From a conversation Julian Wong and I were having.

Tue, 7 Jul 2009
2 min read
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We were discussing our annoyance at how people relentlessly compare OTOT to Army Daze, which is, in our humble opinion, missing the forest for the trees.

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Julian: …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.

Laremy: 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 🙂

Julian: 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!

Witness the awesomeness of Full Tank.

Tue, 7 Jul 2009
1 min read
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In this short video clip put together by yours truly, that shows half the cast rehearsing the Prologue.

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.

Let’s clarify something, people.

Sat, 4 Jul 2009
1 min read
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Army Daze is Army Daze, and Own Time Own Target (OTOT) is Own Time Own Target.

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?