Front Row (from left): Benjamin and Timothy
Back Row (from left): Amos, Zachary, Suzanne, Yen Yen, Divya and Ann Gie
Benjamin Ong (Project Director) graduated in 2010 with a degree in Ecology & Biodiversity. He enjoys exploring and photographing old and inaccessible places, and is thrilled that the E.T. has been successfully restored.
Timothy Cheng was our hardware head-honcho and Logistics Specialist. We don’t know how he balances life as a medical student with all these trivial pursuits (and a few not-so-trivial ones like a term on the Student Council).
Amos Aw can really pick a fight—on the debate table, that is. This fiery ex-Student Council member has since occupied a less conspicuous niche on campus, and is now working on his Master of Science.
Zachary Yong graduated in 2009 with a degree in Genetics. He returned not long after his convocation to assist us with the set-up (most notably the electricity) for the principal shoot.
Science & Technology Studies undergraduate Suzanne Ong treated her make-up work on this assignment as though we were really preparing for a show. Did we also mention that she plays the flute?
If still waters run deep, then Leong Yen Yen’s waters are the stillest of them all. A Master of Arts graduate student, she brought a lot of creative energy into the project and gave us, in the midst of all the bricks and concrete and metal, a human face to the E.T.
Divya Mariam Chandy is really nice, but she can be a little merciless when it comes to getting actors and actresses to look right for the show (especially when armed with a hair curler!). She will be graduating this year with a degree in Environmental Science & Management.
Goh Ann Gie is very much like the E.T.—she’s a real brick! Silently supportive, she always has her feet on the ground when everyone’s heads are hitting the ceiling. She graduated last year with a degree in Actuarial Science.
We could not have asked for a better Chief Administrator than Adila Khairul Anuar. While we were occupied with the creative aspects of the exhibition, Adila balanced things out flawlessly on the admin side. A writer at heart, Computer Engineering undergrad exterior notwithstanding.
It was our Publicity Head and Webmaster Tan Kee Aun’s camera phone that sparked off the idea for this project. Over the next few visits, this fourth-year TESL student brought an electric guitar and a couple of yo-yos for a series of concept shots at the E.T.
M. George Zachariah—dreamer, Sharpiesman; Captain Awesome with the occasional reversion to his Genetics undergraduate alter ego. George accompanied us on the first survey. He embodies ‘theatre’ in all its complexities, ambition and mystique.
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Final-year Statistics student Firdaus Nejim Al-Asedi assisted us in Publicity. Ever cheerful, she has been involved in many creative projects including the likes of theatre, photography and mural painting. Her favourite quote may very well be, “Statistics is Art.”
A rock musician trapped in an Economics student’s body, Kang Zarul Irwan experienced a sense of vertigo on the grid deck above the E.T. stage during our one-year-later reprise shoot. He helped cull photographic footage on the arts in U.M. from the Library’s archives.
From left: Ruth and Hannah
Chemistry undergraduate Ruth Choy roped in a slew of musical instruments from home for a series of concept shots, making possible what may truly be called the ‘First Concert at the (New) Experimental Theatre’.
People like Hannah Patrick really keep enthusiasm going. During our survey trip, her bubbliness made us really believe in the possibility of this project. Now in her fourth year at the Faculty of Law.
From left: Shannon and Doulos
“The drumstick is an extension of my hand,” or so Science & Technology Studies undergraduate Shannon Wong once said. This man of many hats (and conversation topics) frequently masquerades as his Korean doppelgänger, Se Jun.
Doulos Lee is a friend of the team’s, though not a U.M. student. He brought his tripod and provided technical assistance during the principal shoot.
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From left: Fitrah and Noorzilah
We don’t understand how such a structured Secretary can also be so scatterbrained, but Nurul Fitrah Marican truly endured (and enjoyed!) the journey with us. A graduate in Microbiology, she appears in what may well be the most timeless picture of this collection.
Fitrah’s best friend, coursemate and fellow-Student Council member Noorzilah Jailani is now back in Sabah, having graduated last year. The two of them helped us extensively in the set-up of the principal shoot. They really are a dynamic duo, albeit much in a ship-and-anchor sort of way!
Two parts debater, two parts photographer, one part model and a tiny pinch Medical Imaging undergrad: possibly the first impression one may get of Lavania Jeevabala, who assisted us in Publicity and the final key footage shoot.
Michelle Hong is a graduate of HELP University College. She brought along her skills at the violin, her Holga and an air of demure sophistication and elegance to an evening that was fast unravelling.
Nasha Lee is a budding photographer in her own right. This bright and multi-talented Environmental Engineering undergraduate tried her hand at some low-fi shots of the E.T.
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