May Madness! Laugh Fest, Midsummer Nights Dream, No Black Tie and more!

Well the month of May has been insanely busy for me but also so much fun! I am surprised with how much I had to do, myself! So here are some pics of the highlights for the bloggers who like to check out the performing arts scene. And for those of you who came to support all the shows, you are my life! Literally! Thank you! :) I hope to keep producing new and fun work for your entertainment...in the meantime, enjoy this last month of May's work:





I was cast as 'Puck' in Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream", a dream role that I couldn't turn down, despite the fact that it was staged simultaneously as "So You Think You Can Mamak?" (the play I co-wrote and directed to open the Laugh Fest at PJ Live Arts). So rehearsals were everyday but somehow I managed to juggle both on alternate days. I just haven't had a day off in ages! But soooo worth it. Directed by Jeff Kevin from Australia, in workshop-style rehearsal, it was such a joy. And such a dream to be working with Shakespeare's words. We had totally packed houses with a lot of students who went wild on some nights, and every night we had half the audience dancing with us on stage for the "Bergomask" dance, but of course, Jeff's version was to Abba's "Dancing Queen"! Wonderful fun. And I learnt so much about Shakespeare, doing it in the more original presentational style, mostly addressing the audience directly. It took some getting used to but worked so sublimely!




And of course "So You Think You Can Mamak?" was staged at the Laugh Fest. Following this I performed in "Actor Olympics" which is always such a blast. It was totally sold out (couldn't even get tickets for my family!)and we had really fun audiences.




I'll be putting more fun back-stage photos on facebook.
















Then of course I sang! For the first time in a really long time, I sang at No Black Tie with Michael Veerapen and his Trio. It was my first full show singing too! Really nerve-wrecking but a great learning experience for me and such a blast.


























I really enjoyed the whole process thanks to Mike and am looking forward to next singing show coming up at the end of July at KLPAC! That's going to be really special. A merging of the theatre and a jazz club feel. These are a preview of some of our publicity shots (and don't worry, it's only apple juice!):











Shegar did a fabulous job on my hair!























Speaking of which, I also had a retro 60's hair-do for the Mersey Beatles concert, for which I was the emcee. They came all the way from Liverpool and were great fun!






















And to top the month off, of course there was Relay for Life, in which Yasmin Yusuff organizes the Celebrity booth where we raise money by selling lots of blingy-flashy toys to light up the night, and get pledges to do our relay around the track. It's always really special and my sister and I decorated our Luminaria candle-bags in memory of our paternal Grand-father. It's always really special to meet all the Cancer Survivors and to be raising money in their aid.
(More silly celeb pics will be put on fb)







And that sums up some of the work in the month of May! Behind the scenes, there's really interesting projects coming up, including an animated series in conjunction with the World Cup....but I'll save that for next month.... ;) Jo Be.