by Joyce Er (15A01A)
Photos courtesy of Gabrielle Jeyaseelan (15S06A) and Vivian Ngiam (15S06O)

To any outsider, Grad Night 2014 may have appeared to be any other school formal, with glamorous girls and bespoke boys, cameras flashing all night long, live school bands playing their hearts out, and endless photos taken under the high ceiling of the Fairmont Ballroom at Swissotel. Yet the night was fraught with bittersweet reminiscence for many, for graduation brings as much excitement about what is yet to come as it does nostalgic happiness, or alegria – the theme of the night and the prevailing sentiment throughout the evening’s events.

The night began as all prom nights do – fashionably late, with everyone dressed to impress and pulling friends into photos every chance they got. Although everyone dazzled in tailored suits and fitted frocks, we spotted a few particularly well-dressed individuals, each featured here. A steady stream of photos continued to be taken as the Year 6s trickled into the ballroom to the familiar strains of We The Kings’ hit song “Check Yes Juliet”, as performed by Y5 members of Raffles Rock. The atmosphere was relaxed and even after most had been seated with the friends they had chosen to spend this final JC highlight with, people continued to mill around while the programme commenced proper.

Pageant nominees first strutted their stuff in a catwalk segment before taking the stage for self-introductions and a brief beauty pageant-style Q&A segment, answering humorous questions such as “What do you think your best physical feature is?” with tongues firmly in cheek. While waiters brought out the entrees for the night, the Dance King and Queen nominees began their efforts to win their batchmates’ votes with their smooth moves and quirky personalities, which showed through in their choice of dance music and choreography.

Simon Tang used the Pokemon theme song to much cheering, while Tyronne’s routine centred around the theme of love and briefly featured Dance Queen nominee Aye Aye Mon. Aye Mon in turn performed a sultry hip-hop routine with backup dancers from Street Dance, while Tan Min Ting turned the tables with an adorably amusing dance iteration of the hit Kpop song Bar Bar Bar, performed with her fellow CCAD committee members. Each contestant’s dance routines drew catcalls and laughter alike from their batchmates, and was a great source of entertainment.  Tyronne Toh and Simon Tang even performed a spot-on cover of SNSD’s “Hoot” together, showing that both were performing out of a love for dance and treated it as nothing more than a friendly competition.

While Pageant votes were placed and dinner was served, Y5 band Ampersand took the stage to perform “Hero” by Mariah Carey and “Feeling Good” by Michael Buble – appropriately upbeat and optimistic songs to enliven the mood. Subsequently, the results of the lucky draw were announced onscreen, and audience members were also treated to a surprise dance item by a group known as Legion, comprising dance enthusiasts from an assortment of CCAs like Bowling, Basketball, Modern Dance and Street Dance.

Afterwards, the Pageant nominees were up for the announcement of the voting results. Ryan Sim and Kathleen Leong were crowned Prom King and Queen respectively. Meanwhile, Simon Tang took the title of Dance King, while Tan Min Ting snagged the honour of Dance Queen.

To end off the night, the Y6s of Raffles Rock took the stage for the last time, capping off two years of performing as a batch in what was undoubtedly a poignant moment for them and their supporters offstage. The Possum Parade performed Ingrid Michaelson’s “You and I” and Toploader’s “Dancing in the Moonlight”.

Additionally, Army of None did justice to their two years of Rock with powerful renditions of The Temper Trap’s “Sweet Disposition” and Muse’s “Feeling Good”. The talented performers gave their all and hit all the right notes throughout their segment, and drummer Safafisalam Bohari Jaon ended their final song with a literal bang, bringing an end to their batch’s graduation dinner.

In the words of Ampersand, “tonight is all about living in the moment and being with friends you love and enjoy the company of”. As kings and queens were crowned, surprise prizes were won and the night’s revelries smoothly unfolded, we witnessed above all the sincere friendships and ties forged over the course of the J2s’ JC journey, which will follow many as they embark on the next chapter of their lives.

by Joyce Er and Wahid Al Mamun (15A01A)

In keeping with tradition, this year’s J1s staged their annual batch production, The Chopping Board Plays at the TSD Black Box, which made for an immersive and intimate experience for the audience members right off the bat. The plays were tailored to suit the venue, to the extent that, as vice-chairman Rachel Koh (15A01A) observed, “many of these plays would not have worked outside of a black-box setting.” In truly surreal fashion, the production began with Players chairman Mohamad Rafi B Kamsani Chia (15S07D), clad in a pink floral apron, chopping vegetables and fruits. However, the items he took his cleaver to were increasingly bizarre, escalating from food to a tube of toothpaste to a concrete brick. Having attempted to saw through the brick for several minutes in vain, Rafi threw the chopper on the ground in frustration and stormed off as Bohemian Rhapsody began to play in the background, foreboding the themes of grief and loss that unified the night’s triple bill.

The tension in the air provided an appropriate backdrop to the first of the three plays in the triple bill, “Philosophising Over A Dead Baby Body”, which had a puzzling title for a correspondingly absurd story. This play revolved around Igor, a deadbeat man who tries to rationalise his inadvertent murder of his only son, Ditto, through his own strongly convicted perspective. Written as a commentary on dogmatic worldviews, we interpreted the motif of the bisons and their animalistic loyalty as a hypothetical representation for the emotional lenses that typically colour our understanding of reality. Dialogue between Igor and his overzealously supportive wife, who insistently attempted to rescue him from his self-directed blame, further revealed the fallacious reasoning that people are prone to in the aftermath of tragedy.

Given the heavy philosophical overtones that dictated this play, it was no surprise that this play met with ambivalence from the audience. Director Celeste Tan shared that a large portion of the script, featuring amongst others a bizarre dance segment by Joel’s character, had been sheared off a mere two days before the first staging in the interests of logistical suitability. This last-minute decision may have occluded the play’s message, contributing to some audience members’ confusion. Mitchell Kwong (15S03H) said that he found the first play “very confusing” and had “no idea what was going on”, while Ms Lye Su-Lin remarked that she was “not sure the first play fulfilled its function”. On the other hand, Gabriel Ng (15A01B) felt that it was the “best play of the night”, while Elaine Wijaya Oey (15S06Q) found its whimsical illogic entertaining, which was undoubtedly gratifying for the cast and crew.

In contrast, we found the second play of the night, “The Walls Are Too Thick”, a more measured take on the central idea of loss and separation. This play confronted the themes of childhood and lost innocence, as Macy and Jo find themselves abruptly catapulted into a mysterious room with no doors and a bottle of pills on a table. Slowly, the two sisters unravel their father’s affair and abuse of their mother, demonstrating the burdensome weight of maturity. The twist at the end revealed that the family were involved in a fatal car crash which killed both parents and which left Macy in a coma – Jo was revealed to be a figment of Macy’s imagination, and a metaphor for Macy’s desire to reclaim her lost innocence.

The audience were generally appreciative of the non-linear progression of the play, which allowed the audience to slowly piece Macy’s backstory together based on clues dropped throughout the play’s progression. As scriptwriter Rafi told us, this was a conscious decision on his part midway through the rehearsal period. “There was one day I decided to cut up my script and ask [the cast] to read it randomly in pieces…and then that became the final script.” We were also impressed by the meticulous direction of Rebecca Goh (15S06O) for the play. In particular, there were reportedly over 30 lights and sounds cues for this play alone, which were all effectively used to portray the changes in location during the play from a car to a playground to the titular rooms with its too-thick walls. Some particularly outstanding moments were the blue and red spotlights that temporarily illuminated the actors as they rapidly moved around the stage, creating a palpable aura of mystery and fear. The impressive command over the technical cues was testament to the Players’ skill in maximising the TSD’s potential.

In addition, Annaajihah Bt Muhamad (15S03D) convincingly managed to portray Macy as a complex character, at once the protective elder sister as well as the daughter scarred with the knowledge of her father’s infidelity. Equally compelling was Katrina Jacinto (15A13A) as the imaginary Jo, who brought a fresh dimension of childlike curiosity and inquisition onto the stage. She was able to actualise the process of growing up that the script audaciously set out to do. The chemistry between the two main characters was evident in the scenes where the two exchanged lines at bullet-speed. And who can forget Macy’s haunting descent into madness in the last scene, which left audience members enthralled and discomfited all at once? Even without the deadpan humour of “Philosophising Over a Dead Baby Body”, we felt that this play did justice to the sombre themes it grappled with.

Of the night’s plays, perhaps the most compact and well executed was the third and final piece, again scripted as well as directed by Jovi Tan (15A01B). Following a straightforward and linear narrative, the play was a slice of protagonist Nina’s life as she attempted to deal with the loss of her  husband amidst her sister’s growing frustration at her inability to return to a semblance of normalcy. Rachel Koh portrayed the role of Nina, a quietly grieving widow, with finesse, cycling between outright anguish and inert helplessness at her own situation. Her emotional fragility was made all the more apparent in scenes with her sister, played by Syafiqah Nabilah (15A01B), whose well-intentioned care, interspersed with moments of awful frustration, highlighted the limits of familial empathy. There were some precious moments in this particular play that we greatly enjoyed, most notably the bittersweet scene in which Nina dreamt of her dead husband, played by Jovi, returning from a journey with suitcase in hand and them enjoying a last waltz together. The two began by dancing at tangents to each other, and drew closer until they met and danced in a slow circle for a few moments before their inevitable separation. Nina then attempted to pass her husband a few religiously significant mementoes that she picked up at a thrift store in exchange for her husband’s old possessions, to no avail. For most audience members, this brief scene alone was enough to convincingly flesh out Nina’s wistful nostalgia and lingering love.

This last play won favour with HOD of Literature Mrs Nicola Perry, who thought it was “lovely” and “beautifully understated”. While it was arguably the most conceptually simple of the night’s plays, the script dexterously blended humour with unadulterated poignance, resulting in an absorbing and thoroughly engaging play. The actors’ masterful portrayal of a spectrum of very human reactions to loss did full justice to the script. Cheng Yi Ern (15S03B) provided some much-needed comic relief as an unwitting but well-meaning thrift shop uncle, and drove the audience into fits of laughter with his charmingly awkward interactions with Nina. This play also displayed a remarkable attention to detail that contributed towards a satisfying experience for the audience. It was hard not to appreciate the tightly-woven web of religious metaphors for grieving, from Buddhist burial chests to joss paper to Indian vigil lamps, which came into full emotional play in the dream scene and symbolised the universality of grief and Nina’s desire to draw comfort from all those who had grieved before her. As something of an Easter egg, Rachel pointed out to us that “In the dream scene I wear a wedding ring but my husband doesn’t. I think that’s quite nice – people who die don’t belong to anyone, but people who’re left behind do.”

With all three plays, we were bowled over by the sheer amount of thought and dedication put into the entire production, made all the more impressive by the fact that the Players put this production together even as they were rehearsing for their Oral Presentations. We applaud Raffles Players for this ambitious yet cogently executed, impactful and thought-provoking year-end performance, and look forward to their upcoming endeavours in Dramafeste next year.

By Joyce Er (15A01A)
Photos by the writer

Those who attended Raffles Jazz’s evening concert last Thursday found an oasis of calm amidst the anxiety over Oral Presentation dry runs and the promotional exam results release. Held at the TSD Blackbox, with its cozy ambience and sophisticated lights and sounds, the concert was held in an effort to make jazz more accessible through creating an opportunity for people to know more about and appreciate jazz music. To that end, Raffles Jazz made entry free of charge – as Jazz chairperson Erica Ngiam quipped, “In order to get people to come down, what better way than to make it free?”

Unlike their mid-year concert, Take My Word For It, this concert was held in the style of an open jamming session that proved just as good a platform for showcasing the Jazzers’ spontaneous creativity and remarkable talent. Erica opened the concert with a brief introduction to  jazz music. Vice-chairperson Elaine explained to us, “The essence of jazz is soloing, improvisation and the freedom of expression – to make the song, as much as possible,  your own, and to share this interpretation with the audience to foster a connection.” Accordingly, jazz music typically begins with all performers playing the ‘head’ to the song, followed by a series of improvised solos.

The 8-piece setlist incorporated a variety of songs ranging from Bye Bye Blackbird, performed in a swing style, to My Funny Valentine, a vocals-heavy ballad. Throughout the entire performance, we were struck by the camaraderie and chemistry between performers, as well as the confidence with which they executed their respective parts – keyboardist Debbie Ng’s unexpected, mischievous addition to the end of Bye Bye Blackbird drew good-natured groans from her bandmates and laughter from the crowd. Nor did the Jazzers’ skill go unnoticed – Joyce Lim’s dexterous clarinet solos in Wave by Antonio Carlos Jobim and There Will Never Be Another You were enthusiastically received, as were Stefanus Phan and Saaradha’s velveteen vocals in Wave and My Funny Valentine respectively.  The modest crowd that day made up for what they lacked in numbers in energy. Despite jazz music’s reputation for being somewhat highbrow and inaccessible, the audience that day seemed to embrace the music with open arms, helped along no doubt by the Jazzers’ informal vibe, and frequently shouted encouragement to their friends, rewarding each performance with a hearty round of applause.

The Jazzers rounded off the concert with Hit the Road Jack and Bag’s Groove, both played in the style of a typical Jazz jamming session. Erica explained to the audience, “We basically play the head once and then pass the solo on […] until we get tired.” This segment proved to be a crowd favourite and was noticeably more free-form, with the catchy tempo accelerating at moments in Hit the Road Jack, prompting the audience to clap along to the beat as vocalist Stefanus belted the high notes of the chorus. We were also impressed by keyboardists Erica and Lee Ann Gie’s upbeat, dexterous improvisations, which lent the songs a wonderfully eccentric, offbeat flavour. Erica later remarked, “I personally felt that the jamming session was really a great segment to have because the audience could really see for themselves how our usual band practice goes and how Jazz really is about spontaneity, creativity, active listening and band chemistry.” Indeed, the predominant impression we were left with was the Jazzers’ strong passion for their art, and the diversity within their tightly-knit community.

Audience members seemed to concur. Said Neo Jin Hong, a drummer from Raffles Rock, “I attended the jazz concert expecting a great exhibition of music and showmanship and I was not disappointed. I especially loved the final jam session!” Those who had a good time will be pleased to know that Raffles Jazz plans to hold more of such open jamming sessions in future for Rafflesians’ enjoyment and as good exposure for their members. Their next session is slated to happen just after PW concludes, so if you’re eager for another hour of relaxing jazz with your friends, do swing by!