79. 22. 10
Out of 79 entries, 22 plays were shortlisted for Short + Sweet Malaysia '09. From the 22, 2 of the plays were written by me. I pulled one of the plays out because of technical reasons, and the other play "Poo By Any Other Name Smells As Bad" was chosen to be in the top ten showcased in the gala night.
Considering the odds, I should be grateful. And you have no idea how extremely grateful I am. But this entry is not an exercise in self-glorification or sentimentality. Rather, it's just a show of appreciation for the things that I have learned and experienced throughout this year's S+S.
Last year, when my over-idealized concept of a play was not shortlisted for S+S, I was disappointed to say the least. This year, I found out about the call for entries on Tuesday, I wrote my first play "Monsters" on Wednesday, I wrote "Poo.." on Thursday, and the deadline was on Friday. So, I didn't have much expectations for them to be shortlisted. Surprisingly, I got an email from Faridah on my birthday of all days, that both of my plays were shortlisted.
To cut a long story short, it was a crazy, long ride to the gala night. The drama, the anxiety, the stress, and the very expensive cab rides (the new meter is crazy, yo!), and it all culminated in the gala night.
I had no expectations of winning. The night before the gala night, I was all prepared for my play to be on its final run. Of course, to the credit of my director, Tuna Lim (who is an absolute genius for turning the script into something I couldn't even imagine), and my cast, Gordon and Season (two very talented actors), they have done their absolute best, but I have from the beginning thought that my script was quite flimsy. So, getting into the gala night was an accomplishment in itself.
The gala night I enjoyed. All the performances were brilliant and deserved to be in the top ten. Creme de la creme. The ones that I enjoyed the most (in no particular order) : Waiting for Godot Too (good writing but somehow the cast's energy that night was a little bit down), Faith (Stellar performance from the actor, who's a nice person too), Unsaid (A subject that applies to any relationship, but I could do without the gay stereotypes), Baby, baby (Again, superb performance - plus, I'm slightly crushing on Claudia ;p ), The Junction (Excellent writing but for some reason Glamorique's OTT performance that night that wasn't present the other nights was a bit off-putting), Allah (Most deserving of the win. Subtle but strong!), and Fuckin' Food (I enjoyed the very true-to-reality conversation but I could never stomach the graphic scenes at the end. I'm a prude that way). The other plays were good too but I just enjoyed some more than others.
The prizes went to the right people and I'm happy that I was lucky enough to be amidst their company. Funny thing is, when the shortlist of 22 plays selected for S+S 09 was posted on the website, and I Googled the names of every writer on that list, I somehow made a mental note that Adiwijaya was going to be the guy to beat. It turns out that I'm some kind of a psychic. Anyways, congratulations to everyone who won. You guys rock!!
But one thing I regret is that I didn't take the opportunity to get to know the people involved in S+S better. Not because I'm a snob (I have no reason to be), but because I was self-conscious and quite shy to approach you guys. I wish I had, though. To the people that I did talk to - Adeline, Geraldine, Fasyali a.k.a Vitamin, Fiona, Kamaruzzaman, Min Li, Esnani, Lvynn, and Akmar - it was really nice to have met your acquaintance and hope to see you again next year.
Also, thank you to the production team of S+S 09. To Faridah and Joe, thank you for welcoming me into the world of theatre. To Michelle, Avril, Reuben, Seysha, Shafiee and the others whose names I didn't quite catch, you guys are amazing and I love you to bits!
And of course, thank you to Skyler, Eddy, Adeline (the weekend Goth), Tuna, Gordon and Season. Thank you for completing my Short + Sweet experience this year. Love, kisses, and hugs.
Till next year, folks!
P/S: This is my last entry in this blog, at least for this year. For further rants, please click here (LOL! Shameless self-promotion)
Love Always,
Indra Irwan
Self-proclaimed Diva and as Seysha puts it, a bitch.
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