The Art of Directing

I just got assigned to be our locale's GEM NET (Global Expansion Media Network) representative. Life is hectic as it is but somebody needs to do the task so it's really hard for me to refuse. Here in the US, via satellite, we now get a 24-hour Iglesia ni Cristo TV channel. They need material to air so they have asked all congregations to submit videos. They are also planning to launch a MySpace-like video blog. So my new responsibilities include writing scripts for the videos of our activities, directing "talents" (newscasters/reporters), or even being the one in front of the camera. I also need to shoot videos of the brethren who would like to send videos for the video blog. The Church has provided the questions that needs to be answered. These are questions about faith and Christian life. The idea is that this can be another tool for us to share our faith. The only thing is I don't have a video camera nor do I know anything about video editing hehe. I'm sure I'll learn somehow :).

So, mom, you might see me on TV pretty soon! (One of my mom's dreams is to see one of her children/grandchildren on TV :). Before I left home, she told me to find a blond, blue-eyed boy to be sure that I'll have gorgeous children. The plan is that she'll then have them audition for Philippine TV ;).) Our strawberry picking activity is this Saturday. I'll write the script for our video tomorrow. I don't know if my mom remembers but I wrote a script in 5th grade. I wrote about a modern-day Nativity story. For some weird reason, I remember that the first line was "may bagyong namumuo sa gitnang Luzon" (a storm is brewing over Central Luzon). I remember my mom finding the script hilarious ( it doesn't take much to amuse either of us :)). In high school I wrote a script for a puppet play for an Asian history class. It was a flop. I think the script was so serious my classmates fell asleep :). When I was in Boston, our minister asked me to direct a children's play that he wrote. It was a hit! After college graduation, I moved to Philadelphia, he also happened to be the minister assigned there. He asked me again to direct the play with the kids there. We presented it on New Year's Eve and the parents really loved it. Philadelphia also hosted a Children's Theater Festival in 1999. Each of the 13 or so congregations in the district presented a Bible story. We got assigned the life of Apostle Paul . I was able to find a children's video where I based the script. We have a brother there with real directing experience who directed the play. We both worked together on finding the right auditorium. I oversaw the rehearsals, picked the background music, scouted for costume materials and coordinated with the seamstresses. The event was a huge success. With God's grace more than 1,000 brethren attended the event from all over the northern East Coast. Our little Apostle Paul was so talented . He even made some of the brethren cry with his song and monologue at the end. We designed him a reversible robe. One side was for he was still the mean apostle Paul (Saul). Then after he got called on the road to Damascus, he reversed his robe. It was a powerful scene. Oh yeah, at the time, I was working on my master's degree doing experiments on the chicken embryonic eye. We had an egg incubator. So for a market scene for the play, I let some of the eggs hatch, so we had real chicks running around during the performance! Sometimes I wonder if the 9 years between college and medical school was a waste of precious time. Then I remember all these fun things I got to do :).

Home improvements are hopefully starting this week. I have a very limited budget so I'll probably go real slow. I want to be able to invite people over so they can watch some of the church programs. I've cleared my living room. I've started tearing down the wallpaper. Hopefully painting will be done this week. I've hired one of my neighbors to help me out. I'll try to post some before and after pictures. I think tomorrow I'll go to Lowe's which is a hardware store to pick out some bathroom fixtures. The fun never ends :).