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| Friday, May 30, 2008
Theatre > Reflections > Lift by Closet Pulp Theatre Reflections on LiftWriter : Ronald Wong "Lift" is Ronald Wong's playwriting and directorial debut. Part satire, part tragicomedy, and part character drama, it is a two-act play set entirely in a malfunctioned elevator. The four people trapped in the lift gradually become acquainted, and their conversation gives us an intriguing glimpse into their lives, its grievances, ambitions, and complex pasts. The play is an exploration of the idiosyncrasies and predilections of Singaporeans, as manifested in the complex web of human relationships. It is also an inquiry into a seemingly perfect system as contrasted with human nature. "Lift" was co-directed by Benjamin Chow and was staged from 5-6 April at Action Theatre's The Room Upstairs. Ronald offers his reflection after the production.  cast of LiftThe Lord said to Gideon, 'With the three hundred men that lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hands. Let all the other men go, each into his own place.' (Judges 7:7) Assembling the production, Lift, by our newly founded company, Closet Pulp was a phantasmal journey peppered with a whole myriad of setbacks that I, as producer-director, felt many times during the passage that perhaps they were diabolical attacks on an attempt by a servant of God at glorifying Him as Sovereign Creator, the beautiful Potter, the master artist. One month before the scheduled performance dates, two of our cast members decided to leave, citing personal commitments as reason. Another two actors simply did not turn up for rehearsals. Unconvinced that we could pull of a show within a month of rehearsals, the director threw in the towel as well. It was a huge blow to the production team, the remaining cast and myself; it was perhaps time to call it quits altogether. Logically, of course, it was only wise to cancel the production, considering the sheer impossibility of identifying four cast members, a new director and then staging a show within 4 weeks. Yet, it felt like there was something unsettled; it felt like there was a prompting to persevere, in spite of the sheer absurdity of the circumstances. I consulted my production core team, who suggested that we press on; yet, I felt insufficient. Meanwhile, I had been praying over the matter, hoping that the Good Shepherd would guide this lost sheep through this treacherous path and show me His will and His plans. True enough, He answered my call and revealed two Old Testament allusions from the Word to me, which I must confess, their true significance and subtext did not occur to me until some time after. One of which was 2 Samuel 16:11, when David was cursed and stoned by Shimei, to which David replied, "My son, who is of my own flesh is trying to take my life. How much more, then, this Benjamite! Leave him alone; let him curse, for the Lord has told him to. It may be that the Lord will see my distress and repay me with good for the cursing I am receiving today." The other revelation came from Judges 7:7, when God instructed Gideon to select out of thirty-two thousand men, a mere three hundred to take on the massive Midianite camp. It was upon these two revelations that I began to appreciate the significance of God's hands in this production. By then, I have managed to find a director-cum-actor; he promised that he would be able to find the remaining three actors, and he did. Praise the Lord! His plans are indeed perfect, for three weeks later, we were confident that we had a show - a good show. Not only so, we had a cast and team that were united, had chemistry and camaraderie like that of a family; one of our actors even cheekily called us her newly found 'dysfunctional family'. Upon contemplation, I realised how the Lord was chiding me to forgive those who have turned their backs on us, and indeed, the Lord had repaid me with good for the 'cursing' I had received, in that He made use of the actors' and director's departures to select for me a new cast, one which was committed, which would stick with me through to the end, and would become my beloved newfound 'family', just as He chose the three hundred men from the thirty-two thousand. Yet, when all seemed well and we were at the last few days of preparation, an unfortunate incident occurred. My co-director-cum-actor injured his ankle so badly it was swollen and in considerable pain that he had to move about on crutches. I felt devastated and confused. Surely God had His hand over our team - so why this, why now? Yet, again, the merciful and gracious Lord reassured me of His sovereignty. He led me to another passage in the Word, Acts 28, where the ship carrying Paul to Rome ran aground, and everyone on board were shipwrecked. In this passage, Paul assured them before the disaster that "not one of you will lose a single hair from your head". This proved to be true as all 276 people on board the ship found safety in an island called Malta where the islanders showed them unusual kindness. It was on this island that Paul performed miraculous healing on the people and testified to them about the Lord. Eventually, the islanders supplied Paul and the crew with adequate supplies for them to set sail for Rome.  warm applause for the cast and crewOnce again, I marvel at the amazing capacity of our Holy God who could craft everything into a perfect plan - turning every bit of darkness into a light that reflects His glory. Even though the journey had already reached fruition as a production, I had come out of it more than a producer-director, but once again reaffirmed as child of God, a warrior under His banner - I have learnt to walk through the wilderness, on the road marked with suffering, in spite of pain in the offering, and when the darkness closes in, still I will say, blessed be His name.
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