By Rosheen Fatima

To cap off the year, the young theatre group EMP presents a tale of loss and those who get left behind. Rosheen Fatima talks to some of the people taking key roles in the production

Sometimes, in the quest for modernisation the most beloved things can be discarded; a worn piece of clothing, a treasured gift, a broken piece of furniture, childhood friends or even historical places and buildings. But those who love these items often find it hard to say goodbye, feeling as if they are losing a piece of themselves with its loss. And in this city where people, places and the city skyline are always changing (or to some, evolving) there are many who can relate to this type of loss. The Electric Minds Project (EMP) for one.

EMP began as a group of friends who were passionate about theatre and met up to read scripts, and encourage each other to write and perform. They are now a theatre group that meets regularly for their script workshops entitled Liveshocks. This will be their third production, after ‘Stage Therapy’ in April and ‘Things We Have Lost’ in August. They have already lined up many events for their 2010 season (and are still accepting script submissions for some of their future productions).

This December, EMP presents a production tackling the topic of castoffs and castouts, those who are left behind and forgotten. ‘A Light in KL City’ is devised by Alex Chua, Mikey Tai, William Lau, Calvin Wong, Elza Irdalynna, Min Li, Nick Dorian, Tuan Faisal Azmy and Erna Mahyuni. The production tells the tale of an old hotel in downtown Kuala Lumpur which is nearing its end. As the sun rises on the new day, the hotel will be closed and soon demolished, leaving its residents with an uncomfortable battle ahead; to move on and find a light to illuminate the path in front of them or the give up and die with the hotel.

‘A Light in KL City’ will be directed by Rey Buono, who is a director, acting coach, educator in performing arts across South East Asia and has directed such productions as ‘Twelfth Night’, ‘Merchant of Venice’, ‘Gross Indecency’, ‘A Doll’s House’ and ‘Roas to Mecca’ (in which Jo Kukathas won the BOH Cameronian Award for Best Performer). ‘It's an ensemble piece set in an old hotel set somewhere between Pudu and Chow Kit. It's the last night before the place will be gutted and turned into a trendy boutique hotel. The characters are the last people to live there. They are the people who get thrown away, along with the building,’ explains Rey, who promises a surprise for the audience in the second act of the production.

The play began as a series of workshop sessions to develop the script with the actors and members of the theatre group. Rey who is also the founder of Sunway University College’s Department of Performance and Media, University Putra Malaysia’s Rumah Teater at and the Theatre Studies and Drama A Level course at Victoria Junior College promises ‘first rate acting, first rate production values and an evening in the theatre that will delight, amuse and surprise – and also, perhaps, induce a few wet eyes.’

Singer-songwriter, jazz crooner, voice actor and theatre personality Mia Palencia will be providing the music for the production. Mia, who recently launched her latest album entitled ‘Songs from the Jiwang Kingdom’, describes the production as ‘a collection of people from all walks of life who came together to help create a play from scratch. So the script may have been written by writers, but the story line was shaped with the help of the actors, production crew and directors. The music is also being written in the same way.’ Expect to hear jazzy numbers from this critically acclaimed singer who began her career at the age of 14 with the jazz duo Double Take.

Collaborative and devised productions which include the input of many oftentimes come across as very cluttered and excessively complicated, however ‘A Light in KL City’ is not one of them, at least according to Mia, who says ‘with many collaborative efforts like this, it sometimes takes the wrong road and ends up being a case of too many cooks. Not so for this one! The result so far has been a very cohesive, snappy, witty story that is incredibly entertaining.’

For a play in the month of December, in the midst of the holiday season, perhaps the sad topic of loss is a strange one to choose to tackle, but the production promises something that will surprise the audience, giving them something unexpected; rather like opening your presents on Christmas morning. You may not have predicted it, you may not be expecting it, but you will (more often than not) be pleased with what you get.

For more information on EMP go to www.emptheatre.com.