A Delicious Pretence

So ... last night was my debut at The Esplanade. Here I am walking to the venue (that's it on the right) to see my 15-minute mini-musical.

And look! A poster for my show: A Delicious Pretence! But wait, where's my name? I see all the actors, and the directors, but... oh well.

It was a terrifying evening for me. I didn't know what to expect, since I had nothing to do with the production. Talk about good friends: Rohaizad, Armando and Jean were willing to brave the great unknown with me!

I asked if I could sit in rehearsals a few weeks ago, and they said no, citing "security reasons". Huh? Am I that dangerous?

Anyways, it is so glamorous to be a composer. In addition to earning, um, no money for this show, I even had to purchase my own ticket to go see it! They promised to call me back and get me a ticket; apparently it slipped their mind.

But when I saw the program, I realized just where us writers exist on the totem pole: way at the bottom. They cut my biography paragraph into one sentence and didn't include my picture at all. The actors got huge write-ups and photos. Waa!

My show was well received. I was a bit dismayed at the changes they made to it. I mean, I didn't write a perfect show, but I wish they had consulted me about the changes they made, since my name was credited as the writer.

After the show, we went up for a drink at the New Asia bar at the top of the Swiss Hotel. Quite a view! If you see those two, white, almost-horizontal lights to the left of center, my home is right behind them.

So, overall, it was a good learning experience. I would never do it again, nor would I recommend anyone else ever submit anything to the Five Foot Broadway theater company, but I got out of it just losing the cost of a ticket and enduring a lot of stress. It could've been worse!