A Chorus Line: Spotlight on Alistair So

Last but not least, we have the great Alistair So, who played tapper Mike!

(scroll down for Chinese 下面附中文)

Moving A Chorus Line from the rehearsal room to the studio was…
Initially a bit worrying but nevertheless very exciting! Moving from the studio to Beacon Hill took some adjustment as we had a little more room then and thus needed to work a little harder to ‘fill the space’ as far as performing was concerned. Moving from Beacon Hill to the Theatre is extremely exciting and at first a bit daunting, as now we had to adjust again to the space of the theatre while remembering the set was actually in place. Despite this, it was absolutely amazing as its one of those moments where you think “Wow this is it! Everything’s finally coming together!”.

I learnt about…
Negotiation and making compromises. As this is my final year of school before Uni, work loads are building up and school folk get worried when they hear that you are taking on an outside commitment. While it isn’t an ideal situation to be in (having tons of work and jumping right into the drama afterwards) when you’re desperate to get out there and do something like I tend to be, it’s important that you learn to say no/not yet to things and try to diplomatically arrange your commitments to all fit together. I’ve spent a surprisingly large amount of time writing emails to teachers/other people I’m committed to about events or deadlines that could be brought forward, backward or re-arranged and then figuring out all the logistics behind it. I do have a bad habit of signing myself up for too much! Negotiating your schedule way ahead of time can be a LIFESAVER! With that said you’ll also need to say no to some of the more social elements in your life. Constantly saying no to a weekend trip to Ocean Park, or a junk party is something that you are expected to learn very quickly in professional theatre, and nowadays, in most jobs too.

I am going to miss…
Without a doubt – the people! When you’re working intensely with so many talented and like-minded people for four months, at the end you realize half the fun of the whole experience was becoming such a tightly-knit, motley crew! Put it this way; while in A Chorus Line, the rainbow was probably just as amazing as the pot of gold itself – making friends with, rehearsing with and then performing alongside so many vibrant and talented personatilities is one of the largest reasons theatre appeals to me. Leaving for Uni next year will make me miss these folk even more than I already do.

If not the people, then I’ll probably most miss my eye-liner that went missing under ‘mysterious circumstances’.

I laugh when I think back to…
Jun (who played Zach) had a very tiny sweet tooth and thus bought industrial sized quantities of Haribo gummies and Reeses’ Mini Peanut Buttercups. Normally I stay away from chocolate and peanuts because my diva-instinct tells me that the Gods of Vocal Care would look down upon me for such a sin. However, Jun graciously told me to help myself and so I had a total of three throughout that evening. Unfortunately as I tried my first ever Peanut Buttercup, I assumed that the second layer of paper foil was just a chocolate coating and so I ate it as it was. Eventually, I realized that I’d been chewing on paper for several minutes. The ridiculous part is that I made this assumption three times in a row.

Tell us something we don’t know!
Well a certain member of the cast has the innate ability to dance comfortably in the skinniest jeans in existence. How this is even physically possible, is beyond me, but the vast majority of dance/drama rehearsals we attended, he spent in his skinny jeans. My theory is that his body has evolved and adapted to wearing all forms of 21st century denim, from H&M to A&F. His bodies’ familiarity within the confines of the skinny jean format allows him to pull off some of the slickest dance moves on the floor. It is likely that his body recognizes skinny jeans as a second skin – a non-organic epidermis.

Challenges?
Tap dancing and singing at the same time. I had never performed the two simultaneously but I thought I’d give it a go anyway. Its ALOT easier said than done. To have two rhythms going on in your head and then putting them to work through your body is tough enough as it is, but then remembering everything else that needs to happen physically, lyrically and on-stage at the same time was a real challenge.

What’s next?
I’m gonna settle down over Christmas, get some coursework done and start training for my drama school callback! Lots of dance, singing and acting practice!

My dream superpower is…
The power of Electro-Super Sleep. I can plug myself into the mains and get energy. To survive, I would only need 10% of the sleep than that required of the average human being. However once I become a super villain, I will be able to drain other people of their excessive energy – like primary schoolers.

If I could meet an artist for a day, it would be…
Rodgers and Hammerstein! I’d love to meet the duo that had a large hand in defining the musical genre and really gave it its’ beginnings. It would be interesting to hear about what they see as the ‘perfect musical’ and they’re biggest inspirations of their time. Plus, they’re from a an entirely different era that had varied cultures and flavors of its own – that last point alone would be enough to keep me fascinated for ages – but thats just me!

音樂劇從排練室搬到舞台上的時候，你有何感受？
起初時有點兒擔心，但當然很興奮! 大家首先要適應由排練室到畢架山學校的運動場的空間，由於地方大了，所以大家都要在表演上加把勁填滿這個空間。再由畢架山搬到舞台上，就更興奮且帶點艱鉅，因為除了要再次適應新的舞台空間外，更要僅記有舞台佈景的存在。儘管遇到多少困難，這一刻絕對令人感覺到﹕「嘩! 所有事情終於凝聚在一起了! 」

音樂劇中所學到的東西
商量及遷就。由於這是我踏入大學前的最後一年, 所以學校的工作量較大。當校方知道你在校外還擔任如此重大的責任時，大家都不禁擔心起來。雖然這不是一個最理想的安排(家課頻密之餘還要投身於戲劇中) ，但當你好像我一樣很想做一件事時，就要懂得揀擇，並三思才應承或推掉某些事情，嘗試將所有承諾都處理得妥妥當當。我花了很多時候寫電郵給老師們，以及與我承諾上有關的人，了解有甚麽日子是可以推前或推後。我有一個壞習慣，就是甚麼都要報名! 懂得提早商量好自己的時間表，讓大家能夠因應協調是可救命的! 除此之外，更要懂得放下社交生活—經常拒絕與朋友到海洋公園或週末旅行，是專業演藝工作者、甚至其他行業的人士很快就要領會的道理之一。

完成音樂劇後，你最想念的是甚麼？
無可否認，是這班人! 當你很親密地與一班志同道合的的知己一起相處四個月後，你會發現原來一大半的樂趣是來自於成為了一個那麽緊密的團隊! 另一個說法，就是<<舞步青雲>>的製作過程與結果都一樣精采–能結識這班活潑的人才，並與他們一起綵排，是我喜愛戲劇其中一個主要原因。要在下年度離開他們上大學去，會令我更想念他們呢!
如果不是最想念這班人，我就最想念的是「離奇」地不見了的眼線液!

有何趣事想與大家分享？
愛吃甜品的Jun (飾演導演沙克)買了大大批的Haribo軟糖及Reeses’迷你花生醬糕餅。平時我的「天后」直覺會告訢我絕不可碰造竺巧克力和花生，否則天上的聲樂護理之神一定會因此罪惡鄙視我！不過Jun還客客氣氣請我吃糖果，而我當晚就一共吃了三件! 很不幸，我第一次吃了迷你糕餅就以為第二層的鋁紙也是巧克力皮層，照樣吃了下去。過了一陣我才發現原來我已嘴嚼這紙包數分鐘了。最可笑是，我三次都犯了這個錯!

告訴我們一些鮮為人知的事吧
某位演員有個與生俱來的技能，就是可以很舒適地穿箸緊身牛仔褲跳舞! 這怎麽有可能，我完全毫無頭緒! 但是他在大多數的跳舞或排戲的綵排中，都是在緊身牛仔褲中渡過。我的理論是，不論是H&M或A&F，他的身軀已進化到一個可以穿任何廿一世紀的牛仔褲的地步，使他能夠在牛仔布的拘束下跳出最有型的舞步呢! 他的身體很可能已將緊身牛仔褲當成了一個非有機的表層了。

在綵排過程中有遇到甚麼困難嗎？
一邊跳踢躂舞，一邊唱歌! 我從未試過在表演中同時做這兩件事，但我想應該試試吧! 講就易，做則難! 腦海中同時播著兩個不同的節奏, 再用身體演繹出來已經不容易，卻要記住所有的動作、音樂以及舞台上的走位，這確實是一個挑戰!

完成《舞步青雲》的演出後，你有甚麼打算？
今個聖誕節假會定下來，做好家課和準備戲劇學院的遴選!接著會投身於大量的跳舞、唱歌和演戲中。

如果你有一種超能力，你希望是甚麼？
能夠電超級的睡眠。我可以將自己插入電源並獲得能量! 為了生存，我只需要一般人所需要的睡眠的一成。但當我變成一個超級大壞蛋時，我就可以吸取別人多餘的能量，例如小學生們的。

如果你有機會與一位藝術家碰面，你希望遇上哪一位？為什麼？
羅傑斯與漢默斯坦(Rodgers and Hammerstein) 。 我想結識這兩位影響音樂劇深遠的合作夥伴，是他們令到音樂劇世界有它真正的源頭。我很有興趣知道，什麽對他們來說，才是一個「完美」的音樂劇呢? 還有，他們當代最大的靈感來自於什麽呢?此外，他們亦來自一個完全不同文化味道的時代—最後這一點已足夠令我著迷!