but by the time I acted on it, it was already too late. We came back to the car only to find that the rear side mirror that looked into the boot area of the hatchback has been smashed in and the contents of the boot moved around. The thief was able to get to my laptop bag which was beneath the other bags which was hiding it from plain sight. I'm guessing that they were able to see the bags from the outside and decided to try their luck as they might have figured that we had recently came back from a trip. Given that the parking space was fairly deserted, they might have sufficient time to root around the boot for something valuable to take.

After recovering from the initial shock, we proceeded to report the break in to the Carrefour security department and then to the police at the nearby Subang Jaya Police Station. Thankfully both experience were fairly painless and speedy. I do not have much hope of recovering the items stolen so the reports were more for documentation formalities that would be needed to report the theft to the office since it was a company laptop that I lost.

Once all the formalities completed, we went off for a late dinner and came back home to call it the day. I have to admit to a sense of being violated and a bit fearful after the incident that night. It was enough to get me rattled to the point that I had to lock up the main grill which I normally do only when I leave home on an extended trip. In my mind, I was worried if there was anything that they took that would lead them back to where I lived.

Thankfully that feeling subsided once I had a good night's sleep. The following day was spent dealing with the aftermath of the incident. As I am typing this entry, I have still to get everything that I lost sorted out. I expect that the next few days to be both quite slow and tedious. Not only do I need to get the hardware replacement sorted out but also have to figure out how to recover all the work/documents/items that I stored on the both the laptop and external hard disk that was taken.

It is hard for me not to feel somewhat disconnected knowing that I've lost a lot of things thanks to that moment of carelessness. It does feel like having your legs chopped off from under you especially when a lot of my work and personal life is linked to the items that I had stored on that computer. Recreating them would definitely be a huge task ahead. Like it or not, I have to tackle this face on.

Hopefully this blog entry will stay here as a reminder for myself not to every do somethng this stupid again!

“Oh Dad, Poor Dad” at KLPac

The Oral Stage Presents

OH DAD, POOR DAD

Grieving widow, neurotic son, the pet piranha & Venus flytraps … oh my

With support from the Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre (KLPac) and produced by special arrangement with Samuel French Inc., New York, the Oral Stage is proud to bring to KL a unique tale written by noted American playwright, Arthur Kopit.

SYNOPSIS

A woman-in-mourning checks into a lavish hotel with her neurotic son, a pet piranha and a pair of Venus flytraps. Moments after, a wealthy, love-stricken naval officer and the seductive, next-door babysitter pay them a visit. The fish and plants are now very hungry, the son wants to escape, and the woman’s dead husband is still lurking about somewhere…

A bizarre take on all things love, Oh Dad, Poor Dad parodies the domineering, protective mother who tries to smother her son, and also the son himself, who is too naïve and sheltered. It premiered Off-Broadway in 1962 and won the Vernon Rice and Outer Circle Awards in that same year. Oh Dad, Poor Dad was recently revived at Harvard University in 2007

FOR MATURE AUDIENCES ONLY

Cast: NICOLE-ANN THOMAS, ALFRED LOH , HANNEKE TALBOT, APLE ANG, JOHN AREN, LINDA FOO, KEVIN KEI, ISHWIN SINGH, RAJA UMMI AND AZ’FARR BAGINDA.

Director: KELVIN WONG

Date & Time:
30 SEPT – 04 OCT 2009 @ 8:30 PM
03 – 04 OCT 2009 @ 3:00 PM (Matinee shows)

Venue:
PENTAS 2, THE KUALA LUMPUR PERFORMING ARTS CENTRE (KLPac)

Ticket:
RM35 (adults)
RM25 (students, disabled & senior citizens)

Promotions:
RM5 off every ticket for purchases of 10 or more similar-priced tickets in a single receipt!

Box Office:
(KLPac) 4047 9000 (walk-in purchases)

Tickets also available at:
TicketAxcess @ Head office (Jln. Semangat), 1-Utama outlet & Alamanda Putrajaya outlet

Venue Website: http://www.klpac.com/
Venue Map Link: http://www.klpac.org/Welcome.asp?c=venuelocation
Facebook Event link: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=102314632705

“Hamlet” at KLPac

KLPac Presents

HAMLET

A murdered King. A usurped Prince. A promise of Revenge.

All roads lead to Elsinore!

After teasing the audiences with successful performances of “The Secret Love Life of Ophelia”, “I Love You Once, I Love You Not”, “What It Means To Be … Free” and “Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead”, the T4YP closes their 2009 season with the classic piece that inspired their previous performances.

Join the T4YP ensemble as they come together in their final ensemble run performing Shakespeare’s “Hamlet”.

SYNOPSIS

An undisputed masterpiece of world theatre, “Hamlet”, Shakespeare’s great tragedy of passion, corruption and revenge, has captivated audiences for over 400 years. It remains as relevant and urgent as ever.

The powerful tale opens with Hamlet returning to court only to find his father murdered and his mother married to the murderer. He is faced with a terrible dilemma – should he avenge his father’s death?

This modern interpretation of Shakespeare's classic will focus on the relationships and the people involved in this tragic tale with the politics of the story taking a back seat. The four-hour long play has been adapted into a palatable 90-minute performance for the urban, contemporary minds to absorb.

Cast:
AYUNNI BT AYUB, BELINDA HON, DINESH KUMAR MAGANATHAN, GREGORY SZE, IZMIR HADI HUSEIN, MICHAEL TAN, NABIHAN YAACOB, NICK DORIAN, NUR HIDAYA ZAKUAN, PRIYADASHINI MAGANATHAN, RACHEL DARSHINI HENRY, SALLY ANN CHAN & TUNG JIT YANG

Director: CHRISTOPHER LING
Executive Producer: DATO’ FARIDAH MERICAN
Artistic Director: JOE HASHAM

Date & Time:
10 – 12 SEPT 2009 @ 8:30 PM*
12 – 13 SEPT 2009 @ 3:00 PM (Matinee shows)
(* the performance for 11 SEPT 2009 has already sold out)

Venue:
PENTAS 2, THE KUALA LUMPUR PERFORMING ARTS CENTRE (KLPac)

Ticket:
RM 25
RM 15 (for students, sr. citizens and the disabled)

Box Office:
(KLPac) 4047 9000 (walk-in purchases)

Tickets also available at:
TicketAxcess @ Head office (Jln. Semangat), 1-Utama outlet & Alamanda Putrajaya outlet

Venue Website: http://www.klpac.com/
Venue Map Link: http://www.klpac.org/Welcome.asp?c=venuelocation

Facebook Event link: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=103914387705

Boo RapidKL!

The new RapidKL structured bus fare systems goes into effect today and it was as I expected it.

Badly executed!

Since sometime back in July, I have noticed the notices posted in the buses and LRT trains announcing the change in the bus fare system on 1st Sept. Of all the changes proposed, the one involving the “Utama” bus lines were the one that left me more than a bit perplexed as to how they will implement it. From its inception, the “Utama” bus line only had one fare point for a day pass ticket that can be used for as many bus trips within the same day of purchase. This made taking the bus very convenient and quite economical especially when one needs to transfer to multiple buses in a day.

Unfortunately, all that changed starting today with the implementation of a zonal fare structure. Instead pay a flat fare of RM2 to the driver, bus commuters would have to inform the driver which stop they would want to alight at and driver will tell them the new bus fare. Fares start at RM1, RM1.90, RM2.50 and a maximum of RM3 depending on the number of travel zones the commuter goes through to get to their stop. I guess eventually people who take the bus daily would eventually know how much they have to pay for their trip but until then the bus driver needs to tell the commuters how much to pay.

I’ve always paid RM2 for my bus trip to my office and with this new fare structure I should only need to pay RM1.90 since I only need to cross 2 zones. Nice on paper but dismal in execution! Instead of paying just RM2 for a day’s bus trip, I need to pay the RM1.90 tickets twice since in the new fare system, your bus ticket is a one way ticket instead of a day pass. Since RapidKL buses do not have bus conductors like their competitors, commuters don’t get change back when they pay for their bus fare. What is the use of charging RM1.90 instead of RM2 since no change is provided?

To throw more salt to the wound, they have disabled the Touch & Go card payment system on the buses due to technical implementation issues to adapt to the new bus fare structures. I can’t understand this reason since they would have more than sufficient time to look into the issue of using T&G cards on buses before implementing the new fare system. RapidKL do not need to look further than our neighbors in Singapore to see how they implement the EZ-Link payment card system in their buses. Bus commuters there use only their payment card instead of cash to pay for their bus fare. One only needs to touch the card on the reader when you board and touch it again on the exit reader to deduct the fare before getting off the bus. The same system should have been implemented by RapidKL as well if they wanted a structured fare system.

Inefficiencies due to poor planning will never be acceptable no matter what the economic reasons were behind the decision of pushing the plans through. For a company that prides itself as having the goal of having the “highest degree of operational excellence, engineering efficacy and service reliability” as one of its corporate missions, I must say that the implementation of this new bus fare structure has only left me with a bad impression of the planners. They could easily have avoided this dismal spectacle with better planning and execution that was more commuter friendly instead of just thinking about their coffers.

And for that I say … Boo, RapidKL!

Short+Sweet09:Theater Winners List

KLPac Presents

SHORT+SWEET: THEATER
A Festival of Words

Congratulations to the theater performances who made it to the Short+Sweet09: Theater Gala Night a resounding success! We had full houses and floor seating only for the performance.

Congratulations to all the winners selected that night!

Short+Sweet 09: Theater Winners List:

Best Actor (Female) – Bella Rahim ("Life's A Twitch")
Best Actor (Male) – Lvynn ("Faith")
Best New Talent (Female) – Claudia Low ("Baby, Baby")
Best New Talent (Male) - Jon Chew ("Fuckin' Food")
Best Script – Adiwijaya ("Allah!")
Best Director – Megat Sharizal ("Allah!")

Best Overall Production – "Allah!"
People's Choice Award - "Phat!"
S+S Festival Director's Choice Award - "Unsaid"

All the winning entries as well as the rest of the productions in this edition of the theater festival have showcased the diversity of what was possible with the 10 minute play format. Looking at the packed houses that we had almost every night during the 2 week run, I’m sure that we provided both entertainment and inspiration for others to try their hand too in theater productions of this format.

I, for one, will be looking forward to what the next edition of the Short+Sweet: Theater Festival will bring to the scene next.

Venue Website: http://www.klpac.com/

Facebook Event link: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=114381279264

“Short+Sweet: Theater – Gala Night” at KLPac

KLPac Presents

SHORT+SWEET: THEATER
A Festival of Words

Congratulations to the theater performances that made it through to the "Short+Sweet 2009: Theater" Gala Night!

1. “Life's A Twitch”

Writer: Maya Tan Abdullah

Director: Hot Buns

Cast: Bella Rahim, Hairi

Synopsis: Mice and men- do they escape life's difficulties the same way?

2. “Waiting for Godot Too”

Writer: Fasyali Fadzly bin Saipul Bahri

Director: Fasyali Fadzly bin Saipul Bahri

Cast: Muhammad Shukri bin Mohd Tahir, Fiona Anne Kab

Synopsis: Friendly or rude, they talk about politics, religion, women etc, but what about art?

3. “Phat!”

Writer: Akmar Zaki

Director: Akmar Zaki

Cast: Amy Tia, Sadyabama, Tiana Xavier, Hazel Hadian

Synopsis: We are the new Kate Moss (with beautiful curves) in town. We are here to say that fat is phat!

4. "Poo By Any Other Name Smells As Bad"

Writer: Indra Irwan Mohd Sari

Director: Tuna Lim

Cast: Season Chee, Gordon Tan

Synopsis: A play discussing the ideologies and principles that have become the buzzwords commonly read in Malaysian blogs.

5. “Faith”

Writer: Aminda Faradilla

Director: Esnani Elias

Cast: Lvynn

Synopsis: The story of a woman who saw the end as just another day, highlighted and circled on a calendar.

6. “Unsaid”

Writer: Nandang Abdul Rahman

Director: Kelvin Wong

Cast: Hunter Leow, Rashdan Harith

Synopsis: When proof is demanded in words, could deeds be an adequate substitute instead?

7. “Baby, Baby”

Writer: Nora Lim

Director: Nora Lim

Cast: Claudia Low

Synopsis: Follow an obsessed Kate on her emotional and at times, hilarious journey to get pregnant.

8. “The Junction”

Writer: Lakshman Balakrishnan

Director: Kamaruzzaman

Cast: Glamorique Arshad, Mervyn Raj Manikam

Synopsis: Life is a junction. Where do I go now?

9. “Allah!”

Writer: Adiwijaya

Director: Megat Sharizal

Cast: Abdul Qahar Aqilah, Shah Redza Minhat

Synopsis: Two men meet on a ledge of a tall building in a moral struggle of non-epic proportions

10. “Fuckin' Food”

Writer: Kevin Larken

Director: Christopher Ling

Cast: Jon Chew, Gowri Paary

Synopsis: What do you want to eat?

Date & Time:
Dance Gala Night: 16 August @ 8.30pm

Venue:
PENTAS 2, THE KUALA LUMPUR PERFORMING ARTS CENTRE (KLPac)

Tickets:
RM40
RM25 (students, sr. citizens & the disabled)

PROMOTIONS
Enjoy a 10% discount when you purchase a ticket for Week 1, Week 2 and the Gala Final! (In a single receipt)

Box Office:
(KLPac) 4047 9000

Venue Website: http://www.klpac.com/

Facebook Event link: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=114381279264