Girls who make The Noose

You can feel the girl power when Michelle Chong and Siti Khalijah Zainal walk into the room.

First of all, Chong, has grown from being a mere character actress into an established director, with feature films such as Already Famous and 3 Peas In A Pod to her name. After sitting out The Noose’s last season, she is back with a bang. “I said I would only return to being in front of the camera if it’s more of a collaborative process for me. So this time, I will be even more involved in the writing of the Noose stories and I will be credited for it,” she said.

Chong was also lobbying to do a movie based on Lulu, the Chinese hostess she plays in The Noose. “It all worked out in the end because they said yes to selling me the rights for the movie,” she said.

While Chong makes her much-hailed return to the series, successful theatre actress Siti will be breathing some new life into the show. The 28-year-old, who was in stage productions such as Army Daze and Jack And The Beansprout, as well as MediaCorp TV’s Cinderlela and Tahu Nahu, plays Shaquanda, a Malay girl who is “trying to be black, like Beyonce or Rihanna”.

But Siti said there is a message behind that character. “At the end of the day, what I’m trying to say is, ‘You cannot run from your true identity’.”

Audiences will see a lot more of Chong and Siti in the future. Both will also star in the film Our Sister Mambo, a remake of the 1975 Cathay movie Our Sister Hedy, which begins shooting in August. Their fellow Noose cast member, Judee Tan, also has a part in the film.

While Siti is still unsure about how her Noose debut will be received (“Sekali after this season: ‘This girl cannot make it. Don’t call her back’,” she chortled), Chong is enough of an old hand to dole advice out to her young padawan. “You just need to have the confidence and the faith in your own comedy,” said Chong. “Because when I first did Barbarella ... I thought I was hilarious (but) the people on set were like, ‘Yeah, okay’. Nobody laughed at all. Nothing.”

Q: Michelle, how does it feel coming back to The Noose?

Michelle: It feels like I never left. Everything feels so familiar, from the wigs to the clothes. Because some of the clothes are my own! (Laughs) But if you watch carefully, Adrianna Wow’s hair looks very different now from the first few seasons. It’s the same wig, but that wig is at least 10 years old. With wigs, you comb them, you style them, and (the hair) just keeps dropping, and it doesn’t grow back. It used to be voluminous and now it’s just, like, ringlets.

Q: Siti, what have you learned from the other cast members?

Siti: Definitely, there is pressure coming on board a show that’s in Season Seven and on prime time Channel 5. I’m not even a familiar face on TV — to be thrown in as one of the main cast, for a show that’s so successful, it’s quite pressurising for me. I don’t want to think about it — I just do it. They told me, ‘Sometimes you only get your scripts the night before’; so I learn as much as I can and just play along with whatever is given to me. I’m still learning.

Q: Who’s the weirdest cast member?

Siti: Chua Enlai. He has the weirdest laugh, that’s for sure!

Q: Michelle, do you have a least favourite character you do?

Michelle: Actually, Barbarella is very difficult to do. It’s actually easier to be funny as Leticia or Lulu or even Nancy Goh — their accents are so distinct, so anything they say will already be funny. A lot of Singaporeans like Barbarella but don’t know why. Actually, you need to have a good command of English to understand her jokes. When she says things like, “Every cloud has a silver lightning”, a lot of the audience don’t get that, but they just think she’s funny because she’s very vain and a bit of a bimbo. I have met people (and when) I ask, “Why do you love Barbarella?” They say, “Oh, because she has a very strong European accent” or “Her accent is very cool” or “Nice ang moh accent”. But she actually does not have an accent. I mean, that’s the point: The script is very difficult to write, because not all of the audience will get it; so you’ve really got to play on the ang moh thing.

Q: Siti, how do you like the costumes?

Siti: The Shaquanda one is a sweatsuit — that I’m not very happy with because when we go for an outdoor shoot, it’s very hot. And I have to wear chains — the full works, like Missy Elliott. On my sweatpants, they printed the word “Siol”. “Siol” is a slightly milder word than “sial”, which is vulgar. (Also) I had to twerk. Yeah, I’m not a good twerker.

Q: Michelle, we’re assuming the show is still fun for you after all these years?

Michelle: I do whatever I want! It’s just me having fun! No, I also take it very seriously. I take it very seriously.

Q: Seriously, enough to have done a Christian Bale on set?

Michelle: No, because they just let me do whatever I want! Why would I need to have a tantrum on set? (Laughs)

Q: Does everyone do whatever they want?

Michelle: Pretty much. (Turns to Siti) Eh, do you do whatever you want?

Siti: No, not really! I didn’t know I was allowed to! It’s definitely very different where I’m coming from! I follow the script. But I have been told that I’m allowed to contribute certain things, so that I’m grateful for. I improv here and there; just to add on a bit.

Michelle: Actually, Barbarella didn’t become Barbarella until I asked the producers, “Please bring her back”. They were like, “Who?” At that time — we’re talking about Season One and Two — I wasn’t really allowed to do whatever I wanted. I had to convince the producers to bring her back. And Lulu as well. Because they weren’t even purposefully constructed characters.

Q: What is it like to perform solo in front of the camera?

Michelle: I’ll tell you what I realised about The Noose that is really strange. When I post certain things, people will write and say, “Wah, your cameraman really can tahan. How do you all control your laughter?” But the thing is, when we’re shooting, nobody actually laughs.

Siti: It makes me a bit paranoid. “Not funny? Should I do it again?” Sometimes they say, “Okay, can!” Then I’m like, “But that was just one take. Really? Are you okay with that?”

Michelle: It’s totally up to you whether it’s a good take or not. I’m very used to it now, because actually, nobody really ever laughs at anything I do. The first time I did Leticia, the sound man said, “That’s not a Filipino accent at all”. I said, “It is!” He was like, “No, it’s not.” But I’m sure now he knows it is!

Q: Siti, are you learning a lot from this?

Siti: Definitely. This conversation is really like, ‘Ooh! Okay! Can I do that?’

Q: Any other advice for Siti?

Siti: Come on, Michelle, share with me.

Michelle: No, I think, really, just do your own thing. Because I’ve seen her on stage. She’s so crazy talented and so good at this comedy thing. Her comic timing is like, wow!

Catch Season Seven of The Noose starting tonight at 8.30pm on MediaCorp TV Channel 5.

Photo: Koh Mui Fong

Hair and makeup: Joanna Ang, Sono Bello (96953772) using Make Up For Ever