December Rains 雨季 Cast & Crew Discount

Sharing with everyone on cast and crew discount for "December Rains"《雨季》！

We can get 15% off for Cat 1, 2, 3 tickets. Simply buy from any SISTIC authorized agents or call the hotline 63485555, and say "HAPPY BIRTHDAY TOY FACTORY" to enjoy the discount. If the service staff is unaware of it, ask them to clarify with their supervisor!

There are also other cards which gives discounts, eg. OCBC, passion etc, ranging from 10-15% off. For more info, please visit Sistic.

Here are some links to interviews and podcasts that OMY has done with Kit Chan, George Chan and Jeffrey Low. Enjoy! =D

Cause Social - Social Media for Social Change

I received this blog link, Cause Social - Social Media for Social Change, from my friend Jared, who created a facebook page, Games 4 Change SG.

I  totally support such ideas and ways to use what we have and do, for a greater cause and good! Not only does it help The Cause, be it environment, relationships, financial, etc, it also helps the users (mainly teenagers I suppose) to foster positive values.

Read on for their entry on Game Theory!

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Game Theory

(Scene from Riverbed, a new game about water scarcity)

Water shortages? There's a game for that now, too. Ditto world famine, the global oil market, and the struggle for Middle East peace. In fact, over the last couple of years, there has been an increase in the number of video game developers who would rather design for social problem-solving than entertainment (Think Grand Theft Auto meets the electric car).

That's good news for the rest of us: video games have finally begun to shed their one-size-fits-all reputation for blood and bombast; behavioral experts now agree that so-called "games for good" can teach empathy to those who play them -- a prerequisite for collaborative problem-solving.

But the really good news here? Demand for such "social issues" games is rising, too -- thanks in part to the federal government, which is starting to view them as a new and effective catalyst for education and civic engagement. Kumar Garg, of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, says there are hundreds of games now being commissioned across multiple agencies, with more demand certain to continue, at least for the next couple of years. "Society is becoming more social given the social networking technologies before us," Garg told a recent Games for Change Festival in Manhattan. "How can we channel today's rising levels of collaborative social interaction into social problem-solving? Games can be that bridge to more civic engagement."

Garg said the most aggressive new demand for interactive games is coming from the Army, the Department of Education and public health agencies seeking to catalyze public action around complex social problems and skills training.

Here are three of the newest games out this summer:

The Riverbed. There's a new social issues game about water scarcity called Riverbed that says "water IS the new oil. According to the United Nations, a shortage of clean water is a root cause of poverty, social instability and even war." So what's so fun about that? Developer Mary Wharmby wraps a murder mystery around it to make the sleuthing an interactive -- and educational - experience. Wharmby told Cause Global that she got the idea for the game 15 years ago while writing an academic paper about the Aral Sea in central Asia, which has lost 75 percent of its mass since 1960. Said Wharmby:

"This game is a mystery that asks players, who killed the environmentalist? As you solve this, you realize there's a deeper mystery, which is, who killed the river? All suspects are based on character archetypes who have a stake in real-life water scarcity situations -- fishermen, politicians, farmers, engineers. By the end of this game, you've solved the murder and brought this person to justice. But you also have restored the river. For each suspect you eliminate, you get a chance to undo his or her environmental damage."

Fate of the World. Due out in September, Fate of the World is the latest offering from the British husband-and-wife team of Gobion and Hannah Rowlands. Their social enterprise, Red Redemption, co-developed an earlier game called Climate Change with the BBC; that game was used in 2007 and 2008 by the World Economic Forum in Davos to help train CEOs in the effects of climate change under various scenarios. The couple's latest offering takes scenario play to a different level. "Players have a choice," Hannah told Cause Global. "They can either save the world or burn it down, depending on their use of various scenarios covering the next 200 years." The game's synopsis says it all: "After another decade of inaction, the governments of the world wake up to a planet in chaos. The first impacts of climate change, population growth, resource over-exploitation and species loss have struck and a global organization has been created to respond. You are that response. Will you help the whole planet or will you be an agent of destruction?"

That both games are about environmental "crimes" is no accident. Hannah is a climate modeling expert with an Oxford degree; Gobion had been working as a forensic psychologist in the UK by day and tinkering with game development at night. Climate Change was the couple's first project together, made partly in the couple's kitchen. "I have been making games in various forms since I was 10," Gobion says, "but the satisfaction you get when you make a game that matters is huge, and these next 200 years are really critical to humanity. I felt disconnected at first from the issue of the environment. Games are a way to connect people personally to any number of social problems."

Participatory Chinatown. Players assume the role of one of 15 virtual residents of Boston's Chinatown district, all working around language difficulties and differing income levels to secure jobs, find affordable housing and discover new places to socialize. "This project is really an intervention into the community," says Eric Gordon, a new media professor at Emerson College in Boston who received a MacArthur Digital Media and Learning grant to develop the game, which debuted May 3. "Participatory Chinatown is a new way of engaging the democratic process," he told Cause Global. "I think what we've done is innovate the town hall meeting by bringing in gaming, by bringing in social networking. I think we can change the way that decisions are made -- as well as the way groups get together, collaborate, form political alliances and do the dirty work of democracy." Gordon says that game is targeted to teens as well as to seniors. "We are trying to foster inter-generational collaboration," Gordon says. "The game is not designed for gamers but for those with no gaming experience and those with some."

What do you think? Games-for-change attempt to foster "empathetic learning" -- putting players into the "shoes" of others so as to teach them new perspectives and solutions to global and local civic problems and societal challenges. How effective do you think games might be in bringing about behavioral change in the streets or in the boardroom?

Let us hear from you.

-- Marcia Stepanek

DECEMBER RAINS - COMPELLING & DEEPLY TOUCHING;
A LOCAL MANDARIN MUSICAL NOT TO BE MISSED!

The grandest toast to the celebration of Toy Factory Productions Ltd's (Toy) 20th Anniversary in 2010 will be the deeply missed Sold-Out triumphal musical DECEMBER RAINS. This enthralling rain will shower upon the Esplanade Theatre from 6th to 15th August 2010.

DECEMBER RAINS was the first Singaporean Mandarin Musical staged in 1996. This labour of love was created by the pivotal figure of Singapore Mandarin Pop, Liang Wern Fook, Singer, Song writer and Musical Director Jimmy Ye and celebrated show producer James Toh.
Our new staging will be brazenly heightened by the creative helm of multiple award-winning Director Goh Boon Teck.

Singapore's international singing sensation Kit Chan, will lead the cast as a passionate and peeved female protagonist. Partnering with her are Broadway Star George Chan and Singapore-Hong Kong theatre luminary Jeffrey Low. Their thunderous deliveries will cook up unprecedented weathers in the Esplanade Theatre. Braced with best designers, supporting actors and production members, this production aims to wet your eyes and melt your heart. It will be a dream production awaits your manifold visits.

6 - 15 August 2010
THE ESPLANADE THEATRE
TICKETS ARE AVAILABLE AT SISTIC

ENJOY 20% DISCOUNT FOR CAT A,B,& C
STARTING FROM 1-7 JULY ONLY!
GET YOUR TICKETS FROM SISTIC NOW

CALL SISTIC HOTLINE: 63485555
OR VISIT WWW.SISTIC.COM. SG OR AUTHORIZED SISTIC AGENTS

Rehearsals and More Rehearsals

Been really busy since the past week!

Rehearsals for December Rains (DR) have started, which runs daily from Monday to Friday for 6 hours. After which, for 3 times a week, Jae Leung (also an ensemble member) and myself will gobble our dinner and 'pia' (rush) down to Match In The Ring's (MITR) rehearsal in the evening.

Though it's tiring, I'm totally enjoying myself! We had our first script reading and singing last Friday, and I was in absolute bliss hearing all the beautiful voices filling up the room.

I guess nothing more need to be said about Kit Chan's singing, her voice is just awesome and she sang with so much emotions, even for a rehearsal! I just sat there and wowed..

George Chan's technique is also flawless, and he's really a rare talent who excels in all areas of singing, dancing and acting. I wanna be like him! Erm, ok, I think I don't really want to Excel in the dancing part, maybe just good enough to sing and dance at the same time. Haha..

Anyway, moving on to Jeffrey Low, the other lead in DR, his voice has this tinge of vulnerability, which is very unique. Maybe he added that due to his character and how he wants to portray the songs. After one of his heart-wrenching solo, I still had a heavy heart even as we moved to the next scene. Such, is the power of good music, good lyrics and a good singer.

Even the main cast singers were great, but I shall talk more about them the next time. It's time for me to memorise my MITR script again and instill it into my system. If only I can burn the script and drink it and the words will all be absorbed into my brain and body..

Before that, here's a photo of me and Kit during rehearsal! I finally garnered the guts to ask her for a pic, throwing all possibilities of being seen as starstruck, out the window. She was very nice about it, and gave permission for this to be put on my fb/blog/social sites.

Photoshop-ed the background so I won't reveal anything about the costumes. .

 

And make use of the promotion for the month of June!
Seeya at December Rains, in August 2010!

Upcoming Stage Play - "The Match In The Ring"

Here's some info and a poster of the upcoming Chinese stage play that I'm involved in. I'm playing the role of Lily, a 54 year old woman/wife/mother.

It's really challenging as my character is almost 30 years older than I actually am and she's quite a major figure in the play. I'm also really excited cause I get to sing a couple of lines and rap (the Chinese style/ 双簧) too!

Wanna see how I portray her? Do catch "The Match In The Ring" and support all of us!

To purchase tickets, please call hotline 8186 4714 or 9488 4141.

2 shows are already sold out. The available shows: 17 July (Sat) 3pm, 18 July (Sun) 7.30pm.

Tickets are priced at $20. If you're a friend who wants to support us, do email me and I can get tickets slightly cheaper for you =)

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The Match In The Ring

Eight characters. 5 different challenges. They all have their side of the story and nobody is all right nor wrong but when problems inflate like a big balloon about to burst in someone's face, tension gets high, making the stressed one seemingly more right than the other. How do we keep the flame we had
before one got married, before children, before everything got complicated, tiring and chore orientated? Everyone were happily matched, ring on finger and a lifetime together but now it's time for a different kind of match in the commitment ring.

Lily wished Robert could be more involved in the family. Tim wished Mei Fang could stay at home and be the mother her child needs. Liang wished time could turn back before everything was out of hand and Susan wants to be happy again.

Will they all find what they want or some things just won't change...

Let the match begin.

爱谁来说

丽丽真希望她的老公国平可以把心思放在家里和家人的身上。她这几年做得也累了。她不知道为何国平就是莫不关心。。 一家之主不是老公应该当的吗? 国平觉得每天忙忙碌碌的做工赚钱，为什么还是不够昵? 丽丽到底要的是什么? 郑杰很想美芳留在家里照顾孩子，做一个贤妻良母。可是美芳刚刚才坐上旅馆经理的职位，积极的想闯出一番事业。郑杰会支持她吗? 阿梁多么希望时光能倒流。。回到从前。。那他现在也就只有寂寞，而不是深深的遗憾。阿周和愫敏相处了整三十七年，阿周一直以来都很照顾家。只是他大男人主义的做法，让愫敏觉得他非常自私，只顾自己而没顾到愫敏的感受。他们的爱到哪里去了?

我们每天过的生活，心里所珍惜的: 在家人，朋友，爱情和婚姻里，要到失去了才能够说吗? 难道做而不说，是不够的吗?