Fiona Xie has such a flair for exaggeration.

The actress recently told The New

Paper dramatically that she's gone to hell and back.

Taiko drum hell, that is.

She has been undergoing training for the

Japanese drums in a segment

for the TV charity show TrueHearts 2009.

It will be telecast on 7 June live

on Channel 8 from Toa Payoh HDB Hub at 7pm.

The show hopes to raise

$3 million for Community Chest.

Fiona said: "It's very confusing with everyone in a small enclosed room,

drumming different beat, and not playing right either. It was so noisy that

I had to pop painkillers to stop my headache."

The petite 27-year-old plays the largest taiko drum in the ensemble,

one with a diameter of about 1m.

Under usual circumstances,

only skilled drummers are allowed to learn to play

this drum, she said.

The drum sticks are very heavy, she moaned with a smile.

She estimated the weight of a stick to be equivalent to a full 1.5-litre bottle of water.

"I was like paralysed after the first practice, I couldn't move my arms," she said,

adding that it's very tiring because she has to hit the drums continously.

It was also quite a feat for her to

memorise the different drumming styles and beats.

But she's still having a great time and keeping her sense of humour.

She said with a laugh: "I thought I had a pretty

good sense of rhythm but the

practices have now created a lot of self-doubt."

TrueHearts 2009 deviates from previous fund raisers by putting the charity

beneficiaries in the spotlight.

They will be performing in every segment with the artistes.

The other artistes performing in the taiko segment are Rayson Tan,

Ben Yeo, Lee Teng and Yuan Shuai.

Source: The New Paper, 27/05/09