HOME (ish) AT LAST

We have finally made our last (hopefully) hotel move. For now (we hope). We all checked out of Studio M first thing yesterday morning, loaded our bags, our many, many bags, onto buses, dropped our bags at The Pan Pacific and headed off to rehearsal. Later in the afternoon, toward the end of rehearsal, our room keys were delivered to us by company management. Personally, I really liked the neighborhood around Studio M, but the studio-style, euro-chic rooms were just tooooo tiny to consider living in for very long. Though the area around the Pan Pacific is a little more touristy, the hotel is beautiful, the rooms are very comfortable (I HAVE A BATHTUB! YAAAAA!!!) and the staff is very gracious (including the desk clerk I spoke to, Haruka, who went to Simon Fraser University). And we're just a short walk across the bridge from the theatre. I think we'll be happy here for the next 8-or-so-weeks.

Here's a photo, looking up into the the atrium-style lobby from the lounge on the main floor. My room is hovering hovering up there somewhere, twenty-seven floors above the Chinese New Year decorations.

We're definitely steaming ahead with the play. We've staged and stumbled through Act 1 and are almost finished staging ACT 2. In between staging sessions, I'm still getting private mask coaching sessions, private mirror work time as well as various other wardrobe, make-up, choreography calls. I had my first make-up test earlier this week. I'll let this picture speak it's thousand words. It's funny, when I look at this picture, all I can think of is all the roles I've had where I have either adopted a sneer, or had one painted on my face. The above photo was taken a few days ago, but when I was cleaning my ears after a shower this morning, the cotton swab came out brown. I thought my brain was bleeding. I can see that post-show clean up is going to have to be quite detailed. I'm scheduled for another make-up test tomorrow. Two hours in the chair.

And speaking of Chinese New Year, Singapore is definitely gearing up for the big festival. There have been more and more official functions popping up as we near the big event, Feb 3/4. This will be the Year of The Rabbit, so you can't go anywhere in Singapore without seeing rabbit iconography or reference. I found these perky creatures, made out of fresh flowers, outside of a shopping centre in the high-fashion district of Orchard Road. Before we get to Chinese New Year, however, we get to witness the Hindu festival of Thaipusam. This is celebrated primarily by the relatively large Tamil community here. I went to the Little India neighborhood tonight to watch the procession of the devout Hindus that carry their kavadi (burdens) along a set route to prove their devotion. These burdens, in their simplest form, are a pot of milk, but can also involve elaborate cages which are carried on barbed poles which pierce the skin of the wearer. The greater the pain, the more devout the participant and the more merit gained. My photos are not the best, taken on my phone, but I include them nonetheless. The whole route is lined with people, mostly families, all the ladies dressed in the best, most beautiful saris. It was quite a thing to behold.

On my way back to the hotel, I couldn't help but notice, again, the image used on the doors of the MRT, begging people to let people off the train before getting on themselves. I've stared at this image before and finally figured out why it grabs my attention.Does anyone else find it odd that there's three drag queens being used as the poster girls for this campaign? Enlarge the photo and see if you agree with me.