The certificate of achievement and the Paper Plane Award for the Arts and Culture Project Award won in the competition.
Some of the committee members for “The Village” who came to show their support at the competition.
A group photo of all the committee members, actors and drama instructors of ‘The Village’ on the actual night of the performance.
(From left to right): Liaw Ket Henn, Organising Chairperson, Chen Hui Wen, Organising Vice Chairperson and Ben Zhu Ying, Organising Vice Chairperson of Chinese Language Society Night 2017 “The Village”, holding up the Certificate of Achievement and the Paper Plane Award.
A group of TAR UC students from the Chinese Language Society who produced a drum and drama performance entitled, ‘The Village’ (栋咚哒) in 2017, won the Arts and Cultural Project Award in the GRADUAN Paper Plane Award Season Two, a competition organised by the Persatuan Graduan Muda Malaysia on 18 May 2019. There were 12 entries altogether which were divided into 2 categories, Project Category Award and Organisation Category Award. There were two entries from TAR UC and one of them had won the abovementioned award under the Project Category Award. It is the second time this competition is being held and the first for TAR UC.
There were sixteen actors and a hundred committee members who dedicated their time and effort in coming up with this 2-hour long production. This drama and drum production took 8 months of preparation.
The story revolves around an exchange student from Australia named Alicia, who moved into Dong Liang village and started her voluntary teaching in a primary school. Dong Liang village was a small village located in a remote area, away from the city. The villagers lived a simple yet contented life. Alicia met a group of good friends and began her root-seeking journey here as she left her home in Dong Liang village at a very young age. Throughout the story, Alicia and her friends along with the villagers had participated in a 24 Festival Drum Competition which was held in the village. In the end, they successfully put up the performance and Alicia had also successfully reconciled with her father.
Chan Shi Ying, the current President of the Chinese Language Society in TAR UC and one of the committee members for the production, was more than happy to share how it all began. “We wanted to promote Malaysian Chinese culture to all. All the actors learnt from scratch how to play the drums and act as they had no prior experience in it. TAR UC also helped in many ways. It assisted in venue sponsorship, logistics, sound and lighting, drama instructor fees and drum instructor fees.
“As for the final stage of the competition, we submitted documents, a one-minute video, 5-seconds symbolic video and event photos,” she said. “In the end, we walked away with the Arts and Cultural Project Award title and trophies.”
Through her own experience, Shi Ying would like to share this piece of advice with others. “Just do it. If you think too much, you will miss your chances. You can do a lot beyond your expectations,” said the lass.
