Catharsis, Purging of Emotions by Sunway ADTP students

A full house and uproar of laughter filled the auditorium as students from the class of THEA 1000 purged their emotions during the production of Catharsis, Purging of Emotions. The 5 short plays was each unique, entertaining and witty, played by the students of the Sunway American Degree Transfer Programme (ADTP).

The production held at Sunway University started with a play titled ‘The Unruly Bank Customer’, written and directed by Danny Voon Seng Hong. Danny wanted to create a sense of familiarity to everyone by placing an unruly bank customer with a thick Malaysian accent against a prim and proper service banker. The tendency for both of them to misunderstand each other created a chaos.

Rajen Pradhan (seated) and Chin Kai Yi battling it out in the Unruly Bank Customer.

The knee-slapping laughter that accompanied the first play echoed as the audience embraced themselves for a melodramatic change of emotions through the second play titled, “My Sunshine Away” directed by Tan You Ken and Daryl Premkumar. The play is a heart-warming tale about a sibling’s love for her handicapped brother who in turn is seeking autonomy in life.

The heart-warming tale of siblings love played by Leticia Nkulu and Rajen Pradhan.

Tan You Ken and Daryl Premkumar said, “It was a challenge directing a more serious play as it was important to evoke an emotional side to the audience. The depth of the story was great and we were hoping the audience would understand the storyline.”

The mood was uplifted once again with both the plays titled ‘Language Barrier’ directed by Jack Ling Jin Yew and “Thank God it’s…” directed by Nancy Yong Wen Shi and Hayden Cheanglai Yee. Both plays were written by Ronnie Shieu.

A scene from Thank God It’s….

Language barrier saw the class from the popular British comedy titled “Mind Your Language” together with their teacher, Mr Brown and school principal, Ms Courtney arrested for shoplifting. Jack said, “I wanted to produce something funny and it took a lot of movies, newspapers, life experience as well as the actor’s help to produce this play.”

A very frustrated police officer (extreme right) attempting to understand the foreign students in Language Barrier.

‘Thank God it’s..’ saw 3 friends who possess 3 contrasting characteristics dining in a prestigious restaurant. Little did they know they would be greeted by a waiter with an attitude, making the four a deadly combination for the perfectly calm night. Nancy and Hayden shared, “We had fun with each idea and improvised the play along the way. We were very proud of our actors who took on the characters well.” Nancy was able to share stage experiences with the actors as she has been involved in other productions.

A girl is smitten by the ‘Puss in Boots’ in Celinderella.

Celinederella written and directed by Nur Hazlin and Shavin Nair is a modern musical tale of a woman who tries to stay strong and happy while enduring the abuse of her stepsister. “We wanted Celinederella to deal with her own problems in order to showcase autonomy. We wanted to make it as real as possible”, said the directors.

Catharsis, a Purging of Emotions is a collaborative effort of all the students of THEA 1000 who come from various majors in the ADTP such as Business, Mass Communication, Engineering and Aviation. Students invested their time, energy and skills into making this production a huge success. Apart from the original scripts, directing and starring in this production, they were responsible for publicising, producing, sound engineering, stage management and other essential areas.

Yu Chu Vang, a student from China who played Juan in Language Barrier said, “It was challenging for me as a foreigner to put on a Spanish accent while battling to communicate in simple English. However, I practiced by speaking frequently with my friends. I also improved my command of English. I enjoyed the experience as it gave me an opportunity to express myself.”

Chin Khai Yi, an actor in An Unruly Bank Customer and Language Barrier said, “I picked up effeminate traits from movies and incorporated them in my roles. I watched a lot of Singaporean and Malaysian movies to pick up the accent and lingo.” Chin believed the production was an experience on its own as one learns how to respond to certain people, experiences and interactions throughout the production. He added, “I believe everyone played their part in making this production a success including the people from behind the scenes. Special mention of Miss Malissa Mahmud, Lecturer of ADTP and dramaturge for this production as without her this play would not have happened”.