An Unexpected Pressing Matter

13th March 2013, yesterday was the Press Conference for The Unexpected Guest (TUG) at Hilton Petaling Jaya. Press turnout was pretty good, considering we really could not afford to spoil the press in this event since we are a non-profit org. :-)

Details of the event are as below:

Joshua Lee, the Programme Director of StART Society said  “Although we are not an events company, we always like to push the envelope and be pioneers or innovators of events such as the Xtramile Run in 2011 which was the first of its kind in Malaysia. Hopefully, by exercising our creativity, we can inspire the kids under our tutelage that anything and everything is possible if we play it to our strengths and passions,” He also added that the children will be performing during this dinner, firstly to showcase their talents and what they have learnt at StART Society... and secondly, to make the dinner seem as close to a normal fundraiser as possible in the beginning and establish that the stage is the stage and the audience is the audience, before the lines are completely blurred later in the night.

Freddy Tan, the drama director and me, the writer were excitedly describing the drama while being cautious not to reveal too much that it may spoil the fun and surprise. Freddy described how the actors will be trained and be rehearing differently from a conventional theatre play... to stay in character and expect the unexpected for this drama. They would be trained to feed on the audiences diversions and misdirection and use it in the drama, or re-divert them back to fit into the story. Earlier this week, Freddy was also asked on Capital FM 88.9 if he is nervous about directing something that is a new concept. Freddy said "Yes, it will definitely give me sleepless nights. But it's because of that, the challenge of doing something new and experimental... that I want to do this!"

I was asked where did my inspiration came from. I said "I grew up addicted to mystery and crime investigation novels such as Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys, Agatha Christie... then in more recent years, I am a big follower of crime TV series such as CSI. My favourite is Criminal Minds as I find human behaviour is the most interesting element in the investigation as compared to just physical scientific evidence. So, expect a lot of elements of human relationships and behavioural elements in The Unexpected Guest!"

Asha Gill (our TUG emcee) asked "If a guest were to voluntarily drink the "poisoned drink" that killed one of the actors, then play dead... how would the actors react?" Freddy answered that he would definitely welcome such involvement and engagement from the audience. He said that he liked the script because it has a lot of room to play around the plot as there are many things happening simultaneously. So, additional back-stories can always be worked into the story whenever the audiences participate in the story. I added that whoever wants to play dead, has to play dead the rest of the night! :p

After the press conference, we had a Food Tasting session at the Hilton Petaling Jaya to sample what will be served on the event day... scrumptious stuff.

Get your tickets fast as the big corporations are snapping them up by the table. ;-) For ticket purchase, please contact StART Society at: 03 7954 5423 | 016 336 8185 | startsociety.info@gmail.com.