Rehearsal 15, 17 July 2020

9am – 1pm

Drama Centre Black Box (DCBB)

In view of the limited time they had with the space, the collaborators wasted little time with the briefing before dispersing, hence a more sequential rehearsal without much discussion / explanations in between:

- They had until 10am to warm-up, develop either their duets or solos, before regrouping to review each other’s solos.

o Syimah and Xiao Jun’s duet needed to be refined to satisfy the musicality further.

- Daryl was present

o He was unsure or what to do / How to plan as it was his first time being involved in a project in this format.

o He was still unsure how the filming process will be, which was something he wanted to communicate with Hafiz about.

o He planned the lighting (based on what he knows), and to set booms in the diagonals to aid the dancers and filming process.

- Hafiz was present

o He shared suggestions and his plans for the shot, angles and cues + props to use.

o Haizad went through the filming angles & planned overlays

o Set the camera position for the wide angle shot

§ Unable to see the corners of the square, had the option to either shift the square or the camera

§ Decided to adjust the square into a trapezium, making it look like a square through the camera (similar to the 3D street art illusion)

o Deciding on the angles, trying out with the dancers in space

- The dancers went through / refined their duets.

- Sharul shared the elements of his solo / creative process:

o Tepak sireh

§ Welcoming death / death is coming despite anxiety

§ What are we leaving / what is left

§ Becomes a pillow at the end

o Batik

§ Belonged to late grandmother

§ Symbolised he process / what she went through

§ Will stand up behind it before lying down with it at the end of the solo

o Photo/s

§ Memories of late grandmother / Late grandmother’s memories

§ Slowly letting go; of me, of them

§ Not documented, forgotten

o “Sampaikan salam.” Arrival

o Lights signify / indicate the burial space

o To invite death, unravel the memories

o To look at life in a larger picture / scheme

(Was he sharing his creative process as his solo pertains to documenting / desire to document, and sharing it with me as a commentary + assurance of its documentation?)

- The dancers then brought in their props into the space.

- Went through the prologue / timelapse, taping of boundaries.

- Went through music cues with Adi.

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Maximising the time in the space.

The dancers then came together to try out the solos, and for Hafiz and Daryl to visualise the recording process:

- Haizad

o Walks straight towards camera

o Wearing shades

o Some close-ups and cutaways

- Syimah

o Shared her plans for the lighting (should she have discussed beforehand?)

o Comprised of 5 shots

o If possible, wanted to drench herself during the solo

- Xiao Jun

o Start out of frame

o Can see the behind-the-scenes as she walks to her starting position

- Sharul

o Usage of props, cutaway shots to highlight

o Went through what he envisioned for the lighting cues

o Movements include a mix of traditional and contemporary

o Had more planned lights and plotting in the space

- Thoughts and observations:

o The dancers had to memorise their seating positions before the cut to ensure continuity

o Documentation is a challenge when solos were not performed / complete

§ Many shots involved

§ Focused more on the lighting and blocking

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Trying out their solos.

They then continued refining some parts of the overall show:

- Duets

o To remove their shoes before entering the space

o Haizad and Sharul’s had more focus on connection and tension

- Song 6

o Acts of isolation

o Ensure to show suffering in the plank

o Planned the placement of each station, and to bring personal make-up

- Umbrella segment

o Smaller space due to the trapezium

o Tried each choreography set with the music

o Adjusted some positions to the space and props

- Song 8 / Curtain Call

o Shifted into post-credits, where they will remove tape and props

o Clarified the sequence

- Syimah and Xiao Jun’s duet

o Went through blocking & shots with Hafiz

- Went through camera angles for Haizad and Sharul’s duet.

- Tried 2 of the Umbrella segment songs with props, full out to try the space with props

o Wanted to feature the artist (Aizat) getting caught with drugs

o Adjusting blocking for camera angles

(There was a moment of confusion on who “boys” were referring to)

o (The importance of balance between being familiar with steps / movement & over-rehearsing

- The remaining time was used to iron out the last few things / clarifications.

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Getting as much done with the limited time available.

Thoughts and observations from rehearsal:

- Communication among each collaborator was very crucial to ensure everyone was on the same page and clear with what was happening.

o Helped each other clarify the sequence of recording + positioning

o Tapped into previous experiences in other roles to share / bounce off ideas

- Would it have been more streamlined if the shots were set prior, and going through only the blocking once in the space?

- There were many discussions happening concurrently in the space (hence the difference in documentation format)

- At this late stage of the process, to what extent can the changes be recalled / retained?

- Would the process be smoother / more streamlined with a Production Manager to plan out a schedule according to item and recording?

- Stage crew were listening / singing / humming along

o They might have a relationship with some of the songs used

- Dancers shared they were more nervous for the filming than for a live show

o Though all agreed that a post-show dialogue is “still worse”

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­­There was not much left to debrief, except prepare for the recording.