Juliana Kassim Chan (extreme right) performing in a showcase with her LASALLE classmates during an eight-week residency at Centre 42 in 2019.
By Juliana Kassim Chan
Published on 14 January 2020
I don’t remember the first time I visited Centre 42, but I remember vividly how amused I was that this building was so different than all the other monochromatic architecture most of us are used to when we think of art spaces. I’m quite sure I even giggled and said out loud to my friends, “My god, it’s blue!”
There’s a comfort that lives within this place, like that one spot you always hung out at in secondary school with your clique. If I had to live in a performing space (which I admit is a strange premise to put myself in), it would be Centre 42, hands down.
It almost feels like there’s nothing I’ve not done at the blue house.
Upon graduating from polytechnic I went through the all-too-familiar ‘now what?’ phase, and eventually decided that applying for the Arts Management programme at LASALLE would be the perfect balance of practicality and creativity. I was accepted, but something didn’t feel quite right. So I did what any young and spritely adult would do – try a little bit of everything.
Juliana (circled) performing in “Family” (2016) by the Second Breakfast Company.
Around the same time, Bound Theatre came together to devise an original production titled Invasion. Hungry and clueless, we were nomads and the Rehearsal Studio and Meeting Room at Centre 42 became our temporary home. It was also my first time producing a theatre show. Bringing people into the space was my first taste of creative liberation. There were places for us to tell the world we exist!
I was gaining confidence that I could create work and there were spaces for me to do it, but what I really wanted to do was act. Anyone toying with the idea of making acting a profession has probably been through a moment of second, third, fourth guessing. How could it ever be possible, right?! On a whim, I auditioned for The Second Breakfast Company’s debut production of Family. In our weekly sessions I found a community of young actors and driven creators. I loved every part of it, and kept thinking to myself, “This is it. This is what I want my life to be.” That was also my first time performing at Centre 42.
In the haze of not knowing what to do, I remember sitting with the director of a show I was involved in at the Starbucks down Waterloo Street. It was my first time stage managing. In between rehearsals, I had confided in her that I was afraid of pursuing acting because I didn’t know if it could be a viable career. I didn’t know if I was good enough to do it. I don’t remember her words exactly, but it was blunt, honest and was everything I needed to hear but was too afraid to tell myself. That conversation was the hard nudge to the path I wanted to venture on.
So I did it. I applied for the Acting programme at LASALLE and promised myself that I would make it work. Fast forward three years later, and my class of graduating actors find out that we have a residency at the blue house planned for us. Not only were we going to spend eight weeks there, we also had the opportunity to curate our own experience. The result was a carousel of industry creators that we learned from and created work with. It was truly an explosion of creative juices, eight weeks straight!
Juliana (left) hosting a post-show dialogue during her class’s eight-week residency at Centre 42 in 2019.
We got to create our own audio plays, learn the basics of jazz dance, create our own devised work, direct and write our own plays. Every day was a new adventure, not without a cup of Kopi from the coffee shop opposite, of course. It’s surreal comparing myself where I am now to where I was a few years ago. Some things remain the same, of course. You’ll still find me snacking outside the rehearsal studio, or loitering outside the library running lines. But the ability to now say, “Yes, I am an actor” is a result of all the moments I’ve collected being inspired by the people around me. I owe it all to those who have empowered me to go for what I truly want. Centre 42 has a soft spot in my heart for being that place I could fail at, embarrass myself at, and discover new worlds at.
It almost feels like there’s nothing I’ve not done at the blue house, but I know that there’s so much more that can be done. With graduation right around the corner, the possibilities truly feel endless. Who knows what I’ll do here next. The only thing I know is that this isn’t the last time. I’ll make sure of it.
Juliana Kassim Chan is an actor, voiceover artist and drama educator. She is currently receiving formal acting training at LASALLE College of the Arts and is a recipient of the Veda Mekani Scholarship for Performing Arts.
Read the other essays in this series about the blue house on 42 Waterloo Street:
