Centre 42

On 14 September 2024, the four residents of Centre 42’s Playwright’s Professional Development Residency 2024 - 2026 had their first Residency Sharing, titled “Playwrights Breaking Things”!

Click through to find out more about the texts read at this sharing!

What does it take to be an actor-playwright versus an unhyphenated playwright? After a period of revisiting some of her earlier plays while in residence at Centre 42, Jo Tan shares the challenges and freedoms she’s experienced while trying to be both.

Which direction might be right for you, and at which points in your career? Come join us as Jo discusses how (and if) writing under these different disciplines have helped her zoom in on her desired direction of theatremaking.

📆 Date: Monday, 21 October 2024
🕓 Time: 7.30pm
📍 Venue: Centre 42 Office, 42 Waterloo Street
💲 By donation via Eventbrite, recommended at $12
🔖 Register now at bit.ly/ownself-write-ownself!

📣 New Programme Launch! UK-based Box of Tricks partners with Singaporean company Centre 42 to launch Pen Pals International. Our Pen Pals exchange programme will match 6 pairs of playwrights to connect, share ideas and develop their craft over 6 months.

🗓️ Application window: 7-31 October 2024

💻 Apply Now >>> https://i.mtr.cool/hayhtjbicp

Our next is Andy Tan, Centre 42’s Board Chair and also an Electric Blue tier donor!

“Centre 42 promotes and champions archival documentation which gives us a collective memory of our own country, people, society through the lens of the arts. This builds a stronger foundation for more diverse engagement as a citizenry. I think that’s one of the key missions of Centre 42 and the arts that’s underplayed and overshadowed most of the time. Being an active citizen forms the fabric of our society. And if we do not know where we came from artistically and creatively, it raises the question of where we go as a society thereafter.”

“My earliest memory of watching a theatre show was ‘The Emperor’s New Clothes’ by Act3 when I was 7. That was transformative for me because it was when I fell in love with theatre. It started my support of the arts through time, and I’ve had the pleasure of working with theatre companies at different stages of their lives - such as Luna.id which is now defunct, and also SRT which is still around. That’s the great thing about the Centre 42 Archive too as it documents not just flagship major theatre companies but minority voices, companies that have since gone defunct as well so we can look back and say ‘hey where did our theatre history come from?’”

“A place like Centre 42 with deep roots in the ecosystem allows us to develop partnerships and support playwrights, artists who may be less known, struggling or new, to have the chance to engage on a broader and diverse platform than they may have gotten. It’s also agnostic to biases in programming. My wish is for Centre 42 to incubate the next wave of playwrights and continue to stay relevant by serving the community through its mission.”

You can play a role in the upkeep and maintenance of the Centre 42 Archive of Singapore Theatre. Join us as a Champion of C42 with a donation of $150 or more - head over to centre42.sg/donation for all the details!

Take your seats as we are exploring the working relationships between 𝘋𝘳𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘨𝘴 & 𝘋𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘴 for the third panel in our 𝘿𝙧𝙖𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙜𝙨 & series!

What might directors want from dramaturgs as collaborators? How is the dramaturgical thinking a dramaturg offers different from that of a director?

Bring your curiosity for these questions (and more) for our exciting panel of artists including Kok Heng Leun, Huzir Sulaiman and Sim Yan Ying. This thought-provoking conversation will be facilitated by Cherilyn Woo.

Join us on 18 November, 7.30pm! Sign up at: bit.ly/DA-directors.

Our visiting resident playwright Sean Dunnington is holding a playwriting workshop inspired by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Paula Vogel’s 𝘽𝙖𝙠𝙚-𝙊𝙛𝙛!

Join us across 2 days to build your writing toolkit and sharpen your craft through some writing exercises. It’s also a conversation across time, where you get to react to plays and works of art, often spanning centuries.

𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒂 𝑩𝒂𝒌𝒆-𝑶𝒇𝒇?
🍪 First, a classic tale will be selected as the foundation for the 𝘽𝙖𝙠𝙚-𝙊𝙛𝙛.
🍪 From this tale, several essential elements will be identified—ideas, objects, and themes—to serve as the "ingredients" for the plays.

Participants will create and commune after the writing period to read their scenes in a shared celebration of creativity.

Open to playwrights of all levels and limited to the first 12 participants! A recommended donation of $30 is encouraged. Find out more and register at: bit.ly/CBOwritingworkshop.

Have you been working on your scripts? We’re opening the next cycle of our New Scripts Garage soon, and this time you can submit both scripts written in English or Malay! In collaboration with Teater Ekamatra, your Malay-language scripts will be read by local practitioners as well as our friends from across the shores in Malaysia.

This means we’ll be accepting up to 16 eligible scripts this cycle - the first 8 in English and the first 8 in Malay! We’ll match you to the dramaturgical support your script needs, be that a Script Circle, 1-on-1 Consult with our dramaturgs or Written Feedback.

Save the date for 8 Oct when we open for submissions and find out more at bit.ly/NSG-nov2024 and bit.ly/NSG-ml2024!

On 7 September 2024, in conjunction with Singapore Night Festival 2024, Centre 42 presented “Cor Machina (Heart of the Machine)” with the Proletariat Poetry Factory!

Click through to find out more about what went on during the event!

Today’s the International Day of Charity and we’re commemorating with a profile of Shangbin Xie, our Electric Blue tier donor as well as a theatre and dance practitioner!

“I have a soft spot for Centre 42 because it came to being in 2014, which was also around the time that I began to be active in the performing arts. I appreciate how C42 was trying to fill the gaps in the theatre scene. I think the theatre scene is blessed to have C42 step in to archive, process and incubate scripts. No one else before was doing this work.”

“Because of my sentimental association to C42, I like basing my playback theatre shows at 42 Waterloo Street as the vibe of the area resonates plenty for me. People come in to do things in different spaces in lovely, organic and unstructured ways. 42WS is built as a home and it invites interactions that are more casual and intimate. What I enjoy at C42 is the presentation of indie works and works-in-progress. There’s a lot of joy in experiencing and watching such smaller works get incubated or be opened for a conversation with dramaturgs.C42 has brought real tangible benefits to the theatre scene, such as with Late-Night Texting, which got the public to gather together with creatives.”

“Through the years, C42 continues to be a platform that is open and fluid despite circumstances. Even though it no longer manages the performance spaces, there continues to be events and a willingness to engage the public at large. C42 may be doing things that are not so prominent to the theatre-going audience. Still, the work that C42 does is invaluable because C42 is creating these resources for posterity. Years later, I can look back and appreciate the heritage and history of our local theatre. I will encourage people who are not familiar with C42 to consider attending their public events and join me in applauding C42 for the contribution and place that it has within theatre or the broader performing arts ecosystem. C42 is rare and wonderful. I’m not sure if other art forms have the good fortune to have a similar caretaker.”

Be a part of sustaining the indie theatre scene! Donate and become one of our Champions of C42 - head over to centre42.sg/donation to find out more.

Our resident playwrights Amitha Pagolu, Choy Chee Yew, Raimi Safari and Sab Dzulkifli have been breaking things: old habits, the fear of writing, new ground, comfortable forms… even the play itself.

How do they break with familiar ways of entering and exploring a play, and what fresh insight into their processes can that unlock?

This sharing marks the end of the first chapter of the two year 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝘆𝘄𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁’𝘀 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗗𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆 facilitated by residency leads Jean Tay and Joel Tan. Come join us as the residents share some of their personal writing discoveries - there’ll be a reading of some texts followed by a chat with them!

📆 Date: Saturday, 14 September 2024
🕓 Time: 8pm
📍 Venue: Black Box @ 42 Waterloo Street
💰 Entry by donation! Give-What-You-Can
🔖 Register for an invite at: bit.ly/PBTsharing

𝘾𝙤𝙧 𝙈𝙖𝙘𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙖 (𝙃𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙈𝙖𝙘𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙚) explores the connections between communities and the arts, symbolised by the typewriter as a relic with the poet as its beating heart.

Part of "Waterloo Street Stories 2024: Interplay" and Centre 42’s 10th Anniversary celebrations, this event celebrates the rich histories and communities of Waterloo Street.

Audiences first enter an installation of pre-made prompts that draws from personal, communal memories and stories of the street. They’re invited to send in an order for a poem to the Proletariat Poetry Factory, which becomes a meta memory machine. Poets, musicians, and artists create new memories and stories from their inputs, blending them with the street's past.

👈 Swipe and check out how you can be part of this interactive experience. We look forward to seeing you there on 7 Sep, 7.30pm!

𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘮𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘵 42 𝘞𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘰𝘰 𝘚𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘶𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘈𝘳𝘵𝘴 𝘙𝘦𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘦 𝘏𝘶𝘣. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘈𝘳𝘵𝘴 𝘙𝘦𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘦 𝘏𝘶𝘣 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘴 𝘚𝘦𝘭𝘧-𝘌𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘺𝘦𝘥 𝘗𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘴 (𝘚𝘌𝘗𝘴) 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘚𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘢𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘶𝘯𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘬 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘸 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘳𝘴. National Arts Council Singapore

Singapore Night Festival

Re-introducing the Proletariat Poetry Factory (PPF)! Led by Rachel Goh, the team of uniformed servile poets had their first outing back in 2017 at Centre 42’s Late-Night Texting.

It is with great pleasure that we invite them back again on the occasion of Singapore Night Festival and our 10th Anniversary celebrations. As part of "Waterloo Street Stories 2024: Interplay", PPF presents 𝘾𝙤𝙧 𝙈𝙖𝙘𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙖 (𝙃𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙈𝙖𝙘𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙚)! Come and witness live improvised poetry at work, and even get your own typewritten poem imbued with the history of Waterloo Street to take home. Accompanied by a visual and sound installation, your senses will be enthralled through the night.

Mark your calendars for 7 September, 7.30pm-10.30pm and visit bit.ly/WSS-CM for more info!

𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘮𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘵 42 𝘞𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘰𝘰 𝘚𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘶𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘈𝘳𝘵𝘴 𝘙𝘦𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘦 𝘏𝘶𝘣. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘈𝘳𝘵𝘴 𝘙𝘦𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘦 𝘏𝘶𝘣 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘴 𝘚𝘦𝘭𝘧-𝘌𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘺𝘦𝘥 𝘗𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘴 (𝘚𝘌𝘗𝘴) 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘚𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘢𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘶𝘯𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘬 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘸 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘳𝘴. National Arts Council Singapore

Our next is Ivan Choong, actor, writer and Electric Blue tier donor!

“I started out as an actor, so I got to know Centre 42 as a rehearsal space first. Then I started exploring playwriting, and that’s where it got a bit more interesting. I did a playwriting course with Haresh and my coursemates and I were thinking, ‘okay, you know, after the playwriting, what can we do with the plays that we’ve worked on?’. That’s where I approached Yanling, and became more of a producer to put up a four-part series called “First Acts” to present these works. It was an amazing opportunity because there’s no other space besides Centre 42 to do this, and we were not a theatre group, just a bunch of people trying this out for the first time.”

“Over the years, it was very sad when Centre 42 lost the whole space, but thankfully the programmes are still running. I love that there’s more collaborations now, and the central core of preserving the history of Singaporean work is still there. These connections, like bringing in Joel as Creative Associate, has brought about more opportunities to learn and grow through different practical experiments, such as Headline Acts. That was where I got to push myself to write something I’m not familiar with, as well as work with professionals who make you realise things you didn’t know you could do before.”

“Experimentation is not only important for myself but for the growth of the community. I work with start-ups for my day job and we try to help students understand that it’s not a bad thing to fail. Here, the same applies, the ability to experiment, you find you may not get anywhere but the whole process helps level up the theatre scene. I think Centre 42 is in a very unique position to work together with other theatre companies and professionals to create such platforms for development, experimentation and formalisation of practices such as dramaturgy.”

Help us keep these platforms for development and experimentation in the theatre scene alive! You can donate from $150 a year to become a Champion of C42. Find out more at centre42.sg/donation.

📷: Joseph Nair

[𝗗𝗘𝗔𝗗𝗟𝗜𝗡𝗘 𝗘𝗫𝗧𝗘𝗡𝗗𝗘𝗗: 𝗥𝗲𝗴𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗶𝘁𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀. 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗹𝘆 𝗯𝘆 𝟯 𝗦𝗲𝗽, 𝟭𝟮𝗽𝗺!]

Calling all NTU students! Is there a compelling story set around campus that you’ve always wanted to bring to life? Are you curious about the possibilities of using audio in storytelling?

Here’s the workshop for you! This Audio Drama Writing Workshop aims to familiarise you with writing and producing audio drama, zooming in on the environment surrounding NTU as a source of inspiration. No background or experience required!

The first 2 sessions will be run by playwright Joel Tan. You will take part in a workshop designed for you to start thinking deeply and creatively about the sonic and built environment around NTU, as well as learning about the potential of audio and storytelling techniques involved in writing audio plays.

In session 3, facilitated by Artwave Studio, you will also learn to use a digital audio workstation, record professionally and edit mini audio plays.

One writer from the workshop will be selected to further develop their play and have it produced by Centre 42 and Artwave Studio as part of the 𝐒𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐏𝐥𝐨𝐭 series of audio plays, with the latest edition responding to the Jurong West region where NTU is located.

📆 Dates & Time: 5th & 9th September, 6pm-8:30pm
12th September 2024, 6:30pm-9pm
📍 Venue: The Hive, NTU
💰 FREE, with registration (For NTU Students)

Sign up soon as workshop capacity is limited to 20 pax on a first come first serve basis. Register by 31 August at: https://bit.ly/workshopULU!

Creative Writing at NTU

To spotlight the donors who have been an integral part of our journey for the past 10 years, we’re starting a series of donor profiles, aptly named ! In this series, we chat with our donors about their wishes for us, and also their motivations behind supporting Centre 42.

Here’s what Zelda Tatiana Ng, our Electric Blue tier donor and arts practitioner has to say:

“Centre 42 has been doing a lot of good work in nurturing new writers, dramaturgs, and providing platforms for the youths who want to do something related to writing. Back when I started my theatre collective GroundZ-0 原。空間, I got a lot of opportunities from Centre 42, such as space and platforms to present my work. It has helped me a lot and I want to contribute because I feel like if I get from somewhere I have to pay back somewhere.“

“One of my wishes is for there to be more scripts in other languages, or even multilingual, to better reflect our society. Singapore is slowly becoming a monolingual society, and the worst part is, we are not even native speakers of the language - English. I really hope that Centre 42 will be a good place to start things like that, for more scripts in different languages to be written.“

“I want to be a good patron because I know how hard people work in this scene. Everything starts from the beginning. So if you want a better play, first of all you need better writers. In Chinese we say 一剧之本, which means everything starts from the base first which is the script. The writer is alway working very hard behind the scenes. So anybody who wants to support language, writing, to make our society more gracious, and have better literature, you should support Centre 42.”

If you would like to champion local and original storytelling, and help us to continue creating platforms to nurture budding artists, we encourage you to make a donation today and become one of our Champions of C42! Find out more at centre42.sg/donation.

📷: Joseph Nair

We are excited to collaborate with NTU Museum for the next edition of our audio plays series, 𝐒𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐏𝐥𝐨𝐭! Each edition of 𝐒𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐏𝐥𝐨𝐭 draws on a certain geographic area in Singapore.

This time, we are looking for two writers to respond to the curatorial prompt “ULU”, paying homage to the diversity of people and the layers of history in the Jurong West region where Nanyang Technological University (NTU) is located.

The plays will be slated for release online in January and February 2025 to coincide with NTU Museum’s upcoming exhibition as part of Singapore Art Week 2025.

Selected writers will need to be available for an intensive 3-week script development phase in October 2024, and will work with a director during the recording and production process in November & December 2024.

This is a paid opportunity and commissioned writers will receive $1000.

Find out more about the curatorial prompt and submit your ideas by 15 September at: bit.ly/opencallULU!

For the final entry in our 𝑨𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒔𝒕 𝑭𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒔 series we have Grace Kalaiselvi, a director, playwright, actor, and teacher.

Across various mediums, from verbatim theatre to puppetry to television, she has brought to life complex narratives that resonate deeply with audiences, exploring themes of identity, culture, and womanhood.

To represent her decades long career, she has chosen a wayang kulit puppet. “An actor becomes a character in the same way the puppeteer breathes life into a puppet to make it come alive.”

And she has made more than just characters or puppets come alive. Continually determined to tackle the lack of Indian storytelling in Singapore theatre, she has enabled the voices of many from her community to come alive - whether it's through creating her own original productions or forming 𝘉𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘝𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘴, Singapore’s first collective of Indian theatre practitioners.

Read more about Grace’s mission of amplifying voices at: bit.ly/C42AF-grace-k!

Written by: Akanksha Raja
Cover Photo by: Crispian Chan
Hair and Makeup: The Artists Inc

——
𝑨𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒔𝒕 𝑭𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒔 is a series of 10 interview articles that trace the personal and artistic development of artists who have come through our doors and Centre 42’s role in their journeys so far.

For the penultimate entry in our 𝑨𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒔𝒕 𝑭𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒔 series we have Ng Sze Min, co-founder of sound design outfit Artwave Studio.

Sze Min’s artistic journey is led by curiosity, possibility and adaptability. Following her graduation from the University of Melbourne with a degree in Interactive Composition, she initially staged sound installations and interactive communal music-making sessions as a solo artist.

However after co-founding Artwave Studio in 2018 with her partner in life and work Pan Zai’En, her role began to change. Zai took on the technical aspects, and instead of composing or harmonising sounds, Sze Min shifted to focus on harmonising people, ideas, objectives, and workflows, becoming more of a creative producer in the process.

This intimate relationship she has with audio is befittingly represented by the pair of headphones she first purchased as a composition student. More than 10 years on, what these headphones mean to her personally have evolved along with her practice.

"In my teenage years it was an escape from reality. Now, it means I'm living my dream. One day when my ears don’t work as well anymore, I’ll have to hang them up. But my lessons on listening will outlast it, with all the wisdom and joy from learning to listen."

Read more about Sze Min’s journey in harmonising ecosystems through sound production at: bit.ly/C42AF-szemin!

Written by: Akanksha Raja
Cover Photo by: Pan Zai’En

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𝑨𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒔𝒕 𝑭𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒔 is a series of 10 interview articles that trace the personal and artistic development of artists who have come through our doors and Centre 42’s role in their journeys so far.

Adeeb Fazah is a theatre director and drama educator, and also no stranger to adventure. In fact, the figurine he holds of Finn the Human from Adventure Time exemplifies this.

“I aspire to Finn’s spirit of adventure. He’s always up for new experiences and braves through tough times, and yet embodies a very likeable kind of vulnerability. He also loves the people around him fearlessly.”

From founding and becoming the Artistic Director of The Second Breakfast Company (2BCo) to producing works like Miriam Cheong’s The Chronicles of Xiao Ming, to even writing the book for 2BCo’s first musical The Paiseh Pieces, that same spirit has led him down an amazing artistic journey thus far.

But Adeeb, ever young at heart, is already looking toward the future.

“I hope to write more in order to appeal to a broader Singaporean millennial and Gen Z audience, because they are the future. And to be able to legitimise even further the Singaporean narrative, Singaporean theatre in the mind of the future Singapore audience.”

Read more about Adeeb’s journey in young and independent theatre-making at: bit.ly/C42AF-adeeb!

Written by: Azura Farid
Cover Photo by: Crispian Chan
Hair and Makeup: The Artists Inc

——
𝑨𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒔𝒕 𝑭𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒔 is a series of 10 interview articles that trace the personal and artistic development of artists who have come through our doors and Centre 42’s role in their journeys so far.

For over a decade now, Nabilah Said has been writing plays. Many of her works reflect an interest in Malayness, identity and belonging.

But her playwriting journey hasn't always been smooth sailing. It took much confidence and also belief in the work for her to figure out her process.

“In hindsight, I take very long to create work… to think through all the different issues and concepts before I can really show it to people and get them to truly understand what I'm aiming for."

And she has a little something up her sleeve (quite literally) to help her along. The cuff bracelet she wears here has the word ‘courage’ inscribed in tiny letters facing her.

“It’s like a little secret. When I need a reminder of my internal strength and conviction, I wear this and it feels like armour.”

Read more about the role of community and belonging for Nabilah at: bit.ly/C42AF-nabilah!

Written by: Azura Farid
Cover Photo by: Crispian Chan
Hair and Makeup: The Artists Inc

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𝑨𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒔𝒕 𝑭𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒔 is a series of 10 interview articles that trace the personal and artistic development of artists who have come through our doors and Centre 42’s role in their journeys so far.

Michelle Tan is a playwright, writer and drama educator. Her journey towards playwriting has been a gradual, lifelong endeavour, with a single constant - the need to put her finger on what makes writing work.

And the evolution of her work reflects this. Her early plays often began from a plot, premise or ideological message. But as she found herself lacking in the foundations of playwriting, she dug deeper, revisiting her favourite texts to better understand why she liked them. This led her towards a more character-driven and naturalistic style of writing.

Just like how the zine she holds captures the essence of their subjects through drawing, Michelle desires to achieve the same through her writing.

“It made me think about writing because that's the big and sometimes elusive aim of what I try to do in writing a play. I'm trying to get at the heart of something, I'm trying to paint a picture. To create an entire world within that space and to present that with resonance and believability and detail, while having clarity about what its essence is, is the lifelong endeavour of what writing seeks to do.”

Read more about Michelle’s journey towards the how, what and why at: bit.ly/C42AF-michelle!

Written by: Azura Farid
Cover Photo by: Crispian Chan
Hair and Makeup: The Artists Inc

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𝑨𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒔𝒕 𝑭𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒔 is a series of 10 interview articles that trace the personal and artistic development of artists who have come through our doors and Centre 42’s role in their journeys so far.

Chong Gua Khee is a performance-maker, director, dramaturg and facilitator. Her projects often manifest in various iterations and are characterised by revisitations and re-confluences.

Throughout her work, care remains a consistent strand. She has co-founded several working groups, such as CITRUS practices, that focuses on improving the physical, emotional and mental well-being of arts and cultural workers.

Whether as a fun conversation starter, or a metaphor for how she provides a container for projects and people, the collapsible silicone cup she holds reflects her key interests in having bridging conversations, lightness/pleasure and sustainability.

“And that’s something I want to do as an artist - to create work that is as shiok as possible for myself, my team, the audience and the environment.”

Read more about how she holds space for shiok at: bit.ly/C42AF-guakhee! (Link in Bio)

Written by: Lee Shu Yu
Cover Photo by: Crispian Chan
Hair and Makeup: The Artists Inc

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𝑨𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒔𝒕 𝑭𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒔 is a series of 10 interview articles that trace the personal and artistic development of artists who have come through our doors and Centre 42’s role in their journeys so far.

Theatre practitioner Sharda Harrison wears many hats: actor, teacher, director, TV Presenter. She is also the co-founder of Pink Gajah Theatre, which focuses on productions that question the status quo and challenge their audiences’ ways of thinking.

Sharda’s theatre journey started from a young age when she took drama programmes and workshops. She eventually studied Acting at LASALLE College of the Arts, where she trained in the Suzuki method of acting, contact improvisation and physical movement.

The small, dark blue mesh handbag she carries here embodies the toolkit of everything she has learned so far. It also reflects the openness, vulnerability, adaptability and flexibility that defines her practice.

“You can see everything in it [the handbag]. The shape is not conforming - it can be anything you want. You carry stuff in it, but you can also take stuff out at any point, and put something new in it.”

Read more about how her theatre journey has been shaped by her love for it at: bit.ly/C42AF-sharda!

Written by: Adey Tan
Cover Photo by: Adey Tan

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𝑨𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒔𝒕 𝑭𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒔 is a series of 10 interview articles that trace the personal and artistic development of artists who have come through our doors and Centre 42’s role in their journeys so far.

Rei Poh founded Attempts in 2017, which is a collective that aims to engage, provoke, and transform the audience into players through its immersive, participatory performances.

Rei believes that playing safe in theatre is at odds with what the art form is. Just like how “making games that are safe can be horrible”, he is interested in making work that is driven by a desire to to be different, and has room to be reiterative and replayable.

The game controller he holds here embodies his philosophy of theatre-making at Attempts, which is about games and fun. This old-school Nintendo controller is one of the first ones he ever had.

“It's more important to have fun than to have a very good product, because a fun product will eventually be good.”

Read more about how he takes having fun seriously at: bit.ly/C42AF-rei!

Written by: Lee Shu Yu
Cover Photo by: Joseph Nair

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𝑨𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒔𝒕 𝑭𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒔 is a series of 10 interview articles that trace the personal and artistic development of artists who have come through our doors and Centre 42’s role in their journeys so far.