Try your hand at cracking some of the words and phrases that have been used frequently by the working team during their six-month residency period!

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By Critical Ecologies | Critical Anomalies
September 2021

This platform is for Singaporean/PR and Singapore-based independent theatre-makers (playwrights, directors, producers, performers) who are looking to test and/or showcase drafts of new or reimagined works to specific group(s) of audience (producers, presenters, fellow artists, theatre enthusiasts, non-arts events goers of targeted profiles etc).

2. What kind of work is the residency looking for?

We are looking for original, script-based work. These may include but are not limited to full length scripts, extracts of a work-in-progress or even a proof of concept for a new script. Adaptations for form are welcome, as are scripts written in any language.

The residency would best benefit writers with a clear idea of what they want to achieve, and whose scripts are at a stage ready for constructive feedback.

3. What is a ‘critical reception’?

The New Scripts Residency culminates in a critical reception, a by-invite only presentation session which may include but is not limited to dramatised reads, table reads or extracts of a play.

These sessions typically run from around 1.5 hours to 2 hours long, and its sole purpose is for artists to gain critical feedback, suggestions, or comments from an invested audience for the improvement and further development of the script. Hence, we encourage artists to dedicate a substantial part of the session to an in-depth dialogue/question and answer session with the invited audience, preferably facilitated with rigour by a moderator of their choice.

4. Who can attend the critical receptions?

Attendance at New Script Residency critical receptions varies from project to project. Interested audiences should subscribe to our mailing list to receive information about and invitations to upcoming critical reception sessions of the New Script Residency. Centre 42 will also aid in inviting select target audience should the artist deem it imperative and useful to hear from them.

5. Will Centre 42 be providing rehearsal space?

The Residency includes up to 8 hours of use of the Black Box for the critical reception, but any prior rehearsals should be planned by and with costs borne by the artist. However, Centre 42 will be able to assist with the advanced booking of rehearsal spaces at 42 Waterloo Street. Artists will also be able to enjoy the use of the rehearsal spaces at discounted rates.

6. Will Centre 42 be providing a creative team and actors?

We encourage selected artists to seek their own creative team and actors to best communicate their work and intentions, however, we would be happy connect you with possible collaborators should the objectives and schedules align.

7. How often does this residency accept artists-in-residence?

The New Scripts Residency currently calls for proposals on a half-yearly basis and accepts up to three applicants each time, although its frequency and capacity is subject to change.

8. How will Centre 42 decide on the suitability of the proposals?

Consideration of proposals will take into account the following:

• Lead artist must be a Singaporean/PR or based in Singapore
• The work must be original and script-based
• The work must be a suitable match for this developmental platform
• The artist must be invested in receiving critical feedback on their draft
• The artist must be able to articulate a clear intention and motivation for participating in this platform
• The artist must be available to present the work at the Critical Reception on the stipulated dates

Evaluation will be conducted by the Centre 42 team, although we often invite relevant experts to contribute their input for the necessary cases.

9. What happens after my submission?

If the submission fits what we are looking for, the Centre 42 team will reach out to you to understand your needs, and make plans to kick start the process.

Type of Work Supported

The Residency welcomes proposals from projects that are:

• Focused on the process of creation

• In their “upstream” phases, focused on ideation, research and drafts

• To be documented as part of their incubation process with C42 through sharings and artist reflections.

In Residence Now

Frequently Asked Questions

Not sure if this residency is suitable for you or your work or have more questions for us? Get in touch with us at residence@centre42.sg

The Creation Residency supports artists to develop original text-based works for live and/or digital mediums. 

The Archival Residency invites independent artists and collectives to form a collection of a body of work, to tell their stories through the archival process.

Type of Work Supported

The residency invites artists to form an archival collection of their work or somebody else’s, both active and defunct, working with existing memorabilia or amassing material anew. While it is a theatre archive, we welcome collections that are not only limited to productions, and should include:

• An artefact-centred process that focuses on collecting, organizing and making sense of Singapore Theatre history

• The digitising, archiving and housing of part of the collection within our C42 Archive of Singapore Theatre.

• Engagement with the wider community through outreach and sharing activities

In Residence

Frequently Asked Questions

Not sure if this residency is suitable for you or your work or have more questions for us? Get in touch with us at residence@centre42.sg

The Archival Residency is an artefact-centred process that focuses on collecting, organizing and making sense of Singapore Theatre history. Artists are invited to form an archival collection of their own body work or somebody else’s, both active and defunct and to work with existing memorabilia or amass material anew.

Centre 42 held the online premiere and watch party of The Vault: Who’s Asking? Who’s Talking? on 29 April 2021 via Zoom. It featured a double-bill of performance created by the students of the module TS3103 Theatre Lab to respond to the play Madame Mao’s Memories by Henry Ong

The two original works, Fragments and Nobody Asked!, premiered on YouTube live. (See here to view the performance video.) The screening was followed by a discussion segment with the creators of the two works, moderated by the module chair Dr. Robin Loon. Here are some highlights from the sharing segment.

Setting the Scene

Dr. Robin Loon began the segment by explaining the context of the Vault. He shared that the response element as a pedagogy was something he devised with Centre 42 for The Vault programme some years ago. It is “a way of documenting Singapore theatre with a way of creative reimagining or reengagement with the text”.

In the 13-week process, students underwent a series of physical workshops to awaken and engage the body, one of which was conducted by practitioner Lian Sutton. They had also attended a documentation workshop with Daniel from Centre 42, to guide them with the auto-ethnographic and peer-documentation elements of the module. They also embarked on research and made pitches across several key themes of Madame Mao’s Memories, such as gender, theatre and history, before formulating a performance response.

Impetus for the Responses

Nobody Asked! shared that they began with a visceral response to Madame Mao’s Memories: frustration that Henry Ong, a male Asian-American playwright felt justified in telling the story of a Chinese woman. The group thought he painted the life of Jiang Qing, or Madame Mao, in an “unfair” light.

They decided to devise a post-dramatic expression rich in sound design, choreography and vignettes to convey the frustration, as well as the attendant theme of female oppression.

Fragments took an interest in the foreword of the play, in which they learnt Ong had a “self-confessed lack of knowledge regarding the culture and the language” of the play.

In writing the individual journey of Jiang Qing, they realised he left out the amount of collateral damage the cultural revolution had wrecked on the people of China. As such, they wanted to “restore some degree of historical context” to the play as a response. To do so, they wanted to be self-reflexive in the work and acknowledge their own identity members of the Chinese diaspora, in order to caveat their disconnect from the subject matter. Xin Rui from Fragments shares one of the considerations was the question, “Whose truth are we presenting exactly?”.

Response and Commentary

One audience member wondered why the groups chose to engage with authorship and Ong’s identity rather than with the content of the play per se.

Gaiatri from Nobody Asked! shared that she was keen to interrogate the act of writing itself, and felt “personally affronted” by the distant positionality of the playwright. Her groupmate Sneha added that Jiang Qing is a real figure and so, one “cannot divorce a body from their story.”

Fragments shared they did use content from both history and the play to reimagine and offer healing around the Cultural Revolution. After the documentation workshop, the team realised the playwright had created a text in which he too was inevitably implicated.

Dr Robin Loon said of the approaches, “I’m always very surprised at what students choose to respond to in the plays assigned. I feel it’s a unique part of this module, that there is no set way to do it. Students will see certain meaningful things that they want to see and it’s what groups have to negotiated amongst themselves.”

Performance and Vocabulary

Both groups also investigated creating performance vocabulary to support what they wanted to convey.

For instance, Nobody Asked! shared they employed a selection of references to memes and contemporary issues as a strategy to evoke particular feelings of familiarity and frustration in the audience, and also to provoke introspection.

They also deliberately redacted the context of one of their key characters, Woman X, allowing her to escape the failings of the author and audience. An audience member shared that they found it hard to connect with the characters of Nobody Asked! with little information, to which the creators remarked that the ambiguity was precisely to further elude characters beyond simple definition.

Fragments relied on two conventions: Butoh and puppetry.

In order to restore some historicity to Madame Mao’s Memories, they employed Butoh to communicate the pain and anguish brought about by the Cultural Revolution. Embodiment was important to their investigation of intergenerational trauma, so choosing an appropriate form like Butoh to evoke those physical sensations and stark visuals was necessary.

Ci Xuan mentioned they used their massive puppet to do what the human body cannot, such as represent violence. It also communicated otherness, a metaphor for their relationship to and distance from the difficult subject matter. “We’re talking about something that is not like us. Our interactions with (the puppet) were clumsy and awkward; (it expresses that) we’re still trying to grapple with it,” she adds.

Learnings

For many, The Vault: Who’s Asking? Who’s Talking was the first time they were devising an original work. Gaiatri shared that group synergy was important. Where differences in thinking occurred, it made for more robust creative discussions, but it also meant learning to be clear and effective communicators.

Zhe Ern from Fragments reflected that one of her most crucial takeaways was on finding a voice and having something to say. “What do we take into consideration when we want to put something out?” she summarised.

By Lee Shu Yu
Published on 25 May 2021

The two dance artists, Shu En Ho and Syimah Sabtu, and Artistic Director, Hasyimah Harith, during rehearsal at P7:1SMA studio.

While the spotlight is usually on the stage, there is an immense amount of work and preparation that goes on behind the scenes to produce any arts production. Since January 2021, the Arts Management Collective (AMC) has been working to produce RE:CALL, a movement work presented under Centre 42’s Vault series. While the experience has been challenging, it has also pushed the team to fully comprehend how being an arts manager is an expansive role that involves much more than just administrative work. Arts managers need to be flexible and versatile, so as to support and enable the arts in multifold ways.

How It All Began

RE:CALL originated as a class assignment for ACM201: Introduction to Performing Arts Management, an Arts and Culture Management Programme module that was co-taught by Centre 42 at Singapore Management University in 2020. The assignment brief was to develop a proposal to promote Singapore theatre through a presentation which responds to a local theatre production created in the 2000s.

The RE:CALL team chose to respond to the theatrical work Recalling Mother, first written and performed by theatre practitioners Claire Wong and Noorlinah Mohamed in 2006. Recalling Mother’s script is based on Claire’s and Noorlinah’s memories and relationships with their mothers. Through dance, RE:CALL would explore maternal relationships as well as spotlight a unique work in Singapore theatre history.

After ACM201 concluded, Centre 42 selected RE:CALL to be produced. The project team – comprising Victoria Wong, Janice Yap, Ho Shu En, Charlotte Tan, Megan Hon and Jeffrey Kang – began work under the auspices of AMC. The team is joined by Carissa Lim, an alumnus of the Arts and Culture Management Programme.

The Artistic Team

The first step in realising RE:CALL was to assemble an artistic team that would devise and perform the work.

Shu En, who originated the concept behing RE:CALL, is a street dance artist. She is accompanied by Syimah Sabtu, a Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts dance graduate whose practice is rooted in Malay folk dance and contemporary dance. Syimah is also an associate artist with P7:1SMA, a dance performance company that creates intimate and innovative movement experiences, and a key collaborator on RE:CALL. Devising workshops for RE:CALL have been taking place at Rumah P7:1SMA, P7:1SMA’s studio space at Stamford Arts Centre.

P7:1SMA co-founder Hasyimah Harith rounds off the artistic team as artistic director. Both Syimah and Hasyimah were personally interested in exploring the theme of motherhood through dance; the latter, in particular, recently became a mother herself as well.

“Hasyimah being pregnant herself adds another new lens as she would share her own anxieties about becoming a new mother during rehearsals,” shared Carissa. “Being able to collaborate with partners who have both professional alignments and personal interests in the project has deeply enriched the project.”

In addition, Victoria and Janice have been lending dramaturgical assistance to the artistic team. While dramaturgy isn’t something arts managers typically involve themselves with, Victoria and Janice have experience analysing texts – they helped the artistic team identify possible literary devices and tropes from Recalling Mother that could be useful for the devising process.

They have also been prodding the artistic team to explore questions such as: What are the unique characteristics of theatre and dance as two unique art forms, and how could this movement response acknowledge but also bridge the distinctive divides? How faithful should this response be to the original text? Is it important for the audience to be able to identify and relate to the original theatrical text during the dance performance? How can this movement response push boundaries and add value to the existing local arts ecosystem?

Shu En found the presence of the dramaturgs helpful in the devising process. She added, “Different collaborators contribute their own unique sets of expertise to refine and strengthen the art-making process. Having members of our producing team stepping up to act as dramaturgs shows that arts managers are not simply just administrators, but creative individuals who will prioritise and enable the art-making process by lending their unique strengths and capabilities.”

The Arts Management Collective during an online meeting with Claire Wong and Noorlinah Mohamed.

A Living Script

On 5 March 2021, the artistic team and AMC met with Claire and Noorlinah over Zoom. In the conversation, the Recalling Mother artists shared that with each subsequent restaging, their script would change with the passage of time bringing new memories and life events, as well as fresh insights into their relationships with their mothers. In this way, Recalling Mother could continuously evolve as a “living script”.

For the artistic team, this living script methodology made it apparent that RE:CALL could not simply be a rehash of Claire’s and Noorlinah’s stories; rather, the movement response needed to be based on the artists own personal memories and emotions. RE:CALL could only hope to have subsequent lives if the dance artists had personally invested themselves right from the first iteration.

Another interesting point that emerged from the conversation with Claire and Noorlinah was how their friendship was integral to the creation of Recalling Mother. It allowed them to be vulnerable, sensitive and empathetic while excavating their personal memories. Creative work could also continue outside of the rehearsal room, particularly over a good meal!

Following in Claire and Noorlinah’s footsteps, the artistic team realised that they had to develop their relationship with each other – not just personally, but also in terms of an exchange of dance forms and styles. They spent many hours teaching and learning from each other to discover synergies between their differing dance backgrounds. For example, Shu En, with her street dance background, would reimagine Syimah’s delicate Malay folk dance movements with a groovier twist.

“Many rehearsals were often open-ended with no precise plan or goal in sight. They primarily consisted of the dance artists spending time learning and imitating each other’s movements,” observed dramaturg Victoria. “It was necessary to build trust, comfort and mutual respect between the two dance artists, and was key to improving their dance chemistry.”

Engaging Audiences

Charlotte, Janice, Jeffrey and Megan worked together to document the process of devising RE:CALL using a variety of recording methods, from note-taking and drawings, to photographs and video recordings. Documenting the journey of RE:CALL has been an integral component of the project, not just in terms of informing the artistic team’s reflection and refinement but also in heightening the producing team’s reflexivity and sensitivity to the nuances of the artistic process.

Additionally, the documentation material was also used to help attract, educate and engage potential audiences and facilitate a deeper understanding of the contextual information of RE:CALL. Janice, who co-designed the visuals for RE:CALL, pointed out that possible audiences also differed widely. With the interdisciplinary nature of the project, RE:CALL has the potential to attract audiences interested in theatre, dance, and/or interdisciplinary collaborations. There would also be audiences who would not know about Recalling Mother and its history.

With the complexity of the project, its communications strategy needed to accomplish several goals: explain what RE:CALL is about; promote the history of Recalling Mother and its relation to

The two dance artists devising movements based on their recollections of their mothers.

RE:CALL; and illuminate the devising process by the RE:CALL artistic team. Furnishing audiences with this information would both seed anticipation and promote appreciation of the artistic value of the project.

Janice said, “A key challenge has been to develop an overall communications strategy that would reach out to these multiple audience groups, but also not send conflicting messages.”

Going Above and Beyond

RE:CALL has been an invaluable experience for AMC to learn and apply our arts management skills and knowledge outside of a classroom setting. The team not only undertakes the production of the project, but is also heavily involved in artistic development, documentation, and even audience engagement. Being part of more aspects of the behind-the-scenes processes has afforded a more rounded perspective of and a greater sense of commitment to the project.

Ultimately, there is no one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to arts management. Every arts project comes with its own challenges and opportunities – it is the duty of arts managers to meet all these head on.

The Vault: RE:CALL is originally scheduled as a public live event on 19 & 20 June 2021. In view of the health advisories and tightened safe management measures announced on 14 May 2021, this programme will be postponed to a later part of August 2021.

By Arts Management Collective
Published on 24 May 2021

The Vault: RE:CALL is an inter-disciplinary exploration of the creative synergies between dance and theatre. It is a performance response to the text Recalling Mother and its conceptual framework as a “living script”. RE:CALL is produced by the Arts Management Collective in collaboration with P7:1SMA and Centre 42, with the support of Checkpoint Theatre. For more information, click here.

It is an artist-driven residency with an emphasis on three fronts:

• Text-enabled practice

• Peer-to-peer learning

• Resource creation

Explorations are not limited to theatrical scripts, but may include the creation of manifestos, guides, resource packs, reflections and process documentation to benefit the larger community.

The aim of the Co-Lab Residency is to grow a community-centric culture of art-making and knowledge generation.

2021 Resident Collectives

Frequently Asked Questions

Not sure if this residency is suitable for you or your work or have more questions for us? Get in touch with us at residence@centre42.sg

The Co-Lab Residency is an artist-driven space for collaborative exploration of text-enabled practice, with an emphasis on peer to peer learning & resource creation. Launched in 2021, there are currently 4 Collectives in Residence from 2021 to 2022. Read more here.

The Co-Lab Residency is an artist-driven space for collaborative exploration of text-based practice, with an emphasis on peer to peer learning & resource creation. 2021 is the first iteration of the Co-Lab Residency with a total of 4 Resident Collectives. Read more here.

The Co-Lab Residency is an artist-driven space for collaborative exploration of text-based practice, with an emphasis on peer to peer learning & resource creation. 2021 is the first iteration of the Co-Lab Residency with a total of 4 Resident Collectives. Read more here.