TEACHING THE LANGUAGE OF DRAMA AND DR.EDWIN

14 weeks in learning drama had taught me a lot about humans, in the form of the characters and the way they handle physical and emotional conflicts. As a child, I love to observe people quietly and study their characters and behaviors. I look at the way they dress, talk, act in front, in the public, in private and the way they interact with different classes of people. I still do that. It is one of my hobbies. After observing this people I will analyze the details and try to figure out their character traits. I will be happy and satisfied if their character traits tally with my guessing. I have been doing this for years, since I was 6 years old. I’m not judging people but just a kind of guessing game. Eventually, doing this course had given me a chance to do this in class. I can study the characters physically, emotionally, and mentally. When I try to understand their actions, I try to put myself in their shoes and think. Sometimes I understand and sometimes I don’t.
Then, I try to imagine myself in the characters position. This has actually helped me a lot in many ways. So, I feel studying drama is not only an academic course fulfillment, but it is a living skills which need to be learned by everyone. I actually admit that I found my true self in this course. Since I came to UPM, I was a kind of lost in the world intelligent and smart looking students. I lost my confidence and self esteem. I always thought I was not as good as the others. But only in this class, I feel I regained my self confidence back. Maybe, because the subject itself. But I’m sure it was mainly because of you sir. I do not why. But it is you, sir, who gave back my courage. I thank you for that sir even though I know words can’t describe my gratitude to you. The drama class with you is a very sweet and memorable life long experiences for me.

SAVE OUR LEADERS

“30 Days in September” by Mahesh Dattani is a great play. The main conflict, child sexual harassment, is a universal issue through out the world today. Everyday in the newspapers we could read many such cases in our society. We cannot deny it even if we try. Child sexual abuse in Malaysia does not only reflect our poor treatment towards children but the kind of values we are instilling in them. Children are to be protected! Not to be used and sacrificed for the pleasure of our lust and desires. The problem with our society is, we ignore and move our mind to a state of denial in acknowledging this social illness. We try to hide the truth in between the family walls and we force the child to suffer alone. Where else, the abuser will be free and repeats the abuse again and again because there is nothing to stop ‘it’. Of course we have laws. But, how are we going to solve this problem from happening again? Is law the only answer for this?
We have to make our society to see the real problem they are facing. We have to make them start thinking the tragic life the abused child is facing today. Sexually abused child does not only suffer physically. The physical scars will vanish and heal but the emotional and psychological trauma will not heal and it will haunt them until they die. We must start to act now. I know it is not easy to do it. But some how some one has to do it. So, I think Mahesh has done a good job by starting to send the message around the world by creating such a play. In the play we are not just watching people acting but the sufferings of the victims themselves. This play is a form of an eye opener for the world and Malaysia. We should encourage more such plays and movies in our country to curb this problem, rather than spending millions of dollars in building the longest bridges and the tallest buildings in the world. What the use of these technologies if Malaysians are hooligans and worst than animals itself? Even animals know how to treat their young ones.

EDUCATION.............

Academic qualification really does not matter in our lives. One could be a Phd holder but that is a certificate to measure him as a good person. How far could he go if he could be a good civilized man in the society? I knew this fact even before I came to UPM. My personal experience has taught me a lot about human beings, educated and uneducated ones. Where shall I start with? My relations are very good examples. First they are very proud with the education they have gained, and do not want to help others with it. Instead use it to cheat many of the illiterate ones to gain wealth. Secondly they think wealth is the guideline to measure a person. They discriminate the poor ones and those with poor education. I admit that my parents are not highly educated but in characteristic values they are more civilized and morally high that the educated ones. Secondly the society we live in today. Just look around us. How many of us still smile at others? Most of our people today have a least a degree in their hand. But are they behaving like one? They could not think as a normal person. I am very sad to state this but ii is happening daily in UPM itself. Just look at the students when they take the buses. The word line up is something inferior to them. They will be pushing they way into the bus. Even in commuters, we have to let the people to get out first but what is happening is other way around. They could be bothered to let the people go out first. And they also are ‘blind’. They could not see the old people, children, pregnant women and handicapped people in the train. What they need is just a seat so that they can continue the sleep until they arrive to their destination. And mostly these people are the ones working as high ranking staffs in KL. I do not think these people really deserve their title because they do not worth to be called a human being in the first place. They are just pigs and cows in clothes living in human bodies. Education is not something to be shoed off. It is something to improve our way of thinking and values. Educated people are more civilized and morally high people. But I doubt how far it is true in our country.

SELAYANG BRIDGE

“Selayang Bridge is falling down, my fair Samy,” that was a nice rime, sir. It was a great shock and a pleasant surprise for us sir when you sang in class. We did not know that you could also actually sing. Sir, you are a very different lecturer now compared to the person you were in the short stories class, a year a go. We feel that you are a more approachable person now. I’m not sure whether it is your real personality that we just got to now or we was so blur that we did not realized it in the past. Any way we are really enjoying you classes now than before. In a way it is good for both of us. You could avoid getting your high blood pressure and we could release our tensions in your class and can ease a bit. Sorry sir if you are angry with my sincere comments about your class with us but that is how I feel now in your drama class. we really appreciate what you are doing for us now and we really are enjoying your classes now

STIMULATED TEACHING TASKS

I really enjoyed my stimulated teaching this semester with you sir. It was really enjoying because the environment of the classroom was very relaxing and conducive for the teaching process. I was more relaxed and calm in my presentation. Previously in my short stories’ stimulated teaching task I was very tensed up because it was our first paper with you, sir, and we was not prepared and used to your style and approaches. But now, I knew what your expectations are and what kind of presentation you need. Furthermore, I was more prepared on my presentation day. Even though I did not get an ‘A’, but I’m still happy because I managed to survive in your class.

A STREET CAR NAMED DESIRE ???

Firstly, I did not understand the title of the play and the movie. But as I watched the movie I got a rough idea what the title was all about. I really enjoyed watching the play, not because the main actor was handsome or because of the sexual desires and conflict in it. But because, of the excellent performance of the actresses. Both two sisters are very strong emotionally even though they are different circumstances in life. The women in the movie are going through discrimination from the men dominated world. Women are just seen as the sexual material for men, nothing than that. Their opinion and desires are not given any attentions at all. Many of my friend prefer watching Pygmalion that this movie but for me I enjoyed watching this more than Pygmalion. Why? Because, as an audience, I feel more involved emotionally with the women’s' dilemmas in this movie. It is a good movie to watch after all.

PYGMALION, the movie

We had a great fun watching the movie. The whole TESL 5 was having a major mental pressure right after the break. So, the movie was a good getaway for us. We enjoyed laughing for the two hours. Even though it was an old movie, but we liked and understood the story line and the characters thoroughly. Many of us have not finished reading the script of the play. So watching the play before reading it had helped us a lot to understand the issues concerned in the play. Unfortunately many of us did not turn up for the show, so I guess it was a waste for them. But I feel the play is a very normal story compared to the other play which I have read. I was not really excited at all. Maybe the story line was a very simple one. Many of my friends felt it was a great movie. But for me it has nothing special. It made us laugh, yes. But laughing does not mean all of us liked the movie. For me it was just worth laughing, that’s all. It did not affect me emotionally. The movie was just a timeout for me to relieve my tensions. That's all!

Ops Ophelia

This was the first opera show I have ever seen in my life.When Dr.Edwin mentioned about the drama in class on Thursday, we thought it was going to be another boring classical drama. But, once we saw the poster at Dr.Edwin's door, we know it was something different all together and we could not wait to watch it. We expressly planned to go that night and booked the tickets by calling the phone number given.But, we had a major problem to go there.WE DO NOT HAVE THE TRANSPORT!!!We wished UPM could provide us with the transport so that the whole TESLians could go.(And we could save our limited money).We at last have to rent a Kancil to go there.It costed us RM 5 each. Luckily one of us have the driving license.
It was a fashion opera with a combination of the latest fashion, music and drama.'Ophelia' was the name given to all the women characters in the play.The main theme in the play was about the experiences women go throughout their life and the kind of treatment they receive from the male dominated society.The dilemma was protraited excellently by the actors from many different age groups.It was a real beautiful play I have ever seen. The performance was a combinationof life characters which was played sucessfully by the talented actors and actresses. The dialogue used in the play was less that a page, but the feelings and emotions of each of the characters was brought alive by their combination of the five senses in our body. They made us to feel what they are feeling and going through in their life.It was really superb and all of us was stunted and speechless throughtout the show.
If only I had enough money, I would like to watch the play again.This was my first play,and it has helped my interest to grow in literature. I'm intersted to go for plays now and my perception of dramas and theatres have changed.I will treasure every moments of watching 'Ops Ophelia' because it is one of my best experinces in life.A special thanks to Dr. Edwin for asking us to go for the play.