Play Ground

Watched the gala performance of Re-isyu, two one-act plays in TA. It was performed at the Fine Arts Studio, a fancy name for what used to be G-306.

At the corridor outside G-306

G-306 used to be a classroom but was transformed in the 70s into a mini-theater. Sure, the seats were classroom desks (the ones with a table), but at least they built a decent (during its time) control booth at the back, put up a cyclorama, built battens on the ceiling to hang the lights on, and hung up thick dark curtains on the windows and doors to keep the light out. Being a former classroom, the stage could only accommodate medium-sized productions—if there were castles and vast plains, they were left to the audiences’ imagination. “Brechtian” became a by-word.

For three years I made G-306 (and its bathroom-turned-dressing room) my second home. We’d hang out there in between classes. We ate, studied, smoked, argued, shot the breeze, philosophized, argued some more, gossiped, wrestled, painted the walls, grappled with angst, bitched, debated, had crushes, had our hearts crushed by our crushes. Best of all we learned about trust, commitment, excellence, thinking on one’s feet, dodging chairs thrown by an irate director, Shakespeare, Brecht, Ionesco and two monks that both squint.

They’ve refurbished G-306: gone are the control booth, the old aircon units, the cyclorama, the school desks, the tin can lights. They have better equipment, decent lights, monobloc chairs that now allow the venue to accommodate more people. The acoustics still aren’t great, but at least the actors learn how to properly throw their voice.

Smiling/crying mask outside the entrance

Ah, G-306. It used to be my “play” ground. It was also my second home, and in many ways a classroom as well. As the Fine Arts Studio these days, may it be a new playground, home and classroom as well to a new batch of TA members.