Of Language and Limbo

Here I am again,
Wishing I had more time.
But the clock won't go back,
so I'll say my piece.


The mighty pillar of the Singing Ambassadors men have fallen.
Patrick, the one whom I look up to and command my utmost respect,
announced his sudden resignation that shocked most members.
Most, because some like me, we knew.
We knew why and I loathe myself for not being able to prevent it.
Powerless, we sat in shameful silence as the Shepherd slaughtered the Sheep.
I could've said something, anything.
But I sat in silence. We all did.
And now the Singing Ambassadors feel the pain of losing Patrick.


For my assistant, Patrick's wife, Kit, it was a distressing dilemma.
Whom shall she support?
Leave and stand by her spouse?
or Stay and stand by her Lord?
for now, the precarious situation is not helped by some fringe members taking sides.


Oh how burdensome being Richard is to me.
Were it the pearl of the world i would've hurled it remorselessly into the depths of the sea.
I am pressured from all sides:
1) Peter and his often grandiose or outdated ideas
2) My dad and his questionably ethical or self-serving ideas
3) Michelle/Caryn/Sam's ideas that may be superb in other situations but is regretfully unfeasible in this one


O Lord, if you would take the cup from me, but Your will be done, and not mine.


On the plus side, being Richard meant I had to crashcourse into the realm of contemporary fashion. I can say that my high school friends would not recognize this version of me. In fact, there were a few KLBCians who saw me every week and they couldn't recognize me on performance night
And the best thing about Prodigal brought a very special person into my life.
She made a difference in my life, and its a relationship that I hold close to my heart. Working with her has improved my acting, my daily life. I've become happy again and I want this to work. Lately I can sense her affection and I pray that I can become worthy of her. She may be unsure of our future, but I have confidence that in God's will, no one can separate us.


Another change about Prodigal is that the -megalomaniac- director, Peter Lim suggested we change our dialogue and incorporate Mandarin/other languages to Malaysianize it. Bad call. A play  made in America should stay American.
If we attempt to Malaysianize it, it would be like..... trying to chuck a ladle of Asamm Laksa paste into an American hotdog. Yes, it would sound like its accommodating our audience and catering to their tastes, but the truth is that a perfectly good hotdog is ruined. It draws attention away from the plot and distracts the audience. Yes to full subtitles, but for the sake of our ministry, Please, Peter if you are reading this, Please Please Please do not make the actors switch between multiple languages as if somebody up there is playing around with the AudioSwitch button on his Astro remote control. Its really freaky at the very least.