So one of the things I’ve been busy with this year: coaching undergraduate hostelites from the National University of Singapore (NUS) with their short plays.
Some background about Dramafest:
- The Halls of Residence at NUS are a pretty competitive bunch. I should know; I stayed at Kent Ridge Hall from 2004 to 2008.
- An idea was mooted back in 2007/2008 to do something a bit more collaborative.
Since then, the NUS Halls of Residence have been putting up an annual combined theatre production.
It involves residents across halls working with one another as they write, direct and act in short plays of about 15 to 20 minutes. - I was a part of Dramafest 2008! I think I was super onz then so I submitted four plays… I can’t remember because it was so long ago.
Anyway, the highlight of that year’s Dramafest was when one of my plays got censored.
(Context: There’s a joke about making art in Singapore, in that you know you’ve made it as an artist when your work gets censored.)
If you’re curious, Ho Yi Jian has done a pretty impressive job of archiving some stuff from the past over here and over here.
Anyway, I was invited to be a dramaturg for last year’s Dramafest.
I don’t think I mentioned it here because I remember last year being a damn busy period for me as I learnt how to cope with the freelance life.
Thankfully, I did a fairly decent job, so I was again invited to be the dramaturg for this year’s Dramafest.
As Lee Kuan Yew has said before, it’s always easier the second time round, so ladies and gentlemen, presenting to you: Feast – Dramafest 2013 by the NUS Halls of Residence!
Feast: Dramafest 2013 – Presented by the NUS Halls of Residence
Date: Sat, 5 Oct 2013
Time: 7pm – 10pm
Venue: University Cultural Centre, NUS
Admission is FREE
The plays, in order of performance:
The Stake
By Darryl Lim Yu Cong
In an age where pleasure is prized and gratification is instant, what does it mean to stay faithful to the one you love? The Stake explores themes of love, addiction and infidelity as it portrays a Singaporean man’s entry into the intoxicating world of lust and desire, in a sordid side of Singapore not often seen by many.
The Plumber’s Chime
By Minlu Zheng
Being loved is a lovely feeling: it means care, affection, and, perhaps, having someone to share your life and future with. But being loved can also mean that the distance between two naked bodies is a chasm far too wide to be crossed. How much are you willing to pay for love – or the feeling of being loved?
Playing Games
By Terence Lo
Human beings play games for many reasons: to cope; to entertain themselves; to pass the time. Games are also played because they’re designed in a specific way – to ensure that human beings keep playing the game. But what happens when we break the rules of a game? Playing Games portrays the “sweet sorrow” that the game of love between two people can sometimes bring.
Our Lady Biscotti
By Joelynn Wong
Two nosey baristas. A struggling coffee joint. A flamboyant food critic. A recipe for disaster? Join Gwendolyn and Cecily as they learn the importance of using Ernest – their earnest friend – in their bid to impress a tough food critic and help save Our Lady Biscotti.
Jia(k)
By Gwen Lee
It’s 7pm in an HDB apartment and 愛 (Love) – a popular Taiwanese television drama – has just begun screening. As the opening refrain of the show’s theme song streams forth from the TV, an estranged daughter, a layabout son and an ageing mother have dinner together for the first time in ages. Unlike Taiwanese dramas, however, these characters don’t take weeks to say their lines…
Join the Facebook event here, but more importantly, please join me in watching the students’ work next Saturday!