Mr. Wong Pui Nam VS Shirley Lim!!

Wow...today I have the chance to meet with Mr. Wong Pui Nam, one of our Malaysian famous writer. He came to U.P.M to have an interection with us and it is so excited to see him coming in the classroom. Since before we see Wong Pui Nam, we had already met Shirley Lim who was also one of Malaysian famous writer. I can see that both of these writers are different in their personalities. Mr. Wong Pui Nam is a man who has a soft vioce in contrast with Shirley Lim where she has a sense of humour in her. Shirley Lim is a woman who likes to talk about her experience in writing her book. She is a more interesting person. Whereas, Mr. Wong Pui Nam is a person who talk literature with a very literally thought. He talks deeply about literature and it makes me feel that he has a lot of knowledge of literature in his mind. So, I had seen these two different characters talking to us about literature and their work. It is a brand new experience as this is the first time I met with famous writers.

The Homecoming

When i heard of this play going to be performed on stage, I wonder what kind of play is this. Despite it is a requirement from us to at least watch a play this semester, so I take this opportunity to watch this play. As this is my first experience of watching a play, it does give me a kind of enjoyment waiting for the day to come.

When I enter the theatre room, I saw the props and two of the actors already sitting in their position as if they are waiting for the play to start. After the audiences have sitted, the play began.

This play is an interesting play to me. I was impressed by the actors' acting. Although there some "challenging scene" (kissing part) in this play, the actors do not hesitate to bring out the scene to the audiences. It was unexpected because in a Malaysian society, it was supposed to be conservative. But overall I did enjoy the play and it is an open eye to me.

A Streetcar Named Desire

This play is quite an easy play to read and understand. I feel that this play does have a name that suits its story. The "Desire" is a issue closely related with this play. The desire for love and care from a man I would say is the main issue here. Through Blanche Dubois's character, I can feel her desire for love and her desire to keep on survive in the society. I think that her desire has brought Blanche to her downfall. She became mad at the end of the story due to all her lies to keep her surviving in the new environment. Anyhow, I also feel sympathize for Blanche as she can't get out from the situation which bring her to become mad. She should have tried to adapt herself and change her personality when she came to a new environment. But, her desire has overcome her that she was trapped within herself looking for love. Therefore, I feel that this play has a very good value in it which tells us that our desire can destroy ourself.

King Lear the play

As i was reading King Lear, it gives me a hard time understanding the play as the language used in the play was not as easy as i thought. It is difficult to interpret the lines without the explanation from our lecturer.
As days go on, i started to have a clear picture of what this play is about. Because this is a tragic play, Lear has become the tragic hero due to he experiences the process of being betray and fall at the end of the play. It creates a sense of sympathy to Lear after I had understood the play. It surely very hurts to be betrayed by our loves one especially by our daughters, sons and siblings. This play does have the moral values in it. Although this play was writen long time ago but the moral values in it still relevant this day.

Shakespeare Wallah...

When the screen was palying the movie, i was shocked that it actually was a white and black movie which I have never watch before. As the movie was set in India, I can hear the accent of the Indian English. As the movie goes on, it has a few parts that show some stage performance by the actors. The movie shows the determination of a group of actors to survive in the field of stage performance due to the challenges from the modern filming industry and keep it moving. This should be the spirit of an actor.

Simulated Teaching

Simulated teaching...basically it is not a fun time doing this because I have to crack my head to think of the set induction and activity for the class. It is not an easy task as it requires us to deal with a particular play as we are not familiar with the play itself. I think that is the main problem of most of my friends as well. Due to this is the first time I have to examine a play for its underlying meaning, it gives me a hard time dealing with it because Shakespearean plays are not easy to read and understand immediately. One more thing, the feedback from our respective lecturer is very important to us as he comments on our weaknesses.

Reduced Shakespears Company

Our lecturer has let us watched a play called Reduced Shakespeare Company. It is really an enjoyable time watching the play as it is act out in a comedy way. We have a lot of laughter and fun watching it. This play is interesting because of the way the actors presented the Shakespearean play to the audiences. Through the play, I can see how the actors involved the audinces and how the actors used the props on the stage. It is a amazing play as it combines all the Shakespearean plays in just a single performance. I think it is good to use this play as a teaching aid to show to the students that a play can be as fun as watching a comedy. I think to start my lesson with this play can help students to lower their anxiety because as we all know learning Shakespeare's tragedies are not an easy task. Therefore, I hope the play will give them the idea that tragedy can be as interesting as other genres.