Everyone is raving about the F1 races in Singapore huh!? Oh well, I am glad people had fun there. I am sure they are going to be inspirational to some impressionable youths who will now want to "mod" their Nissan March or Toyota Corolla to look like some racer, complete with the relevant tacky decals.

I am curious to see how the Marina Bay area looked like though during this period of time, being all 'pimped out' for the rest of the world. So if you have picts, pls post them online so that I can see them (and die of envy).

The past few weekends had been wonderful staying in Tampa, and catching the various independent theatre groups' performace. The first was Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde. Excellent excellent excellent. It chronicled Oscar Wilde downfall years and I like how Wilde challenged the legitimacy of the various definitions of beauuty, art and morals. Very provocative and the cast members were great.

The second is Blackbird - story of a confrontation between a young woman and the man who molested her when she was young. I did not like it as much as I thought the art direction was kind of awkward even though the acting was good. It was 90 mins without intermission and very antagonising to watch. Nonetheless, it provided a great conversation topic at the post show drinks.

I caught The Wild Party on Sat. Based on Joseph Moncure March's narrative poem about a decadent party that ends badly, it is supposedly metaphorical of the 1929 stock market crash (gulp.. think 2008 Wall St crash). It was done in a similar style to Ah Gong's Birthday Party - an interactive setting where the cast is amongst the audience. Performed at a art gallery in downtown St. Petersburg, the location has been transformed into a Jazz Age pleasure dome, furnished with sofas and chairs. It is like a real party. Audience members mingled and schmoozed, sipping wine or beer or soda (you pay of course), munching cheese and crackers.

I really like the Wild Party. While I am only partial towards a few musical theatre where people burst into songs while having a conversation or walking or whatever (e.g. Les Miserables), this one is pretty intriguing. It is really really stylishly done. You are fully immersed in the play. The characters cajoled with you with their drinks (sometimes spilling some on you). The cast is really superb and all of them sing really well. I found out later that quite a few of them are performers in the amusement parks like Disney and Busch Gardens.

I love the fact that while the various groups are not that well known (at least not yet), they contribute to a really vibrant arts scene here in Tampa. The support given by the community is overwhelming too. At least you get people who are interested in arts here. While I await with abated breath for Sg's arts development, I will enjoy what I have here in Florida.. hmph!