Here is a short summary of my script ‘Tom’ to provide context-

Tom (25) fantasizes of being a stray cat.

Too old to be a child and yet too naïve to be an adult, Tom feels like an outsider in either group and often alienates himself from the world outside. He faces constant pressure from his parents and society to ‘join’ them – to be a full-fledged adult in the system of employment, bills, and status. No longer can he hide under the disguise of adolescence. Tom seeks out a stray cat to be his escape and forges a bond with him. As he tries to make sense of the strange and foreign adult world, Tom envisions forgoing such a place to be a stray himself instead.

I’ve also selected a dinner scene in my script for the rehearsal in class. We were asked to give a scene analysis to better allow the actors to understand what is going on and for the class to know more about the scene:

Tom has a strained relationship with his parents. His mother is a “helicopter mum” who constantly worries and pressures her son to find a stable job. She wishes Tom could grow up and get out of his bubble. Tom’s father prefers to leave most of the parenting duties to his wife, only interfering when he deems necessary. He is a jaded man who feels that he has done enough in life and all that awaits him would be retirement.

During this particular dinner, Tom’s mother tries yet again to set him up on another interview. Tom feels that she is interfering too much with his life but has long since tired of voicing out.

Thoughts on In-Class Rehearsal

It was my first time directing actual actors, and it made me quite nervous as I’m still fairly unfamiliar with what to do. I’m very used to writing but directing is an entirely new arena. Perhaps it was because I was too nervous, but I forgot to do a table read and was quite unsure of where to look during the performance. There seemed to be a plethora of things to look out for within the scene, and outside of it. My story is deeply steeped with Asian influences too, so it felt awkward watching a Caucasian actress read the lines initially.

The most important thing I’ve realised recently would be that in order to direct effectively at all, one needs to be confident in his/her script. Sebastian has also mentioned it in class. Being completely assured in one’s script is not an easy thing to do though. Watching the camera and actors looking to you for direction rewinds the same feelings of self-doubt that arise when showing others my script.

“Am I doing this right?”

Currently, I’m still reworking portions of my script for ‘Tom’ and frankly, I wasn’t sure if the scene would work for the rehearsal after all. I’m thankful for the actors’ enthusiasm and John’s help my rehearsal. Hopefully, the actual rehearsal and shoot would be smoother and I would have found greater confidence by then.