Lovely Bunch of Coconuts!

I’m officially 21 now! Can’t say I feel any different…but I have learnt many valuable lessons in the past month or so. There isn’t much point in reminding myself what I have to live with now…especially when I have to encounter ‘it’ almost every other day. But I am glad that I have one thing…my friends. the latest addition to my non-blood related family. five special people who have been there for me the past weeks. my brothers…alvin, ben, bill and yogi. my sister…dasha! and who says a director can’t be friends with his actors huh! this is my e-hug to all of you…not as your former ‘boss’, but a very grateful friend. thanks guys!

The VICTORINOX SWISS ARMY Night Vision II
My first 21st birthday present from my dad

350 USD in value! definitely wearing it for special occasions only!

This is my special thank you note to everyone that mattered during the production of ‘News for You: Termination of the Teenage Population’ (N4U). Describing the entire journey will take more than a page so here’s just a ‘gist’ of the whole thing. Rehearsals for N4U started in August 2007. Finalizing the cast line up and arranging the rehearsal schedule was one hell of a process. Well, students will always be students! Oh, did I mention that we were all mass communication students? Now I have! (except for the 2 Ariffin sisters though) But eventually, everyone got to their feet and performed 5 shows at The Actors Studio Greenhall, Penang in November 2007.

I don’t like blowing my own horn but, the response was better than I had expected. N4U was my directorial debut. Fearing it appear messy and amateurish, I anticipated some bombardment on the directions, lighting, sound, script, and etcetera! But, everything went well and in just a matter of a few days Dato’ Faridah emailed me an invitation to bring the show down to KLPac for a January staging! Just as soon as all my actors gave the ‘OK’, the wheels were in motion…it was my very first play and it has been given the honour of being staged in Kuala Lumpur.

The journey was incredible! It all began with Ben, Bill, Yogi, and Alvin spending the night at my place! Ben being his clumsy self broke an enormous flower pot at 2.30am! We had 2 hours worth of sleep before we made our way to KL via the express bus. At KLPac, we immediately got to work at Pentas 2. Ian gave us all a tour of the place and I got to work with the techies! The two days before opening night were chaotic and sometimes the tension levels grew. But, with Ben, Bill and baby Assif in the house, you can’t stand being angry for long. Opening night soon came and there I was at the control panel, looking down at the audience coming in. The minute the first laughter burst out from the audience, I slowly relaxed. After the show, we all got to meet Dato’ Faridah! I’m glad she and many others liked it! Everyone left KLPac after having chit chats with the audience, friends and family. Our Stage Manager, Nick Davis took us all for some mamak and there we laughed our asses off listening to what stories each and every one of us had to tell. Time flew very quickly and in no time, we bade KLPac farewell after our matinee show on Sunday. So, I did say that this was going to be a ‘thank you’ didn’t I? Here goes…

My beloved actors: IMRAN, poor child! BEN & BILL, the ultimate duo! DASHA, no one, no one, no onnnnneeeee! ALVIN, you can let it grow now bro! FADZRINA & FARIZA, sisters are doing it for themselves! YUGEN, you sure are sharp and straight to the point!

Special thanks to ASHFA and baby ASSIF, with both your presence you made the whole team feel like a family!

KLPac peeps: DATO’ FARIDAH, thank you so much for giving us all the opportunity! LINA HASBULLAH, the very definition of a super-cool woman! NICK DAVIS, for being more than a Stage Manager to us all! SURENEE & YUE MAY, thank you for doing such a great job on the publicity! SAZALI & THE TECHIES thanks! MIKE & IAN, thanks! Box-Office and Front of House staff, thank you so much! Hoping to see all of you again soon!

2007 is wrapping up with a handful of surprises! Some good, some not so good. Some…Great! first, dad had a heart attack. can’t say if it was a minor or major one but it sure was a scary experience. I recieved another surprise when the publicist at KLPac called me while I was visiting my dad at the hospital. They’ve managed to secure a slot with NTV7’s The Breakfast Show! And they want Dasha and I to go down to be featured as one of next Friday’s guest! So, if it’s going to be a live interview, be sure to tune into NTV7 on Friday, January 4th from 8.00am onwards! Its a 2 hour programme but the interview should only be a few minutes. It’s going to be my first TV appearance and I must say…….EEPS!

So…my directorial debut is being staged at KLPac in January, what else could an aspriring ‘theatre kaki’ ask for huh? was in taiping the past day and whoopee, everyone got to open their presents early! or at least, some of them. So far, i’ve got a long sleeve shirt

also just returned from my brief work/holiday trip to KL. would be much easier to just summarise all the excitement….
1. Marks & Spencer @ KLCC….the extravagant display of imported chocolates, christmas cards, wrappers and gifts!
2. Chocz @ KLCC…only had the chance to just stare at display chocs as my brother told me off that they were just things not worth indulging on!
3. The Illusion @ Dram Projects…had a bloody headache at the beginning but it turned out to be a very good production. Plus, my brother kissed on stage! hahaha
4. Sentul Park…took me 2 hours to get to the place thanks to Mark’s fantastic sense of giving people directions.
5. KLPac…friendly bunch of people and had a good tour round Pentas 2!
6. Central Market…some lovely rude T-shirts on sale there. but they were just a bit too expensive.
7. Dunkin’ Donuts @ Avenue K…spent 3 hours writing my new script over peach tea and 2 donuts.
8. TGV Cinemas @ KLCC…watched a movie there for the first time. I Am Legend…Sam rocks!
9. Lion-O, the big ball of fur @ SS2…Mark’s brand new pet. Quiet, little fella that just loves to have his paws all over your face and tongue all ’round your earlobes while you’re sound asleep.

So what else is there to look forward to?
1. Xmas
2. The new semester
3. News for You @ KLPac
4. The Platform @ KLPac
5. latest production….scheduled for staging by Aug/Sep 2008!

Hi everyone!

It is my pleasure to announce that following the recent successful staging of my directorial debut at TAS@Greenhall in Penang, the show is now travelling down to Kuala Lumpur.

This is indeed a great honour for everyone on the team for we shall be the first show from Penang to perform at PENTAS 2 at THE KUALA LUMPUR PERFORMING ARTS CENTRE (KLPac)!

Here’s the official info…

THE ACTORS STUDIO in collaboration with
THE MINISTRY OF TRUTH
with the support of
THE KUALA LUMPUR PERFORMING ARTS CENTRE

presents

JOHN SHEBAT de SILVA’s
NEWS FOR YOU: Termination of the Teenage Population

Featuring
IMRAN OSMAN ~ NICHOLAS CHONG ~ DASHA LOGAN
BEN SINGH ~ BILL REITBERGER ~ FADZRINA ARIFFIN

Written & Directed by
JOHN SHEBAT de SILVA

Co-Directed by
KUGENESH

FROM PENANG FOR ONE NIGHT ONLY + another afternoon!
at PENTAS 2, KLPac @ Sentul Park, Jalan Strachan
(off Jalan Ipoh)

JAN 19 @ 8.30pm / JAN 20 @ 3pm

Tickets RM 10.00 only!

Dear Friend,

I don’t expect that you would be able to stumble across this entry by your own knowledge but here it goes anyway.

I have been involved in Malaysian theatre since 2003 with the sold-out production of ‘The Pimple Years’, followed by ‘Dangerous Children’ in 2004 (which was staged at both TAS @ Greenhall Penang and TAS @ BSC Kuala Lumpur), ‘Krismas in Kulim’ also in 2004, Executive Producer for ‘Teacher’ which had several sold-outs, an encore, and a staging at BSC in 2005, Executive Producer for ‘Cheet Chat’ in 2006, also staged at Greenhall and BSC.

Now, all of the above productions were of my brother Mark Beau de Silva’s. Whom prior to the staging of "The Pimple Years" in Penang, received 5 nominations for the Cameronian Arts Awards for his play "Stories for Amah", directed by Joe Hasham with Executive Producer Dato’ Faridah Merican.

I have recently staged my directorial debut and I must say that the response and feedback was better than I had anticipated. I am also pleased to announce that NEWS FOR YOU shall be making its way to Kuala Lumpur in 2008 to be staged at Pentas 2, KLPac (the venue is yet to be confirmed).

Now to come to the real reason behind this entry.
I have recently been told that YOU have informed a former cast member of my show during its pre-production stage not to be involved in any of the "de Silva boys’ shows…it’s theatre suicide"

It is unlike me to respond to here-say, but just in case it were true, I’d like you to ponder upon your actions. You are a highly decorated, and admired member of the performing arts scene. I have every respect for you in that sense.

If it is indeed a fatal decision to be involved in a de Silva production, please explain why are de Silva plays still being produced till this day in both Penang and Kuala Lumpur. If it is suicide, why are former cast members of de Silva productions still active actors?

If our works are not your cup of tea, so be it. Or if we have unintentionally offended you in the past, please accept our sincerest apologies. However, Performing arts is not intended to be presented in just what academics wish it to be. I think you should know that don’t you?

Anyway, I can only hope that what I heard WAS made up. Looking forward to have the privilege of working with you in the near future.

Thank you.

JOHN SHEBAT de SILVA

Thanks to a whole bunch of people, my directorial debut NEWS FOR YOU: TERMINATION OF THE TEENAGE POPULATION turned out great!

…THE THANK YOU LIST…

My Assistant and Executive Producer…MR KUGENESH. Kugs, we’ve got to work on more projects!

The MAN at GreenHall…MR HANIF. Stop scaring people with your whacky outfits! You’ve scarred me for life! hahaha

Our loyal Stage Manager…MR BIANTORO. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!

My actors…NIC, you DID IT! ALVIN,you did it too! and yes, you owe me your rendition of YMCA and It’s Raining Men! hahaha! SARA, hahaha! DASHA, you’re NOT going to KL! at least not until I get to work with you for one more project! BEN, BILL & YUGEN, what can I say la? You guys have way too much energy flowing!

The voices…IMRAN OSMAN and FABIAN MARK!

DATO’ FARIDAH, thank you for giving us the opportunity!

Friends from campus…Fiona, Kanchana, Rubs, Maya and Kat for watching it TWICE! Lecturers…Ruby, Daksha, Mark and Jasamine! Thanks for the flowers and the "MACBETH"! All my classmates…Derry! THANKS FOR BEING THERE. Your support has always been very important to me Sharon, thank you for laughing your head off! Boran, thank you making it one of the last things to do before you left for Korea! Nadiah, for bringing all your pals! and Momen (Yes, Momen…) Thank you.

Old acquaintances from GMC…Mr. Koh! Thanks for making my show an outing for your whole family Dr. Gan! Thank you for considering my show a part of the "arts"!

Old mates from high school…Alvin and Arthur, thanks guys!

My family…especially Mark for the workshop and inspiration! Daniel, for being there to laugh at other people!

To those who did not really understand or enjoy the show (especially those from the last performance on Sunday night)…HAHAHAHA! HA!

To anyone whose name i’ve failed to mention here, please know that you have my sincerest THANKS!

LOTS of LOVE

John Shebat de Silva

THINGS / EVENTS IM LOOKING FORWARD TO
(Not in chronological order)

1. My debut directorial stage production
NEWS FOR YOU: TERMINATION OF THE TEENAGE POPULATION
November 23 - 25, Greenhall

2. Trip to Kuala Lumpur
CHRISTMAS SHOPPING AND TO WATCH A PLAY MY BROTHER’S
ACTING IN.
December 2007

3. CHRISTMAS
Taiping / Penang

4. MOVING TO MY NEW HOME
February 2008, Leader Garden, Tanjung Bungah
"Speedy! we’re gonna be neighbourhood buddies! hahahah"

5. My 21st Birthday!
2nd February 2008
"fck! time flies"

6. CELINE DION: TAKING CHANCES WORLD TOUR,
LIVE AT STADIUM MERDEKA
4th April 2008
"Get out of the way ppl! that first row is MINE!"

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, Good Evening…ahem…Good Morning and welcome to….yada yada yada!
haha…still can’t snap out of character yet

After a miserable attempt at an impromptu speech during my public speaking class on Friday morning, I was asked to co-host the Ball with my American classmate Naina CumMouth! (sorry naina :))

I found it to be so ironic that after performing so badly, I was made emcee for such an important event. so naturally, i had a few doubts. but i had enough motivation from everyone…cavern, mark, and some.

The Ball was the next day and I only had a few hours to practice. So, after rehearsals at the hotel I was home by 8.45pm, and immediately worked on the script and cue cards! Slept at 4.30am, woke up at 9.45am, continued working on the cards, rushed to queensbay at 11am to get a tie that matches naina’s outfit and arrived at the hotel at 12pm sharp!

nervousness struck at 6pm when some guests began to arrive. But it felt good. Naina was good at calming me down! There were’nt too many cock ups and everything went pretty well i think

The icing on the cake for me was most definitely the moment i opened that recycled piece of paper Mr.Ding passed to me. I just thought it was some note but instead it had the names of those who won the title of Mr & Miss KDU! The minute I saw Derry’s name I went estatic! He did it! All that work for the past month paid off!
Since I was the one who had to announce the Miss titles, and Naina was to announce the Mr titles, I immediately insisted for me to switch roles with her! Hehe…nothing feels better than announcing your best friend as the champion

Everything was great! We managed to get some suspense out of the crowd, mass commers went wild announcing Mark as the winner, I had a go at Mark, Naina got blasted in her face by the confetti canon, and Derry won! What else could have been better?

After the Ball, whilst everyone else went on to clubs, I joined some of my whacky coursemates at Coffee Bean and McD! We had an overdose of Macs and decieded to club at the Kids’ playland for a few mins!

So, generally…things went well

Again, a special congratulations to Derry!

GOOD NIGHT!