Stimulated teaching part ii

Last Wednesday we had our second part of stimulated teaching. I paired again with Diana. This time we were not tensed up as were in the first part of stimulated teaching. We were the third group for this stimulated teaching. During the teaching, both of us read the extract. I was watching out my reading, as I don’t want to pronounce the words wrongly. The pre reading and while reading part, my friend Diana carried out the teaching. While she was teaching, I was supposed to write the students’ answer on the board but I forgot that Dr. Edwin have to ask me to write on the board. I was embarrassed actually. Then when I carried out the teaching, Dr. Edwin stopped me in the middle and said that the activity was too complicated, as we did not provide guidelines. We were quit disappointed as we did not manage to conclude the lesson. Besides that, we also did not use technology, as we did not know that we should use technology in the teaching. Overall, I feel that we did not do better that our first stimulated teaching however I manage to get a B for this stimulated teaching.
In the stimulated teaching carried out on that day, most of my cousemates did not use technology, only Mei Hui and her pair used technology, they used transperency to teach. i feel that by they using transperency, students could understand better as they have a clear idea on whats goin on the class as the teachers act as a guide to the students.
The stimulated teaching was actually continued on Friday, i feel my coursemates who teach on friday did better as they used technology. Maybe they have seen the mistakes done by those who presented on Wednesday and they improved their teaching.
Among all of them, i liked Munirah Musthapha and her pair, i feel that they have presented well, they used technology to show the extract and give the answer through powerpoint presentation.Their instructions are clear and i as a students know what i'm supposed to do. The way they question their students are good as they ask for students justification. Overall i feel everyone has put in their effort and done their best.

King Lear- an interesting play to be read...

After finishing Pygmalion, Dr. Edwin started with a new play which is a Shakespearean play entitle King Lear… in my mind I could image the play goin to be tough as i know that shakespearean language is not easy to understand.. The book itself is a great help indeed as it is a student’s edition. It provides with meaning of difficult phrases and a has a short summary on each page. It helps me a lot in getting to understand the play. Besides that, Dr. Edwin also has given us the overview of what the story is all about and the imagery that occurs along its way before we read the book. Furthermore, the pop quiz that he held proves to be a great help as it has help me to understand better the play… Dr. Edwin also have guided us by reading the play and explaining to us the significant parts which actually helps me a lot in enhancing my understanding of the play. …Overall I could say that with Dr. Edwin’s explanation of the play I actually kinda liked the play very much… it’s an interesting play with lots of ups and downs. It is also full with virtues that I could gain from it such as never to be too proud and arrogant with the power and authority that you have as the wheel of fortune will play its part. The saying goes, what comes around goes around. This could be seen clearly in Lear as he was too arrogant and proud that in the end he actually falls to be just a mad old man. I ‘m now looking forward to read the last play which is ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’. I wonder what is the play all about… the title itself looks appealing to me, I wonder how’s the story line will be….

MACBETH

2 weeks before I watched a movie entitles Macbeth. I was excited as I was looking forward to watch the movie. I have heard people talking about the movie… it was a tragedy actually. It was an early start as we have to watch the movie at 8pm. This time the movie started on time but there were on handful at first. Most of them came around 8.45am. This maybe due to the experience watching Shakespeare Walla which starts late due to technical problems. As the movie, Macbeth started, I watch with full interest and I didn’t feel bored at all. It was such a nice movie to be watched. By watching this movie I actually could relate to the current play that I’m reading, King Lear. It kinda a similar play. I could see Macbeth’s tragic flaw which happens as a result of trusting his wife Lady Macbeth, that he actually follows her order to kill the King in order to be the King himself and later regrets the act that he had committed. This is similar to Lear in King Lear where he also falls from a higher place as a result of trusting his two daughters which in the end betrayed his trust. Lear in the end could be seen regretting his act just as Macbeth regrets his act

Shakespeare Walla....

On Friday, I watched a play entitle …Shakespeare Walla looking at it name make me think what the movie was all about… hmmm…. It was not a good start as the room doesn’t have sound system… and the movie started late… the movie was a dreggy one I could say, I didn’t enjoy it at all… part of the movie was in hindi without subtitle… I find part of it kinda difficult to understand. There was once I was restless that I wanted the movie to end faster… that was the time that I felt my watch was ticking so slowly... when the movie actually ended I sighed relieved… at last it ended !! This was my first time I felt bored watching a movie… I was actually expecting an interesting movies as the title sounds interesting to me… one thing that I learned from this movie is that its kinda mocks at Shakespeare’s play… I dunno it’s just what I felt… there nothing much I could actually write on this movie as I don’t enjoy it very much…

Pop Quiz... King Lear

Last Wednesday, 19 September, Dr.Edwin held a pop quiz on King Lear… I managed to answer all the question as it was sort of easy to answer questions. What delighted me the most was that I managed to score 9 over 10 for the pop quiz…I was so happy… at first I thought the quiz would be tough as I was not sure of the story line as it confused me and that I would not be able to answer all the questions… i actually discussed with my friends on the points of the story so that i could remember it better... it actually helped alot in answering the questions... Luckily the question was just based on the characters and the important events that took place… overall I was very happy with the result as it got paid off after a long day of reading the play…

4.48 Psychosis

Last Thursday, 13th September 2007, I went to see a play entitle 4.48 Psychosis at KLPAC with my friends. We went there by komuter and reached around 7.50pm. We though KLPAC was opposite the railway station so we decided to walk. Unfortunately we were lost… = ( We then decided to take a taxi to KLPAC. We reached KLPAC around 8.20pm. The building we thought was KLPAC was actually a show unit building. I was not sure what it was actually… anyway… after arriving, we bought tickets… I saw Gavin Yap. At first I don’t know he was the producer of the play… after reading an article outside the theater, I got to know bout it…. In the article, I also got to know that it was talked about play and a very popular play… Ok as it was my first time watching a play, I felt out of place as the people come there were so called ‘High Class’ , u can tell it by their style and clothing. I felt so so out of place…
As I entered the show, I though the sittings were according to numbers stated on the tickets, but actually we could sit anywhere… at that moment I thought to myself, how naïve could I be… then the lights were off… but the play haven’t started… hmmm… I was thinking to myself… why haven’t it started yet??… Then after waiting about 10 minutes I guess, the play started… I really don’t know why they must wait for 10 minutes to start the play??I watch the play with full enthusiasm… I watch how the actor and actresses bring their character out with full emotions… the play was difficult to understand as it was very abstract… later then I understood that it was actually dealing with a thought of a woman with two parts of the her which is the soul and the body… interacting with each other… I think the part of the body should be given to a actress rather than a actor as it really confused me especially… it’s dealing with woman’s though, so why can’t they just use an actress… it wouldn’t complicate the story… but they were so good in portraying the characters. I too was brought into the character… the only thing in the play that gave me a culture shock was there was too much usage of the word ‘Fuck’… *sigh* … hmmm… I still remember one utterance that one of the actresses, Susan Lankaster which really struck me… ‘I fuck you God’. It’s still fresh in my mind and I could hear it repeatedly in my mind… I think it’s because of the environment that I was brought up where these kinds of utterances are taboo among my family members.
While watching the play I felt too rigid as I couldn’t do anything but just being static in the theater hall, it’s unlike in the movies where I can do what ever I want to do… its pin drop silences!!! Even my phone’s vibration could be heard… I felt so embarrassed!!
The play ended at about 9.30pm… Overall, I think its nice play but it’s kinda a difficult for me to interpret… and I had to combine the pieces to actually get the idea and comprehend the play… on the other hand, I also got an idea of how to act in front of the audience as next semester I would be taking the subject theater.. It a good exposure to me actually..

Anike

After finishing the play Pygmalion, my class started on another play which was Anike. It was a similar play as Antigone but it was written in a Malaysian context because it was written by a Malaysian writer by the name Wong Pui Nam. For me I felt the play was as interesting as Antigone. At first I felt a bit confused coz it was kinda a different a bit from Antigone and it confused me a lot. Thanks goes to my lecture DR. Edwin who actually clarified my confusion on the play. I could actually understand better the play and relate it back to Antigone. I also could see the similarities and differences found in the play. After reading and studying the play, I felt that Wong Piu Nam is a good play writer as he could actually revise a play from a Greek play into Malaysian context! So, there nothing Malaysian can’t do!

Pygmalion- The Movie

The movie Pygmalion was supposed to be viewed in Bilik Seminar. Unfortunately Bilik Seminar was being used for a meeting so we viewed the movie in Bilik Tayangan.
At first, when the movie was being played I was surprised to see that it was a black and white movie thus I lost my interest in viewing the movie. In my mind, I thought ‘this might be one of the boring movie’ eventually my prediction was wrong; it was really an interesting movie to watch. Actually if given a chance, I would like to watch it again!!. The movie helps me to understand better the play. Now if I read back the novel I could imagine the characters and the flow of the story. Through the movie I got to know that Proffesor Higgins is not an old man but quite a young man actually. This is because in the play he portrays himself as an old bachelor. I realize that it’s just a saying that he uses to describe himself. This shows that the movie is actually a great help to students like me to get a clear picture and understand the play better.

FIRST TEST

Last Friday, I had the first test for Drama class. It was supposed to be on Wednesday but due to the size of class it was postponed to Friday. I really wished it was on Wednesday as I did not have to reread again the notes. The test on Friday in my opinion was tough. I find it difficult to answer some of the questions. However I managed to answer all of the questions. I really hoped that I will do better in this test as it is the first test. After the test we were to watch Pygmalion the movie. I was excited to watch the movie as I felt that by viewing the movie I could get a clear and better understanding of the play.

Pygmalion- from a myth to a play

The play Pygmalion is actually illustrated from a myth Ovid’s Metamorphosis. This I knew after doing some research on the play itself. In both the myth and the play, both of the man hated women and decided to create the women of their choice. The sculpture, Pygmalion who wanted his desired women crafted the women that he wanted and fall in love with his statue he made sacrifice to goddess of love, Venus to bring the statue alive. Venus granted his wish. Pygmalion then married his statue, Galatea.
In the play Pygmalion, Professor Higgins also created new women out of Eliza a flower girl who doesn’t know to speak Standard English. The only difference from the myth is that Proffesor Higgins didn’t fall in love with Eliza but she left him. In this case the statute (Eliza) did not stay with her sculpture (Prof. Higgins) but left him.
I never knew that Pygmalion has a parallel with a myth until my lecture asked me to do some research on Ovid’s Metamorphosis. It’s really amazing to see how Shaw relates the myth to his own play. I feel Shaw is really a creative writer. In this way he could educate younger generation on the myth as it’s kinda difficult to understand the myth.
In Shaw’s Pygmalion, it’s kinda improvised version of the myth with a little comedic aspect in it to make the play a more interesting play thus finding it easier to understand the myth by understanding the play itself.

Antigone- a greek drama

The first time I got the book Antigone was last semester during my last paper of final exam. The first thing that was on my mind was that the book might be boring as I thought the language might be difficult to understand and it might be similar to Shakespeare’s drama.it was aGreek drama anyway.. The moment i open the book it surprised me that the language used was simple and easy to comprehend. I found the drama was an interesting drama. I enjoyed and appreciate the drama very much. I never felt bored reading the drama as I was anxious to know what happens next. Besides that, I could also picture in my mind the story as I was reading it. It was really an enjoyable drama to read. Later on when I entered the drama class this semester, the lecture was a great help, he helped me a lot in enhancing my understanding of the drama Antigone. It seems now to me that I have a very clear picture of the story and I understand better the drama.

Drama Class

The first time I entered Drama class I was curious to know how was the class to be… upon entering the class the first day, my mind was blocked... I felt so blurred... I couldn’t think…This maybe because of the long semester break... Besides that, I was also scared and nervous with the lecture. I ended up sitting at the back actually. As the class progressed... I enjoyed the class very much... I got to know what Drama is all about... Once I hated drama and don’t like reading drama scripts. I only like reading novels... I stereotyped drama as a boring thing to read but now through drama class I love reading it... It has given me new view on drama... The lecture really helped me a lot in understanding drama better. I hope this class will give me new experience in understanding drama from various playwrights

Mak Yong- My Malaysian Heritage

Mak Yong is quite a popular dance art in the olden days. It is known that nowadays it is not a popular dance any more. I guess its because of the controversy that was spearded during that time... This causes this dance art to fade away with time... I myself don't know about Mak Yong until i read the play on Mak Yong in Now Read On... It really brings my curiousity to get to know about this dance art that was no longer known by younger generation... I feel that the people concern such as the Ministry of Art should look into this matter and try to bring into life this form of dance art. This is vital as the younger generation should get to know 'bout their own culture. I feel this dance art should be preserved as a not only a Malay tradition but as Malaysian tradition. This is one of our heritage so we should be proud with it despite the controversy that occur with this dance art.

Kuda Kepang...

I was getting more intrested in Malaysian Dance Art form after learning bout MakYong. I found out there are another form of dance art that is quite similar to MakYong which is originated from Johor.. Its known as Kuda Kepang.. Hmmm.. i'm from Johor so i think i ought to find out more bout this dance art. What i know is that this dance art is linked with spirit possession. There's lots of infomation on this dance art actually and i was amased by the information i got on this dance art.. Finding out bout both of this dance art actually makes me proud of my Malaysian Heritage. I never thought that there are many types of dance art exisited in Malaysia. Thanks to Drama class i actually got to know more bout this dance art. I feel more exposer should be given to students especilly in primaly school, so that this heritage of ours would not fade by time. Ii'm proud of my heritage so i hope that though exposing this type of dance art will make younger generation appreciate Malaysian Dance art thus feeling proud to be a Malaysian.

Mak Yong - a dance art

I was curious about Mak Yong... I wanted to found out what is it all about... so i browse through the net and found out thet Mak yong is all about a dance which originated from Kelantan. It was a popular entertaiment in olden days. It was also a kinda theatre performance combaining dance, opera, drama and comedy. It was some kind of musical theater. I found out, experts believe that Mak Yong appeared well before the Islamization of the country. It was performed as a royal theatre under the direct patronage of the Kelantan Sultanate until the 1920s. Henceforth the tradition was continuing in its original rural context without neglecting the numerous alteration acquired
I wanted to know how was it performed thus I found out that a typical Mak Yong performance opens with an offering followed by dances, acting and music as well as improvised monologues and dialogues. The mak yong range consists of stories, existing in the oral tradition, dealing with the adventures of gods or mythical kings. The principal and earliest story in the mak yong range, entitled Dewa Muda, has tremendous spiritual significance. Mak yong performances last between about 9.00 p.m and midnight, and a story are generally completed in several nights.

Mak Yong is also associated with rituals in which shamans attempt to heal through song, trance-dance and spirit possession thus it actually causes controversy among the Malays because it goes against their belief and religion. This causes Mak Yong is no longer a popular dance art now days. This kinda of dance art I feel should be preserved for the younger generation. I myself have little knowledge on this type of dance art so I hope that this dance art will be conserved for no only the Malay generation but to the Malaysian generation as this is one of our heritages despite the controversy it cause