i've been having this really horrible flu-like thingy for almost the whole week now. it's a rather peculiar illness. i have all the classic symptoms of a flu: runny/blocked nose, sore throat, raspy voice, cough, headache, yet i don't have a fever. i don't know if i should be happy that i don't have a fever, because not having one makes it seem like it's not serious enough to warrant a trip to the MO to get an Att C...
the past week has been really crazy. our company was conducting a Live Firing and we were working our butts off. too many things to do, too little time. it was really draining, and everyone was just complaining, it was just so demoralising.
for some reason i had a very random thought while on the tonner to the ammo dump: what drama taught me about life, and i realised, quite surprisingly, how much my involvement in drama shaped my character and my belief system.
1. All the World's A Stage, and What's Important is How You Present Yourself
i believed it was Shakespeare who first likened life to a stage and people as players on that stage. to a very large extent that is true. life is all about people and how you interact with them, whether it is building of friendships, maintaining kinship or making enemies. the world we live in is very much defined by the people we interact with and their perception of us. realising that everyone is an actor on that stage, we therefore must pay attention to how we present ourselves. an actor must be convinced that he is playing the character he is playing, and not only that, he must convince the audience that he is that character. a poor actor will not portray that character well. i must therefore be very in-touch and certain of the person that i am and convince others to take me seriously as that person. presentation as an actor is not just style and fluff, but it includes substance, and that is how to live life, to present oneself in a way that is representative of the character that one is.
2. Whatever Happens, The Show Must Go On
in theatre, unlike in TV, there are no retakes, no allowances for postponement of productions. once you are on stage, you must perform. isn't life very much like that, no time for retakes, no time to stop, try it over. when the lights come on and the curtain is raised, you collect yourself and you perform, until the lights turn off and the curtains come down. and nothing stops the show from being staged. no illness, no personal problems, no girlfriend/boyfriend issues are going to stop the professional actor from getting up there and giving his best. it's an important lesson, that we must never allow anything that happens ruin the show - our life. that bad things may happen, or even good things may happen, but they must not change the way we portray ourselves on that stage, we must stick to the plot, stay in character and not get carried away by whatever is happening offstage.
3. 1 Minute On The Stage, 10 Years working Off It.
the very chinese saying 台上1分钟，台下10年工, is very representative of what life is about: the hard work that goes into everything that is done. it taught me that what was important wasn't so much the going on stage and receiving that attention, but the offstage preparation, the months of rehearsing late into the night, making props from scratch, finding music to go with your play, researching your character by watching videos, etc. literally hundreds, even thousands of hours must be ploughed in before an hour-long performance can even be staged. it gave me an appreciation for the unglamorous behind-the-scenes work, teaching me that life isn't about the honours or accolades one receives, but the hard work that is put in. it taught me to salute unsung heroes, and disdain people with more style than substance. it taught me that to put up a good show (to lead a good life), the work that goes into it is key, not the actual performance on stage, which will flow with adequate preparation. so in everything that is done, i must do it to the best of my ability, and put in the effort. things will not simply fall into place.
4. There is No Such Thing As A One-Man-Show
i've never actually seen one. every drama i've watched or participated in has always had a team working on it. sure there might be one star or even one cast member, but one must bear in mind that to put up a show, you need the help of a whole bunch of people: props, sound, video, lights, supporting cast. we are all stars of our own shows, but we never act alone. in order for any production to be successful, we need a whole host of cast and crew working together in tandem, each playing his own part, each knowing his own responsibilty, each contributing in his own way to the success of the production. that's the beauty of drama. and any lead actor that gets too absorbed with his own ego and fails to work with or acknowledge the contributions of the supporting cast, fails to get the production off the ground. we need to live life taking the lead but working with our supporting cast and backstage crew to weave together an epic production.
5. After The Show, Life Goes On
i know i've likened 'the show' to 'life' in general. in this case it's different. drama taught me that after the curtains come down and the audience leave, life still goes on. in the months leading up to the production, one can be so obsessed with it that you could eat, sleep and breathe the production, and after it's over, it feels like there's a hole inside, and it's hard to let go of that feeling. it taught me that nothing really lasts forever. the applause dies down, the lights dim and the curtains are drawn. the next day, you've just gotta pick yourself up and look forward to the next highlight. it taught me that i should always be open to change, not to hold on to past glories, that what is over is over and i need to always look forward. the next production must also not be similar to the last, but something more challenging, bigger and better than before. never get too comfortable with a current state of existence, and always look to how to improve oneself, how to take on a new challenge and go on to the next level, never be hung up and defined by previous accolades or achievements, because after everything is over, you are still you and you take the experience garnered and try something new. that's the beauty of it.
so those were my thoughts on that tonner. i guess one gets more philosophical and retrospective when one has more time to get lost in his own thoughts...
we farewelled Amos today. he will be moving on to Young Adults, no longer in Youth. i will miss him. he's always been a mentor, a big brother, someone not only to depend on, but to learn from and model after. he's left big shoes to fill. Edison is also going to the army on Monday. finally he's enlisting. makes me feel like i'm going to ORD sooner.
it's gonna be a great Sunday tomorrow.
