TheatreWorks Writers’ Laboratory goes to South East District.

This is a community project in partnership with the South East Community Development Council (CDC) hopes to bring creativity and new writing to the community. The partnership with South East CDC is in its second year.

To kick off the event, TheatreWorks will be holding the dramatised readings at ChezCake Bistro, a popular cafe in Joo Chiat (328 Joo Chiat Road) known for its delicious cheesecakes amongst nearby residents on 31 October 2009. Other venues include a conservation building in the heart of historic Tanjong Katong Road (currently housing the Canadian International School), public libraries and community centres.

Information correct as of 30 October 2009

Two plays, Someday, Samsara by Bryan Tan and Love Gravy by Peggy Ferroa have been selected for the readings. The 2 new works were developed in the Writers Lab by dramaturg, Robin Loon.

The reading tours will create a theatrical experience for the community and its audiences. It is a platform for new writers, while at the same time promotes Singapore writing and creativity.

TheatreWorks hopes to encourage an active interest in theatre among heartland audiences and nurture creative writing in Singapore.

Admission to the readings are free to all.

Please call 6737-7213 or email tworks@singnet.com.sg to register your attendance.

With support from The National Arts Council and the South East CDC.

SOMEDAY SAMSARA by Bryan Tan

Sandy has been sent to hell but what greets her are the Ten Courts of HELL. As she travels deeper into hell, she comes face-to-face with the mythological Niu-tou (Bull) and Ma-mian (Stead) guardians of hell, her loves, her hates and her past. This monologue is a piercing yet humourous look at life, death and going to court.

LOVE GRAVY by Peggy Ferroa

Three generations: Two mothers, Two daughters, and one pot of braised pork. This monologue is a light-hearted and ingenuous look at the generation gap and the struggles for independence and continuity. The story revolves around a family recipe for braised pork: mothers and daughters doing their best to do right by each other and by themselves.

Both scripts have been cleared by the MDA with no advisory.

BIOGRAPHIES

Robin Loon

Robin Loon is an Assistant Professor at the National University of Singapore. He obtained his PhD in Intercultural theatre and performance from Royal Holloway University of London. Robin is also an active participant in the Singapore theatre scene: both as practitioner and assessor for the National Arts Council, Singapore. Effectively bilingual in Chinese and English, Robin hopes to merge the traditional and the modern, the east and the west through his creative and academic work. He has maintained close ties with Singapore’s premier English-Language Theatre company, TheatreWorks. He has also recently been appointed the head of TheatreWorks Writer’s Laboratory, a writer’s incubation program into its 16th year.

Peggy Ferroa

Peggy Ferroa published her first book, ‘Cultures of the World – China’ in 1991 which is now enjoying success as an educational book in the US. The bulk of her work comes from writing and directing content specific pieces for stage and screen. Her clients include government organizations, schools and companies.

Peggy also finds work as a character actor and was last seen on stage in ‘Salsa, Salsa, Salsa (Theatreworks, First Singapore Theatre Festival) and on TV, ‘Fighting Spiders’ (Mediacorp)

Being a writer with Theatreworks’ Writers’ Lab, she has enjoyed the creativity and growth, and thanks Dr. Robin Loon and her writing buddies for their unending support and love.

Bryan Tan

Bryan Tan has been involved in theatre as a playwright and director. In 1996, he was awarded the First Prize (Open Category) in the Hewlett-Packard / Action Theatre 10-Minute Play Contest for Lizard In The Loo, which was presented by Action Theatre as part of Freshly Squeezed!. He also received a Merit Prize in TheatreWorks’ 24-Hour Playwriting Competition 1998 for Snakeskin, which was presented by TheatreWorks as part of Got To Go... Play Till Dawn.

In 1997, he directed Alfian Sa’at’s Black Boards, White Walls for The Necessary Stage. For Teater Ekamatra, he wrote and directed Blissed, and Broomstick as part of Istana 2000, both in 2004. In 2007, his The Last Theatre State was presented by TheatreWorks / Ong Keng Sen as part of 120 at the National Museum of Singapore.

The devised plays which he wrote in collaboration with Anderson Junior College’s stAJeWorks, X-Country and Offering, were presented by stAJeWorks for the Singapore Youth Festival Drama Competition in 2006 and 2008, respectively, and both productions received a Gold Award.

His other plays include Travelling Light, which was commissioned and presented by National University of Singapore’s Centre for the Arts in 1999. He also wrote the television adaptation of that play, which was televised on Arts Central as part of its Stage to Screen series in 2005. That play is available from UniPress in its collection of his plays, Travelling Light with a Heavy Heart.

Most recently, his submission for TheatreWorks’ 24-Hour Playwriting Competition 2009, DykeBorn – which the judges considered to be a prose poem, rather than a play – received a Special Mention.

Anjana Srinivasan

Anjana Srinivasan graduated recently from the National University of Singapore with a major in Theatre Studies. She appeared in both the 2009 and 2008 Singapore Arts Festival - Dream-work and Dream-Home (Bodies in Flight and Spell #7) and Rhinoceros (Zizi Azah). She has also been writing and directing for Temasek Junior College Drama Club since 2005. Anjana is also a Blues singer and is currently singing with the house band at Live@Bojangles from Tuesday to Saturday.

Serene Chen

Serene graduated from the National University of Singapore with a B.A. (Honours) in Theatre Studies. In the last 15 years, she has worked in radio, television, film and on stage in over 30 productions. Her body of theatrical work is diverse: from TheatreWorks’ futuristic “120”, a commissioned work to celebrate the National Museum’s 120th Anniversary, to Ovidia Yu’s “Hitting (on) Women” where she was an abusive female lover, to playing a bear in Jean Tay’s “Everything but the Brain”. An award-winning actress, Serene bagged the Best Supporting Actress for her role in “Landmarks: Asian Boys Volume 2” in 2004’s Life Theatre Awards. She was also nominated for Best Actress in the Mandarin Version of Eleanor Wong’s “Wills & Secession” that same year. Serene is probably best remembered for her role in the award-winning local movie, Singapore Dreaming.