Yesterday night was the night of reckoning for me. It was the opening night of Oi! Sleeping Beauty! (OMG! I just realized that all this while I have been spelling 'Oi' as 'Oy'. Jeez! I'm so dumb sometimes!). Calltime was early since we had to do a full-dress run before the show itself. It didn't go very well, The teens (which includes me) totally screwed up the Motorcycle part. And there were lots of gliches. I was SO bummed. I thought we were certainly NOT ready for an audience. I was so sure that Ivan Heng, our director, was gonna scream at us. I was really scared. But after the run, he was SO patient with us. I was so amazed! HE just went through the notes and stuff as per normal. HE even joked and laughed. And as he mentioned our horrible performance during the motorcycle part, he didn't make a HUGE deal about it. HE told us that the most important thing is that we stay centred and focus. And even if we mess up or whatever, we should just brush it off our shoulders and keep going forward. We shouldn't point fingers and make whoever feel bad. 'Cos then it would just make the person feel guilty and be unable to perform. It made SO much sense. HE really is such an awesome person.

Before the show, I received messages from Priya and Dinah Bee telling to break my leg. I was so excited. Oops! The first line sounds abit weird. I meant they wished me good luck by saying break a leg. I changed into my villager outfit, did my hair and make-up. My villager hair style is really very Village-y, y'know. It was a bit bothersome since I have really short hair. So, the hairdresser Pauline sprayed practically the whole bottle of hairspray on my head and managed to get my exytremely short hair into two extremely short ponytails. Yes, I myself thought it was impossible...until now. I looked abit weird but if there's one thing I learnt in this production, it's to be very comfortable in your skin. There is no room for embarassment. D'you know that there is NO dressing room backstage? And that when we have quick changes, we literally have to strip there and then to change! Ya, but I am still not THAT comfortable in my skin yet, so I always hide in some dark corner to change. And then, I had to wear So many wigs. I have SO much fake hair on me, my head felt like a hairy bowling ball. For the villager thingy, I had a bun and flowers on my head. I was really, really NERVOUS before the show. I wasn't really nervous about the audience. I was nervous because the whole of Anderson Theater Circle will be there. Somehow I felt relieved and pressured at the same time. I wanted them to watch the show. And I know they will be there to support me. But still I felt pressured 'cos I didn't want to let down ATC. I wanted to do them proud.

Ivan Heng made an inspiring speech before the show, that made me feel so much better. Then, we did a ritual where we count 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8 and shake our hands and legs and.... It's difficult to explain. And then, we all hugged. All of us. It was really fab. It was like we were all one big family. Gosh! I sound so mushy. Anyway, I hope Dinah MZ is reading this 'cos when I say ALL of us hugged. I meant Hatta Said too!! Haha! Yup, he hugged me! I can just imagine you green with envy now. But seriously, he was REALLY nice. I was sort of freaking out backstage. But he helped me calm down.

Anyway, everything went on fine! I love Act 1 'cos it's so easy for me. I don't have much to do and it's all HAPPY and fun. Act 2 is when things get really hectic for me. I was the SIA stewardess, model and executive person. I had to wear the model dress inside the SIA uniform 'cos I have to change REALLY fast. By the way, they changed the model dress. It's no longer the blue swishy halter. Well, it's still a halter and bare-backed but it's black. It's skirt and hem is slanted and it's slightly frilly. The top half looks abit like the dress Angelina Jolie wore in the poster of Mr & Mrs Smith. But I don't look half as nice as Angelina Jolie in it... DUH!!! So, I changed and went out to do the scene. Oh, ya!! I almost forgot, Pauline clipped on this really heavy, fake ponytail onto my hair. It's wavy and very glam. But a totally different colour for my real hair. I tried my best. Then, we had to dance a number with that dress on. Wah, cow! It was really difficult. I was wearing a strapless bra and all. I think I'll buy a transparent strap instead. It's really just so bloody troublesome. Next, I had to change into an executive outfit. I also had to wear this really, REALLY weird wig. It's SO big and puffy. And It sort of looked like something hairy died on my head. But as I told you before, there is no room for embarassment in this business. The show must go on.

ANDERSON THEATER CIRCLE IS THE BEST!!!!!!! During the curtain call, I could hear my friends scream, "WE LOVE YOU, SHARIFAH!!" At that point, I felt on top of the world. It sort of meant that I didn't let them down. And I didn't tarnish the ATC reputation, y'know? I never felt nearly this happy throughout the whole production. It just feels amazing when the audience is clapping and your friends are supporting you. I was estatic. Beyond the definition of happy! My smile was practically all 'round my head. I was so touched that they came and watched the show. Even if it was a Theater Trip! I was so glad!

After the show, I managed to meet up with some of them at the lobby. They congratulated me. I was so happy that they liked the show. I changed out of my costume and we went home together. Ebi, Umar and Gene were with me. They were pretty shocked that there were so many people waiting for me. I told them that they were all from ATC. Umar was pretty relaxed among them. Taufiq asked me if I was wearing a corsette. Jeez! I told him no 'cos I seriously wasn't. He nodded and went like "Oh, so it's your real figure lah!" I'm like Duh! Suffian was quiet as usual. And Halim is... Well, He was mostly sleeping. Everytime I see him, he's ALWAYS half-asleep. It's a bit weird. I never really had a long and AWAKE conversation with him. Mas was the natural Mas. Always fun and full of life. Syaf and Bhai Faris were there too. Nithiya was funny as usual. Priya, Jen and Dinah Bee weren't there!! But that's okay. Most of them were there and we all went home together. And this is for Dinah Bee, if you're reading this, I heard your COUSIN came. Which COUSIN is it? Is it .... you-know-who???

Erm... For the record, I wasn't talking about Voldermort or whatever. Oh, I watched Harry Potter already!! But I'll leave my thoughts for later 'cos I seriously think I wrote too much.