Ben & Jerry’s I-Scream Youth Day

Blast from the Past?

Felicia Tee | tee.felicia@gmail.com
the ridge transmedia
A NUSSU Publication

Photo Credit: Satya Saya

Midway through his Valedictorian speech, the environmentalist John is puzzled into disbelief when an old friend appears in the audience. Alex brings with her the magical Edward Hallifax, zesty Zsa Zsa and ancient General Bao, for four is company and one is none. The only problem is, no one else but John can see them!

You’ve Got a Friend in Me is National University of Singapore (NUS) Eusoff Hall’s 2008/2009 Dance Production, an annual performance that has gained itself recognition within the rich performing arts tradition of Eusoff Hall.

Scriptwriters Eva Pillai and Tan Kim Ong spent about 9 months developing the story, an ardous process they describe as similar to carrying “a baby” to full term. While the importance of friendship remains at the heart of the production, Eva hopes the audience will start questioning society’s take on normalcy and what it deems as right or wrong. Kim highlights “the journey of self-discovery”, and the “parallel between (John’s) imaginary friends and a normal person’s conscience”. Indeed, an earlier scene has John in a tight situation as he struggles to hold a conversation with his sweet girlfriend Claire while Alex meddles around as a third party. The colourful character Edward Hallifax enters dressed as if he just arrived from Charlie’s Chocolate Factory. Bringing a whole new meaning into the question “Do you believe in magic?”, actor Chen Jieming enthralls with his happy-go-lucky demeanor and the enticing possibilities of three wishes. Masquerading as John’s future employer’s secretary, the sassy Zsa Zsa paws and purrs her way around the office. As for General Bao, the audience was greatly tickled by his innocent wit and quirky defense strategies such as the “Hidden Panda”. Despite John’s repeated annoyance with the four, it appears that he is only truly himself with them.

The sets for the show were nothing short of stellar. Designed and built from scratch by the hostelites themselves, the central motif of a gigantic flower in John’s laboratory echoed vibrant hues of red, yellow and green – a parallel to the growing potential of the hall and its members. The Ultimate Cure Machine looms to the fore as overbearing, dangerous and yet doomingly alluring. The juxtaposition of nature’s beauty with a man-made monster machine calls into mind the harmful effects of urban progress unto the environment.

Photo Credit: Satya Saya

While You’ve Got a Friend in Me is primarily a dance production, the incorporation of a narrative somewhat failed to gel with the themed dances. Out of the eight, “Pure Imagination”, “Personal Relations” and “The Ultimate Cure” were executed with admirable aplomb. The twirling of fairies and nymphs in “Pure Imagination” opens an enchanting doorway into Edward Hallifax’s world of magic where one’s imagination may run wild. The alumni outdid themselves with a smart rendition of life in the workplace, revealing their years of training, expertise and dedication to the hall. “Personal Relations” was an energetic number aptly titled for the alumni group whose body locking and pumping dynamics brought up energy levels for the audience. Finally, “The Ultimate Cure” exploded as the climactic height of the storyline whereby John’s imaginary friends are purged from his life one by one. In formidable red and black costumes, the dancers showcased kicks and jumps with intensity and control.

In response to the show, first-year Nanyang Technological University (NTU) student Jonathan Tan was expecting something “small-scale and short” for a hall production but was surprised by a “performance complete with music, story, lavish props and costumes”. He adds that “the characters were costumed very well and had strong identities”. A non-NUS student who prefers to remain anonymous remarked that “it left quite a great and memorable impression for a first time hall production go-er”, although remarking that there is room for improvement. Well, it certainly injected comic relief amidst the mad rush to meet deadlines and provided a gentle reminder to appreciate the good company around us, imaginary or not.

After all, you’ve got a friend in me!

Heineken Green Room Event

Arzish Baaquie | arzish@gmail.com

Heineken threw a mega-party on the 17th of April to remind everyone just what it felt like to party without any repercussions.  Transforming the F1 Pit building into a full-on dance club, roughly 1,200 invited guests were treated to cutting-edge sounds by Sinden (UK) and Act Yo Age (Sweat It Out, Aus).

The Heineken Green Room (HGR) initiative, which prides itself as being at the forefront of innovative music experiences, showed its commitment to providing a good time fo r revelers once again.  The unique venue choice added to the appeal of the event, which showcased two very talented DJs in their prime.

HGR members were treated to a plethora of sights and sounds, such as the Heineken Wall of Sound and a fashion show by Diesel, as well as easy entry into the packed venue.

How does one become a member of the HGR initiative?  Simply visit the website at [http://www.heineken.com.sg/greenroom/] and do the needful to get your entry into the most hip parties across town.

GYSB @ Heeren Press Release

‘Get Your Sexy Back’ hits a High Note with
Acclaimed Local Band 大风吹 (Da Feng Chui)
Up-and-coming local band dedicates Chinese theme song from newly
launched album to the cause of moderate drinking

Singapore, 4 April 2009 – ‘Get Your Sexy Back’ (GYSB), Singapore’s first youth-led programme spearheaded by Asia Pacific Breweries Singapore (APBS) and prominent industry partners to promote responsible drinking among young adults, today hits the streets with its first-ever mini concert. At The Heeren, the captive audience present is among the first to preview the much-anticipated GYSB Chinese theme song produced by acclaimed local band 大风吹 (Da Feng Chui – runner up in Channel U’s Superband 2008 contest), in support of the moderate drinking programme. Apart from an exciting line-up of performances by talented GYSB youth volunteer ambassadors, also on show is a new Facebook application developed by student volunteers to help spread the GYSB message via the social network.

Sharing the inspiration behind the song, volunteer ambassador and lead singer, Chen Liang of 大风吹, says: “We first heard about the GYSB programme through our friends and also read about it in the papers. To us, it was communicating a very meaningful message of encouraging moderate and responsible drinking amongst youths. As such, we felt that as a local band, we too can do our part for this worthy cause and what better way than to express it through our music! With this GYSB Chinese theme song <？？?>, we hope that not only will our fans get to enjoy our music, but also get to know more about the programme and realise that we can achieve our dreams without losing ourselves.”

“GYSB has gone from strength to strength as it grew from a campaign to a full-fledged programme. I am proud to see how various industry partners and tertiary institutions have come on board to support this meaningful cause. With this new Chinese theme song by 大风吹, I am confident that the GYSB programme will further reach out to young adults, as well as share with them the important message of moderate drinking so that they can make an informed decision about responsible alcohol consumption,” says Mr Bennett Neo, General Manager of APBS.

Besides the GYSB theme song, 大风吹 also performs other songs from their newly released EP. In addition, the audience is kept enthralled by a stellar line-up of performances including the likes of a dance performance by NUS Dance Ensemble, a fashion show by NewUrbanMale.com (NUM), ‘live’ performances by volunteer ambassador/local singer – Jillian Marie Thomas, as well as local girl-band – Pheromones.

A new Facebook application “GYSB Matching Fury” also makes its debut at the GYSB mini-concert. An interesting memory game developed by a group of NUS student volunteers as a way of spreading the GYSB message via social networks, it challenges players to stretch their powers of speed and recall to the limit as they race against the clock (and their friends) to clear the hidden boxes in the fastest time possible. The application forms part of GYSB’s Friendship platform, allowing GYSB supporters to spread the message of moderate drinking to their friends in a fun and engaging way.

By bringing together its four major platforms – Music, Fashion, Sports and Friendship – at its first-ever mini concert, GYSB is proud to be leading youths in the worthy cause of responsible drinking in Singapore. Besides fun-filled activities, exciting give-aways, as well as the opportunity to pledge support for moderate drinking, youths can find out more information by visiting the official website, www.gysb.sg.

###

About Get Your Sexy Back

Get Your Sexy Back (GYSB) is a youth-led programme aimed at encouraging responsible drinking among young adults, by raising the social currency of moderation. The programme is spearheaded by Asia Pacific Breweries Singapore and targets youths aged 18-25. The initial campaign was launched in December 2007, together with a website: www.gysb.sg, which was the main communications focus in that phase. In October 2008, GYSB entered its second phase with a host of new events and activities, supported by prominent partners from a wide range of industries and reaching out to the youth through music, sports, fashion and friendship to spread the responsible and moderate drinking message.

GYSB is supported by partners including Cathay Cineleisure, Cheers, Clear Channel, Lee Wei Song School of Music, NewUrbanMale.com, 7-Eleven, Sony Music Entertainment, The Heeren and media partners including Catalog, 8 Days, I-S, iWeekly, Juice and My Paper.

For more information, please contact:

Kevin Lim / Elena Chan
Corporate Communications
Asia Pacific Breweries Singapore
T: (65) 6860 3024 / 6860 3003
M: (65) 9296 7318 / 9438 5530
Email:kevin.lim@apb.com.sg/ elena.chan@apb.com.sg

Highlights of April

Random Blends – The First CNM Exhibition Wows Crowd

Chin Mei Kuan | mk.chin@nus.edu.sg
Lee Meixian | meixian@nus.edu.sg
the ridge news
A NUSSU Publication

“Though we are young, we are here. And we are going to impact Singapore’s communication industry.”

That was the promise delivered by Dr. Milagros Rivera, head of the Communications and New Media (CNM) department, speaking at the official launch of “Random Blends,” the department’s first public exhibition on Feb 27, 2009.

At the same time, the department was celebrating its tenth anniversary at the National University of Singapore (NUS).

On display from Feb 28 to Mar 8 at the 2902 Gallery, Old School at Mount Sophia, the multimedia exhibition is a showcase of over 80 pieces of art works, consisting of photographs, storybooks, videos, video games and posters.

These were created by second-year to fourth-year students from the various design courses offered at CNM.

What was unique about this exhibition was that it was an entirely student-initiated effort, from the production and reproduction of the works to the garnering of sponsorships and generating of publicity.

This was also the first time all the students involved were participating in an exhibition.

According to Lim Chen Guo, a third-year CNM student and assistant curator of “Random Blends”, the idea to have this exhibition first came up in his Digital Photography and Imaging class.

The class had decided that to hold their end-of-semester exhibition outside school instead of following the tradition of holding it in the Central Library.

Lim said that Dr. Milagros Rivera was supportive of the idea and expanded it to include works from other design modules as well. However, the majority of the works displayed are still photographic work nevertheless.

Said Lim, “In fact, we are the first school in Singapore to integrate many different multimedia elements into one exhibition.”

This is not the only ‘first’ for the department.

Exhibitions of this nature are common with fine arts students, but for a multidisciplinary programme like CNM, this is definitely a new first.
For third-year CNM major, Shen Shifa, the demands of helping to organize this public exhibition were great but the rewards were well worth it.

“Yes, the preparation leading up to the opening day was really tough. My recess week was practically burnt because almost every day was spent preparing for it,” he said

“But I made some really good friends through this exhibition. They are a great bunch to work with. And seeing the happy faces on the opening day made me feel that it was worth the effort,” he added.

Indeed, the problems the team met, from sourcing for an exhibition venue to selecting publishing materials and looking for funding and sponsorships, were overwhelming at times.

Fortunately, they had help from a mentor, Miss Chiang Jing Ying, a CNM lecturer.

“There were times when I had to step in to make minor changes to their displays, because after all, this is their first time and they are still inexperienced,” said Miss Chiang,

“But it was very pleasant working with them because they are very receptive and willing to learn. They didn’t bring with them any conflicts and egos like most artists I have worked in the past. Even under tension and tight time constraints, they worked very well as a team.”

It appears that many who attended the launch liked what they saw. In fact, they would like to see more of such opportunities for students to exhibit their works made available in future semesters.

Dr. Leanne Chang, assistant professor from the CNM department said, “I think that we should continue with this. The artworks look different in a gallery, compared to seeing them as student submissions in school,” she said.
Genevieve Yeo, a second-year CNM student would like to take part in the exhibition if there is a chance for her to do so.

Currently taking a visual design module, she found the exhibition helpful. “It is important to expose myself to designs by different people so that I can better understand how they work from to achieve the objectives of their design,” she said.

When asked which was her favourite artwork, she pointed out second year CNM student Lim Hern Khoon’s colour spectrum piece.

It was series of photographs of himself experiencing different emotions, in which every emotion was matched with a corresponding colour. He had intended to portray the effect different people have on his usual cheerful self, such that eventually, he finds his face blank, from confusion and fatigue.

The warm response received by this first exhibition has led the CNM department to discuss the possibility of holding a similar public exhibition every year.

Even visitors from outside NUS had praises for the exhibition, like Jonathan Ng, who had to climb several flights of stairs in a humid back alley to reach the exhibition gallery, but said that “the flight of stairs was worth it.”