The ISKL SEA Forensics 2006 : Contestant 366 of Victoria Institution -DAY1-

3 days, 2 prelimanary rounds, 1 chance for eternal glory, 0 room for errors. The ISKL SEA Forensics Tournament. Are you ready?

-DAY1-

...Argh! just one number away from 666. That was the first thought that came to my mind when I recieved my contestant number. Last year on this very day, boy with ear surgery, Gustave Oon King Chuan and drama king wannabe, Surrej Darshain Singh, met up at the canteen of the International School of Kuala Lumpur with nothing more than an attitude, 3 days of preperation, and thier bagpacks. The incredibly "long" preperation time was due to my ear surgery. XP. They knew they were screwed. And the fact that they did not even get a single comment sheet confirmed it...

But now, Gustave has returned with his ever so pimplish and gayish duet partner, Moi Kok Lum, or "Pat". The duo have spent 2 months looking for a script, editing it, changing a female character to something between its counterpart, AND practising. They knew what, when, how, and where they should act. "Pat" and "Wayne" were ready.
Gayness and restrained aggression is a deadly combo...for duet acting, that is.

Gustave had developed a new "friend" with the help of GodMother of VILADS Shanti Purushothman....*pauses for applause*... His friend's name was Isidore. Last minute changes dicided by Ms. Shanti made things easier for Gus by only allowing him to play ONE OF THE MANY PERSONALITIES. (contradictory to what some of the judges think) Isidore was narcissistic, loud, full of himself, somehow perverted, and above all, ready to come to life.

Metal mouthed Richard Yap and the ever cheerful Lee Han Sean were prepared with thier duet as well, or so they thought. With Sean cross acting :) but not cross dressing :(

Jack Chan, short of one 'y', came walking in...or rather floating into ISKL with Tristen. Jack has the looks and the moves, Tristen has the vioce. Perfect combo? We shall see.

Johnathan Siao the Sadist and Wilson the Cheras Kid were out for blood in thier debate. They were up against Sri KDU first. The sadistic one also toke up Extemporary speaking and Impromptu, just as our symbol of VILADS Benjamin Ong and Ken Ming did.

There was no shortage of New Blood, mostly form 3s, and our good ol' pretty boy Alexander C. was going all out for Oratory Intepretation, which is an over-rated way of saying Story Telling :).

The presence of Johnnie boys was instantly detected by all Victorians (ONLY Victorians have the super-natural ability to do so by smell). "What is that smell?!" Gus said loudly enough as the Johnnie boys passed by. This was his chance to get back at the Johnnies for undeservingly and unworthyly representing Kuala Lumpur in last year's Kementerian Drama Competition. But don't blame the Johnnies, blame the partially retarded and completely clueless judges who gave them first place and awarding the "best actor" award to one of them. Obviously, the term "best-actor" means the one who shouts the loudest, vibrates the most vigorously, and kicks and bangs the most chairs and tables on stage. Gustave saw his nemesis, somehow, someway, he knew that they were going to face off in solo acting.

I was still wondering where my Sri KDU friendies were. Just as I called up Lianne Letitia Ritchie, she asked me to turn around. Man! What a corny entry. Lianne and her duet partner, and anime freak (otaku), Chia Zhen Chien, came relaxed and prepared with something from the Power Puff Girls. Chia is a guy btw :). A hyperactive Berlyn "Estrada" Liew greeted me with "WHERE IS JOHN SIAO?!". Ouch.

All the drama boys saluted Ex-drama director Vivekananda Sukumaran and Ex-prefect Christopher George as they came back to bring glory to VI. They were in duet, and they swore to meet up with Pat and Wayne at the finals...one way, or the other.

...hmm, forth to perform, not bad, Moi. I said as I read the duet event sheet.

4 trips to the toilet within 30 minutes before thier first duet confirmed Moi's "first-timer" nervousness and Gustave's "Disaster of 2005"'s traumatising flashback. Just the mention of "the last yankee" would make Gus break out in hives.

It was time...

Pat and Wayne...*Shanti demands that we BECOME the character 15 minutes before performance...don't ask why, it works*...were left speechless after withnessing ISKL and Assunta perform. Something between thier legs shrunk. And if that wasn't bad enough, Moi actually didn't pick up the signal that the judges weren't ready even after they said so...and said "Sorry!" with the words "Sorry! by Timothy Mason" written on a blackboard behind him...hopefully, the judges will think its part of the act XP.

Pat and Wayne did thier seriously funny, or rather, funnily serious act......good timing, good acting. You just had to be there.

Gustave and Moi were crossing more than just thier fingers, arms, toes and legs(I leave this thought to the creativity of the readers' minds) when Ms.Shanti walked calmly towards them with a bunch of colourful comment papers. Slowly revealing the ranking like how one would reveal one's cards during chinese new year while praying for a BlackJack or OneLup, Gustave and Moi felt a warm feeling of success and satisfaction. Ranking for ROUND 1 : 1/1 Nothing more, nothing less. (The closer to 1, the better the ranking) With comments such as "Good voice projection!" and "Excellent!" :)

This was a perfect flawless start for Moi and a sure sign to Gustave that he was on the right track and wasn't jinxed with forgetting lines and swelling ears.

...Alright then Pat, cya soon. Hello Tiger! Isidore here...

THAT is how fast Shanti expects us to change. For today, Pat and Wayne have earned thier rest. It is time for the street-wise, hardened, sibling-protective, gangster Tiger and the wacky, narcissistic, corny schizo Isidore to go thier seperate ways with the hopes of meeting each other in the Grand FinalÈ.

The dabating dou John and Wilson came out with a big smile on thier faces. "We showed them mercy." said the ever sadistic John Siao, who proceded with Ben and Wilson to thier Extempt and Impromtu.

Jack and Tristen got a 2/4 ranking for thier duet, not bad, but not so good either. However, thier performance was better than the practice sessions in school. Things would get better for them.

...However...

The highlighted words "DQ" on one of Sean and Richard's comment sheet pissed off many Victorians. The judge...was from Assunta. "Wait...ASSUNTA?! Why?!" Thought the blissfully innocent Gustave :P. Apparantly, Assunta have relied one more than just thier acting skills to get through. Pulling the stronger teams down so that your team goes up IS a good, yet low, tactic. My, my, my! I wonder WHO would have done such a thing *ahem*..SHAI..*incoherant cough*..LAJA..*ahem*

Sadly, the journey to glory ended, when it shouldn't, for two Victorians unfortunate enough to give an Assu....*ahem* judge the chance to disqualify them.

The Bohemian Rhapsody singer Ryan, came out with a very annoyingly common ranking-
2/4 in Oratory Intepretation. And unfortunately for Alex, his 4/4 ranking for his Irish accented "Sir Gallahad" meant only one thing: Either he gets a perfect 1/1 tomorow...or its all over.

The Sri KDU duo, who were responsible for connecting VI and Sri KDU via Gustave...and maybe John and Berlyn helped too, got an off setting ranking of 3/4 with silly comments such as "Your play was too childish" and "Try to be more mature" WHAT?! Caliing an actor's play childish is VERY insulting indeed. However, with a 1/2 ranking coming from different judges tomorow, they still have a shot at semis.

The look on Berlyn's face told everyone that she was confident of making it to the Semi-Finals.


Just then, Gus got curious and asked to see Ahmad Farid Zamil's solo script. "I don't have a script. It's all in my head" made Ms.Shanti go berzerk! Days ago, Ms.Shanti was talking about how she hadn't even seen Zam Zam's act, but know that he won't let her down. Now, she isn't so sure... However, a pen, paper and Shanti's reputation that allowed her to use a photocopying machine anytime she liked got Zamil through HLAF AN HOUR before the solo acting event. Now THAT is the Victorian Spirit. Haha!

Accompaniying Isidore to his room was Ms.Shanti Purushothman, Avinash (the new blood), and some other juniors and Exs such as John Mar...

This was a major boost to his confidence, ego, and narcissism. However, for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction as Isidore's fear of going overtime came true... 43 seconds true! Now THAT was a major "potong steam" or rather, tire puncture to his big head. Switching back, Gus toke consolation in Ms.Shanti, Moi, and the fact that his act was good enough for the judges to let him continue long after the time limit =P

Gus(for now) went to support Tiger immediately after Isidore was subdued. Tiger did well. Anger, sadness portrayed well. No fear of overtime either.

Moi was satisfied and John and Wilson had mixed feelings after loosing a match in debate after reading thier red and green comment sheets. 1/2 for Tiger...Although room for improvement was evident..."piece overdramatised","Sometimes your hands were just hanging by your sides"

Gus was somehow crushed(that "thing between his legs shrinking again") and devastated that he got a 1/1 but was pulled to 2/2 because of the overtime. I failed to capitalise. ARGH!! This is a time for desperate measures...Shanti Editing!

Apart from thier unfazed commitment, unkillable disire, and vigorous training, Gus and Moi had a secret weapon...

HONEY!

...that's right. The magic of a sip of honey just before an act does wonders...whether its the refreshment of the throut, the sugar high, or the Felix Felicis(Harry Potter potion)-golden colour of honey...don't ask. I dunno why, but it works. :)

Gus, Isidore, Pat, Moi, Tiger and Wayne all did very well today...thank you.