BLACK AND BLUE AND OTHER HUES

The Penguin Lunch!

2009-03-07T18:23:00.007+05:30

If the play got postponed by two weeks, the penguin lunch followed the same fate and got postponed by a week. But today it HAPPENED! And here's an overview of the most fun lunch ever.

The tallest penguin informs everyone to be at the reception at one o clock. But, one of the penguins sits at the canteen and socialises while we wait! "What does she think of herself", says the tall one! Within a few minutes all four penguins congregate and leave for their battle ground. Venue changed to meet conveniences that cannot be disclosed publically. Theatre gods bless us as we see one our play comrade going in an ac car towards Casa Picolla- our battle ground! We get a lift to our destination.

Enter battle ground- we seat ourselves near a pillar. The tallest penguin and the penguin with wacky ideas sit together on one side and the youngest and the worried one (i dislike the incriminating title given but for convenience of comprehension sake I'm left with no choice) on the other.

The menu card arrives- we rip it open. Since it was my first visit to this place it took me some time to find the names of the dishes the connoisseurs were throwing around. While doing so we swerve away from the intention and start blabbering about other equally important issues of life. D eyes around to see familiar faces.

The waiter comes and listens to our incomprehensible chorus of names of dishes. We give up on his inability to understand us and ask him to come later.

D- "Can I have some water please?"- she looks around with eager eyes.

T laughs out loud at the very thought that she'll get high on chocolate. D adds cheese as another stimulant. C and I look at each other in dismay! Are we the only sane ones in this world?

Well, we finally decide on what we want and order the menu while T keeps going he he he eh. Now it begins to worry us all. :S Can the thought of marble cake drive someone so mad? Meanwhile, we figure out we're not having enough fun- hence, we start singing Captain Planet followed by the Powerpuff Girl's title track. The neighbouring table had a little girl sitting completely shell shocked at the madness of a bunch of college-going girls who are expected to maintain a certain decorum in public places.
(D- Can I have some water please?)
T explains to the mother that its a post-play production team lunch. Its self-explanatory now, isn't it? :)
The lunch arrives- hog hog hog hog hog. Yum Yum Yum Yum.
(D- Can I have some water please?)
T couldn't hold it now. She had had enough of a wait for the dessert. Pounce! The marble cake arrives and is finished within minutes. For my sake, the chocolate syrup came separately. Not like it helped cause it was accidentally kept next to T who for a moment thought it was H2O!
Stomachs full, sitting like balloons- D- Lets run on the Beach!
T,C,M- What????
It took a while to convince D that a run on the beach at 2:30 in the afternoon was certainly not a penguiny thing to do. Then came the Penguin Snap- which took us longer than eating food cause we had to face problems like-
1. Where can we click it?
2. OOhhh this shop is so pretty! (C- Concentrate on snap location, will you!)
3. Can we trust this watchman with the camera?
4. Is he drunk?
5. Who will click the snap?
6. Not the stairs!
7. How do we all fit in?
8. Fine, the stairs, but do we sit or stand?
Result- We stand randomly in between the passage, say cheese and C clicks a snap- it comes out beautifully. :)
This was probably the most random lunch possible, but then aren't all the penguins random in their own sweet ways? An afternoon i shall cherish for life.
Joyee.

P.S- other things that happened at the lunch that couldn't be incorporated:
1. My obsession with cleaning the table
2. T licking chocolate from everywhere possible
3. D- Salt comes from a spicy place
Pepper comes from a salty place (her remarkable comments while analysing the salt and pepper dispensers)

P.S 2- i think i'm becoming senile- i forgot to mention the yummy garlic bread, T spoke to the mother after the lunch and not before and T clicked the historic snap.

To my penguins!

2009-03-01T12:10:00.006+05:30

"Why do you need a play?", they said.
"Its such a waste of time.", they said.
"Either the play or the fund-raiser.", they said.
We smiled and proceeded.

"Why do you need a director?", they said.
"Hall? Why?", they said.
"Do it on campus.", they said.
We smiled and proceeded.

"No whores! No prostitutes!", they said.
"You're a bunch of stubborn donkeys.", they said.
"You and your blessed play.", they said.
We smiled and proceeded.

"We can't have it in the open.", they said.
"People will jump over the wall and create nuisance.", they said.
"Mosquitoes will bite.", they said.
We smiled and proceeded.

"It can't happen over four days!", they said.
"The lights are stuck.", they said.
"You have to arrange the room yourselves.", they said.
We smiled and proceeded.

"Congratulations!", they said.
"We extended our full support.", they said.
"We knew you'd do it well.", they said.
We smiled. For now, we didn't have to proceed.

BaBaOH prevailed.
:)

Its over and I miss it...

2009-02-28T20:28:00.000+05:30

I know I haven’t posted anything in about a month butthat's because my life had been taken over by the college play. I lost my life to it, was unable to carry out non play conversation, friends disowned me until the play was over. Suddenly words like tech, light stands, sound stacks, gels and filters all made sense to me. It was like BabaOH opened up a whole new side of me that I never knew existed. Being production coordinator ofBaBaOH defined my last three months at college, taught me so much and left some brilliant memories. Months of worrying, running around, hard work and laughter. A 14 hour tech day. Two hectic days of show. The Annual College Play came and it has made an undeniable impact on every person involved in the production. Months ago people were questioning if the play would happen now I'm wishing we could do it all over again.

I met some brilliant people through this production. The penguins, of course, being the most important. I worked the most and the closest with the whacked penguin. She was amazing through the whole thing. From putting up with my insane jokes to actually encouraging my annoying enthusiasm. From letting me enter her house at early hours to wake her up and play with her piggies to letting me deal with the sound guy who never stops talking. From randomly calling people from the yellow pages to listening to me 10 hours in college and still getting home and texting me. All the inside jokes we shared. The mindless laughter. The huge ego trips. I miss it all. We developed a bond and learnt so much getting there. We cribbed, we bawled about efficiency, we were annoyed by the lack of funds, we ran around doing everything we had to and soomuch more but what I remember the most is the fun and the laughter. That is what I take away from BLACK & BLUE AND OTHER HUES. The fun and the laughter we had, in spite of all the complaining we threw our lives into the production and hoped to hell that it paid of.

There were other people, two more penguins. The most highly dedicated children ever. They worried about everything there was to worry about, anything with the remotest connection to the play. The worried one still worries and we can’t help but love her for it. The high one gave up worrying a while back and now she’s just being highness. Apart from the penguins there were a whole bunch of other people, an amazingly talented cast, super energetic crew and a brilliant director. The cast improved every time I saw them and the final result was mind blowing! I can’t pick a favorite actor. They were all so perfectly cast and I loved the end result! The crew lugged around everything so uncomplainingly. I’m so grateful to each of them for figuring it all out so well. And B was so so nice about the whole thing. We know we din’t give him half the stuff he asked for but working with him made our work 200 times simpler. Specially considering we were learning on the job.

Suddenly it was Friday and we had less then 24 hours to the first show. Everyone involved gave 200% and magically transformed our ugly convent type auditorium into the most appropriate place for BaBaOH. The question we had been asking ourselves all a long was about to be answered. Was all the effort worth it. The morning of the show and I ran around doing all those little things that pop up and then it was done. I looked at my penguin companion and we realised that there was nothing left to do but wait. The first show happened and we heard criticism from every side. Specially about the sound! Tech was our department and it went wrong. How! After all the work? This wasn't supposed to happen! We would set it right! She sat at lights with the man. I sat at sound and troubled the life outta the sound boy. Fortunately I had good company, as was always the case with BaBaOH, so it wasn't an ordeal. But that show killed it! That was what the effort was all for. The next two shows went equally well but its Day 1, Show 2 that remains my favorite! I loved everything about it. At the end of Day 2 I was exhausted but exhilarated! My whole family came to pick me up, cat included and I went on for the whole ride home about how brilliant the play was. Our question had been answered, two days and four shows later we had the answer. It was worth it. Every last bit of it. The long hours, the fits of tension, the constant worry. It was all worth the final result. Ask any of the people who worked on it and they will all tell you about the lessons they learnt, the friends they made and most of all how they would do it all over again given the smallest chance.

Today I couldn't help but think last week this time....I miss it, but I hope I'm looking at so much more of this with better results every time. I know I expect it.

To everyone who made BaBaOH a part of my best memories I *heart* you :D

curtain call

2009-02-25T21:24:00.003+05:30

One of the things B said in the beginning of last year's production 'DRAGON', was that it would certainly change some of our lives forever. He said he didn't know how or why or when, but that it would. And it did. If it hadn't been for Dragon, we'd never have called B back for BaBaOH. And BaBaOH certainly changed my life forever.

It's almost as if I am a different person now. It's weird in a weird sort of way. I am more self assured, know what I can do and do it, wear short skirts in public, have made snide remarks about P in her very presence, yelled at SB... and for all that I have been through in the last 6 months, have broken down few times. Once when I was not well, once cause A screwed me over for something I didn't knowingly do and the last time was on Saturday morning during tech. I was just sitting there, watching Ambai, watching our months and months of work actually coming together on stage and tears were streaming down my face. Technically, that doesn't count as a break down. They were happy tears :)

I can't begin to list the things I have learnt over these few months. Technical things like lights and sounds and how if the stage dude says 20,000, DON'T BLINDLY TAKE HIS WORD FOR IT, ALWAYS CHECK AND RECHECK and how to hack into accounts, win favours from others... No, I also learnt to work with people, know who can be trusted (penguins) and those who cannot (management), how to deal with people (thanks B) and that yelling does not always get your work done how much ever the culprit wants you to yell and get it over with. I learnt that it maybe unfair (Hell, its RIDICULOUSLY UNFAIR!) that though you work 6 months without a break, you are still expected to come for practice when there is practice, and that you just shouldn't give a damn about gas bags. Don't think my fellow penguin has learnt that yet, though.

I was actually able to sit with Sr C and discuss this production objectively on Monday, and though I did defend it on almost every level, it didn't hurt me when she said Hunchback was a much better production. It might have been, for all I know, but then, how could she know about the happiness over a simple 'yes', the bonds between penguins and their insane ability to cheer each other up and come up with a plausible solution for anything and everything???

Love you guys! My cast, my crew, my director, my penguins and all those others who've been a part of my daughter's wedding. (I HAD to say that! :D )

hey hey hey it's a crying shame

2009-02-24T21:13:00.002+05:30

Day 2 after the great event.

I'm still a bit lost, though I did enjoy my three-hour long afternoon nap today after nearly three months of going without it.

I've been annoying non-play friends by constantly quoting dialogues, or completing perfectly normal sentences with lines from 'Dahlia'. Example:

Hapless friend 1 begins a sentence with "Did you say..."
Beaming self jumps in with "DID you say God? SO manly of you!"
Hapless friend 1 turns into scowling unamused person.

I've developed an unaccountable craving for watermelon. I ate two whole bowlfuls of it today :

Being a part of Black and Blue and other Hues was definitely one of the most difficult, nerve-wracking and intense experiences I've ever had. Despite my cribbing, irritability and seeming indifference, it really kept me sane through a very trying period.

But I can't end this without recording for posterity two of the funniest things I've seen/heard in 2009:

1. Ann forgetting the tune to Dahlia's song. Her progression from a tentative "Aaaa" to an entirely new tune and finally back to the original tune halfway through Zeenab's speech was priceless.

2. Ann flushing in time to Divya banging the ching ching things together during Ambai [I don't know what they're called.. cymbals? :]. I wonder if the audience heard.

Ah yay. Just writing about those two moments just made me break out into giggles. Hehe.

A Story about Penguins.

2009-02-24T01:34:00.015+05:30

Freakishly long post! Be warned!

Two penguins started off with the dream of a college play. In the beginning, they did the running around, the frustration, the doubt.I don’t think anyone has any idea of the amount work they did. I only wish I had been there to stick by them through it.

I came into the picture a bit later, and after me, another annoyingly enthusiastic penguin. I should mention, that it is this other penguin’s annoying enthusiasm that has carried us through the entire process. We developed a strange strain of humour, this penguin and I, and learnt much along the way. Despite the fact that we were constantly frustrated by numerous budget cuts, that we had ideas that we did not have resources to execute, that we felt other people were screwing up their jobs, that we didn’t have a jot of an idea of what we were doing and so spent a lot of time running around in useless circles, we had fun along the way. And funky orange paper. And lists. And tag lines. Among the many strange and wonderful things that we did, we called up random people from yellow pages, picked up tech terms so that we could at least pretend to know what we were doing, drew HUGE graphs and generally became very sleep deprived.

All four penguins were doing far more than they had too. One penguin was randomly stamping tickets through the middle of the night, answering frantic phone calls (and was particularly disgruntled at having to do it at seven in the morning) and driving around town throwing pamphlets into any shop that would have them. This penguin is also currently going beserk with accounts. One penguin was running from office to office, getting approval for the most bizarre of things. That penguin was also running from pillar to post trying to raise more money. One penguin learnt graphic design over night. Another penguin pulled an all nighter trying to rectify the previous penguin’s mistakes. All the penguins spammed the world’s mailboxes and inboxes. Other people were pitching in as well, cast, crew, people who weren’t mentioned anywhere, a lot of their work went unrecognized. To them, I am intensely grateful (G!) The cast (which contained some of the most talented people I know), crew (who were a freakishly dedicated bunch, bless ‘em) and the penguins were all over worked. During bus rides from printers-to college-to printers-to college-to printers, I would wonder whether if the play was really worth the energy and time we were putting into it. The only thing that made the whole thing worthwhile, was the people. I don’t usually laugh for no reason. I was doing it every day while working for BaBaOH. And now, I really, really, miss that. D and B are perhaps the best people I have ever worked with.

And then… it was Friday. And magic happened. The freakishly-hot-ridiculously-non acoustic-overgrown-classroom miraculously turned into a… auditorium. The lights came on, and there was magic. The lists became surprisingly short. The penguins and I looked at each other in astonishment. We congratulated ourselves on our efficiency. Frankly, we had never thought the day would come. We went home, exhausted, but we could not sleep.

The first show was horrifying for the two penguins who were not on stage. The sound was terribly off, and disgruntled VPs and members of the audience would shoot dark looks at us as they passed us on their way out of the doors. A few came over, and gave us a very clear opinion of what they thought. The play ran late, we had put too many chairs, the room was freakishly hot.

For the second show, I decided to chuck it all, and sat at the lighting desk, my back turned to the retarded philistines who may want to walk out. The other penguin was right at the back, by the sound desk. That show made it worth it. It settled every single doubt in my mind. The stories flowed past, the lights danced on stage. I was happy. I was a part of this big, mad adventure, and I had seen it through. It existed because I was part of it, it had been changed by me, and I by it. There were no words. I was just inexplicably happy.

Today, I walked into F21 to find it sparkling clean. H had sucked the remains of the play out the room. The place was its brightly lit ugly self again. The magic was gone. It was empty. I did not feel the relief I had imagined, that I would get from actually having time to do the things I wanted. I felt lost, disoriented. Despite the work overload, the stress, the bitching, the convoluted hierarchies and processes, I miss it all.

I never quite knew it while it was happening, but BaBaOH was perhaps one of the best experiences of my life.

The penguin with the wacky ideas.

...

2009-02-23T10:00:00.002+05:30

Last evening at nine forty five i felt content, looking forward to a week long (or probably more) of post play production work. as i walked down the street i looked back at F21 wondering whether i'd ever perform or touch the stage again. perhaps not. that's all i can write for now. more on its way.

Tech Morning

2009-02-21T23:17:00.002+05:30

The other cast and fancy lights. Only wish I could have taken this in full dress rehearsal.

-CLICK-

Some are konjam fuzzy... hope you don't mind.

Chittz

Tech Night Photographs

2009-02-20T23:15:00.002+05:30

Hey there,

Tech night photographs are up!

-CLICK-

View slide show for better clarity. And let me know what you think. Also, my cam was a bit hungry, so I fed it the preparation photographs. RIP, digital photographs.

Chittz

DRUM ROLL!

2009-02-13T21:40:00.002+05:30

Heloooooo, my pretties, after a very long time! I have amazing news! Our brillllllllliant Ticketing Head has come up with a WEBSITE for ourselves! OUR VERY OWN!!!! Hee hee! Without further ado, I shall introduce you to - rather I shall post link to the site: http://www.blackandblueandotherhues.tk/

It's too cool ya!

Taglines and Inside jokes.

2009-02-12T21:40:00.013+05:30

These lines probably make sense to only two people in the world (of whom I am one), but I wanted to put them up anyway. This post is dedicated to that other person.

The ' we heart lists club' I am president, and you be vice-president.
Sound, light and stage have to be figured out.
His name is whip?
Joy! :-/
We're so cool ya!
You're on my speed dial!
He's drawing diagrams!
B's been awesome through all of this... considering we didn't give him the stage, sound or the lights he wanted!
Someday I am going to take class for this entire organization... about that nice big word -EFFICIENCY. Ooooh, and that other big word that is missing - RESPONSIBILITY.
I wish I could clone myself and put me in charge of all the departments!
Worship me, ye lesser mortals!
What sets us apart: Nobody wants us. But everyone uses us. We have taglines! Only two people, both of whom have phone issues. We get our work done.
Google is your friend.
Look in the yellow pages.
If all else fails... there is always Mary Audio (They do school and collage culturals)
Gallows humour.
Direction and design by V. Balakrishnan; In existence because of... C & D
See, in our team we have you, me and... Sr. H?
But I love you!
Get sleep. You need it. Take care of yourself.
Thoo. Thoo.
Slighta. Fastly.
Sleep deprivation messed with my head. That's my excuse for the day.
We should be in all the lists! Let's make a brochure for ourselves! Let's make a T shirt for ourselves! (modesty is not something we have learnt)
What nonsense you talking!
Er... why're we doing this again?
We should get paid for this.
Text me!
All the work they just worry about... we get done.
I am going to be richer and famouser than you!
Fairies made it during the night.
The only thing saving our sanity (and this play) is our sense of humour.
You are the best thing that has happened to BaBaOH.

Publicity Drive

2009-02-12T00:10:00.001+05:30

Part of the play? Know someone in it? Want to show support?
Then please help us spread the word around!
There are a couple of ways you can help us do this:
a) TALK to people about it.
b) Change all your status messages/signatures to 'Black and Blue and Other Hues'
c) Upload this image as your display picture on orkut/facebook/gmail/myspace/LJ... any place where a lot of people will be able to see it!

If you guys can help out it'll be awesome. It'll just take a few minutes of your time, but will make a world of difference to us.

Astala Vista Baby!

2009-02-11T23:04:00.004+05:30

So the Stella Maris College Play 2009 is back in action! Despite protests, lost keys, random swamps and much haggling, WE'RE BACK! Yes, in capitals.

First the basics. Information.

Dates: 21st and 22nd February

Show Timings: 2:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. shows

Venue: Stella Maris College Campus (17, Cathedral Road) If you need help figuring out where exactly we are, then click here.

Tickets are priced at Rs 100 and Rs 200 will be available at Landmark from February 14th onwards. Or, you can pick them up at venue. For blocking tickets call 9884962545 or 9841537039 or mail us at curtaincall.smc@gmail.com We do offer discounts for bulk booking.

Looking forward to seeing you there!

The Newest Poster!

2009-02-11T20:14:00.002+05:30

BABAOH POSTPONED

2009-02-03T22:29:00.001+05:30

DUE TO THE STRIKE, ETC, THE PLAY HAS BEEN POSTPONED TO THE 3RD WEEK OF FEBRUARY. WE'LL GIVE YOU THE DETAILS AS SOON AS WE KNOW THEM OURSELVES :)

Choose Yer Poison!

2009-01-26T20:17:00.002+05:30

Ignore the title, I've just always wanted to say that.

Anyhow,

-click-

Cheerio!

Oh, before I trundle off, this is my personal favorite.

PS: Apologies for the horrible background in most of the photographs. F21 is a horrible place for stage photography.

i don't know what to say

2009-01-18T22:44:00.002+05:30

I had the strangest experience recently: we were at rehearsal, and the play on stage was ‘A Movement, a Folder and some Tears’ by the Tamil writer Ambai. It’s a heart-wrenchingly sad story that really makes you want to scream, because there’s nothing else you can do against the injustice that we’re all, as women, subjected to everyday.

We’ve all studied the concept of catharsis, and heard of cathartic experiences. But for a moment, just as Shreya was Sakina, describing the sight of a poor Muslim woman trudging along with her two children, clutching a tricolour flag in her hand as a talisman; as Pradipti was Selvi consigning the effects of their women’s organization to a warehouse that “rarely sees the light of day”; as we all sat there, watching them play their roles, I wanted to weep.

The story is deeply bitter about the circumstances of women and painfully realistic in how devoid of idealism it is. Watching them there, as women, as people I know playing roles like those of Sakina and Selvi was just… beyond anything I’ve ever felt. It’s like all the pent up anger and frustration from all those times that being a woman was brought home to me in the worst sense of the phrase…just bubbled to the surface.

How can it be so? How can an entire half of the population of human beings on this planet be so maligned, misjudged, mistreated and misrepresented? Over centuries?
Sometimes, especially when we’re discussing stereotypes or gender roles in Women’s Writing class, I just want to throw everything away and give in. I feel so defeated - we’re up against centuries of prejudice and indoctrination; I know that my own penchant for strong, masculine men in the vein of Mr Darcy or Mr Rochester or Lord Worth is a tribute to the fact that I have been indoctrinated to believe that I need a man to take care of me. To protect my naive, innocent self from the evils of the big bad world.

It’s disgusting, but it’s true. And every time I watch Ambai, I feel helplessly angry because as much as I am aware of how wrong it all is, I’m very much a part of the same world, and I think along the same lines every single day.

Vogons

2009-01-13T23:15:00.003+05:30

Want an idea of what we're REALLY dealing with on a day to day basis? Click on the link to find out.

http://in.youtube.com/watch?v=ENgdM87Cqjg

One Vogon sounds bad. But a college FULL of them???

WE PROUDLY PRESENT...

2009-01-12T22:48:00.006+05:30

OUR LOGO!

Quotable Quotes - A Nuns Special

2009-01-12T22:19:00.004+05:30

P: Mordant? Can you spell that?

PMC: M.O.R.D.A.N.T (repeat prev two lines)

P: Hmmm... Can you write and show me?

PMC: Its in the Proposal, Sister.

P: Oh. I haven't seen the proposal yet! (said proposal been sitting on that table for 6 hours)

(Stares hard at proposal) Hmm... Is it English?

[From conversation with the P about title approval]

C: So building a stage is going to cost more than hiring one? (Who'd have thought???)

HG: Uh... Yes sister.

C: So manipulative you people are! You never told me about it!

SB: oH, I didn't know about it either.

(EXCUSE ME!!! WHAT HAVE WE BEEN TALKING ABOUT EVERY SINGLE DAY SINCE @*&#ING SEPTEMBER???!!!!)

[Getting final permission to perform the play]

P: I don't like the feet.

[to secretary about the logo which, as it happens, got passed everywhere else]

P: I don't know ma... Get it approved by the VPs. I don't want to take a decision by myself. Get all of them and the Deans together and then decide.

[to get the title Black and Blue and other hues approved]

H: Ay! Ay! Ay!

[general response to everything :) ]

P and later, C: Say whatever you want. I'm not listening.

[during a meeting]

Feel free to add to the list. It grows by the day anyway... I'm beginning to lose track.

The Seven Deadly Sins

2009-01-08T21:57:00.003+05:30

I am convinced that the nuns in my college have officially broken ALL seven of the deadly sins that appear in Faustus. While Faustus had them in his command only for 24 years, these nuns seem to have complete access to them everywhere, all the time. For those of you who are not too familiar with the subject, let me explain.

The first Deadly Sin is LECHERY or Lust. You need to hang out with H or C to know that I'm right. H not whacks people's asses and pinches them (any part of the body she can reach), but she is a regular dominatrix! Whip, strait jacket, handcuffs including a leather lined one... She'll soon be adding a bed to her collection, wait and watch! At least H is nice... C, on the other hand, not only calls us rascals and manipulative, she also wraps her arm around waists, strokes arms, neck and hair. Believe me, it is VERY creepy, especially since you dont know which part of your body she's going to reach for next. I ALWAYS make it a point to stand with a table between us. Better than these two is Cheche, the nun who sits in the library to check if the pictures on students' ids match their faces. All she does is give people hugs. Lechery is a deadly sin irrespective on whether the targets are men or women.

Second, we have AVARICE or Greed, and with that comes JEALOUSY. Have you ever heard the nuns talking about other colleges? Someone gave WCC 2 crores or something, which is why they are so well off. And Loyola always has a lot of money. Not like us. We have no money at all! They merely FORGET to mention that the money we got was used in RENTING DUSTBINS when NAACK (is that right?) came to visit. The green dustbins are currently in H's room because she 'does not want them to get dirty' because then, she will have to clean them herself. Dustbins are meant to collect dirt!!! I can go on and on about this, but I shan't. I still haven't graduated. Bottom line - they want more and more money and are jealous of other catholic institutions in the city.

How could I have not mentioned GLUTTONY and SLOTH? P is almost never in her office. C walks in late everyday. Usually she's sick. Today, not a single VP went to work. Go looking for them and you'll usually find them in or around the canteen. Not always. I said usually. Nuns also enjoy good food, ice cream... Speaking of which, bribing H with icecream is not unheard of.

That accounts for five of the seven Deadly Sins. Next on the list is PRIDE. Heard of the line 'Pride goeth before Fall'? Well, that describes us. No, seriously. We DESPERATELY need money. Our play has no sponsors. We need to get money BUT we can't ask around a hundered odd sponsors because cell phones are the spawn of the devil (though the union can approach Airtell - sorry you guys. This is just venting. I have nothing aganst you! Good for you that you're allowed, actually) and Pepsi and Coke are just big NO-NOs. As are most of the companies on our list. "We can't let the name of Stella Maris go down..." Yeah, yeah. It went with AP if you ask me.

Finally we have WRATH. Man, you should see them when they think we've done something we've not. All very quick to jump to conclusions. Of course, we need to keep OUR tempers when they're being perfectly unreasonable! The unfairness of it all!

I think they are all puritanical... Preach something and practice something COMPLETELY different. Hypocrites, thats what they are. A nun in my room was copying in the finals for heavens sake! No one caught her. Thats the best part.

Portraiture, tree climbing, and other things...

2009-01-08T20:39:00.006+05:30

Tada!

:D

Hope you like it.

Chittz

P.S: For those who hadn't figured it out, click on the 'Tada!' :D

And Then Some....

2009-01-07T21:18:00.001+05:30

College play! Sets! College play! Stage! College Play! Four weeks to go! College play! Sound! College play! Lights! College Play!

I hear it in my head even when I'm sleeping! Gah! I blame you C [I love this symbology, it makes me feel all cryptic and secretive]! I figured the blog needed some happy, non-anger at the authorities type post! So apparently this is it.

I heard such happy news today! I'm on a speed dial list: D For those of you who are in the unknown, in this play, being put on a speed dial is the biggest compliment someone can give you. "Your on my speed dial" :)

We've got most of the stuff figured out with regard to sets, sound, light and stage. Yes 'stuff'. But it’s all going well. Just waiting for the money now. :D All the random ideas that have bin thrown around are actually being implemented. Or conveniently chucked. But that’s a different story!

The number of times I've heard quotes, budget, to-do lists, props there is a part of my brain that now automatically answers questions about these things. I've realised I have quite a talent for saying things that sound very sensible and more importantly related to the questions asked . I've also discovered a fond love for lists. My next responsibility [along with C] is a "We 'heart' lists" club!

I also got slapped by Sr H, C insists it was a friendly loving slap. Perks of being part of the crew apparently. Joy!

I'm going back to making calls to find out why sound and light technicians are such procrastinators.

OkBye!

The title has no relation to the post does it.? I can hear a certain teacher mumbling things about my inability to concentrate and connect the important things. Ah well! Bet she's not on anyones speed dial. :D

Generally ranting

2009-01-07T20:55:00.012+05:30

I think, at the end of this, I'm going to end up hating the college. Seriously. They're such a ...... bunch, I tell you! To get permission for easels we need a LETTER? Not to mention poor M (u're right, D - this cryptic feeling is pretty cool!) who goes running from CC Block to Bank to get the DD/cheque cause some people wont accept cash... We're still short of money. Wait a min... Did I say short of money? I meant we DONT HAVE ANY MONEY which simply means we don't have sets, props, lights, sounds, costumes... Basically we have us and ...that's about it. Did I mention that even SB is being annoying nowadays? To make things worse, DS insists on being nice to EVERYONE, something I really don't understand. I don't want to, either. The next time he starts, I swear that that knife of his will do some SERIOUS damage. All that is irrelevent. Him being nice is a good thing, I suppose. In a very weird way. C, C2, Y and group might understand me a bit better...

I'm being ungrateful or anything. People are taking charge (finally!) A has some amazing plans regd the venue AND she has a team behind her. Y is hyper about the publicity team which is also good so long as she doesn't wake me up early in the morning. S has come up with a GORGEOUS poster which she did while I was yakking about Virginia Woolf :D and most important of all, C and D without whom M and I would be so so lost. We owe you two a lot. Just rem to get as sloshed as I intend to during the cast party. Yeah, that's the best thing as of now I think.

Tryst with the P

2008-12-31T13:10:00.002+05:30

I think i am now capable of writing a book about my encounters with P. the walk to the cc block, those endless conversations with the PAs, and the ever fierce urge to burst the P's office will haunt me until i step into my grave.

Encounter 1- meet P to fight for the existence of the college play in the year 2009.
it wasn't exactly pleasant, but we prevailed! i can still recall the dialogue verbatim. while P kept emphasising on the nuisance it was, we kept prattling about the absolute necessity of it. the enchanting experience it has sought to provide the hundreds who were a part of it. we quoted the previous burgomasters of the play, their learning, their personality enhancements, etc etc. did it move P? well, NOT IN THE LEAST. we then made promises of taking up sale of tickets to relieve the teachers from the so called wrath of the students. did this help? finally, YES, but to the extent that she asked us to go back to C to finalise.

Encounter 2- the fight for a director and hall
this was probably the most interesting meeting, as it ignited in me a hope for the future of the play as i saw a junior fighting for what i believed in. we managed to get the need for an external director approved, but the hall was still in jeopardy. her reasons for the disapproval of a hall outside the campus seemed unknown to herself as she adamantly refuted every point we made including the monetary issue(the one considered to do the trick each time) by a wave of her hand! (what wouldn't have done to chop it off)

Encounter 3- hmmm- ah yes, the meeting with the director
my favourite so far, as all i had to do was sit back and relax and watch bala amuse the sisters with his sweet talk! we actually received blessings from H and P at the end of it, i wish i'd recorded that meeting. :O

Encounter 4- proposal meet + venue fight+ fight for four shows
by far the most frustrating one as i sat in P's office for forty-five minutes the previous day for an appointment and waited for two and half hours the next day along with my teacher coordinators to meet her. her eleven o' clock turned out to be one thirty! as we entered the room all i could sense was the nerve on my temple pulsating with anger! yet, we had to put up our best smile and greet her with GENUINE AFFECTION! we tell her about the progress we've made with sponsorship, only to receive a big NO for the only sponsor who had agreed to shell out the maximum. (she asks us to give her a print-out of the proposal and a list of the sponsors along with a description of their activities by the next day! ) but we take a deep breath and smile and proceed. we talk out reasons for four shows confirming in every way possible that no college activity or timing would be disrupted by the show. she finally AGREES! (during the process of convincing her we also got a glimpse of her amazingly minute knowledge of theatre- as she blinked brightly at the use of the term- double cast! it wouldn't have surprised me much had she not professed profoundly, in our previous meetings, that she had enough experience in this sphere to outdo our very own director! ) Sigh, we smile and proceed. we then draw the stage and tell her the pros of having it in the venue previously okay-ed by her. after wasting three sheets of paper we prevail. i get out of the room satisfied and exhausted.

Encounter 5- PROPOSAL
the proposal had been lying on her table for 6 hours, but when we ask her about it, she replies- "oh i haven't read it yet". we smile and proceed. we ask her about the title of the play 'Mordant Murals', she turns to S and asks- "S, is it English?." we smile and proceed. the most unsuccessful meeting ended with us having to leave assuring her that the name would be changed to a 'happier' one.

Encounter 6- Black and Blue and Other Hues
i go to her office to get the name approved without which we can't proceed with our sponsorship. she looks at it and asks me to get the permission of all the VPs. i smile and proceed to the offices of the VPs only to find one of them seated. she asks me to wait till all the VPs are there in their respective cabins so that they can come to a conclusion unanimously! (Like that's going to happen in the next 29 centuries!) i smile and proceed to P to tell her that the task ahead is impossible. by god's grace one of the VPs was in the P's office with her, i shamelessly ordered vatsala ma'am to take the list and not come out of the office unless a name had been approved off. Black and Blue and Other Hues, emerged!

Encounter 7- Letter
getting a letter signed might sound like the easiest task so far, well it took me three days and two hours of standing outside her office to get it signed. it was done and that's all that matters for now.
that's all folks! (at least for now :S)

Among the Blackness and Blueness

2008-12-29T11:25:00.002+05:30

well i've been wanting to write something here for a long time! the reasons why i haven't jotted down anything as yet
1. Laziness
2. Incoherent thoughts
3. topic?
i just took a ten minute break to go and read the previous year's play blog to get some ideas. :P as the new year approaches, lets take a resolution to
1. LEARN our lines
2. be on TIME for rehearsals (it rhymes!)
3. have FUN (muahahaha)
4. and and and and and and and - oh yes ofcourse, EAT, SLEEP and be MERRY
for otherwise i shall start chopping heads in lieu of insubordination! (*evil laugh*)

uncharted territory

2008-12-23T12:19:00.002+05:30

It would make an interesting sociological study, I think, to analyse the dynamics of large groups of young, hormonal people working on projects they're passionate about. Sure, large groups of young hormonal people are bound to be interesting in themselves, even when they're wandering around aimlessly, but it's when they're all focused on one, particularly close-to-the-heart affair that the most violent, extreme reactions are to be seen.

Or maybe I'm just blowing things out of proportion, as usual.

I've never been in a play, to be honest. Not unless you count being a sheep present at the birth of Jesus when I was about six years old. Or "Hope" [as part of the sickeningly goody two-shoes trio, Hope, Faith and Charity] when I was twelve and had to spout a very preachy speech on how I was the saving grace of mankind's doom, or some such. Neither of these beautiful, enriching experiences had any effect on me, apart from temporarily making me a devoutly aspiring Christian.

Auditioning, therefore, was something I was dragged into. I must admit, it was fun - random, nonsensical and entertaining. Quite out of the ordinary everyday drill. And then of course, even though I didn't really expect to get in, I did. In one of those very cool twists of fate where everything seems to be working in your favour :P

Anyway, to cut a long story short - well, not that long, but I'd rather not harp on about my inspirational journey all the way... here - being in the college play cast is good fun. There are the obsessive, hyper drama people who've been nursing a passion for acting a great deal longer than I have, there are the chilled out, random people who're just in it for the fun and there are the in-between morons [like me] who've got very little clue what they're doing. Put them all together and what do you get?

A good deal of drama, comedy, entertainment, farce, spectacle and satire.

Haha, I'm a Literature student, forgive me!

Happy Holidays! :D

The Swamp Thesis

2008-12-22T14:19:00.007+05:30

The girls in my college (wow! what are the odds of that?!?) have been falling sick a lot over the last few weeks. The same symptoms - fever, stomach upset, nausea... Coincidence? I think not. One, okay. Two - maybe. But TEN women in FOURTEEN days? Personally, I blame The Swamp. And the management who is in charge of it, of course. For those of you who are not familiar with The Swamp, I will elaborate.

Remember the rains Chennai witnessed in the last week of November? When the city was struggling to stay afloat and in some places, drowning? That's when a lot of water stagnated in our grounds, creating The Swamp. At first, I admit it was pretty cool. People sat eating samosas, staring at their reflections, sailed paper boats, threw pebbles into the water to see the ripple effect... Until it began to stagnate and give off a terrific stench. Though the water in the front had dried up, the marshy inlands (as I like to call it) towards the basketball and tennis courts was quite a sight (and smell). It was quite hard to believe that it was the same place the NCC cadets would go mamrching off or somewhere we would be hosting our play in Feb (am I giving away too much?). Anyway, I wonder what P and H and H thought of the whole deal. Personally I'd have loved to have whacked P and H1 and C on the head with a block of concrete and shoved - . Okay, I can see my Production Manager Counterpart (henceforth known as PMC) going "Shhh!!! The play's not over yet! Be careful of what you say!!!"

But it's not like any of the frocks are going to read this, right? I mean a blog is meant to vent, right? I don't see how H1's opinion of me can deteriorate any further after the 'w-horrible' episode. And I don't see how H2's opinion of me will matter since she slaps my ass anyway. She slaps everyones ass - I swear it's not just me!

Anyway, coming back to the topic of discussion, I really wonder what P, H1 & 2 and C thought of the whole deal. Speaking of which, the latter has been sick for sometime now and her little monkeys were getting a bit worried cause there was no one to approve of the things they did - though of course, she wrote them off very randomly as 'manipulative'. But that is another post by itself, my pretties. Enough that you know that it made her sick. H2 would have been happy actually - less litter to clear up, no grass to mow... Other innocents to hound while the sun shines. H1 and P though... I mean they sit there the ENTIRE time and they still don't notice the putrifying mess that is/was the swamp? I mean, come on! Its bad enough that students congregate there on a general basis, but so close to the canteen? Would draining it be too much to ask for?

Oh well. What's been done's been done. The Swamps more or less dry now. I even saw someone mowing it the other day. All should be well by February, Inshallah. Get well soon my pretties. Hope to see you all at rehearsal soon after a marvellous christmas break.

Introductory Chatter

2008-12-20T18:40:00.003+05:30

This is the first time I've created a blog and it's working! Whats more, our dear darling P has condescended enough to approve of our name and sign our proposal letter (after 36 hours or more of wondering about all the negative connotations of Black), so somethings going somewhere. Even better news coming up, people! Sammy and Sandy already have ideas for the poster - I love you guys! - which will be ready sometime soon.

Okay, that's enough introductory chatter for now, I think. Feel free to post, my pretties :)