Updated 25 Sept 2022, 10.15pm
Absolutely a great ๐๐ป musical ๐ต๐ถ๐ผ attended. SiennyLovesDrawing & her little niece really enjoyed Water: A Musical, bravo to the play director, music composer, cast members, head gear designer & all crew members involved ๐๐ป๐๐ป๐
Do check out her happy musical weekend TikTok clip captured via ๐น๐ & stay tuned for her next blogging about her audience attendance to this musical ya ๐๐
Yeah!! It’s September now, time flies : )
If you’ve been following SiennyLovesDrawing ๐ฉ๐ป’s blog stories here, you would have read about her recent art collaboration with WWF Malaysia on tiger ๐
๐ฏ conservation, read more via ๐ https://siennylovesdrawing.wordpress.com/2022/07/29/roar-for-life-eco-festival-in-conjunction-of-global-tiger-day-by-wwf-malaysia/
This round she ๐ฉ๐ป would like to share about her recent media attendance to witness the official media launch to raising greater conservation awareness with WATER ๐ฆ: A Musical ๐ต๐ถ๐ผ presented by Somerset Music & Mr Chin San Sooi ๐ด๐ป
WATER ๐ฆ is a musical ๐ต๐ถ๐ผ Tiger ๐
๐ฏ calls the animals for a meeting to discuss man’s act of deforestation which leads to the pollution of rivers. All the 7๏ธโฃ animals affirm the sacredness of Mother Earth ๐, ohh no no…๐
๐ปโโ๏ธ
Guess whatโโ๏ธ
The musical ๐ต๐ถ๐ผ is interactive. The audience are invited to sing ๐ค & dance ๐ฉฐ together with the cast members, wowโผ๏ธ Absolutely gonna be an exciting & interesting musical experience with a meaningful conservation awareness raised, bravoโผ๏ธ
It’s a collaboration ๐ค๐ป between playwright/director, Mr Chin San Sooi ๐ด๐ป aka nickname in Mandarin ๅฑฑๆฐด Mountain Water, with music by Ms Joanne Poh ๐ฉ๐ปโ๐ผ of Somerset Music, the audience can look forward to this 60mins of memorable cum interactive engagement with the cast members. Ms Joanne ๐ฉ๐ปโ๐ผ & the cast members have proudly shared during the launch that the music is catchy & interactive for audiences to sing ๐ค & dance ๐ฉฐ along with all cast members during the musical play. Wowโผ๏ธ SiennyLovesDrawing ๐ฉ๐ป is looking forward toward it, how about youโโ๏ธ
Mr San Sooi ๐ด๐ป said at the official media launch of WATER at Warung Old China in Kuala Lumpur (KL), West Malaysia ๐ฒ๐พ, โI was contemplating writing a play on the topic of conservation when I read of the deforestation that was taking place at the National Park ๐๏ธ๐ณ๐ณ in Pahang, Malaysia ๐ฒ๐พ many years ago. I was too earnest & the muse eluded me, till now.โ
When the covid lockdown began, Mr San Sooi ๐ด๐ป spent 4๏ธโฃ very productive months occupied, with the end result of finishing 8๏ธโฃ scripts: 2๏ธโฃ satires, 3๏ธโฃ musicals, 2๏ธโฃ monologues & 1๏ธโฃ operetta. So, that is how WATER ๐ฆ : A Musical ๐ต๐ถ๐ผ is flowing out to the Malaysian audience in this post-covid environment
It’s really a privilege for SiennyLovesDrawing ๐ฉ๐ป to be at this official media launch to hear directly from Mr San Sooi ๐ด๐ป, Ms Joanne ๐ฉ๐ปโ๐ผ, Mr Khang Nanyao ๐จ๐ป & some cast members of their involvement & preparation of this musical play ๐ต๐ถ๐ผ
Do check out her TikTok clip captured from her media attendance via ๐น๐
Mr San Sooi ๐ด๐ป continues to share that: โA musical ๐ต๐ถ๐ผ is more difficult to realise as it is very challenging to compose a piece of music ๐ต๐ถ to lyrics written by another person. I approached Joanne ๐ฉ๐ปโ๐ผ to compose the music. Joanne in her own right is a piano teacher, runs a music school & has sung in choirs & performed on stage. I gave her a year to work on the music. I am glad that Joanne Poh took up the gauntlet with our 3๏ธโฃ musicians.”
He ๐ด๐ป further explained to the media members that during the covid lockdown, he basically spent time on eat ๐, sleep ๐ค๐ด & write โ๐ป, repeat almost the same daily & then produced this play ๐ต๐ถ๐ผ He always wanted to create something relating to pollution & conservation. He just sat down to write without any ideas, then this play materialized naturally. Bravoโผ๏ธ
He ๐ด๐ป also admitted to the media members that personally, he is not good in music, not a single note. He understands the difficulty of composing music ๐ต๐ถ from play, so he spoke to Joanne ๐ฉ๐ปโ๐ผ, a music teacher, singer, pianist & more to invite her to compose music for this play. Joanne actually being modest & hesitant to Mr San Sooi’s invitation at the beginning, she managed to produce the music for this play after 1๏ธโฃ year. Yeahโผ๏ธ
Ms Joanne ๐ฉ๐ปโ๐ผ then shared with the media that a total of 8๏ธโฃ songs, each animals represent in each music. Why took a yearโโ๏ธ She was procrastinating at 1st, hence delaying it when she was invited by Mr San Sooi ๐ด๐ป To her, music ๐ต๐ถ actually comes when you don’t want it from her music experiences. She would like to have her music on how to connect with the audiences. Also to her, the animal’s gender in this play actually makes a difference in her music creation. It’s neutral & simple to looping mind ๐ง when connecting with music ๐ต๐ถ Even for children/ students ๐ฆ๐ป๐ง๐ป๐ง๐ป, to educate them on pollution & conservation through music ๐ถ๐ต Of course different for adults & teenagers will be also different. The children will come with adults (ie. Parents/ teachers) to the play, so using appropriate music ๐ต๐ถ to tight in the play script content is really important to connect with the audiences whether during or even out from the theater that the audiences still remembering the conservation messages from this musical play ๐ต๐ถ๐ผ
She ๐ฉ๐ปโ๐ผ further explained that she was hesitant to Mr San Sooi ๐ด๐ป’s invitation at the beginning because it’s totally ๐ to her to put music in this educational play. She was lacking of confidence with totally something ๐ to her music experiences. She took a lot of courage because she understands well that this music from her needs to be put on stage for the public. At last, she decided to still give it a try. Yeahโผ๏ธ Ohh ya…Ms Joanne ๐ฉ๐ปโ๐ผ also shared that she was at 1๏ธโฃst worried about the generation gap with Mr San Sooi, 81 ๐ด๐ป who is actually on par with her grand parents age. She appreciates the trust from Mr San Sooi with her to put tunes to his play script created. In fact, she has total freedom in her music creation to this play ๐๐ป
โWATER ๐ฆ is a combined effort by us in an act of creativity with the members of the cast. The oldest cast member is 61 year old Hilda Looi ๐ฉ๐ปโ๐ฆฑ & the youngest cast member is school girl, Kirsten Wong, 13 ๐๐ปโโ๏ธ Together with designer, Khang Nanyao, we have set the stage with the different cast of characters through head gear specially created headwear for Mousedeer ๐ฆ, Tiger ๐ฏ, Elephant ๐, Monkey ๐ต & Wildboar/ Warthog ๐ In a small but significant way, we hope that WATER ๐ฆ : A Musical ๐ต๐ถ๐ผ would make people be more aware of the environment & treat it with respect & concern. The play could lead to larger issues like conservation of the seas & oceans ๐,โ added Mr San Sooi ๐ด๐ป
Mr Khang Nanyao ๐จ๐ป shared during the official media launch that the animal’s head gears were all 3D printed for current edge trending technology. So, the weight of each is not heavy & does not spoil very fast. These head gear with PLA plastics is possible to recycle โป๏ธ, but it may require special techniques to recycle them
Hmm…Importance of technology over the nature/ being environment friendlyโโ๏ธ Personally, SiennyLovesDrawing ๐ฉ๐ป as a go green ๐ person would think of using a more environmental friendly materials in producing the head gears would be more meaningful to this play on conservation initiative & awareness ๐ช๐ป๐๐ป๐๐ป
Mr Khang Nanyao ๐จ๐ป further explained to media members that he appreciates the trust from Mr San Sooi ๐จ๐ป as he has full control on the hear gear design, yes โ
, basically everything on his own ideas & no restrictions of head gear ideas for this play. It’s actually both the spiritual design with technology design at the same time. He did an open head helmet instead of a covered mask as requested by Mr San Sooi ๐ด๐ป His artwork more on live vs death ~ More scary side. Started making a difference in this play by adding in past & future elements to his head gear design. The cause & effect of humans made. To Mr San Sooi ๐ด๐ป, the white side of the head gear signifies spiritual to him. It’s an interesting interpretation of the head gear created. It took average 4๏ธโฃ days to produce a head gear of the animal, except 5๏ธโฃ days for the elephant ๐ head gear
One of the cast member, Madam Hilda Looi ๐ฉ๐ปโ๐ฆฑ has shared that her 1๏ธโฃst play was when she was in 18 yrs old & this musical play is her 2nd involvement as Elephant 1๐ Being the oldest cast member in this musical play, she is looking forward to working with the younger generation. While the youngest cast member, Ms Kirsten Wong ๐๐ปโโ๏ธ is not doing much acting before her involvement to this play as Monkey 1๐ต It’s really a good ๐ experience to learn new things. While another cast member, Ricky – shared that it’s his 1๏ธโฃst play as Elephant 2๐ in this musical play & a lot more to learn
Mr San Sooi ๐ด๐ป has added at the end of the official media launch that all cast members will start the rehearsal of this musical play in early Sept. Ohh yes, it’s on going now, so your ticket booking & purchase surely motivating & boosting encouraging vibes to all the cast members ya ๐ Let’s support local Malaysian artistsย
The Environmental Protection Society Malaysia (EPSM) is excited with this musical ๐ต๐ถ๐ผ which highlights the growing consciousness in Malaysia ๐ฒ๐พv& worldwide ๐ on the protection of the environment & is pleased to support raising the animal conservation in a creative form
The musical ๐ต๐ถ๐ผ is also proudly supported by Warong Old China (The venue of official media launch), GTM Art & Stationery Suppliers, Yudimama & Little Heritage House
.
So, let’s support ๐ช๐ป๐๐ป๐๐ป this meaningful conservation musical play ๐ต๐ถ๓ฟฌ it will debut from 21 Sept 2022 (Wed) with daily show @ 8.30pm till 25 Sept 2022 (Sun) @ 3pm at Damansara Performing Arts Centre (DPAC), Petaling Jaya, Selangor, West Malaysia ๐ฒ๐พ
Performances Date & Time๐๏ธ
- 21 Sept 2022 (Wed), 8.30PM
- 22 Sept 2022 (Thu), 8.30PM
- 23 Sept 2022 (Fri), 8.30PM
- 24 Sept 2022 (Sat), 8.30PM
- 25 Sept 2022 (Sun), 3.00PM
Genre: Musical ๐ต๐ถ๐ผ
Venue๐: Blackbox, Damansara Performing Arts Centre (DPAC), Petaling Jaya, Selangor, West Malaysia
Performance Duration: 60mins
Ticket ๐๏ธ Information:
- RM48.00 (Normal)
- RM38.00 (Concession: Student/ Senior Citizen/ Disabled)
Age Limit: 5๏ธโฃ years & above
Ticket ๐๏ธ Office:
Address๐: H-01, DPAC, Empire Damansara, Jalan PJU 8/8, Damansara Perdana, 47820 Petaling Jaya, Selangor, West Malaysia
Contact no. โ๏ธ๐๐ฑ: +603-40650001 & +603-40650002
Ticket ๐๏ธ booking ๐: http://www.dpac.com.my/page/ticket/bookTicket/view/1132.html
More details about WATER ๐ฆ: A Musical ๐ต๐ถ๐ผ
Cast Members ~ In Order of Appearance
- Mousedeer ๐ฆ~ Ivan Liew
- Tiger ๐ฏ ~ Kevin Wong
- Elephant 1 ๐ ~ Hilda Looi
- Elephant 2 ๐ ~ Ricky Kee
- Monkey 1 ๐ต ~ Kirsten Wong
- Monkey 2 ๐ต ~ Tan Xin Ni
- Wildboar/ Warthog ๐ ~ Alain Boey
Musicians
- Loh Khang Zheng ~ Guitar ๐ธ
- Alyson Seah ~ Drums ๐ฅ
- Ng You Qi ~ Piano/keyboards ๐น
Biodata of CHIN SAN SOOI ๐ด๐ป
- Educational Qualification: B.A.(Hons.) in English, University of Malaya (1964)
- Scholarship Award: British Council to Central School of Speech & Drama, London (1969)
Teaching Experiences:
- – Anglo-Chinese Secondary School, Ipoh Pre-University Class (1964-69, 1970-73)
- – Regional Teacherโs Training Centre, Ipoh (1966 โ67)
- – Taylorโs College, Kuala Lumpur Victorian HSC/South Aust.HSC, Australia(1974-1979)
- – Private Tutoring (1980-1984)
- – Prime College, Kuala Lumpur Cambridge Certificate A Level Examination (1985-1989)
- – Wholesome Centre of Learning, Petaling Jaya, Selangor Founder Member (1991 -2000 )
- – Prepare students for the ESOL grade examinations & Effective Communication & Speech & Drama Performance Certificate conducted by Trinity College, London since 1996
- – Private Tutor
Award ๐:
- – 16th Pride of Workmanship Awards 15th Feb 2003 by the Rotary Club of Ipoh in recognition of outstanding performance in the teaching profession having served with dedication, commitment & pride in the chosen vocation
- – Nominated for Best Director in the Boh Cameronian Arts Award 2003
- – Conferred as a legend of Malaysian theater by Boh Cameronian Arts Award 2015
- – Designed the Power of the Voice course & has been conducting it since 1985. Companies & Corporate bodies which benefited from the above course: TV3, MetroVision, Bloomberg Malaysia, Teachers Training College, Kuala Lumpur, Price Water House, BMG Malaysia, Cosway Direct Marketing Co., Malaysian Pineapple Board, Johore, Sabah Tourist Department, Methodist Girls School Malacca, Jerneh Insurance, Kuala Lumpur, College of Foreign Economic Relations HCM City, Vietnam, Sunway College Kuala Lumpur, Lifelinks Singapore, Seimans Kuala Lumpur, Applied Information Management Services (AIMS) Sdn Bhd, numerous Toast Masters clubs , Malaysian Development Bank (2013), English Department, San Yat San University Guangzhou (2015), dividuals, professionals, students in Malaysia & Singapore & from China, Indonesia & Japan
- – Conducted a course on Public Speaking to AON (Risk Insurance)
- – Conducted a 3-day Drama Workshop (2005) organised by the Ipoh Rotary Club in Ipoh
- – Designed & conducted a course in speech & drama for 6 year olds for the Edventures Child Enrichment Centres in the Klang Valley
- – Edited: Dining with Dragons by Carol Selvaraja & Butterfly by Bernard Tsai
- – Wrote & directed the following plays: Lady White (A re-telling of the Madam White Snake Legend), Morning In Night (musical) published in 2016, Yap Ah Loy the Play, Reunion (musical) published in1994, Kuala Lumpur Sentral (musical)
- – Also directed many Shakespearean plays & local Broadway Musicals among others since 1964
- – Invited by,
- East West Center, Hawaii to direct Emily of Emerald Hill by Stella Kon in 1986
- Chinese Theater Workshop, New York to direct Zhang Boils the Ocean in 1996
Founder Member of,
- – Five Arts Centre 1984
- – Chinese Opera Club, KL 1992
- – Currently, as Artistic Director of The Canticle Singers since 2002
- – Chin San Sooi (Playwright/Director) actively engaged in all aspects of theater
- – Studied Speech & Drama at the Central School of Speech & Drama London in 1969 under a British Council Scholarship
Wrote โ๐ป & directed the following plays,
- Lady White (1977, 83 &89) Ipoh, KL, Penang; Morning In Night โ musical (1980) Ipoh, KL; Yap Ah Loy The Play (1985); Reunion โ Musical (1994) published 1994; KL Sentral/ Brickfields โ Musical (2001) Refugee:Images (2006)
Directed through the years,
- 1964 -A Shakespearean Feast (Excerpts) on his 400th Anniversary
- 1965- As You Like It
- 1965 – Brigadoon
- 1967 – Anni Get Your Gun ( Ipoh, Taiping )
- 1966 – Othello
- 1966 – Romeo & Juliet (Penang Free School 150th Anniversary production)
- 1967 – Merchant Of Venice
- 1967 – The King & I
- 1968 – Amahl & the Night Visitors
- 1969 – King Lear
- 1969 – The Sound of Music
- 1969 – Arms & The Man
- 1970 & 1974 – Macbeth (KL, Ipoh)
- 1971 -The Breeding Pair (Two one act plays by Stella Kon)
- 1971 & 1976 – Fantasticks (Ipoh, KL, Penang, Seremban)
- 1972 & 1991 – Camelot (Ipoh, KL)
- 1973 โ West Side Story
- 1974 – The Caucasian Chalk Circle
- 1975 – Flower Drum Song (Seremban)
- 1976 – Gbena Bendu
- 1977 – Fiddler on the Roof
- 1979 – The Battles of Coxinga
- 1984 – Emily of Emerald Hill ( & other innumerable occasions seeing through more than 206 performances: Seremban, KL, Ipoh, Penang,,Tawau, Kuching, Singapore, Johor Bahru, Melacca, Hawaii, also invited to perform in Vancouver, Canada in Sept 2006, Wollongong & Sydney Feb.2011
- 1987 – Three Children ( KL & Singapore)
- 1989 – Three Children & My Grandmother Said (KL, Ipoh)
- 1996 – Zhang Boils The Ocean (New York) for Chinese Theater Workshop
- 2002 – Two From Galilee for The Canticle Singers
- 2003 – The Rose of Sharon
- 2004 – Do You Hear The People Sing?
- 2004 – The Season of Light
- 2005 – The Gift Goes On
- 2006 – Refugee:Images
- 2007 – Flower Drum Song
- 2007 – For the Love of Music
- 2008 – A grand Night for Singing
- 2015 & 2016 – Macbeth (Chinese Opera Costumes)
- 2017 – Produced The Splendour of Tai Hei
- 2019 – Monologues
- Acted in Henry V (1959), Twelfth Night (1960 & 1978), Julius Caesar (1964), As You Like It (1965 & 1972), Merchant of Venice 1967, Arms & the Man (1969)
- Produced The Cord in 1984, The Splendour of Tai Hei in 1993 & Ang Tau Mui in 1990, Artistic Director for Yudiโs O Old Tunes in 2000, Rendezvous & Songs Borne by the Wind (From China to the Nanyang) in 2001, Rhapsody of a Songbird 2002, Lin Dai, The Star of Stars 2003
- – Produced An Enchanted Evening (Yudi & Tan Wei Han) in March 2006 for the Ipoh Rotary Club
- – Artistic Director & choreographer for The Canticle Singers from 2002
- – Co-founder of Five Arts Centre & Kuala Lumpur Chinese Opera Club
Biodata of JOANNE POH ๐ฉ๐ปโ๐ผ
A music graduate ๐ฉ๐ปโ๐ of University of Malaya majoring in Voice in Performance, Joanne is a vocal, choir & piano tutor. She works extensively with students from all walks of life including special needs
Focusing on Autism Spectrum Disorder, she serves as a panel consultant & tutor for the NASOM MAESTROS (1๏ธโฃst Autistic Choir in Malaysia ๐ฒ๐พ)
In 2015, the Voice of Hope Kuala Lumpur (VOHKL) was founded by Joanne where she leads as Music Director where she can continue to serve the community through theatrical & stage works
Biodata of KHANG NANYAO ๐จ๐ป
Khang is a self taught designer in multiple art mediums, specializing in paper architecture, drawing & illustration. Although making head wear is new to him, this has always been on his list of art mediums to explore
The musical ๐ต๐ถ๐ผ gave him the chance to learn & create head wear. Khang is currently working as a freelance designer & making video content of his art on the YouTube channel Crafty Edges
The head wear design is intended to question the cause & effect of human actions with the past & future of the animals calling the forests ๐ณ๐ณ their home. The low polygonal design of the head wear signifies the importance of technology over nature ๐ณ๐ณ
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