The Official Website of Laremy Lee (李庭辉)
Emerging from deadline purgatory to post this: come watch and listen to readings of writings by my friend Dan Koh, who will also talk about his experience as a Singapore Creative Writing Resident!
I’ll be moderating the session too, so even more reason to go!
Date: Tue, 26 Nov 2013
Time: 7.30pm
Venue: Play Den, The Arts House
Price: FREE!
Register at http://nwo-dankoh.eventbrite.sg/ .
See you there!
So as part of making the “horses” thirsty, I had to teach Boom by Jean Tay for Literature lessons.
It’s a pretty good text in that it’s accessible to the students and rich with literary features that make it good for teaching.
For example, one of the essay questions we worked on in class was “Why does Tay title her play Boom? Support your answer with close reference to the text”.
I doubt this question would ever come out at the O-Level exams, but I thought it was a pretty good way of getting the students to think about motifs, symbolism and themes – and their relationships – in the text.
Regardless, the students – being students – have no qualms about asking teachers questions/interrupting the lesson in the hope that we’ll digress/tell them stories instead.
So while I was writing the question and instructions on the board, this exchange took place:
“Sir.”
“What.”
“Jean Tay your friend ah, sir.”
“No.”
“You’re also a writer, right, sir.”
“So? All writers must be friends is it?”
And midway during the discussion…
“Sir.”
“Whattt…”
“You got watch the play or not?”
“NO. (Beat.) Why?”
“You look like one of the actors lah.”
(Pause.)
“Brendon Fernandez, is it?”
“No lah, the actor in the play.”
“Yar, he was one of the actors in the play, right? That’s his name!”
“Y’all are friends ah, sir?”
Guess it was payback for all the times I annoyed my teachers in class…
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:
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!