The OCBC Singapore Theatre Festival Blog

Life! Theatre Awards Nominations 2009

2009-03-29T14:07:00.002+08:00

We've got a bunch of 'em! Results on Monday 31 March.

I've bolded the works which were featured in the STF:

Production of the Year:

* Gemuk Girls (The Necessary Stage)
* House of Sins (Dramabox)
* Reservoir (Theatreworks)
* Temple (Cake)
* The King Lear Trilogy (Ho Tzu Nyen)

Best Director:

* Natalie Hennedige (Temple)
* Li Xie (House of Sins)
* Christina Sergeant (The Hypochondriac)
* Alvin Tan (Gemuk Girls)
* Wong May Lan (The Soldier & His Virtuous Wife)

Best Script:

* Natalie Hennedige (Temple)
* Li Xie (House of Sins)
* Ng Yi-Sheng (The Last Temptation of Stamford Raffles)
* Jean Tay (Boom)
* Haresh Sharma (Gemuk Girls)

Best Actor:

* Rehaan Engineer (The Last Temptation of Stamford Raffles)
* Najib Soiman (Gemuk Girls)
* Noor Effendy Ibrahim (National Language Class)
* Peter Sau (House of Sins)
* Tay Kong Hui (House of Sins)

Best Supporting Actor:

* Oliver Chong (Flare)
* Najib Soiman (Temple)
* K. Rajagopal (The King Lear Project)
* Darius Tan (The Soldier & His Virtuous Wife)
* Sebastian Tan (Snow White & The Seven Dwarves)

Best Actress:

* Fanny Kee (Boom)
* Jo Kwek (Moon Story)
* Noorlinah Mohamed (Gemuk Girls)
* Yeo Yann Yann (National Language Class) [this was featured in STF '06, though the nomination is for the reprise in '08]

Best Supporting Actress:

* Goh Guat Xian (Flare)
* Li Xie (Temple)
* Judy Ngo (The Vagina Monologues)
* Susan Tordoff (The Office Party)
* Emma Yong (Shanghai Blues)

Best Ensemble:

* Bilik Ahmad (Teater Ekamatra)
* Drift (Dramabox)
* First Light (Toy Factory)
* Own Time Own Target (Wild Rice)
* The Hypochondriac (young & Wild)

Best Sound Design:

* Bang Wenfu (The Hypochondriac)
* Chong Li-Chuan (Reservoir)
* Philip Tan (Temple)
* Zing O Drum Group (Death of a Hero)
* Zizi Azah (Above us only sky)

Best Lighting Design:

* Fita Helmi (Above us only sky)
* Andy Lim (House of Sins)
* Lim Woan Wen (Pinocchio’s Complex)
* Suven Chan (Temple)
* Yo Shao Ann (Shanghai Blues)

Best Multimedia Design:

* Choy Ka Fai (Reservoir)
* Loo Zihan (Gemuk Girls)
* Brian Gothong Tan (Temple)
* Tan Kai Syng (The Vagina Monologues)

Best Set Design:

* Eucien Chia (Shanghai Blues)
* Claudio Girardi (Das Experiment)
* Wong Chee Wai (House of Sins, Apocalypse Live!, The Last Temptation of Stamford Raffles)

Best Costume Design:

* Moe Kasim (Beauty World, The Enchantment of Sangkuriang, The Last Temptation of Stamford Raffles, Snow White and The Seven Dwarves)
* Natalie Hennedige (Temple)

Restagings!

2008-09-04T03:14:00.002+08:00

Just in case you didn't read the papers recently, "The Swordfish, then the Concubine" will be restaged in Kuala Lumpur, and "Own Time Own Target" will be restaged in Singapore (I'm assuming next year - I've heard people discussing the prospects of doing it in a big ol' proscenium theatre.)

The End of the Affair

2008-08-26T16:10:00.002+08:00

... hosted by our official party venue, Loof.

Festival Director Ivan and Festival Producer Tony went around hugging everyone and asking if they were happy and proud.

Recognise this little guy? It's Shazan, the Sec 2 kid who played Nadim in the Swordfish and the Concubine.

G'nite everybody!

Article from the Associated Press

2008-08-25T15:07:00.002+08:00

About the Singapore theatre scene in general, but it features the Festival quite prominently.

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/08/24/asia/AS-Singapore-Easing-Censorship.php

This version has a weird photo of me. Sigh. Must get haircut.

Interviews for Apocalypse Live!

2008-08-18T01:49:00.000+08:00

OTOT videos!

2008-08-18T01:48:00.004+08:00

Hansel in action.

Video montage.

Opening song of Botak Boys.

Remember to get your tix for Blood Binds and Apocalypse: LIVE! if you haven't already done so!

Interviews for Magdalena Project's Blood Binds

2008-08-17T03:56:00.003+08:00

Singapore's Discomfort Zone.

2008-08-14T20:51:00.000+08:00

From their digs in a row house in Singapore's historic Little India, W!ld Rice founding director Ivan Heng and his team are plotting their next provocation. On Aug. 6, the theater troupe will open its second Singapore Theatre Festival, a biannual (sic) event launched in 2006 to coincide with the city-state's national-day celebrations, where they plan to "make public a lot of conversations we've been having in private," says Heng. Those conversations touch on race, sexuality and even politics—topics censors sanitize in Singapore's newspapers, films and television programming.

Read More...

A Newsweek article which I think is a very good read.

Interview with Christina Sergeant and the Raffles cast

2008-08-14T13:46:00.001+08:00

Opening Night for Raffles

2008-08-14T01:27:00.001+08:00

Full-dress.

Dinner.

Christina sent us this fruit hamper, so Rehaan got to try rambutans for the first time.

Performance.

Applause.

Behind the Scenes: Own Time Own Target.

2008-08-13T20:19:00.006+08:00

Went down to Siglap South CC to pass some coveralls to the OTOT gang yesterday and managed to catch a sneak peek of the rehearsals.

From L-R: CHARLIE (Nick Shen) and BOON (Nelson Chia) rehearsing for Radio Silence.

From L-R: Hansel Tan, Ghazali Mukazir, Terence Tay and Jonathan Lum 'back stage'.

Dwayne Lau.

Jonathan Lim.

Jon Lum in a 'kua si mi lan jiao?!' pose.

From L-R: JOHN (Jon Lum) and BOON in Radio Silence.

From L-R: CHARLIE, MUTHU (Terry) and FARHAN (Ghaz) in Radio Silence.

From L-R: CHARLIE and BOON in Radio Silence.

Hansel in Botak Boys.

From L-R: Hang Qian Chou, Dwayne and Terry in Botak Boys.

From L-R: Nelson, Ghaz, Jon Lum and Nick in Botak Boys.

From L-R: Terry and Dwayne in Botak Boys.

There's a video too but am waiting for Julian Wong to give the go-ahead before posting it up.

I Am Queen is sold out!

2008-08-13T02:14:00.002+08:00

Two days before opening! 'Nuff said. :)

Second week of the festival!

2008-08-11T10:41:00.002+08:00

Well, the shows aren't playing yet, but I'm pleased to report that "The Last Temptation of Stamford Raffles" is coming along splendidly.

Curious? Then buy a motherfuckin' ticket, motherfucker. :)

A few reviews...

2008-08-09T17:12:00.002+08:00

Of course I'm just gonna list the positive ones. :P

First off, there's a TODAY article about the Swordfish, then the Concubine (reproduced on the right-hand side).

And this is what the Flying Inkpot said about Tree/House:

Tree/House
spell#7 and Ho Tzu Nyen
Kenneth Kwok
07/08/2008

Showing the same tender loving care one would while shaping a prized bonsai, spell#7's contribution to this double-bill was carefully and affectionately manicured to near-perfection. Tree Duet's circuitous loops, pregnant pauses and precise choreography never felt contrived, only purposeful; every movement comes together (what is the opposite of unraveling?) slowly but surely to result in magical moments of poignancy and transcendence once all the pieces are in place. Tree Duet is a stunningly beautiful work of visual poetry that teaches you to look at the world through patient eyes: just as trees need time to grow, so do works of art - but patience will be rewarded in that act of something real, meaningful and magical being created before you.

At the core of Tree Duet is a meditative journey narrated by a wistful Paul Rae about the simple pleasures of living - remembering, contemplating, even something as basic as drinking - and what we stand to lose if we don't stop ourselves from being caught up in consumerism and convenience and don't take the time to just breathe and reflect on our time in the world once in a while. The second half of the double-bill, Ho Tzu Nyen's House of Memory, however, takes a more academic approach to this theme of remembering and forgetting and is essentially a lecture on the craft of memorization. What fascinates is how the text narrated live by the visual artist and film-maker is accompanied by an hour-long film which stitches together scenes from various old movies. Sometimes the images selected are literal, other times they are metaphorical but they are always well-chosen to accompany the different beats of the text, save in the last five minutes when, I felt, the artist was much too heavy-handed.

****1/2 (out of 5 stars)

Reception!

2008-08-08T03:02:00.000+08:00

I ran over after ContraDiction and got to catch the reception after Swordfish! Lots of actors in traditional Malay togs (and of course the Spell#7 folks from Tree/House upstairs).

Plus some miscellaneous fab people:

Alfie's gang.

Assorted vips.

Ivy.

The grand opening...

2008-08-07T14:14:00.003+08:00

... is tonight. It clashes with an event I'm organising for the IndigNation Pride Festival.

Sigh. Hopefully someone else will blogaboutit.

Interview with the cast of The Swordfish, then the Concubine

2008-08-07T13:56:00.000+08:00

In response to...

2008-08-06T16:51:00.003+08:00

...the introduction portion of Yi-Sheng's Kenduri!!! post, because I thought that this is kind of what the OCBC STF08 is about:

more cat pictures

Hurhurhur!

Anyway, break a leg to all the Creative/Cast/Crew for all the plays starting tonight! I'm shure they'll be a blast.

More sellouts!

2008-08-06T02:07:00.002+08:00

For "Swordfish", to be precise. The Wednesday and Thursday shows are gone; the Friday show is down to its last few seats.

Also, two of the "Blood Binds" shows are sold out. No info on which ones.

KENDURI!!!

2008-08-04T23:44:00.003+08:00

W!ld Rice has a tradition, inspired by older Asian theatre practices. Before every production (even the gargantuan ones like STF), they gather everyone in a circle and have them introduce themselves to each other, make eye contact, and then pray to whatever gods we worship for everyone's safety and success.

The event started at 6pm today. Sort of. This is the scene at 6:15 in the Drama Centre.

That's me offering Christina Sergeant dried cranberries and green raisins. On the right is the back of Lim Yu-Beng's head.

Ivan addressed us in his artistic directorly way...

...and had us circle the stall seats.

Then he had us link hands and pray. I couldn't take photos while holding Rodney Oliveiro and Janice Koh's hands. It would've been rude.

Mutual support.

And now for the FOOD. Except for the Swordfish cast and crew, who were doing a tech run.

I stayed back a little while to chatter with the playwrights. That's Ken Kwek (Apocalypse Live) and Laremy Lee (Own Time, Own Target).

Mangiare! (Kenduri, in case ya didn't know, is Malay for "feast".)

That's the tempeh+tofu dish, right next to the boiled vegetables. Further on was spicy chicken and sausage with meatballs and fried rice and and curry.

And no! Your eyes do not deceive you!

That is a chocolate fondue pot! (It went very well with the wasabi prawns.)

And that's Christina, gathering the Raffles cast up for rehearsals.

The festival opens in two days!!!! YAAAARRRGH!!!

We haven't been blogging because...

2008-08-02T09:29:00.002+08:00

...we've been busy with school!

But thanks Yi-Sheng for setting this blog up and being so enthusiastic as usual.

more cat pictures

Anyway, just to share with everyone that there's an online article by I/S Magazine over here in case you're interested.

Interview with Kee Thuan Chye

2008-07-31T07:49:00.003+08:00

And there's coverage of "Angel-ism" and "Tree/House" in today's Life!, too!

Well, no wonder Laremy and Julian haven't been blogging...

2008-07-24T23:41:00.002+08:00

They don't need to! "Own Time Own Target" has sold out every show!!!

Now how can I beg/borrow/steal myself a ticket?

Life! Thursday 10 July 2008

2008-07-11T00:12:00.005+08:00

STF was featured as the cover story - big focus on the first-time playwrights like Laremy Lee, Julian Wong, Ken Kwek and Danny Yeo (though mysteriously next to nothing about Mohd Zulfadi Rashid).

Scanner, anyone? (Actually, the W!ld Rice people will get it up on their site in no time.)

UPDATE: Laremy's shared a link to the online story here.

Come One, Come All!

2008-07-10T19:19:00.000+08:00

I'm finally doing as a good free-range netizen should and inviting all the directors and playwrights of STF '08 - all the cast and crew eventually, maybe - to get on this virtual wagon and blogalong with me.

Why? Because I believe there's a great crop of plays in this year's festival, and it'd be plain evil of me to dominate this blog with my admonitions to buy tickets to "The Last Temptation of Stamford Raffles" (buy tickets from Sistic HERE!!!).

Instead, I'd like someone from every single one of the shows to be up here, documenting the rehearsal process, bump-in, performance trauma, critical response, and audience feedback. Sure, I'll pay visits to the other folks' shows, but I can't write it all myself.

(Maybe there'll even be someone who knows some basic html, so we can get this blog template looking a little less like patriotic shite. Whaddayasay?)

Anyway, here's some shots I took at the W!ld Rice second production meeting yesterday. Dig it.

(I'm not going to say whose set that's a mock-up of, so the curious will be forced to buy tickets to every single frickin' show to find out.)

I do also have one of my director Christina Sergeant over curry, but she'd murder me if I featured it. Today she grilled me over the unsubtlety of two of my expository lines and the general excresence of Scene Thirteen. I floundered a defence, but there'll be more to come.

Ooh! My leading man's flying in from Mumbai today! Can't wait.

We have a Festival Guide.

2008-07-07T04:07:00.000+08:00

I suppose I should have touted the spankin' new website when it came out, but I've been lazy I was also a little iffy about the poster design for my play, "The Last Temptation of Stamford Raffles".

But no more fear! I'm just back from NYC and I can see there's been progress in my absence, because a glossy new 26-page Festival Booklet has been printed, with a gorgeous design, and the good ol' Festival '08 squirming on the front in all its glory:

And now that I'm seeing it blown up, I actually really like my poster.

All is well.

We've got a title sponsor!

2008-05-31T01:35:00.000+08:00

(It's OCBC, in case you haven't noticed.)

And we've had a press conference! With re-enactments some more!

Unfortunately, these are the only semi-good photos I took.