Where to begin about George Town Festival? Too many things I don't even know if I can compile within this post of mine.
I don't even remember how I really came across this Festival having being so ignorant of its existence for three years already. All I know, is that stepping into this big festival led me from one event to another. From then on, the ball kept rolling and I just started revolving around it.
YES Broadway was the first event I got involved in. Having been a volunteer, I was able to crash into their rehearsals once in awhile to watch. The first person I remember meeting was Cath (one of the GTF staff), and that's when duty called. Subsequently, I met two other volunteers, Anys and Mabel. Having met them, they opened my eyes to a lot of things, experiences that we all shared together throughout the period of working together. We did crazy things like eating, being busy at merchandise, talking, and shopping to get participants needs all at the same time.
It was interesting how I actually had a chance to meet the people from US Embassy, listen to their inspiring talk before the Broadway performance. I was also inspired by the passion of the performers involved in the Broadway, having that they had to bear through 10 days of hard work; a combination of vocals, dance as well as theater acting. The training was tough, but hats off to them, it was a really good Broadway show!
The next event I helped out in was the Pro Musica Gala concert. It was an awesome experience having to meet wonderful people. The participants from Pro Musica camp were great! They proved that they weren't just a group of people with pure talent, but also really great people to hang out with. Mostly, I would have to admit that I loved their amazing voices. The performance comprised of Italian and German songs but the talent of participants as well as the 4 main soloists were truly inspiring.
The amazing soloist - Julie
This other event was an event, truly inspirational. Once again, with voices of angels, I finally got a chance to hear how Madrigal songs were like after studying it in history of western music for a semester. Pure talent, powerful voices of people who used to be students like us, they evolved from a University choir into the Philippine Madrigal Singers. I can't tell you how much the audiences and myself were in awe, listening to their wonderful voices. I can only relate to you that there was a standing ovation in the whole hall after the night's performance.
One of the other big event was the Manganiyar Seduction. The one and only event that comprised of a magical box and 43 Indian men. Their performance was really entertaining as it consisted of very interesting technical stuff, and for the first time I was exposed to a little bit of Indian/ manganiyar music. All I remember was enjoying the Indian drum beats, learning a bit of their culture while the performers were off stage. I loved their awesome conductor who kept dancing while conducting simultaneously. But one thing I know is that, we had to feed them whole lot! Other than that, we had fun shopping for their food I guess.
The Manganiyar Seduction
Before the last show, I also managed to tour around the little heritage site in Armenian Street. Truly worth, a place for Must visit if you ever tour round Penang island. A little bit of our history, some art, a piece I will definitely carry back wherever I go if I'm away from this beloved hometown of mine.
So far, those were part of the events I was involved in, including Blinded Mind. As far as I have come, I'm really glad I have met awesome people here. Meeting the staff from GTF, they taught me so much within this one month of the festival. We went ballistic together handling food, backstage, participants and performers, yet, it brought that really satisfying feeling.
It wasn't so much for just watching performances, but experiencing the behind the scenes of a performance. So much for making this whole festival successful, trust me, it ain't easy. Crashing into the GTF office for awhile allowed me to see how hard these staff worked and worried over producing good shows throughout these one month. They had so many preparations, too many things to do, yet, they managed to pull everything together despite getting little rest. That's one thing I can say, I lift my hats to them. Such a big event, but so few staffs, and yet, a great festival launched!
I have learned so much from them throughout this festival. I made a couple of mistakes, had a few bruises in Manganiyar, but hey, it was great. I'm thankful for the staff who guided and exposed me to so many new things. It was definitely worth, and something you can never obtain at anytime of the year. It was great spending time with the staff, meeting performers from all over the world and working with volunteers at each event.
Lastly, here are some pictures to show you the crazy things we did behind all the seriousness. An experience and people I'll never forget.
The Staff and Volunteers at GTF :
