goodbye to you, dear TSD.

it's been a festival of theatre over the last week, mostly for mr pymm's critique and enjoyment, but also for our own. us. the one and only full cohort of TSD students outside of England. we've been slaving away at our group and individual pieces, working and working and giving 7-11 a hell lot of business; all in preparation for undoubtedly the most important and most enjoyable exam we'll ever have in our life.

it's literally been our own journey of blood [hannah being cut by glass shards], sweat [groopeas warmups!] and tears [when everything is finally over]. the wonderful thing about the TSD exams is the realisation that the exam itself is unimportant. well, not worthless, but it is the experience that it brings you that grips you. i've learnt to battle through problems and setbacks while working on my trouble-ridden IS. i've made countless relationships forged under the stress of the exams, everything from the madness of groopeas to, arugable, getting attached to kai as i struggled through the prelims. on hindsight, the burden of expectation was sometimes unbearable, but the after-taste of joy is sweeter still.

a round of big thank yous then,

God - for simply making everything work. assuring me that my piece would be fine, helping me bond so wonderfully with my group, comforting me through all those anhuished moments. everything, essentially.

Lofty, Albert, Mrs Low, Dax Young - just about everything, because you have been more than teachers, more than supervisors. for suffering the chaos to the very end with us.

Groopeas - vernie, yish, bob, ming, mik, mak. the balls family. munckins. true believers [all the way]. everything i can say has already been said, but i'll say it again: i love you guys!!! we created a new piece out of nothing in 3 days. we've survivd the emo moments, the stressful moments and every other moment without cracking. we are the true believers!!! *hug*

Kai - it's during the crunch time that you learn to appreciate your girlfriend a lot :) thank you for checking on me during slots, always buying coffee for me when i was working into the night and being there to give me a reassuring hug when the wheels started coming off. love you dear.

IS crew - tanying, matt, muthu, charlotte [the original 4], christian [the aptly named crusader], hannah, laypeng, andre, kyna, stephy, ahnaf [hired, fired then rehired]. you've been a fantastic crew!!! coming down every slot, even when it was last minute, or late, or simply seeing me emo on the teachers' chair. maybe the IS wasn't the best, but heck. it was thoroughly enjoyable working with you guys and i promise i'll support you in what ways i can during your practicals this year and next :) oh yes, and a treat too.

of course, many, many big thanks yous to my mum, which have already been said and not point putting it up since she'll never find my blog :) and to all the TSDians who survived the A lvls together! wahoo! :)

so, a few choice snippets from the A levels:
1. the rain and our group piece. we stood there, waiting for mr pymm to arrive while watching the wind blow this ominous rain cloud closer and closer from the horizon. lofty clutching his head in sheer panic, albert reassuring us with his mouth but not his eyes. every groopea and chickpea almost praying in our own little way. the sky darkened, mr pymm sat down, the piece began. and beautifully, God held the rain, releasing the light spread of droplets as if to test our faith, but we are true believers all the way. and finally, as we concluded the scene of romeo and juliet's death, the rain started drizzling down, almost as if on cue: "the sun for sorrow will not show his head".

2. kai finishes her swordfighting movement piece that includes wild slashes at saiful, biting his finger and a spiral staircase swordfight sequence. she enters the interview room with her black corset top, her [somewhat] flamenco skirt and a rose in her hair, looking the part of a killer beauty with her two swords. mr pymm sits her down, she puts the the swords on the table and he reaches out, pulls them away from her and smiles.

3. the lights dim and the sailing soundscape for my piece begins. harbour bell on perfect cue. andre assumes the role of a captain perfectly. then out of the blue, tanying and muthu start going "scrub the deck, scrub the deck, scrub the deck". lovely, especially since muthu is right next to mr pymm and he turns to look at him; the only time he flinches or moves in my entire piece. during the interview, he asks, "considering the historical context of your piece, how much are your sounds historically accurate to the actual time period?" oh bother.

nominees for song of the A levels: true believers by bouncing souls; o come o come Emmanuel
catchphrase of the A levels: hoohoo shit.
game of the A levels: cricket

[exeunt TSD]