Lee Rui Ching
The central theme of Human Jukebox: Play.
Organised by the Esplanade in conjunction with the Singapore Arts Festival, the Human Jukebox is part of Flipside, a programme that seeks to present the flipside of the arts to the community, while featuring acts from Australia, Canada, Italy, USA and Singapore.
What these acts have in common is light-hearted entertainment and comedy, all in the name of breaking down stereotypes of the arts. People often mistake the arts for intricate choreography that seems impossible to accurately interpret or a monologue that the man on the street can barely grasp.
Flipside aims to showcase the fun side of the arts and involve those unfamiliar with the arts scene in Singapore.
With this in mind, participants of the Human Jukebox workshop, held at *Scape Youth Centre, were encouraged to abandon all inhibitions and simply soak up the fun. “What happens in this room, stays in this room.” Facilitators frequently repeat this mantra in attempt to boost everyone’s confidence to reveal their capacity for silliness.
Selected participants will be roving about the Waterfront Canopy to bring their performance to people on the streets, and the public will be able to select songs that they wish to hear, like how one would have it with a real jukebox. The actual event in Singapore will see participants in a life-size jukebox with customised designs to denote the repertoire of the particular jukebox.
Professional artistes will also be around to perform monologues in the event that some members of the audience crave a performance that is characteristically part of what the arts usually stands for. They will also be able to vote for their favourite youth jukebox via SMS. The winning jukebox stands to win a Nokia mobile phone.
In order to select the participants, auditions were conducted during the workshop. It was carried out in a similar fashion to America Idol, with their entertaining critique reminiscent of American Idol judges Paula and Randy.
What had UrbanWire up in stitches was the 3 rules that the judges came up in response to the first few auditions – no rolling of eyes, no fidgeting and no staring at the ceiling while singing. While the rules might have come across as banal, it was soon obvious that the auditions would never have succeeded if they didn’t quash initial stage fright.
Since it was imperative that the human jukeboxes had the capacity to engage and entertain the audience during the actual event, the judging was based on their singing voices or their ability to connect with their often-humorous antics.
As students with a theatrical background made up the majority of those participating at the Human Jukebox workshop, the singing auditions caught them by surprise. Nurul Huda, 15, student described her initial reaction to UrbanWire as, “being caught unaware because we were expecting to do physical theatre instead of something so different.”
It was ultimately decided that Human Jukebox would comprise a beat-boxer, and singers of different musical genres, such as jazz and pop, coupled with quirky and comical personae to spice things up. After the auditions, the facilitators and participants designed the jukeboxes, according to the repertoires that were selected.
Braving the scorching weather to spray paint her jukebox, Quraisya Mirza, 15, student, summed up her day at the workshop and told UrbanWIre, “It’s a platform for us amateurs to step up to the challenge”. She also felt that it was an opportunity “to be vocal and to express myself.” Gerrard Lim, 25, financial consultant also quipped that the novelty of Human Jukebox “has provided an avenue for me to rekindle my passion for the arts.”
Keep a lookout for these roving human jukeboxes by the Concourse and the Waterfront Canopy to experience the flipside of the arts. Ripple Sim, 24, festival assistant provided UrbanWire with a succinct description of Human Jukebox, “It’s quirky, it’s impromptu. It pushes your limits.”
Take a peek at other Flipside programmes, such as Grinder-Man from Japan or Auto Auto from Germany, and be enthralled by the infinite possibilities that the arts encompasses.
If you’ve always had an interest in the arts but feel daunted by the unknown, then head on down to discover what spectacular encounters Flipside might have in store for you.
The Human Jukebox will be held at the Concourse on June 14 and 15, and the Waterfront Canopy on June 13, 14 and 15.
This article is part of UrbanWire’s 9-week Singapore Arts Festival 2008 special .
Get all the latest Arts Fest updates and reviews on UrbanWire.