{"id":4582,"date":"2017-11-13T02:34:03","date_gmt":"2017-11-12T18:34:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/glutenfreepleasure.com\/__proxy_domain\/www.wildrice.com.sg\/wr\/making-his-marko\/"},"modified":"2019-12-09T15:32:14","modified_gmt":"2019-12-09T07:32:14","slug":"making-his-marko","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/glutenfreepleasure.com\/__proxy_domain\/www.wildrice.com.sg\/making-his-marko\/","title":{"rendered":"Making His Marko"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\u00a0\u00a0Andrew Marko has been performing all his life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI just never realised that was what I was doing,\u201d he confesses. \u201cMy mom has always told me stories of how, when I was four or five years old, people would ask me to do something, such as \u2018walk like an old man\u2019\u2026 and I would just do it!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s no need to imagine what that must have been like.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Andrew immediately leaps to his feet to demonstrate \u2013 folding his body into itself and creating a cane out of thin air, he hobbles across the room.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It took a while, however, before Andrew gathered up the nerve to actually perform in public.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was a very shy kid and suffered from stage fright,\u201d he explains. \u201cSo, when I first joined the drama club in secondary school, I was a backstage person.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He was perfectly content to stay in the wings, moving props and chairs… or so he thought.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was his drama teacher who changed his life. Refusing to take no for an answer, she assigned Andrew a walk-on role in a skit for the National Kindness Movement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To this day, he still remembers his first public performance with crystal clarity. Playing a bully, he walked on stage, bumped into another character, and said his one and only line: \u201cHey, watch it!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s probably the best thing that\u2019s ever happened to me,\u201d laughs Andrew. \u201cThe first applause you get never leaves you. And I immediately wanted to play that moment all over again!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Falling In Love With Theatre<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Andrew in his award-winning turn as Josh in\u00a0Falling
<\/em>(Image courtesy of Pangdemonium)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

 Andrew has since gained a deeper understanding and appreciation of the power and magic of theatre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI quickly realised that theatre wasn\u2019t just a bunch of people showing up and acting silly on stage \u2013 there\u2019s a real craft to it,\u201d he says of his formative years in the Theatre Studies programme at Anglo-Chinese Junior College.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He worked with several \u201camazing\u201d teachers \u2013 many of whom are industry professionals \u2013 who helped give him the training that really solidified his love for the art form.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His passion for the theatre deepened when he started acting professionally \u2013 which coincided with his decision to study sociology at NUS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI realised that theatre has the power to affect people and educate them on social issues,\u201d he explains. \u201cI think that’s what keeps me going back for more \u2013 it\u2019s why I love theatre so much.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While juggling his professional career and his studies (he only graduated two months ago!), Andrew has been making waves in the local theatre scene.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In particular, he dazzled audiences and critics in Pangdemonium\u2019s Falling as Josh, an autistic young man.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He\u2019s disarmingly modest when asked about his virtuoso performance, which was so impressive that he won a Straits Times Life! Theatre Award for Best Actor earlier this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was easy for me to be what I needed to be, to slip into that character,\u201d he says. \u201cBecause that entire cast was amazing, from Adrian Pang to Tan Kheng Hua. If we didn\u2019t have actors of their calibre, I would\u2019ve looked like nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Musical-ly Inclined<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Getting his moves just right with choreographer Andy Benjamin Cai<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Andrew made his professional debut just two years ago; he was part of the ensemble of The Emperor\u2019s New Clothes, W!LD RICE\u2019s 2015 pantomime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like the rest of the cast, he had to sing, act and dance \u2013 while holding and playing instruments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was so ridiculously difficult!\u201d he recalls. \u201cIt actually gave me a lot of confidence. After the show finished, I remember telling myself: \u2018Man, I can do anything now!\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201dFast-forward two years, and he\u2019s thrilled to be playing his first lead role in a musical \u2013 Meng in Mama White Snake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pam Oei, who also directed him in The Emperor\u2019s New Clothes, is pulling out all the stops.\u201cCome and watch the show \u2013 it\u2019s going to be a real circus!\u201dlaughs Andrew. \u201cIt\u2019s like Talentime 2017. Everything I can do, Pam is making me do on stage. And everyone is learning something new, from wushu to Chinese opera.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To keep up with the physical demands of the show, Andrew has been training hard and working out more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere\u2019ll be many scenes where I\u2019ll have to sing and fight,\u201d he points out. \u201cSo I\u2019ve been working on my stamina and running a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nhttps:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/BaoRp7hFLCC\/\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

He\u2019s gained a new appreciation for the art of wushu, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ve done karate, boxing and krav maga before, so I thought wushu would be a piece of cake,\u201d he says. \u201cBut it\u2019s completely different! Wushu isn\u2019t about brute strength \u2013 it\u2019s really about control, discipline and timing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Andrew admits that he was initially \u201cvery scared and nervous\u201d about sharing the stage with Glen Goei and Ivan Heng, whom he considers to be \u201clegends\u201d of the Singapore theatre industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But he\u2019s also glad to have the opportunity to learn from them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey\u2019re both such giving actors, and they have this incredible ability to understand their characters in relation to the story,\u201d he observes. \u201cWhen I act with them, I end up feeling things for particular scenes that I might not have discovered by myself or on the page.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All in all, Andrew is grateful to be where he is today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFor someone who just popped up in our theatre scene a few years ago, I\u2019ve been really lucky,\u201d he smiles. \u201cI can\u2019t thank the world enough!\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Andrew Marko has been making waves in the Singapore theatre scene, winning the Straits Times Life! Best Actor Award earlier this year. In Mama White Snake, he takes his first lead role in a musical. But how did he fall in love with theatre in the first place?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4579,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/glutenfreepleasure.com\/__proxy_domain\/www.wildrice.com.sg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4582"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/glutenfreepleasure.com\/__proxy_domain\/www.wildrice.com.sg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/glutenfreepleasure.com\/__proxy_domain\/www.wildrice.com.sg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glutenfreepleasure.com\/__proxy_domain\/www.wildrice.com.sg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glutenfreepleasure.com\/__proxy_domain\/www.wildrice.com.sg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4582"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/glutenfreepleasure.com\/__proxy_domain\/www.wildrice.com.sg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4582\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glutenfreepleasure.com\/__proxy_domain\/www.wildrice.com.sg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4579"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/glutenfreepleasure.com\/__proxy_domain\/www.wildrice.com.sg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4582"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glutenfreepleasure.com\/__proxy_domain\/www.wildrice.com.sg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4582"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glutenfreepleasure.com\/__proxy_domain\/www.wildrice.com.sg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4582"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}