Lunaxis

Mamma Mia! The Musical…. what can I say, It. Was. Amazing!!!!

From the beginning of the show, you are propelled into a world of comedy and romance. I won’t go into the details on what happened in the play, cuz I think the movie and play speak for itself already, and there are summaries and reviews floating around the net.  Also I wont compare the movie and the play since both are different in ways. What I will write here is from the perspective of an artist. I am writing this experience as a way of  specially thanking Ms. Daisy Ba-ad and Ms. Michelle Simtoco for introducing me to the world of theatrical arts and musicals, to which I now enjoy very much from the very bottom of my heart. Also, I’m dedicating this to the Siddhartha cast family also, since they can’t be here to watch it with me

Where to start, there’s so much to say about the musical. It’s everything an artist could hope or wish for, and to top it off, IT’S IN BROADWAY! I was already propelled out of my seat and into another place. I have forgotten that I was in a theatre was now in Greece!

Lets start with the location. The theatre was completely full, and this has been running more than 10 years and still draws a sold out crowd. The theatre was amazing, from the orchestra seats to the box seating on the side wall and balcony seating on the 2nd floor, everything was high-top class. If you saw from those movies where inside the theatre it’s like a classical/contemporary setup, it’s really true to the every aspect from where I went. I was seated real close to the stage, 4th from the from the front seat and center seat from both sides, so I had one of the best view/seat in the house, right at the center =D

The music…well it was live band! No kidding! There was even a conductor and SHE was leading the orchestra/band while they play the music/songs. The band was under the stage but can be seen from the outside. What we did in Cebu was pre-record the numbers for the production, but here, it was live. I was so impressed. Next the lapels, I COULDN’T FIND IT!! lol I tried to look for the mics but it was really hidden from sight, I did notice something in there left or right ear that was skin colored, hmm.. maybe that was it =p

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Well where to start… two weeks and three days in Taiwan, all expenses paid. What a trip and what an experience!! April 30 was our flight to Taipei, Taiwan and the departure time was 5AM. We used PAL since we had a large discount from our air fare, was sooo sleepy on the flight to Taiwan but I didn’t sleep since I was very excited.

The hospitality we were given in Taiwan was amazing! No words can describe the love and care the people there gave us, from the arrival in Taipei airport to the accommodation in Pu Men Temple was overwhelming! Everything was given to us on a silver platter, so to speak. We were treated like celebrities!
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Never in my lifetime have I dreamed of becoming an artist. Honestly speaking… acting, dancing and singing was my greatest weakness, and enemy, since my days in high school. I couldn’t ‘Act’ if my life depended on it. Though I may ‘Act’ in class plays/presentations here and there, the outcome has always been the same, making a buffoon of myself. It maybe because I have a frog’s voice and/or a robots body. Though it makes me sometimes think that I may have been better off as a comedian than those serious roles.

When my college has life ended, I thought that those days of class presentations has finally ended… Oh the irony of life! Little did I know that two years later I would soon be a part of one of the largest successful production in Cebu.

Almost a year ago, I was called to a meeting at a Chinese temple. I was part of the youth group in that temple. Not knowing what to expect, I complied to meet with the masters, aunts and uncles. Little did I know that this day would be one of those life changing event in my life. Me and some members of the BLIA youth were asked to auditioned for a play that is in production! Oh those haunting memories in school came back! With some hesitations and further persuasions from the adults, I gave it a chance. One reason was just to stop them from nagging at my ears and another reason was that I was also a bit curious. One thing led to another, and soon enough I and four other BLIA youths were included in the cast for the musical play of Siddhartha.

At first, I can’t even come to imagine me dancing, acting and singing in front of THOUSANDS of people! I can’t even do my lines properly in class plays, much more on a large stage!

Rehearsals came and went, and sooner than I thought I can now actually dance at par to some people in the cast! All those practices really came through. Plus the constant training from the director, Ms. Daisy Baad, got me to come out of my shell. Waterfront came and went, I can’t believe what I went through. It pretty much felt really good to do something I thought I would never do in front of thousands of people! I could see everyone enjoyed the play pretty much, in and outside the stage.

We were soon invited to play in Manila! Not just any place, but the world renowned CCP! At first I didn’t get why my new family (the casts) got so excited about. Yah, it’s an old stage….so what? Later did I know that not just anyone gets to present in CCP in front of a crowd! Musicians dream of the day to present in CCP, and we were presented this chance on a platter. World renowned musicians and actors had stood on the very stage we were going to present.

Everyone was very excited, since everything was already prepared and set for us to present there. You can say that we were “pampered to death” from the people in Manila. Not that we are complaining, but we were so thankful for their hospitality. Some of the cast’s dream came true as we stepped into the large stage that is the CCP.

Now, the Taiwan show is growing nearer, I have now been asked to take the role of an understudy of Channa, the servant of Siddhartha. One for major roles in the play!!! What an experience it has been for the whole year. From just a simple dancer, now I’m handling and trying to learn the role of a major cast!

As for me, the whole experience was well worth the pain and late night rehearsals. Just by playing minor roles in the play really taught me the value of teamwork and hard work. No one is less important than the other. This what really struck me most. Everyone was really important, from the tiniest role to the main cast of the show. If one is missing, the whole play is derailed or even incomplete because of that one single role, no matter what role he/she does. Life is more or less the same. We all play major roles in our everyday life; from our home, to our school, to the office. If we disappear, we not only affect the lives that are connected to us, our family, but also out friends, co-workers and others.

Having the chance to take the role of a royalty, a jester, a charioteer, and an ascetic made me think that life is more than the daily events that you come to know and do everyday. Life is a stage, and we are the main cast of our very own play that is our life. Take the opportunity, take risks, do things that you never thought you could! Reach for your dreams, be someone. Who knows? You may be also be a main cast in someone else’ play in life.

So… Taiwan, and hopefully the world, here we come!!!

Ok, its April already… and I’m starting to panic. One - I have lots of work not yet done and things to do, two - I have yet to find a person to help me manage the Linux servers for a “just in case” scenario when I’m away, three - our roadshow in Taiwan is fast approaching and everyone’s panicking!!, four - I have tasks to finish in Lexmark that I need to finish them before I leave, five - My W.o.W. account has yet to be reactivated since it suspension last month, six - ARRGH! I completely forgot I have to do some mods for K’s site… ( K sooooo sorrry T___T )

Well… there it is.. I’m a complete mess and about to go over the edge and have a complete nervous breakdown…. (X__x)!!

P.S.: K, now I know how you felt a few months ago!! XD

Well, my friend Yani has been busy and started accepting commissions for his new line of work. What better job than what he enjoys the most, drawing. Go check out his Deviant art page. Beastboy Joe.

I’m still contemplating on what to commission him to do a work for me. Maybe a tekken character I like or some classic cartoon both of us enjoys to maybe an anime character I like. I’m in no hurry but have to decide quick while he still has time for me

One of his classic cartoon works…

….and if you like them, you can ask him to commission some works for you…

P.S. I’m not getting any from him for advertising. What are friends for… =P

( 1935 – 2007 )
“I think a life in music is a life beautifully spent
and this is what I have devoted my life to”
Home Site

I listen to some of his songs, and they’re very good. He will be missed… I know I will…

He died from pancreatic cancer and over a year of treatment.

I went around Youtube to check on any vids that can give me a laugh. Friday night after practice and nothing to do… LOL. Well, I was able to find some… like The Drew Carry Show, Who’s Line is it Anyway ( One of my favorites ) and Mr. Bean( Also one of my favorites ).

We all know about Mr. Bean, Rowan Atkinson’s goofy, slow-witted character that acts like a buffoon. The one we saw on TV were just the products of the shows he did in the early years of his profession. I was able to stumble upon some of his early days of stand-up comedy and its very funny!

Here are some youtube videos on one of his stand-up comedy…

It’s been like ages since I held my last comic book. More or less when I was still in high school. A very good friend got me hooked into comic books for a while. It was fun while it lasted since the only comic book I was reading ended early, Danger Girl. After that I had other interest… anime Now, I have been with this guy since grade six and I have watched his skills improve at an exponential rate, I must say. Surpassing even those older than he was. He used to draw for us back in the good old days, and he’s even given us some of his works. I have some of his artworks for keepsake and still have them in good condition.

Visit him if you can.
Yani
Yani 2