Conference with Wong Phui Nam

I’m grateful to have the chance to meet Mr. Wong Phui Nam in person last Monday. I’ve heard of him before, deal with his works for my courses, but don’t have any idea who he really is! The opportunity of meeting him was helpful in understanding Literature component better because he does not only come for a visit, but shared with us ways of looking at poetry. I’ve always enjoy poetry and his topic of discussion on that day was worth keeping in mind. What is a poem? Wong Phui Nam simply define it as ‘what a poet say’.
Poem are meant to read aloud is the first tips given by him. Secondly, we need to look at the sense of rhythm then, the sound shape and finally the diction. All these cannot be taught but need to be picked up by reading a lot of poems. By doing so, you will be able to get the sensation which open yourself to diction. In reading poems also we need to expect what the poet feels in order to help us to find meaning and undergo pleasure out of it. If you notice, when you really are into a poem you’ll find that as if you are being hypnotizes through the emotions created by the poet. Actually, a poet is creating a ‘spell’ (world in itself) to the readers by using imageries so that it creates the feelings and emotions the writers wanted to transmit to readers. I agree with Mr. Wong when he said poem is ‘not only an ink mark on a piece of paper’ but rather a primary structure by itself.

'A Streetcar Named Desire'

Tennessee William’s ‘A streetcar named desire’ brought in elements of animal imageries, ironies and symbolism. I’m interested in the symbolism presented by the playwright as it suggests to me the character traits of every character. I’m more interested in examine Blanche character traits rather than her sister Stella as I think Blanche’s past life had more to deal with. Look at her appearances, she still dresses as if she is in the past, trying to maintain the stereotypical image of a southern belle. At first the audience may not immediately grasp the importance of Blanche's clothes, but as the play continues Stanley is introduced and becomes a stark contrast to her. "…Roughly dressed in blue denim work clothes, Stanley carries his bowling jacket and a red stained package from a butcher." The use of bold, vibrant and lurid detail highlights the juxtaposition between these two extreme characters. Stanley represents the overpowering dominant force that finally destroys the mentally unstable Blanche. Williams uses a moth as a metaphor for Blanche to convey her vulnerability and delicate state. This imagery emphasizes her fragility and innocence against the harsh, bright and threatening atmosphere of New Orleans. "Let's leave the lights off." Blanche lives in constant fear of being seen in the light, as it would reveal the ugly reality that she tries so hard to cover up. Meanwhile, the hiding of the naked light bulb is again a symbol of her eternal longing for magic and fantasy. Blanche is "fighting to survive, a butterfly broken on the wheel of reality…adjusting the light to conceal the fact of her ageing which she fears above all." ³ This statement describes Blanche's metaphorical and mental struggle against reality. Williams himself once said, “Delicate and moth-like she is a refined, sensitive, cultured, intelligent women who is never willing to hurt anyone. She is at mercy of a brutal, realistic world." He explains that the real reason for Blanche's downfall is because of her innocence and her naive approach to life. There’s a lot more to discuss but I just can’t wait for the staging of this play!

My Homecoming........

What come in mind when I first heard of ‘The Homecoming’ is going back to where we belong. I went for the play with my group of buddies and guess what it did not turn us down. We really find it interesting! It is the first time for all of us to be in KL Pac, Sentul for the evening show. This deliciously, dark comedy tells the story of a successful philosophy professor named Teddy who returns to his hometown for the first time in six years to introduce his wife, Ruth to his family. Harold Pinter’s The Homecoming was directed by Gavin Yap. According to him, there’s a need to always looking for a different ways to approach a scene and always trying to find ways to make a scene just a little sicker or funnier or weirder or more powerful, sadder and more absurd.
Well, I noticed that each scene presented on its on way through the uses of lighting, music and set design. However, some of my friend agree with me that the elements of cultural and beliefs are not put into consideration when staging the play. In other words, to have such a play in Malaysian context may not be accepted as perhaps it against the social values or norms of any ethnics. Still, it’s up to us to felt free to explore every angle of the story and create our own understanding!

Butterfly...... that what i think of!

When I first started reading Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion, what comes as sudden in mind is Educating Rita by Wily Russell. I felt very familiar reading along the lines of this play or should I call easy-kind of reading materials. I found that the main characters in Pygmalion have similar characters traits with the major characters in Educating Rita. In Pygmalion, we are introduced to Professor Higgins and Eliza. Meanwhile, we have Frank and Rita as the pivotal characters in Educating Rita. What I’m interested in these both play is the theme ‘education’. Education in both Pygmalion and Educating Rita seems to be the central idea that acts as an issue. I simply regard this play as butterfly because Pygmalion story is after Ovid's Metamorphoses. It is like the butterfly undergoes a process of metamorphoses in its life cycle.
When watching the movie, I find it interesting though it is in black and white film. Well, what you expect? The title of the play ‘Pygmalion’ does not appeal to me at the first place because I have the idea of the play as of a science fiction genre. I think it would be better to watch the film first before we deal the text in class. However, Higgins is good looking in the movie than what I have pictured him when reading the text. How I wish to watch the play on stage one day!

Out, out brief candle......

Getting the chance to watch the modernised version of the play, ‘Macbeth’ really surprised me. It’s show the brutal side human can be to achieve its own need and desire. Something to ponder about, Is Macbeth bad luck? Producing Macbeth is supposed to be unlucky. Fires, falls, and weapon injuries have plagued past productions. Superstition requires those involved in productions not to say the play's title, but rather "The Scottish Play". There are silly urban legends about the boy actor who first played Lady Macbeth getting sick and Shakespeare having to fill in, and Queen Anne closing the theaters after people thought the deviltry of the play had caused a bad storm. Some people think that the play's vision of evil, with witches, demonic familiars, and so forth explains the bad luck. You will have to decide for yourself. However, portrayal of Macbeth tells us that we need to do what you feel like doing but not what other intended you to do. Lady Macbeth plays a chief role in influencing Macbeth to proceed with the witches’ prophecies. As truthful as it seems for Macbeth he never think of the consequences before intended to take over the Kingdom from King Duncan. Well, I make to believe that there is always a price to pay with any actions that we take!

Love or to be loved?

In Shakespeare’s King Lear, the value of love sees by Lear is measured by the utterances of his three daughters rather than their actions. In act 1 Scene 1, Lear has divided the kingdom to his three daughters. Lear first addresses his two eldest daughters, asking them to express their love for him before they and their husbands will receive the land he has allotted for them. Goneril says she loves her father more than she can say. Lear thanks her and gives her Third Prize. Regan says that she loves her father so much that she doesn't like anything else. Lear thanks her and gives her Second Prize. Cordelia says that she loves her father exactly as a daughter should. Lear angry and disowns her, and banishes the Earl of Kent for speaking in her defense. First Prize is divided between the other two daughters. You can decide whether King Lear is showing early signs of mental illness (as his other daughters think), or whether he just wanted an excuse to give Cordelia the best share of the kingdom and she just spoiled it. As a father, Lear acted in such an improper way and he is like playing a childish game of asking his three daughters for words to flatter him in order to get good fortunes. In reality life, does this ‘childish’ game exist?

Speak what you feel, not what we ought to say.......

I believe that the heart is always stronger than the mind. The idea of follow your instinct is obviously portrayed at the end of the play ’King Lear’. We have come to the end of the play and a lesson to learn from the audiences and a piece of advice to keep at the back of mind is that don’t speak in a way others wanted us to speak. Be it honestly, truth or something real others always forced us to do so. Sometimes we are place in a situation where people take advantage of us being honest or truthful. It is not wrong to be good and nice towards others but at times, we need to make up our mind whether to say what you feel like saying or rather be left behind being unsatisfied. Sometime, there is an urge in us to speak up what we feel but the opportunity is not there. On the other hand, being outspoken is fine but often perceived by others as stubborn or shows off. Also I believe that those who ‘speak what they feel but not what they ought to say’ are independence, able to make decisions and individualistic. Therefore, be wise in what you feel like saying and intelligent with what you do!

Improve for the better!

Evaluation is the best instrument in revealing about the strengths or weaknesses in everything we do. In Bloom’s taxonomy, it is the highest level of thinking and being evaluated is a positive way of develops one’s skills. I evaluated myself after have carried out my simulated teaching and to know whether I’m in the right track or the other. It’s seems to me that teaching literature is something subjective as well as studying about it. As a teacher trainee and students, I have to think in the light of these two positions in designing my lesson plan. What is good and effective for me may not be effective to my students. I may want to try out a few practical activities or approaches found in a book but there are certain items that need to be put into consideration. For instances, I need to identify my targeted students. Are they of low level of proficiency or intermediate or advance learners? This then will help me in designing my exercises and lesson plan. In planning for set induction, I need to make sure that the activity will help my students to get interested to the lesson. I learnt that without having a good set induction, students may not pay attention to the lesson. They wouldn’t even know what they are going to learn in class. Therefore, I need to be as creative as I can in developing my lesson plan so that I won’t spoil students’ interest in learning.

The one and only....WaLLah!

Wallah! The one and only, but what’s that mean? Watching the play, ‘Wallah’was really the first –time experience for me and probably the last thing I want to have in my CD collection! However, experience of watching it is really a worthwhile as the play brings in totally two different cultures and beliefs. I never thought of watching Bollywood kind of movie when our lecturer first mentioned to us about a play called ‘Shakespeare’s Wallah’. It is something different in this Shakespearean film because there’s a mixture of English and Western culture. I would say this is a love story because I noticed there are feelings of love, jealousy, hatred and caring between the actors. According to the producer, there is only tiny budget in production of the film. To create a mist in one of the scene, they have to lead four bombs which they took from the army! However, when this film was published in America, they make money in just one week. At this point, the Indian film industries have making their first move in expanding their work out of India. It is the love for India that makes this film a success.

Get to know Shakespeare instantly!

The ‘Reduced’ Shakespeare Company does bring excitements in plays written by Shakespeare. To be able to recognize few major Shakespeare’s works in an hour or two is definitely overwhelmed! I first encountered with Shakespeare’s play in 2002, when our English Club planning to dramatise the play King Lear. At that time, I was very excited as dramatization is an activity that I found enjoyable and exciting. We went through the process of producing the play by first getting ourselves in groups and assigning each group with works. I was in costume design team and we started to work on it by looking at the characters. Since it is a trial project for us, we have to think of a low-budget production and material selection for our costume needed to be reasonable with the price that pays. After months of practicing and meeting, it turns out to be a failure. I just don’t know what when wrong! Perhaps as a team, commitment and being responsible is important. But, in Reduced Shakespeare with only three actors they are able to come up with a successful performance. They brought up on stage almost all Shakespeare’s plays and I find it interesting, creative and energetic. By just watching at this performance, I have introduced to plays like Hamlet, Othello, Julius Caesar, Anthony and Cleopatra and a lot more. At the same time, I enjoyed myself and never again label Shakespeare as boring!