Cheryl again.

The Audience Know Feel Do is what we use in SS to test for purpose.

Who is the intended audience? What does the author/person doing the action want the audience to know, feel and do? Apply this to newspaper articles etc. Very useful.

Hey everyone! It's me again!

Thanks Cheryl for your entry. You are indeed very right and I am very glad to see your quality reflections. Better late and good than early and poop! :) Hmm bad rhyme? :s

Okay thought I'll post some pics that I really like from the trip cos TOO MANY WORDS! TOO DREARY! .............

SO here's some colour and action captured in time :)

ENJOY :) Mdm N



Morning at GLENELG, the beautiful seaside town


Drama Workshop with Allison of the State Theatre Company


Smelling Eucalyptus leaves at Kangeroo Island


The fearsome Sea Lion :)

Hey, this is Cheryl. I know this is kind of late, but yeah.

This has been my second time in Adelaide and I'm very grateful for the chance to have dualistic experiences. With the second time, there is a certain self awareness about what I've learnt and how I've evolved as a pokemon, no, I mean person and drama student. Right, you have a long post ahead of you so I suggest you grab some snacks before you start. NOW.


My general cultural experience in Australia
Firstly, before you go on about how warm and kind and open random Australians on the street are, please do remember that we look like tourists and that's a probable reason for their reaction. However, Australians are definitely more open with their feelings and expressions of affection than conservative Asians. Service is definitely better too, but keep my previous point in mind! Yeah. Learning point? Always put things in perspective. Like, you know in SS, the Audience Know Feel Do thing? But I'm probably being overly cynical as always.

The other thing is, Australian culture is markedly different from Singaporean culture. We tend to place our guests on a pedestal, while they erm... how do I put this? Ah, expect their guests to be more independent. It's just a general feeling of mine lah, I'm not saying that they are bad hosts; just different. So a very important thing is having the ability of adapting quickly. Learning to be like water!

I confess I wasn't looking forward to the home stay because I thought that they were vegetarian and I'm not that hot on the idea of eating vegetables for five days straight. And also because of my previous experience in Sec 1, when I recalled being constantly hungry (cos of the veg) and feeling constantly awkward because I'm a forced extrovert. But, time's a great teacher, I guess. My home stay this time was definitely more enjoyable due to the fact that they actually ate meat now and that I had Gabe as my home stay partner.

Catriona's family regularly hosts foreign students who are here on exchange programmes or scholarships. Basically, Australian schools don't provide dorms for foreign students so they either have to get a home stay family, have their own place or forfeit the places offered by the scholarships. Catriona's mother, Carolyn feels that it would be a waste if a foreign student cannot come to Australia to study just because there isn't someone to host them. Therefore she very generously opens up her home and heart to receive them. I feel very ashamed and asinine for dreading the home stay with them now. Heh. Learning point? To not assume that things would be the way they are before going over to experience things the way they actually are. Basically, keep an open mind about new experiences.



The drama workshop at the Adelaide Festival Centre
The Adelaide Festival Centre is their version of our Esplanade. Every country or state has something like this. An all in one venue for performances, cafes and whatnot. Although the 小巨蛋/Taipei Arena in Taipei, Taiwan ups the ante by having an Olympic-size ice rink measuring 61m×30m in its premises.

Well, I thought that Alison showed the fundamental aspect of Stan's theory in a really clear way. Remember how she had us all walk around the room greeting each other "but you don't like this person", "because you want to make friends", etc.? What she was illustrating was that, on stage everything you do stems from how the character feels and that stems from all the profiling you do beforehand. And those make up the general idea of Stan's system. So, I thought that was really neat. We could incorporate this idea into future auditions for S1 members or in O drama lessons, I guess.


The performance at MHS
Again, I acted as a guy because apparently I look enough like one. Which is okay, because rather a female with unique girlHAMSOMEness than an ordinary female looking female. And did I mention Hamsome? Okay. The Forge is amazing. Their technical expertise, performances, props, lights, costumes are amazing. It's a little wah-they-so-good-we-not-that-good-how? BUT they have the resources and as a school they focus on the performing arts, while Anderson is a science school. That probably explains the very easy science lessons at Marryatville.

Still, the process of devising a story out of nothing was great. The main thing was to not lose faith and to keep at it till the story surrenders with both hands in the air. And I think we did really well. I think the maid performance which the Marryatville students put up provided several great learning points about puppetry. This could be utilised in our SYF production.


Revelations about people and things were made. Good or bad; revelations nonetheless.


In conclusion, I had a really lovely time. Special thanks must be made to our two wonderful teachers who expertly guided us through and lovingly provided their always-very-hungry how-in-the-world-can-they-eat-so-much little monsters with truckloads of really fantastic food.


PS: I lost 2 kg in Adelaide which I promptly gained back within 3 days of my return to Singapore. Now, that says a lot for my preferences in food. Rice is nice.

A Shout From Mdm N

Hi all, planning to work on some school stuff but thought I perhaps I should say "Hi!" first.

I suppose everyone is busy enjoying the holidays! I certainly am! Busy and enjoying the holiday. But not too busy to do this (you can too Yu Jun! :D)

Wondering what's happened to our beautiful photos? Mr Kilvert was asking about them. He emailed me the website where we can find the photos taken by the Marryatville people. I saw some photos on Anderson-Marryatville FaceBook Group uploaded by Gabriella and watched the video of our performance. Makes me feel a warm glow all over. Very nice. :) I'll see if I can link it here.

Okay just checked. Can't do it. So if you want to watch the video, you've got to wait till Aaron or Mr Kilvert gets the DVD to us or join the FaceBook group! :D

That's all folks! Hope someone else will blog before I do the next time...

Cheers,
Mdm N

grrsh, can't change the template.
here's our ATC blog, again!

http://ehteecee.wordpress.com, the cute & cuddly & sometimes-recalcitrant brainchild of the Publicity Dept.!

check it for updates about a certain partay..

& shame on us if you didn't know about this blog sooner!

YEEAAHHS! It feels so good to be back!!(;
Okay so abt my opinions on..

Labels: Sakinah is Handsome :B

It is perhaps, supposedly posted in the Exchange Programme blog...but I don't know how it works =\. So yeah...

Cultural Experience.

Adelaide smells different. Which is a weird thing to say. But it does.
And strangers smile and greet you. Though it is perhaps because we look different and walk in packs, making it rather obvious that we're tourists from some school somewhere. But hey, we don't greet people in Singapore just because they walk in packs and seem both lost and overly excited at the same time.

And the service is better. I still remember Council Camp, when Fusion had to go around looking for people who would say thank you to them, and a lot of them got stuck, cause no one would. If we were in Adelaide at that time, we wouldn't even consider that task cause it would be too easy.

So yeah... the people are really nice. And smile all the time. Like the dancer guy I had a crush on who smiled at everyone and had a really nice smile. Despite the fact that he had white paint all over his face. Who cares? You can still see the smile.

Oh, and people hug like... real hugs. Not just the tap kind of hugs. Which is nice.
And they wear shoes at home, which is a little weird. But I still take my shoes off anyway.

Workshop.

I suppose it was helpful, but mostly for the juniors. Most of the things about Stanislavski, we've already learnt in o'level drama. It was more of making things clearer.
Like...tactics. We knew it sort of...subtly. Never really as a part of the technique. But it is an integral part of Stanislavski.

WAIT NO... I just realized. It's part of the beat thing... Yeah.
And there's given circumstances...what's that again? It simply means given circumstances right...?
Er. Hmm. Maybe i'm not really doing this homework thing right...

I actually have no idea what to write. Cause I just visited the blog and they're all writing different things and i'm thinking like, weren't we given three questions...?

But anyway.

Entire experience in Marryatville.

The Forge, their theatre, is awesome. I think the stage is like... twice of the blackbox with an awesome lighting system, and no difficulty in achieving total darkness despite the presence of spots. I suppose Aaron made it cooler with the wireless control. Gosh. He must be really smart. And the students could go up to adjust the shutters. Which is not a big shocker, but is still cool. I could see them shaking up above during rehearsals. Can't blame them. It's high.

They put a lot of effort in creating props and sets, and their plays are more of realist as compared to our usual emphasis on abstract symbolism, which makes it more pleasing to the eye. We should put in more effort on those... Yeah.

Their lessons are really easy. And I answered in class! Which made me very happy. -.-

OH, AND THEIR FIELD HAS GRASS. Yeah! We should follow that.
Gah. I can't think of anything to say other than they're really nice. And I don't think it's just cause we're foreign.

ATC at The Remarkable Rocks, Kangaroo Island, Australia


My Reflections

Hmm I have written quite a bit in one morning but I'll just put down some thoughts quickly:

This is my 3rd time in Marryatville and 5th time interacting with the teachers and students.

One thing I concur with all of you is that being in Australia always reminds me how nice it is to smile and have people reciprocate and vice versa. Somehow growing older, despite the perks that come with age (It always gets better!), one gets busier, acquired more hang-ups and forget to appreciate how beautiful each new day is.
Learning Points:
- Stop worrying about the nitty-gritty details. SMILE! :D :)
- Nurture myself and others around me. Praise instead of debase!
- Live each day like there's not going to be a tomorrow (Ooohhh! Cheesy! :p)

Having said that, I am speaking from the point of view of one who is a visitor, with my rose-tinted glasses, still basking in the warm after-glow of a refreshing one week experience. I suppose I am not the only one? Wonder how we will all feel and experience if we are there for a longer period of time e.g. one year? For me home is where the heart is, the family is and it remains home for better or for worse. Need I say more? :)

Professionally, it is wonderful to meet up with like-minded educators and exchange ideas. More importantly, to learn from them. My learning points from this professional exchange is going to find their way into the Drama curriculum for Anderson and in the way I interact with all my students so look out for it! :) I must say I am most inspired by whatever limited contact I had with the Drama teachers and some others in the staff room. :D

..................................................................................................................................................................................................

Right. This is an embarrassing, official Writer's Block.

Will make the quickest and graceful exit now if possible.

Ciao!
Mdm N

Hi Gab! Good to hear all's well back at home. :)

Okay think I'll sound like a humongous wet blanket with this remark/question: I'm sure the teachers do more than just sit at their desks. Just look at Mr Kilvert, Miss Ebert and Ms Cawthorn! But they are Drama and Art teachers. I do have the impression that other classes seem generally more free-flowy and all but I suppose if we compare one aspect we have to compare everything. I suppose I will strive for balance at the end of the day: Making sure you learn but not stress anyone out unnecessarily. That means some stress is good? :p That's what scientists say anyway. A bit of it makes life more fun and challenging for me! :) Okay. Apologies about the wet blanket again.

Strategies of learning that I can adopt Yeh! Your teachers will be happy seeing that put in practice!

Heh heh, the diversity of their backgrounds does seem to make them (the Aussies) seem more exciting/tolerant/nicer/accomodating? Perhaps that's the Singapore I would like to have too. :) Getting there, getting there. :)

Thanks for blogging even with the bad connection. We'll look forward to you coming back!

Cheers!
Mdm N

Heh Minyi! Love the photo personal touch :)

Yeah that's why I have my reservations about ICT though I can see its uses. :s
Didn't know about the bananas photos. Let me know if you attempt that here and what happened.
Interesting point you made about the kilos looking good on Aussies. Why wouldn't they look good on us? Curious.... :) About sleeping early, maybe we in Singapore have too many distractions, too many lights and disturbances that keep us awake? Good and bad if you ask me.

Drama Workshop
Fabulous! The SYF performance would be a good chance for you to apply and test what you have learnt at the workshop!

Go on! Go generous with your smiles and compliments! You are right about their connection with living well and being happy!

Cheers!
Mdm N

Oh! Have you emailed Mr Kilvert your thanks?

I totally agree with your point about sales people here and there Afiqah, though I have met a few nasty ones. Generally, they are indeed better evolved in terms of human-to-human relationships. I'm confident Singapore can reach that level too. I guess we can definitely do our part in making it happen! :)

Wow, I couldn't have summarised good old Stan's System myself! :D Wonderful! :)

“This 8-day trip certainly did wonders. People became friends. People became stronger. People learnt to let go. And the world just got a lot smaller.” Love these lines. People doing the EFL slide show, do add them in!

Well said. I'm glad to be home too. :) We shall just look forward to being really good hosts next year when they come!

Cheers!
Mdm N

Hi Joshi Zhe Shuo! :D

Yes! Etiquette is very important. It really presents an image of you very quickly. I hope you have managed to develop good table manners and they are here to stay for Singaporeans appreciate good table manners too! :)

Yup! The smiling thing again. :) So did you smile at your mom and dad today? Yesterday? It does feel good right? Puts people in a good mood too! No worries if people don't smile back at you. Keep at it and they'll respond one day!

Great to see your renewed conviction and passion about Drama! :)

Cheers!

This is for Anjana

Totally agree about the smiling bit! :) Well you can't change other people (not immediately anyway in a lot of cases) but you can certainly start with yourself! Thing about smiling and being happy is that it is contagious! Isn't that great?

The Stanislavsi Technique/Method is used by practitioners (actors and directors) all over the world including Singapore when staging realist plays. I think it is a really good rehearsal and performance technique too cos it gives the character you are playing a lot of weight/a lot more complex/3 or maybe even 4-dimensional.

Very good learning points :D Let's apply them shall we?

Cheers!
Mdm N

Thanks for your entry Praveena. :D Thought I share some thoughts after I read what you have written. (The rest of you don't feel left out. Yours is coming soon! :)

Your buddy is Simon? A guy?

Cultural Experience
Yup, we are very conservative people by comparison to the Aussies right?
Perhaps there are also aspects about the way we interact that we can appreciate?
Each culture and society has its own code of behaviour and beliefs so I guess with your exposure now to a different one from what you're used to you'll appreciate that (the differing code of conduct and beliefs) and be able to adapt when you find yourself in a different country and cultural setting. :)

Drama Workshop
Great to know that you have been an excellent student in Miss Lee class! :)
The Stanislavski technique is the theory and practice which the man designed to help actors peform their characters in a more “real” manner. What you guys have been exposed to in both Miss Lee's classes and Allison's workshop are the basics. Can you think of a time when the Stanislvski technique could have been applied to make your performance a better one? I can! You know about Mr S.? I studied him in JC/NIE (can't remember when or where exactly) but I only got him sorted out after I started teaching about him. Forces me to REALLY understand and get him right! :)

Cheers! Mdm N

Finally... finally... I can find a place with quite supporting ambience for me to blog (of course with a quite fast internet connection; accepting the fact that my hometown's fastest internet connection is 144 kbps D:)

Oh yeah by theway, Gabriella here!!! Currently sitting on a plastic chair one hour before you guys! lol...

The weather in my hometown is quite similar with the one in Adelaide but it's more humid here! So yeah, this is what I suppose to blog (long time ago, in Adelaide)! :)

Similarity of lesson conducts at MHS and Anderson
Well, the similarity is... There are students and a teacher with a whiteboard and chairs and desks.
Basically, it's not the same, AT ALL. The students there tend to be more relax and the teacher doesn't really explain the subjects. He just sit comfortably on his chair.
I am not suppose to say this because I only attend ONE lesson during my visit there. But from what I see, the students there just came, take the worksheet and sit on their respective desks and it's their free time. Either they want to do the worksheet or just talk with their friends.
So, looking at how stressful and hectical a life of a Singaporean student is, their way of conducting lesson is way different from ours.

Strategies of learning that I can adopt
Basically, in my opinion, the way a lesson conducted is more effective in Singapore. But I can adopt the way some of the students concentrate on their work eventhough they are in a so not conducive place to study. This may work if my class is noisy :P

Ethnic groups that make up Australian Society
There are A LOT of ethnic groups!!! Not only those caucasian people living here. But also aboriginal, asian, and the black people. Not as many chinese as Singapore though. But there are a lot and a lot of Vietnamese and Korean people here.
My host partner told me that every caucasion family in Australia must have come from somewhere else *She was from Scotland by the way*. Yeah, that's true considering the fact that Australia was originally inhabited by the Aborigins.

Way that makes variety of ethnic groups add value to the society
I have to say that the Aboriginal culture is super exotic and awesome!! Yeah, it does add a lot of value to the society. Plus, all the different family background of the Caucasion people make an amazing fusion in Australian culture!!

Causing conflicts?
Well, we cannot please everybody. During some times back, the Aborigins felt as an outsider in their home land as the Caucasians keep migrating from Europe. That causes conflict to occur between the 'host' and the 'guest'. But as long as we can balance both, I don't find any reason for it to become a conflict :)

The last question I can't really do it because I don't know what policies the Singaporean government have made.

Currently tired with the dial up connection I'm using here *WE STILL USE MODEM!!!* Haha... But finally it's done...

..is glowing because of how great adelaide is <3

general experience in adelaide

what was especially enjoyable was how friendly and outgoing everyone of all ages were. human interaction is so amazing in a world where tea parties..etc are being replaced by IM-ing. not smiling is considered abnormal behaviour, and since smiling releases endorphins in itself, you can totally imagine how happy everyone generally is :D

anyway, to provide examples of their "World Without Strangers" attitude : this random 28-33 year old man spotted Harris and I trying to take a picture, and after having offered to help both of us take a photo, he suddenly changed his mind, and posed with us while holding his bananas! super cool; like, can you imagine going up to a random person in City Hall Int, and allowing yourself to be forever immortalized in their camera's memory card?

we should all go do that :D


another point on FOOD. the ease at which Australians can buy ice-cream is amazing. the best part is how luscious and gooood the ice-cream tastes! it's actually a blessing that SG doesn't stock these high quality desserts, or we'd pile on the kilos in an unflattering way that only afflict our Asian frames. (meaning kilos would look good on Aussies, but not us, unfortunately)

Adelaide's nightime environment is also very conducive for early nights. Dunno why. It's not like the sun sets early-it becomes dusk at about 8+pm?-and it's not like we've been exerting ourselves alot. SO WHY ARE WE SLEEPING SO MUCH?!



learning pts from the drama workshop


besides the obvious, that the Arts are taken way more seriously there than in SG, going to the workshop reinforced my understanding of how we have to believe in our characters, and how we need to know exactly what the given circumstances are. it was fun heading straight to a workshop after our flight, i like packed days :)



experience : putting up a performance in MHS


there was so much we could learn from them! the way they take pride in their work, and are really into their stuff is most impressive. after the first day of rehearsals, i watched from the audience as Jess's group spent alot of time and effort on making sure that these long curtains hanging from the top were really centered and in the best position.

anyway, their lights in their auditorium were very interesting. while backstage, there were these bluish lights (when you blink really quickly, your vision goes whack and ppl become discoloured. FUN.) that apparently have the ability to not-spill-over, and that was very pro. onstage, the assorted lights look like they've been set up with utmost care, even to a light-noob like me.



things to bring back


to love everyone even more, and to reach out more because hugs feels goood.

it is not a rubbish myth that Asians are more conservative, and being generous with happy emotions is a trend that could never bring any harm. live well, laugh lots, love forever!


not to conform to rigid social rules! woohoo! obviously, liberation needs to be bounded a little, just so that streakers don't streak in public...but anyway, who's stopping us from making ourselves heard, and going up to random ppl to compliment them, and to tell the cook how mindblowing their food was.


the ties forged, and the bonds made stronger while in SA. pure interaction time, unhindered by schoolwork and other frivolous things, is precious.

Hey everyone! Afiqah here. It seems like everyone's blogging. Great. So, I shall blog too.

General Experience
Without a doubt, there are many differences between Adelaide and Singapore. For one, it's a lot bigger. Even Kangaroo Island is bigger. However, what struck me the most was not the size of Adelaide but the big-hearted people there. You walk into a store and people greet you. At the cashier, they talk to you and ask how was your day. They offer assistance without being too pushy. Something I feel a salesperson in Singapore must learn. In Singapore, they are either "too friendly" or not friendly at all. We need to learn to be friendly to everyone but not to the extent that it gets annoying. I learnt that we need to strike a balance in everything we do whether it's in work or play.

Workshop
I'll be honest. At first, I wasn't looking forward to the workshop at all. However, just after 5 minutes, I really enjoyed myself. And what's as important as enjoying ourselves? Learning something from all that fun. Yes. As an actor, we must first learn who our character is. And what is our character's objective and SUPER objective in the play. This is very important (as we all know) because our movement on stage as that particular character is determined by our objective. Every line in the script has a reason why it is there. We, as the actor, have to find that out by analysing the script. Just as the Stanislavsky system tells us to.

Performance
I think that given the limited time we have to come up with a performance, we did VERY VERY well. Even if we didn't have a lot of time, we sure learnt a lot. Although we packed everything we possibly needed to make the puppet, the glue gun didn't work. Even by bringing a whole pack of needles, we just had to misplace them. With things going missing, and stuff not working, we still managed to complete the puppet. It just shows how we, as an person, must adapt to changes in life. Anything that has to go wrong, would go wrong no matter how organised or well-planned a particular "event" is. What is important is that we are able to adapt and make the situation better.


This 8-day trip certainly did wonders. People became friends. People became stronger. People learnt to let go. And the world just got a lot smaller.

I miss Adelaide. I'm sure everyone does too. But really, what makes us miss Adelaide so much? The place? The weather? The friends we made? Or the experience of being somewhere else. As much as we miss Adelaide, I'm sure we're all glad to be back home.

Yo! Joshi here.

Experiences in Adelaide...

For me... its kind of hard to change all my bad habits (when I eat) at one go because in Australia, they are very mindful about their image and how they eat. Also when the family members met each other, no matter when or where, they will greet each other with a smile on their face. Well... i think this is a very good habit to have as although these are small things people do every day but this can mark a good day ahead. Most of the teenagers in Singapore don't even bother to greet their teachers in schools, even their family members. I also notice about something, when the family members are really bonded together, they will crack jokes, some jokes I think is not suitable as its a bit rude but to them its just one of the ways they bond with each other. The best part is... I CAN PREPARE MY OWN BREAKFAST!!! I have dozen of choices of cereals or very nice toast to choose from for my breakfast! I love my host family...

Drama workshop...
I was impressed when i saw the passion people have for Drama and the performing spaces they have. When we go into the centre, its like a maze we have to go through before reaching our destination. IT IS VERY COOL! I had learnt a lot of things over there. Things taught over there are also taught during o level drama but this is a great opportunity to clear all my doubts about drama and clear all my misconceptions. It is a very enriching trip.

Experiences of putting up the performance in Marryatville...
The three days were the happiest and most tiring days because I have my teammates to build the puppet and also the food they provided..(ITS SUPER NICE!) Back to the performance... its very successful and our hard work got paid off... we met many problems like the structure can't hold till the performance due to the rehearsals we had... i am also impressed that even we were only given three days, we still can put up such a good performance!!!

Last thing... I LOVE THIS TRIP!!!

hello peeps ANJANA here (:
i didnt vomit on the plane back so im proud of myself
lols i'll get to the point
my cultural experinces in adelaide:
i totally loved the aboriginal art and the tandanya museum
way cool.
on the aussies, well,
they have very different lifestyles compared to ours
like yu jun said,
they wear shoes at home
and dont take a shower before napping
and they also dont wash their hands
after touching the dogs
and then they make food with their hands.
anyway
i loved the weather
you could walk for miles without sweating
unlike singapore
I MISS WALKING TO SCHOOL WITH EMMA!
then there's the fact that everyone in adelaide
well the ones we saw
are FRIENDLY
they smile, some greet and some even crack a joke at something you might be doing
which i find a very nice attitude that makes people feel welcome
if you do that here,
people will just stare at you like you're some kind of weirdo
grrrrr
so i think the most important lesson i learned from the cultural experience
would be to SMILE AT PEOPLE! :)

next, the drama workshop:
the workshop was super fun!
i loved the games she (the teacher-can't rmbr her name D:)made us play
and some which we already know
but theirs is a different version
i got hiccups while she was talking
hehe
anyways
i learnt about the stanislavsky system
which i haven't heard much of
before the workshop
so the workshop has shown me the methods
that people in other countries incorporate
in their acting
it has also shown what people who have a passion for something can do
to achieve what they want.

then the Marryatville performance:
the performance was GREAT!
on the first day when we stepped into E1
and i saw their dragon,
i was like WOW.i thought our puppet was going to be huge
and it was big but there weren't as many details.
but there's also the fact that we didn't have much time
given the few days we had to come up with a structure
and then build the puppet
i guess we're quite good
then the play, well, i was a little surprised at what we managed to do in just
less than 3 days
i mean we came up with a storyline on
monday?ya monday
then on tuesday it was changed
and then the whole cast learnt 2 dances in 2 days
pro
i feel proud for atc for being able to do that.
the performance by the marryatvillians
was AWESOME.seriously.
their acting was great
i loved the dance
and it had this whole mystic feeling to it
which was so cool
and the teddy bear video thing was hilarious!
i really enjoyed the experience.

to sum it all up,
my learning points from the whole trip:

1. SMILE AT EVERYONE
2. BE PASSIONATE IN WHAT YOU DO
3. IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT HAPPENS, THE SHOW MUST GO ON!
4. LASTLY, DON'T TAKE FERRY RIDES ON A WINDY DAY!
imissmyhostfamily!
tts all, take care ppl and enjoy the hols, or the syf rehearsals!haha

PRAVEEEEEEEENA!

WOOHOO!!! Adelaide for me was a dream come true!! Like seriously...I loved it all EXCEPT for the ferry to KI! that was haunting..right so..thanks to mrs k..we have to answer only 3 questions..but in a greater depth though...right i'll get to the point..

Cultural Experiences

I must say i was exposed to a great deal of culture,way of living etc...but,i guess the one which had the greatest impact on me was the fact that ,they were really informal with their guests..That was something which is seriously rare in Singapore..we often give our guests a very formal welcome,trying to make them feel at home..but i guess, it is really a better way to be yourselves at home..like how my family at aDelaide was..One of which was when i first got into the house..on that night..simon(my buddy's dad) went like,"get out of my chair!"..i mean it might sound rude but when you know he was kidding..later on you wouldn't be so self-conscious of yourselves infront of them..that was also main reason for which why i didn't become homesick i guess..they all treated me like another daughter..and i really couldn't ask for more..I felt at home and as they were really warm with me..In the mornings,i would do my own breakfast and munch it on the way..We had almost all the meals together and often we cracked jokes which embarassed ourselves!! GOD i MISS them!


DRAMA WORKSHOP

Drama workshop, to be really frank..it was an OKAY workshop..as in Ms Lee had already covered most of which during o'level drama and we had put it into practice..But one thing that i learnt maybe was about the degree at which the arts people try to make Drama shine in south austrailia..I always believed that when one person teaches drama...you could see how much passion they have gotten for it...And when i saw her..i'm sry i really can't remember her name..I thought she did have loads of passion for drama..for her to have gone such a long way..and i salute her for that..I thought it was fun..but it wasn't too great for me to comment on it..(just a personal opinion)=P But to a certain degree, i had a thought that...we have not ventured too much with the use of stanislavski system..maybe only i haven't but ya..i would like to know how exactly we could use it

ENTIRE EXPERIENCE IN MARRYATVILLE

right..first of all..i was really scared when i first met my buddy and her family,i didn't how to converse with them and i had to like get used to how they were communicating with each other. I wouldn say it was extremely difficult for me,i managed to glue quite well..after which,as communicating became easy..many other things like sharing, eating together, going places..all became real easy!So no doubt i had loads of fun with MY family in Adelaide..
And for the putting up the performance part, it was indeed an accomplishment i would say..I mean putting up a performance in an auditorium with so many people in 2 days..was no joke..especially when we had to start from scratch..But with our voiceless ms lee's help and with Mrs K, could things go wrong..(maybe>>?!>>>)...but it didn't.. we came up with this really cliche story filled with so much of love,mushiness,fun and laughter.. And indeed the highlight of our play the big giant monster was the BEST!!! thanks alot to all the crew...On the whole, i thought i learnt how to mingle with pple of different ages and different mindsets..And working as an ATCian i knew i should always be tactful of what i say..and made sure my comments were constructive..Just a minute ago, i saw our video put up on facebook..and i think for an intensive two DAys.. this is not bad at all..i would really like to thank the crew, who did both the props and the hair and gave the cast loads of moral support=) it was indeed a great trip... I'm not lying ,but i've loads more to say..but i'm not a fast typer and i'm tired!so yea...this trip was just too much of a wonderful experience,i would say!

Hey All!

It was really nice to see everyone again yesterday.

Great to see Cheryl, Haritha, Minyi, Salmah and Yu Jun hard at work. :) What about the rest?

Marryatville has been a great experience. I learnt something new/get inspired every time I go.

Thought I should respond to some of your writing before I blog about my experiences. :)

...........................................................................

Argggghhhhhhh got distracted by other stuff. Will continue after I send my dad to the clinic and gym.

Cheers and Love!
Mdm Nasyitah

ahhhh,.... there is something wrong with my friendster!!!! NO friends in friends list????? weird ??
okay ! hi ppl !! I am yujun .......haha

1) My general experince in Adelaide?

The way of live in Australia is really different!!!!
They wear shoes in their house, sit on bed without washing legs and sometimes turn in without taking a shower first!!!!
I dun really like that actually because i think it is really unhygenic!!!
well , maybe that is due to the weather and culture in their country haha so i cant say anything !!!
hmmmm....... i shall share what i have prepared on a piece of paper with u guys !!!
ok....... ahem..... ahem......
The life in Australia is really differnt .
For example ,the pace in Australia is slower than singapore , they do not need to pay carpark ,ERP and GST fee !!! Oh so good!
However , in singapore ,everywhere u go is "MONEY ,MONEY,MONEY"
e.g
going into the car park: "PLS INSERT YOUR CASHCARD IN THE ICU (I dunno the full
name.If u
wanna know ask ATL)

Two hours Later.....

going out of the car park:"Thank you for shopping with us ! your parking fee is "$2.40"



e.g one when u r driving happily on the road suddenly u saw "ERP"
ur first reaction will surely be: oh!" Cash card !"
ERP: "Beep!" car:-$2 bus:-$3.oo etc
ICU: " $1.40
U: ah...... i need to top up again!!!
Look! see what i mean " MONEY ,MONEY , MONEY"(right it so funny in a rich man's world)
Anyway ,Australia's tax is much more higher than singapore and mealsis expensive too .
one Meal: $5 and above.....
water(plain) : $3,oo ( is only 600ml ,i can buy 2 bottles of 1 litre water in sin)
gosh!!
But still they get money without working, erm.... of course is only for adults !!!
quite stressful : money money money!!!
Other than that , studyand working pace is really different too in sin and aust!!!
sin: fast Aust: slow
( i guess all of u should get what i mean)
Maybe a slower pace of education helps them to remember and digest things better???
which is good???
Unlike singapore , education pace is fast , ppl who cant catch up suffers .... therefore they need extra time to catch up and lesser time to relax !!!!!( deprived childhood /teenagehood comes)
i think MOE quite ks , they want us to learn this and that ,but in the end the quality is not gg to be good ( for some ppl )Yes ! we know alot of things but is half here and there , unless u r really into a certain thing that u r going to do for life!!!( u cn disagree with me !!! No offence for this)

Hm.......... i love the weather in australia ! I like my host buddy and family ! But sometimes i dun really like my buddy( i shan't continue) That dislike might due to the difference between culture ,thinking ......and yep i only know her for few days !!!haha
I reckon that they are much more " open " as compared to we asian ( I mean mindset)
and they are quite "wild " too!!!( behaviour)

2) Things I have learned from drama workshop?

hmm..... I've learn more about stanislavsky theory!
other than script analaysis , showing the objective ,super objectives and obstacles faced in the play .I have learned about some tactics we can use in the play to acheive objectives. We could use the things taught in the work shop for every play we put up and practise them regularly , and make atc a better drama club ????
hahahahahahahahahahaa i dunno!!!!

3) what is my entire experince in Marryatville?

hm..... i think the marryatvillians are really professional in drama!!!! haha They have great prop and sets, sound system things like that. Maybe because they are a music school . The energry level they have in play is really great too!!! i have to learn from them, cos i think my energy level is not enough and actions still not really clear haha!!!!
hm...... they have a small number of students in a class . The subjects offered to them is a bit different from us e.g they offer psycology. hm.............. the school is big but the student population is small. ( a thousand plus ours 2 thousand plus)They have differnt uniforms for different seasons???
ahhh...... i shall stop i dunno what to say !!!! ok only one thing: Marryatvill is a great place!!! good environment!!!!
bye bye :)

Hello, Salmah here again.
Click ATC in Adelaide 2008 for photos from my camera.

Love you all, ♥!

Labels: -

Hello everyone, Salmah here! (:

Well, I hope everyone is feeling fine and had a good rest! I had my dose of local food and hindi movies, so right now I am a happy girl. It feels kinda great to perspire again after 9 days of not perspiring, hahahaha. Alright, back to business.

12 November 2008.

1. They move around for lessons. They will have to go to different blocks for different lessons and I think it's quite fun because you get to have a huge classroom for lessons, for example The Forge. One difference I noticed is that the number of pupils in class is rather small compared to ours which have at least 40 pupils.

2. Aborigins and Australians. We'll get to learn about other cultures and understand it. In that way, conflicts are less likely to happen as majority understand each other, more or less we know each culture's beliefs and we can adapt to the difference.

• Racial Harmony Day!

-

Anyway, I am still in the process of uploading photos and I think I'll take a rather long time, so apologies before hand! (:

Goodnight!

Labels: -

(min yi here)

it's 4.16am in singapore time, and currently, we have at least 170 pictures of the trip on facebook!

try some here : http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=44217&l=5934b&id=772312833 and http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=44230&l=e64a6&id=772312833. these are the public links to the photos i uploaded, which only the user has like, "access" to, so can't get the link for carmina's and gabriella's yet.

here's their link (you'd have to have facebook for this though) anyway : http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=68746&id=500703221 and http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=500703221#/album.php?aid=68750&id=500703221 are G's, and C's is http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1016252144&ref=nf#/album.php?aid=10269&id=1016252144&ref=mf

where are YOU going to upload your photos?
shutterfly? photobucket?

there are so many pictures, and so little memory space.
phooey!

Hi Andersonians,

This is Haritha here. And this is my post for tonight:-)

I) Hostess with the mostest!

Q: In what ways do your Australian Host families differ from Singaporean families in the way they welcome guests?

My Opinion: I guess back in Singapore we are a bit more formal with our guests but the Australians are more informal, which makes their welcoming warmer and friendlier.

I also think that S'poreans could get a bit nosy with what the guests are doing, but in Australia, they give us more private time.

Q: What have you learnt from their lifestyle?

My Opinion: Australians lead really friendly lifestyles. For example they would greet people they might not know on buses and other public places. You might not really see this in Singapore. So, what I have learnt would be to be warmer to people you meet regardless of whether you know them or not.

Q: What Actions or characteristics have you observed in the Australian Families that you would like to develop in yourself when you interact with your own family?

My Opinion: I think that families here are more open to suggestions, and everyone's opinion is taken into account. But in S'pore, parents might always like get to make the final suggestions...

So, importantly, I think that we should take into consideration everyone's opinion. And the most important way to do this would to voice out your opinion without being scared.

II) Better Stages

Q: In what ways have you been inspired by those involved in the performing arts in Adelaide?

My Opinion: There is a lot of effort put into the making of productions here in Australia. For example, to make the dragon puppet, they actually had on entire class working on it. I believe you can actually see all the effort put into it. The amount of dedication and commitment they put in is really inspiring!

Q: What are the most important things that you have learnt about putting up a production?

My opinion: Like mentioned above, I think that dedication and commitment are important. I also think that teamwork and and un-biased view is important. Well, ATC has lots of these, but it might do good to brush up on them.



The more interesting thing is that in Marryatville, you see most work being done by the students, and the teachers are only guiding them. But in Anderson, teachers do a good part of the work too. I think we, as students, do more work and give less to the teachers.

We should pass on the skills we learnt here to those who did not come here and our future juniors, and make good use on them for our SYF next year, and coming years.

Oh, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CARMINA! Sweet sixteen!

Hey, this is Cheryl here! I'm watching Moulin Rouge as I type this, haha.

Right, so if you would kindly turn to page 19 of your blue file, you would find the questions I'm supposed to blog about.

1)Say what?

The way the Australians speak is quite understandable. But I find myself scanning the words that coming out of my mouth for swearwords, Singlish and potential offensive material. Somtetimes they don't understand what I'm saying, so I've to repeat myself. But I'm sure that's quite normal because I get that quite often from people back home as well.

The simplest way to get my message across is to: (a) speak clearly (b) play charades.

2)My grandfather's road!

Aborigines enjoy special privileges in the areas of educaton, transport and... other stuff. The reason why? It's a little bit like compensation, because they have suffered a great deal under the white man's rule, for example, the stolen generation, the culture lost, etc. Some Australians, sadly, resent the priviledges that Aborigines receive. But I'm sure that that's only a small percentage of the population. :]

The Singaporean government has basically employed a policy of multi-racialism and multi-culturalism. Yeah. Aiyah, I can't really think of anything here.

That's all, I guess. Ice cream!

Ah Hah! Finally! The info that everyone has been craning your necks for! :D

Okay I tried to import the actual table onto the Blog but is obviously unsuccessful. Just note that the name after you own is your host buddy's and the email address which follows your host buddy's name is his/her email. DUH.... :p/:D

Some of the email addresses belong to your host buddies but some belong to the host families so do be polite and respectful when initiating contact, that is if your host buddy or family has not yet contacted you. Will be good for you to at least email them once before departing.

Tan Min Yi
Jessica Eadie
Fruity_cocktail_92@hotmail.com

Haritha Vijayavardhini
Michelle Kennedy
shelz_belz@hotmail.com

Benjamin Lye Jin Yang / Lee Zheng Young
Kai Strobel
jstrobel@bigpond.net.au

Eugene Meng
Axel Virgo
virgo.michele@dpc.sa.gov.au

Harris Leow Yangen
Tim Odell
kelly@bngd.com or Kelly@bngol.com

K. Praveena
Shelly Jacka
seashell@picknowl.com.au

Haziq Bin Sha’aban
Alexander Hayward
phayward@bigfoot.com
ngarkat@boxflat.net

Afiqah
Gabriella Linardi
Catorina Hutchinson
carolyn@esc.net.au

Low Yu Jun
Jessica Shelton
mkjr@tpg.com.au

Salmah Mohamed Harris
Amy Kubank
davjulra@bigbutton.com.au

Cheryl Lim
Molly McCormack
pridmac1@optusnet.com.au

Sakinah Binte Mohammed Tahir
Madeline Rocco
caroline.rocco@loreto.sa.edu.au

Ong Zhe Shuo
Nathan King
leanneking@internode.on.net

Sylvia Koh Kia Ying;
Lim Ee Lok Cassandra
Alexandra Barrington
juliesokvari@santos.com

Anjana Aravind
Emma Barley
jlt.male@bigpond.net.au

Carmina Alarcon Castro
Ruby Niemann
sallyniemann@bigpond.com

That's it from me!

Good night BABIES! :D

MDM N.

Hello, this is Cheryl here, your extremely lovable pre-trip administrator! I can't wait to go to Adelaide!

Anyway, I'm writing to you to tell you about the story we're doing. It is a twist on an original Chinese folktale on how the methods of celebration of Chinese New Year came about. Right, here's the original version first (if you want to skip right to the one we twisted, just scroll down. i thought you might be interested in the original though). Long ago, the world was not a safe place as monsters dominated the world and terrified the living wits out of the people. There was one particularly nasty monster that came out on the same day each year to eat people. It was a creature of habit, you see, and it had a very delicate digestive system. This monster was named Nian, and the people marked the end of a year by his visits to the human civilisation. that is why the Chinese word for year is Nian, it looks like this: 年. The people were terrified of the monster as everytime it came out, whole villages would be destroyed. They huddled in fear in their homes and stayed up all night, not wanting to be eaten. Then, an old man thought of a plan to scare the monster away. He proposed that the people should set fire to bamboo as the bamboo would crack and make a lot of noise, possibly scaring the fearsome monster away. Everyone agreed to the plan and set fire to the bamboo on the night the monster was supposed to come. True enough, the tremendous noise generated scared away the monster and scrambled back to its cave without eating anyone. Everyone was relieved and happy. So from then on, people stayed up late, lit firecrackers (to stimulate the lighting of the bamboo), and congratulated each other when the new year came.

Okay, this is our version. Nian has lived in peace with the people of the land for many eons. Somewhere along the way, he meets this other character of female persuasion and falls in love with her. Being the unspeakably handsome creature that he is, he manages to get her to fall in love with him as well. So, Nian has everything he wants; a good home, a lovely girlfriend, etc. But something starts to go wrong. The people of the land start pouring their waste into the rivers, poisoning the creatures’ drinking water. They start cutting down the trees and burning the forests. Soon, Nian and his female friend are left with nothing but a miserable patch of trees for a home. His girlfriend starts to fall horribly sick (due to the poisoned water). Ashamed and afraid of letting Nian see her in this stricken state, she runs away from home. Nian is heartbroken and decides to take revenge on the people of the land for wrecking his home and love life. The inspiration for this version of the tale comes from the numerous B-grade horror movies where the real villains are actually the humans who mess around with the environment and the monsters are actually pitiful victims of the circumstances. Of course, the tale has to have a happy ending. The people of the land start to realize the consequences of their actions and decide to change for the better. They also manage to get Nian and his girlfriend back together again. Therefore, in order to celebrate this happy reunion, the people set off firecrackers/bamboo sticks.

Although the origin of the tale is chinese, we're keeping this piece culturally neutral.

I was joking about the digestion. I wasn't joking about me being lovable though. Hahaha. Kidding!

Right, now I've to get back to my o chinese revision. Enjoy your packing!

FINALLY! Thanks Salmah. :D

Cheers!
Mdm Nasyitah

Hello everyone!

Today, ATC had their first preparation session for our trip to Marryatville! We started off with some drafts, courtesy of Mrs Kamal and all the people who had previously participated in the puppetry workshop back in 2006, which focused on larger-than-life puppets, controlled by three people apiece. The story, adapted from the old Chinese folktale of the monster Nian, was filled in by Cheryl, and then work began.

The whole team decided on a base rectangular frame, which would rest on the main puppeteer's shoulders, and therefore support another frame, which would consist of the puppet's head and shoulders (which would in turn, link to the arms).

And after much doodling and asking and string and scissors and sweat (thanks to Cheryl and Salmah who went all the way to get us more pipes for the frames, as well as Carmina and Zheshuo and Praveena who went to get the wooden tube-things cut at the D&T block with Mr. Nathan) and a lot of idle chit-chat, the main frames for both the male and female puppets were complete! (You should be able to see it in the picture if you strain a bit. Its in the top left corner, mostly covered by the tables and chairs...) Sadly, we couldn't do the secondary frames, due to lack of materials.

But we'll try harder next week (won't we?)! :D

Apologies if I missed out your name during the mention of hard labor, everyone's effort was appreciated today!

And happy Halloween to everyone. Remember to scare your sister/brother/mother/father/friends/pets (Sorry. Scaring your pets is apparently sadistic).

- Cassie

Add-On!
My apologies! I forgot to mention someone who contributed a ton on Friday as well! Minyi orchestrated the whole mass of us for the frame-construction, so kudos to her!

Labels: puppet construction

Hey kids!

Just wondering why the blog is so inactive when everyone I asked said they're really excited about the trip!!

I guess I shall start the ball rolling with something. Something official. Something which spells... work. To the point, I thought this is a great place to communicate so here's the latest: Marryatville Roles & Responsibilities are out! Check it out~

Coming up really soon : Roles and Responsibilities of Anderson-Marryatville Trip People, and the Phone Relay System (because we hardly see each other daily)

Check out our Portal!

Welcome to your very own space to communicate your Adelaide experience! This blog is meant for all involved in the Anderson-Marryatville Drama & Educational Exchange Programme to interact with one another, especially if you are not in the same place at the same time (e.g.: when staying at host families' homes).

Please feel free to appoint a webmaster (or webmasters) for this blog, who can personalise the template.

If you would like to take a look at a similar blog, you could go to http://resozes.blogspot.com. This belongs to the Tanjong Katong Secondary School group who went to Melbourne for an exchange programme in June 2008.

Have fun!

Welcome.

Feel our experience,
Enjoy the scenes,
Get in touch with us,
From Adelaide.

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