Haven't blogged for quite some time now. Well, it's that time of the year again and memories come flooding back...memories of Christmases gone by and the hectic but fun activities we'd do as a church. Two of my most memorable Christmases were 2001 and 2006. This blog is about a Christmas Musical we did back in 2001 titled, The Perfect Gift.
It was never meant to be a big production (big at least for me!). What started out as a small youth play suddenly boomeranged into a big one that ran consecutively for two days and was telecast on the local TV channel. The voices in the play were pre-recorded as hiring lapel mics for every actor was beyond our budget. Our budget was so minuscule that the backdrops had to be painstakingly hand-painted. Thanks to the hard work, skill and absolute dedication of the following people this musical became a reality.
Reena: My beloved wife, who not only spent many nights scoring the music and sequencing it, but also helped me time the voice recordings and filled the gaps with live music. Thanks to my b-i-l Alan who loaned us his Alesis module for a couple of years.
Joyce: My kid sister who was the work-horse and my 'punching bag' to vent out all my frustrations. She coordinated all the logistics and kept a check-list of all the millions of things that had to be done. She would finish her day working as a research assistant and catch two or three buses home and then dive into all the little things that had to be done...right from calling up participants to spending nights attaching sequins to the angel's costume.
Varsha: She is an exceptional artist who could virtually read my mind and do a concept sketch. But during this play she did more. Navin was supposed to get the sketches onto 7 backdrops. He said, "Trust me macha...I'll get it done". A week before the play, the backdrops came back and I almost fainted. I ran to Varsha... she smiled wearily and said... "get me the cloth, paints and people, I will do it myself". Frantically we set up a tent on her roof and got to work. The last backdrop was completed just couple of hours before the play went live. Kudos to her... what talent... I am yet to come across a person with such a talent. Without her last-moment back breaking work, this play would've been a disaster.
Dr. Meghna: Starting early October we had practices at various locations in the city and most of these were in the evenings after people returned from their offices. It was impossible for me to be at all the places. So I turned to Meg and boy, did she take on the task by the horns. She trained and supervised all the practice sessions, while doing a role herself. In the play she is Daveed the shepherd. Man can she dance!!! She is now a radiologist par excellence in the US.
Teresa Luke: My 81 (then 74) year old mother-in-law who is 20 at heart. She took care of all the costumes and make-up. She did a fantastic job.
Jean: She is the one I tasked with writing the script originally, which she did. However, I did edit the script heavily (not her fault) and most of the time on the fly to either accommodate the recording or to adjust a hic-up in the flow as we practiced the modules. Terrible injustice to her really, but the circumstances were such. Sorry Jean...I hope you understand after all these years!
Navin: Last but certainly not the least...my trusted wing-man Navin. He was by my side all the way; transporting me from one place to the other from practice sessions to market alley-ways as we scouted for bargain deals. Many a logistics he co-handled with my sister Joyce. He and Joyce took care of all the coordination work back-stage and the change of sets.
Voices:
The voices were done by the following people:
Jefferson (Jeff): The multi-talented Jeff lent his voice to most of the characters including the lead character of Joseph. Some lines are going to stick to him for life...eg."women I say, who can trust them!!!"(Part-2 @ 6:27). Another one with a mallu accent (Part-5 @ 9:14)
Philemon: Magi, Shepherd
Dr George Cherian: The booming arch-angel voice from heaven, The hysterical laughter of Herod and the sarcastic tone of the Innkeeper
Most of the female voices were the actors themselves.
Other special mentions:
Thomas John (TJ): Reena outlined the lyrics for Herod's song Give It Up For The King, but TJ edited it heavily and lent his voice to the lead vocal. Over all it turned out well for a home recording.
Dr. George Cherian: Took care of implementing the 'Star' which moved along the aisle in front of the magi.
The CPI boys: These guys were always there, right from helping in the backdrop painting to acting and doing all the mundane tasks which no one wants to do.
Somey: Silently praying and organizing prayer support without which we would've run out of steam.
Shibu: He took care of all the publicity ensuring we had a good turnout. The place was packed on both days. He also handled the video recording and brought in a TV channel to broadcast the play.
Last but not least, my sincere thanks and appreciation to our Pastor who supported and encouraged us so much.
Due to YouTube restrictions, I had to break up the video into 6 parts.
The Perfect Gift - A 2001 Christmas Musical by NLF Bangalore
The Perfect Gift - Part 1 of 6
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The Perfect Gift - Part 2 of 6
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The Perfect Gift - Part 3 of 6
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The Perfect Gift - Part 4 of 6
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The Perfect Gift - Part 5 of 6
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The Perfect Gift - Part 6 of 6
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Credits:
Actors:
Grandpa: Abraham Chacko
Liz: Sarah (Sangu)
Joseph: Shelly (Voice: Jeff)
Mary: Sandy (Voice: Self)
Mary's friends:
Patricia: Frani (Voice: Joyce)
Esther: Savitha (Voice: Joyce)
Lydia: Leena (Voice: Meg)
Anabelle: Michelle (Voice: Self)
Mary's mother: Emmy (Voice: Self)
Angel: Praveen (Voice: Dr. George Cherian)
Innkeeper: Sunil (Voice: Dr. George Cherian)
Rich man-1: Saju Eapen
Rich man-2: Sabu
Rich lady: Bhavani
Shepherd Daveed: Dr. Meghna (Voice: Jeff)
Shepherd-2: Hemanth (Voice: Phil)
Shepherd-3: Sanjay (Voice: Jeff)
Little Shepherd: Sneha
King Herod: Benny (Voice: Dr. George Cherian)
Court Announcer: Francis (Voice: Jeff)
Soldiers:
Ganesh
Sadanand
Pradeep
Ravikumar
Chandru
Kiran
Court Wazir: Daniel (Voice (Song): TJ)
Magi-1: Aldrin (Voice: Phil)
Magi-2: Alfred (Voice: Jeff)
Magi-3: Babu (Voice: Jeff)
Slaves:
Murali
Deepak
Dileep
Child Jesus: Angeline
Shepherd Dancers:
Shoba
Olivia
Dr. Meghna
Choreography: Dr. Meghna & Michelle
Original Script: Jean
Costume & Makeup: Teresa Luke & Anita
Lights: Jefferson (Jeff), Anderson (Andy) & Jacob (Appu)
Backstage Management: Joyce & Navin
Backdrops & Props: Varsha
Original Song "Give It Up For The King" composed and sung by: Thomas John (TJ)
Music / Recording / Sequencing: Reena John
Music / Recording / Sequencing: Reena John
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