Monday, September 17, 2007

Being Mrs. Johnstone



I never actually thought I'd relate to motherhood until I got myself involved with the Workshop Players' production of 'Blood Brothers' this year.

As mentioned in my previous post, the show's doing quite well, and we're all enjoying watching grown men cry in the audience during the finale. :)

When Jerome first gave me the soundtrack of the original production, I have to admit I kinda sorta hated it. I couldn't really see the point of half the music, because until then I'd been brought up on the conviction that a musical entails much flair, pomp and pagentry in terms of orchestration. This one sounded more like a pop-ish jazz to me. But then I started listening to the actual lyrics and it all made sense. Before too long I was in love... with the music, the story, and most of all, with the idea of being a part of it.

I was lucky enough to be selected to play Mrs. Johnstone on some nights, and it is a role that I relish. It has been the most challenging one I've taken up thus far, both musically as well as in character. I've battled with a million personal concerns since the day we began rehearsals. What did I know about being a 52-year old mother? What personal experiences could I tap into, to relate to this role? How on earth did Jerome expect me to do justice to the mammoth amount of singing this woman had, when I have the voice of a christmas turkey? And what about that semi -Irish/ Liverpool accent eh?

And that wasn't all.... I had four grown men - Mario, Ruveen, Jithendra and Eraj- each twice my size in height (and sometimes width), playing my CHILDREN. Two of these fellas I've slapped and battled with many a time and played love interests with. Now I was supposed to convincingly look upon them as my babies? Absurd.

And so began my journey. In four months, with the help of the Workshop Players and theatrical genius that is Jerome de Silva, I was to transform myself from a child-disliking, socialite, career-oriented, over-dramatic diva into a lonely and long-suffering Liverpuddlian mother of nine... who could sing for three hours without boring or breaking eardrums. Yeesch.

The ageing came easy enough. Most of the cast is younger than I, and I could do the whole 'I am your revered elder' thing quite well. The motherly affection, however, was more of an uphill task. After failing miserably at every attempt to look and feel like I loved my babies, I resorted to imagining them as puppies and kittens, which immediately helped with the emoting. Mario became a rottweiler pup, Ruveen a bulldog, Jith a Jack Russell terrier and Eraj a Spaniel. It worked. (I suspect that should any of the guys read this blog, I'm probably never gonna hear from them again) At this risk of insulting them, I started to feel the maternal affection that was thus far alien to me.



Then came the singing. Thank god for my alter-Johnstone-ego Dilrukshi, who helped immensely with advice on techniques and giving me competitive motivation. The weekly singing rehearsals went a long way too, as did the hours of solo sing-a-longs in my car. I'm quite pleased to state that I am now able to hit some of those notes that I hadn't thought I was capable of before. I'm still nowhere close to Dil's jaw-dropping renditions though... nor can I come close to the fabulous accent she puts on at the drop of a hat. Mine keeps slipping now and then, but I've managed to maintain it for a good part of the show, and not sound like I've got a speech defect.

And finally came the fitness and energy required for this role. You'd be surprised to note that, although Mrs. Johnstone does almost nothing physically on stage as opposed to the rest of the cast, it is by far the most energetically demanding thing I've done in my stage career. Nothing's ever drained me as much as all this emotional hooh hah has. Just the final song alone takes so much out of me, that I'm ready to collapse by the end of it. Each scene we do is so intense, and I find myself stepping back from reality and actually feeling all that emotion instead of just acting it, that by the end of it all, I can hardly stand. I guess it means I'm doing it right.

And that's what being Mrs. Johnstone in this production has been all about for me. Over the months, the cast has actually become my family, and working with them on stage has been nothing short of a fantasy. The four boys are never going to looked as anything other than my children ever again, and I've started to like my hair being white.

I have this strange conviction that it's gonna be mighty difficult to get her out of my system now....
Photographs courtesy of Shehal

27 comments:

Lady divine said...

thanks to the play, now I know what you'll look like when you're over 50!!! plus maybe a bit wider...;-)
excellent makeup!!! excellent singing!!! excellent performance!!! excellent everything!!!!

You rock chief!
and I'm sure it would've been a major battle for you.... but you've done it pretty well!!!

dramaqueen said...

Such praise.... I wonder if you're gunning for a promotion, young lady.
Heh... just kidding. Thanks heaps. It means alot to know the performance was enjoyed so much. X

Azrael said...

Hey there Dramaqueen

What can I say loved it, loved it and loved it. But unfortunately came on Sunday so it was Kisholi's turn. :(

Here's my little review on it.

http://hashen.blogspot.com/2007/09/blood-brothers.html

Aha I'm guessing your the "Real Chief S" Lady D's been writing about eh?

Actually I have some friends at WSP and I too came out to help front-of-house during Oliver!. That was major fun. Couldn't come this year coz of this annoying little thing called work he he :D

Anyways you guys did a great job on it...Two thumbs up!

Cheers!!!

dramaqueen said...

Hi Azrael... Yeah I'm the 'real chief S';). I read your blog review of BB... thanks so much for the kind words! Glad you enjoyed the show. Why not be involved in a play itself next time, rather than just FOH? Anyone's welcome to take part in a Workshop Production.

Lady divine said...

I'm not praising with any intentions of getting anything mad cat woman!
Looks like I've inspired you with my blog that you've also got hooked onto it eh? this is cool!!! :-) I seem to have influenced thee.. shaaaaaaaaaa...

btw, I do not praise or compliment if I don't mean it..:-)

Unknown said...

U got the role of Mr. Johnstone??? Hmmmm interesting......

dramaqueen said...

Mari - Oops! Typo...:)Has been corrected.

You should take up proofreading.

Anonymous said...

I came to watch your opening night performance and then again to see Dilrukshi's performance last night. You're quite right. Dilrukshi does give a jaw dropping performance and fortunately for everyone in that audience, when it comes to acting (and thank god, the singing) she's streaks ahead of you. You sound very humble in this blog, but many have heard from MANY WSP members themselves that you've been anything BUT humble during the many months of rehearsing. Take a page from Dilrukshi's book, drop the "I am a Diva and you should all worship my word" mentality and actually be a part of the WORKSHOP PLAYERS! Your acting doesnt mask the fact that your quite full of yourself and your abilities, it shines right through your Mrs. Jonstone personality. Come back down to earth girl... your really not god's gift to theatre in SL... I do beleive Dilrukshi deserves that title from Blood Brothers onwards! Keep this in mind during your next performance. Good luck!

dramaqueen said...

For someone so forthcoming in judgement, you sure are hesitatnt to credit your comment to your real name, anonymous.

To each his/her own. I never said I was better than anyone else in the cast, and I quite agree with the fact that there are plenty of them who ARE streaks ahead of me.

But yes... I AM quite proud of my abilities on stage, as it is one of the few things I do passably well, and if anyone wants to strike me down for it, then that is their prerogative. I am not ashamed of who I am, nor do I see any reason to change my persona because you seem to be so uncomfortable with it. If the Workshoppers have issues with me, then I trust them enough to tell me face-to-face. They're quite an honourable lot, and not all of them are snakes in grass.

My word is not worship-worthy law (never said it was), and neither is yours, m'dear. And to think you actually took the time and energy to read my post and comment on it... I'm honoured by your attentions.

Now... don't you have anything better to do than bitch at people?

Azrael said...

Yo anon Dude, She's got talent and if she wants to be a Diva about it SO WHAT eh? After all she can do something all of us can't do, and she does it bloody well too.

c'mon, if your good at something you get the right to boast about it he he :D

Cheers dude, just enjoy the show

Anonymous said...

Very tru. As long as you be a diva on your own time and not force yourself on people who dont appreciate it.

Just a note though... i do believe women BITCH M'DEAR... not men!

dramaqueen said...

Azrael - Thank you. It's nice to know strangers will stand up for you. :)

Anonymous said...

I was reading through these comments and I thought I'd add my two cents-

I know plenty of workshoppers too, and none have had anything bad to say about DQ. The only response I get is that she's a fabulous actress.

Anon, I don't think you should call yourself a man. Men have balls.

DQ, I didn't watch you playing Mrs. J, but I did see the production, and I thought it was a job well done. I'm sure you're doing well in the production too, and I wish you the very best of luck!

dramaqueen said...

Thanks so much anonymous 2! (for a moment there, I thought it was the same person... but clearly it's not.)

Glad you enjoyed the show.

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