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72
MediaCorp artistes stand up for Singapore
July 17, 2001
As the official media for National Day Parade
2001, MediaCorp shows not only its support for the event in sponsorship
but also makes the effort to add glitter to Singapore's birthday
bash with 72 of its most shimmering stars.
By Yap Geok Hui
(Click on pictures
for larger image)
11:00 am- Rehearsal
It was a Saturday and 72 artistes from MediaCorp
Studios, Suria, Vasantham, Radio and Channel News gathered at Caldecott
Broadcast Centre as early as 8am to prepare themselves for the first
NDP full dress rehearsal, which was to be shown to Primary 5 students
all over Singapore.
"You could take a little trip around the
Singapore town in the Singapore city bus
To see Collyer Quay and Raffles Place, the Esplanade and all of
us…"
 A
glaringly hot morning and yet not a word of complaint from these
energetic artistes as they rehearsed their Mass Display Singing
Contingent (Singapore Town) under the scorching sun.
12:15pm- Lunch & rest
Finally out of the sun, I could hear a round
of thankful exclamations as the group retreated back to the air-conditioned
auditorium after the rehearsal.
During the long hours of lunch and rest periods
before the army of make-up artistes, wardrobe mistresses and hairstylists
arrive to prepare them for the show in the evening, the artistes
killed time their own way.
Some chose to retreat to a corner to make full
use of their time to read, to surf the net, to catch up with chums.
Others needed the time to catch up on their sleep while others whiled
their time away playing cards. There are some gregarious ones who
gathered together to play word games.
 It
was great fun watching a group of artistes cracking their brains
to think up Chinese idioms and 4-worded phrases (including song
and movie titles) that began with the previous last word spouted
by the artistes before them.
 The
unfortunate ones who could not keep the round going will be labeled
a fool by their laughing colleagues, all in good fun, of course.
3:00 pm- Makeup starts
The real action began when the army of make-up
artistes, wardrobe mistresses and hairstylists, arrive, complete
with their cases of make-up and brushes, measuring tapes and racks
of costumes, hairdryers and hairspray.
It was a like a madhouse in getting so many
artistes multi-tasking their preparation. Some did their make-up,
some engaged in costume fittings while others did their hair. Trigger-happy
photographers went around, eager to capture all the action.
  
 Amidst
the lively bustle, we managed to track down a few artistes to share
their feelings to be able to perform in NDP 2001.
Aileen
Tan
 "NDP
reminds me of my childhood. I was involved in NDP when I was in
lower secondary school, and when I saw some girls dressed in red
and white, images of my own experience then came back to my mind.
We were dressed in the same colours then."
"It is not frequent that the whole family
(artistes) can gather together, so I'm very excited. A pity that
our segment only lasts about 1 minute. It would be better if we
can perform longer," said the womanly Aileen.
 Huang
Biren
"There is no special association that comes
up. I can only think of my previous involvement in mass display
item more than 10 years ago during my secondary school days. Despite
having to rehearse many times, we were not in the least tired, but
rather, happy that we were studying in school, it was great fun."
Liu Qianyi
"This is my first time in 50 years,
of course, I'm excited. I'm looking forward to seeing the whole
stadium filled with people. It would definitely be one of the unforgettable
moments in life. It would be inspiring."
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