BACK for the fourth time, KLPac’s The Platform is persistent. Out to bring you a monthly serving of fresh, amateur talent all year-long, The Platform is an open mic night, theatre style, for theatre-lovers that want to show off. And Kakiseni vows to be there, every step of the way.

For those of you that don’t know (beneath which rock have you been living?), The Platform is a project initiated by Gavin Yap and Joe Hasham, aimed at giving young writers/performers/directors the chance to have audiences see their stuff. Every month a ‘winner’ is selected, and at the end of the year-long cycle, the chosen ones will collaborate to create a play, with some creative input from Joe and Gavin.

Now in its fourth cycle, the event has managed to acquire something of a regular crowd. The faces in the crowds are starting to look familiar. Groups of friends are all coming out together in support of amateurs nationwide. No longer does the audience sit in awkward gaucheness (as they did at the first Platform). The crowd has become rowdier, more talkative (though, it has to be noted that Joanna Bessey is still forced to get the Q&A going by asking the first question).

This time round there were only two pieces on the itinerary, down by half from the first Platform. Maybe April just isn’t the month for amateur theatre. The first of the two, Stuck by Glamorique Arshad, was a sometimes-funny-sometimes-really-not look at a pair of conjoined twins making an appearance on a talk-show. Though a forgettable piece, Glamorique did succeed in delivering some laughs. He did not, thankfully, attempt to pass Stuck off as anything deeper or more meaningful than the skit that it was, which in itself is refreshing and deserving of much applause.

The second piece, Red -- A New Age Fairy Tale by Calvin Wong, however, displayed the symptoms of a well-known artists’ syndrome -- affectedostentatiousism. (Yes, I just invented the syndrome, but it fits, don’t you think?) Questionable New York cabby accents aside, the play is a modern version of Little Red Riding Hood, with the wolf as a psycho cab driver, and Red Riding Hood as his unfortunate passenger. Though Red was not a bad attempt at serial killer-type spookiness, Calvin Wong had some trouble propping his play up during Q&A. When questioned about his decision to set the scene in New York over a local setting, he answered to the effect of “because generic serial killers are all American.” So what? If you’re aiming to be generic then I’m sorry, but nothing you do will ever be of interest. Unfortunately, nobody pointed this out to him in Q&A.

Nor the fact that the United States does not have a monopoly on serial killers. Hollywood does.

The Q&A is when the interesting stuff really begins. The crowd, populated as it was, got to have their way as critics, and this is what the participants in The Platform really participate for -- invaluable feedback. How do artists grow without it? Gone was the polite nodding of the heads and bogus calls of “well done!” and “phenomenal!” of January’s Platform. April’s had some real criticism at last. Though nobody said anything outright disparaging, some censure was given where it was due (but not in all cases). Credit and praise, as usual, were over-flowing, but hopefully the participants will be able to keep their heads down and absorb what it is they need to learn. So far, they all have a long way to go. But don’t we all?

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Yasmin Zetti Martin writes for Kakiseni.

The Platform is a monthly showcase of new talents in the fields of drama/theatre/physical theatre. Next showcase is Mon 05 May 2008. Click here for more details on how to participate.