1. How is it like working with each other?
   Great! Jon and I have learnt a lot from each other over this production and the last. I’m glad to have had the opportunity to work with him, as he’s very committed to the craft and is always working to get the best out of the text: whether it is in terms of using the best line to convey a certain meaning, or in terms of putting the actors through their paces in order for them to convey the best emotion.
2. What changes were implemented from the previous run of OTOT in 2008?
   The main consideration has always been giving the customers what they want, so we’ve listened to audience feedback when revising the plays. We wanted to make the play a better experience for audience in terms of entertainment and artistic value, so I’ve made changes to the action and the dialogue. For example, there were some concerns that last year’s version of Full Tank! was draggy and heavy-handed; I’ve gone through the script again to cut out repetitive lines and reduce clumsy expressions.
   
   At the same time, I actually experimented with a few different scenarios, character motivations, etc. while making revisions to the script that was used during the OCBC Singapore Theatre Festival 2008. However, I’ve returned to the original plot that made Full Tank! a success, because I realised the stories that were told were what endeared the play to the audience. All that was needed was a bit of tweaking to the mechanics of the plot and it’d be good to go.
3. Did you join any Arts clubs/Theatre societies when you were an undergraduate?
   I was a hostelite through and through so I participated mainly in activities within Kent Ridge Hall. I co-wrote and edited two Hall Productions and contributed three short plays for an Inter-Hall Drama Fest in 2008 (one of which – The Last Political Animal – was censored by the Media Development Authority).
   
   However, I think it wouldn’t be wrong to say that participating in activities outside of clubs and societies might have had a greater part to play in helping me hone my writing abilities. I read two modules taught by Huzir Sulaiman – EN2271: Introduction to Playwriting and EN3271: Advanced Playwriting. It was during that period that an early draft of Radio Silence, an absurd play about National Service, was read by Ivan Heng. This resulted in Ivan nominating me to participate in World Interplay 2007, an international playwriting festival held in Australia. My participation in this festival was co-funded by grants from the University Scholars Programme.
4. What led to your decision to pursue a career in the Arts?
   Unlike the others, I’m not working in the Arts full-time. I’m actually teaching the General Paper at Saint Andrew’s Junior College, but I still enjoy writing as a means through which I can take part in the Singaporean conversation about things that aren’t always very easy to talk about in the mainstream.

I personally heard incredible things about Laremy Lee, which explains why I was upset.

– hikaru, Own Time Own Target by W!ld Rice.

When I read that line, I was tickled pink. I seriously want to meet whoever it is who has been spreading such “incredible things”, because I want to hire her/him to be my publicist. I’m serious. This woman or man is really good at viral marketing.

In other news, this is my favourite line from the whole post:

But even I myself is guilty of such writings many times…

Tee hee hee! Go check it out at Just Watch Lah.

Just watched OTOT and I thought it was wonderful. Each of the four characters in Full Tank! remind me of someone I know from my NS days. Thank you for a good night.

“Who is Aunty Janki’s son??” I asked.

“The… Kamal,” she said.

“Who’s Kamal???”

Turns out ‘Kamal’ was none other than Kishore Mahbubani, who had come to watch OTOT with his missus, because both their sons were in NS and Mrs M felt that the Ms had to watch OTOT to better understand NS and what their sons were going through.

That’s what I gathered from the Sindhi side of my family who were huddled around me, as they’d also come to watch OTOT as well. Just then, ‘Kamal’ walked by and we talked for a minute or so – I told him that there was going to be “some strong language” in the play; he joked that he was going to leave then.

During the intermission, I joined my family where they were seated, in the middle of the theatre. Coincidentally, Kishore was sitting one row behind us.

He jokingly said that he thought the language wasn’t strong enough. He also added that the French ambassador was around, and was asking what one word in particular meant. No one dared to tell him what it meant in English, but a clever soul told him that the word translated to ‘la chatte’ in French. Nice work, diplomats.

It’s highly unlikely that it’ll be published next Sunday, because it was meant to be used as publicity for Own Time Own Target, and the run for Own Time Own Target ends this coming Saturday.

Anyway, since Mr Wang has very kindly reviewed Own Time Own Target and helped to plug it as well, I think I’ll just put what I have to say about his book up here.

In essence, I think Two Baby Hands is very good. Go read it, especially if you don’t read poetry normally. IMHO, it provides a very good primer/introduction to Singapore society and literature in general too.

But before you read on, I think I must say a few things here about why I am not very happy that my contribution wasn’t published.

1. The non-publication of the piece is a let-down for me because I had to take time off to write the piece. I put quite a bit of thought and effort into it, and I think the editor of Sunday Lifestyle could’ve been courteous enough to at least say, “Thank you for your contributions but we’re sorry we cannot publish your piece.” That is only fair.
2. It is also a let-down for me and other people because the publishers of Two Baby Hands very kindly agreed to let me purchase a copy of the book in advance of the launch because I really wanted to write about it in the Bookends piece. I think we all expected the piece to appear because we never thought the contrary would happen.
3. That the contrary did happen i.e. the piece wasn’t published might be saying something too, because I believe that silences, or the things that aren’t talked about, are equally, if not, more important than the things that are discussed in public. I can only speculate, but I think it might’ve been that the other two books I wrote about didn’t exactly make for very ‘acceptable’ conversation – but ‘acceptable’ by whose standards, I’m not too sure. Nevertheless, I leave the reader to make her/his own conclusions.
   

~

1. What books are you reading now?
   I’m reading three books.The first: Two Baby Hands by Gilbert Koh. I’m quite fond of the poems so far because Koh discusses subjects – like education and National Service – that are close to my heart. Moreover, he deals with these subjects in a straightforward manner without using obscure language.

   
   Another book: Our Thoughts are Free: Poems and Prose on Imprisonment and Exile, edited by Tan Jing Quee, Teo Soh Lung and Koh Kay Yew. I like how it uses creative writing as a means to discuss a difficult portion of Singapore’s history. This makes the issues more accessible to readers like me, since most of us have lived in relative freedom all our lives.

   
   The third book is That We May Dream Again, edited by Fong Hoe Fang. This has accounts of some of the people involved in the so-called ‘Marxist conspiracy’ of 1987. What has struck me most thus far: the detainees’ passion for wanting to help the less fortunate in Singapore, along with how their lives and perspectives have changed after their detention.

   

2. If your house was burning down which book would you save and why?
   It’s a toss-up between Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton and Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card. Both books speculate on issues like ethics, technology and human communication in ways that are appealing and endearing – the former has dinosaurs running amok, while the latter uses a militaristic backdrop to tell its tale.

~

…I guess people use the Army Daze thing because they have nothing to compare it to. If someone else wrote a play about transsexuals, the audience might compare it to Private Parts too.

That’s true. People are always looking for familiarity and something to relate to so they can make sense of the world. Hence the use of stereotypes, which we are both also guilty of using in our plays… Hehe

But as a friend of mine said, there is space in the hearts of most people here to accept another play about the NS experience. If people can’t open their hearts and minds enough to accept that OTOT is different, then they’re missing out on a lot.

NS is experienced by every person here (for every guy that enlists, his whole family and circle of friends go through it with him in their own way) – surely it deserves to be shared and celebrated in more ways and more plays than Army Daze!

P. S. If we’re getting this comparison now, think how terrible it must be for the next person who comes along and writes something about NS!

It’s one of the more ‘serious’ moments in the play, so don’t be fooled by the deadpan acting. Alternatively, check out some pictures of the cast warming up before rehearsal.

Brendon and Terry

Koey, Dwayne, Ghaz and Rodney

Qian Chou and Nelson

More pictures here.

It’s gonna be a great show everyone – I personally guarantee it. Make sure you’re able to say, “I watched Own Time Own Target and was blown away” i.e. buy your tickets now.

I think Michael Chiang is a great playwright; I’ve read quite a number of his plays before like Private Parts, Mixed Signals, Beauty World and, of course, Army Daze.

But I don’t think Julian or I referred to Army Daze while writing Botak Boys and Full Tank! respectively. I don’t think Jonathan Lim referred to Army Daze while directing OTOT either.

So maybe everyone should stop conflating the two productions. They are separate entities with their own merits, and the most important distinction that has to be made: one play i.e. Army Daze spoke for an era that had its own challenges (the ’80s – ’90s), while OTOT speaks for another era – our own.

If random people are going to keep on referencing Army Daze or comparing OTOT to Army Daze, it’s not only unfair for all of us, but it’s also very selfish – why stay mired in the past when we have such a beautiful chance to move on and create our own future?

I’ve saved everyone (i.e. scholars who might want to study my works next time, LOL) the trouble of mapping the route by using Google Maps to show you how the tank travels. I’ve included placemarks in the map, so please click on them. There’s some very valuable information in there, including pictures, which might help you visualise the geography a bit better.

For those inclined toward academia, you may want to think about how geography is mediated in literature. Or perhaps how Web 2.0 tools might be used to bring literature/drama a bit closer to everyone?

View Full Tank! in a larger map