GEL, one of the responses to Eleanor Wong’s Wills and Secession in The Vault: Ties That Bind presenting their work-in-progress on 3 April 2020.

It is a reassuring thing to hear Dr. Robin Loon declare to his class of TS3103 Theatre Lab: “If that’s what you want, just go for it!” His usual endearing and flamboyant manner makes me chuckle just a little, but the words are worth their weight in gold.

I am observing a TS3103 Theatre Lab lesson today. It is strange but comforting being back here, 2 years since I took the module as a Theatre Studies (TS) major at National University of Singapore.

TS3103 is a compulsory final-year project of the TS programme that culminates in a public presentation. This year, the students of TS3103 Theatre Lab present The Vault: Ties That Bind which responds to Eleanor Wong’s Wills and Secession. The work comprises two original performance responses: GEL and Old Lines New Meanings. The former explores relationships between lovers, friends and sisters, while the latter is about a protagonist named Grace, who is forced to choose between her faith and sexuality.

I am immediately struck by the level of independence the students are given in this class, with the module facilitators Robin Loon and Nora Samosir taking a step back, only asking questions, giving suggestions, and… maybe yelling reassurances all around.

It is a very different kind of creative environment than I am used to seeing from TS3103.

You see, in 2018, the Theatre Lab I experienced was markedly different, having just been revamped. Prior to that, TS3103 was known as “Play Production”. Students would have the privilege of working with a professional theatre director on a production that was meant to be a culmination of their three years of learning in the TS curriculum.

However, Robin, who is also the current Module Chair for TS3103, explains that the format was misaligned with the pedagogy of the programme. “We expect the students to do their own production and publicity work and they’ve never really been taught that. And suddenly a director is going to come in and help them accomplish it in 13 weeks. It’s unfair. ” he admits.

So, in 2018, TS3103 was repositioned as “Theatre Lab”, with a stronger experimental and research angle to alleviate the unfair expectations. Despite this, Theatre Lab’s metamorphosis was stuttering and incomplete. In its transition, it had new elements of rigorous research but still upheld the expectations of a ticket-selling production that was helmed by a guest director.

In the first iteration of TS3103 Theatre Lab in 2018, Hana 花 was staged at the UCC Theatre. Photo by Yeo Zhi Zheng.

That year, Dr. Ang Gey Pin directed my peers and I to present Hana 花, a public performance at the University Cultural Centre Theatre. It was a rigorous process of studying and replicating the greats like Meyerhold and Zeami, a medley of theatre legacy and one that offered great insight to Gey Pin’s vibrant practice. However, the curation and direction of the work was also ultimately hers.

The module continued to evolve. By 2019, TS3103 found that its objectives aligned with Centre 42’s The Vault. A new collaboration between NUS Theatre Studies and Centre 42 emerged.

The Vault encourages critical and personal contemporary responses to Singapore theatre history and invites engagement with texts and contexts in a variety of presentation modes. Similarly in Theatre Lab, students are highly encouraged to develop complex and innovative theatrical responses in a research lab practice project, evaluated mainly on its research acumen and not only on its artistry.

There was another major change: for the first time since 1994, the role of the director would be replaced by a dramaturg. The responses would be driven entirely by students. In 2019, this new way of working was piloted, and NUS Theatre Studies and Centre 42 presented The Vault: Gossip, Symphony and Other Matters, responding to Robert Yeo’s One Year Back Home.

The Vault: Gossip, Symphony and Other Matters (2019) comprised three performance responses: Symphony 404, What Matters and Gossip GRLs.

I was thrilled for my juniors. Officially, it is an alignment of objectives, bridging pedagogy and practice. But the response is also a fitting way to reinsert the voice of the student collaborator into the process.

In fact, self-directed learning and personal voice became central to the idea of response in Theatre Lab.

“I want to see point of view; I want to see insight,” Robin says of the modality. “You could do a very accurate staging of a text with fabulous production values, but if there’s no added point of view, you’re just re-staging it.”

For Robin, who is also a co-founder of Centre 42, this method of response benefits not only the students, but the cultural landscape at large. “It is my belief, and one of the driving beliefs behind Centre 42 that we can do a lot more with our cultural capital than to just bury it, or to put it into a museum,” he says. “We can sharpen our creativity and respond to it. We can create new works.”

I understand the urgent fervour behind his words; it is the same sense of agency I craved while fulfilling my own Theatre Lab. I find myself wondering if that was the reason why two months after Hana concluded in April 2018, it felt liberating to present my own brainchild, The Vault: @thisisemeraldgirl, on my own terms. Was it because it felt like I had a voice and point of view too? And that the format of the response helped me be conversant with theatre legacy, rather than a being tool to replicate it?

Now as I follow the developments of 2020’s Theatre Lab for The Vault: Ties That Bind, I notice the very same sense of agency in motion, as evidenced by Robin’s encouragement to “ just go for it!”.

But agency is more than just about handing over the reins altogether. Like a laboratory, the conditions have to be right in order for creative and empowering fissions to take place. And the scaffold within which the students are allowed to freely experiment is perhaps Theatre Lab’s greatest strength, boosted in part by the rigorous demands of the module, which spans just 13 weeks.

A Laboratory Experience

The students attending a workshop conducted by Nora Samosir on Viewpoints actor training.

In January 2020, the students of TS3103 Theatre Lab attended specially curated workshops in Sukuzi and Viewpoints training. They then responded to Wills and Secession in a series of idea pitches. Over the next few weeks, the students were given six opportunities to present their developing works, of which, two are assessed. During these sessions, Robin—the dramaturg—and Nora—the producer—would question, critique and advise the students on their research process, aesthetic choices and next steps.

It is a robust and intensive experience supervised by Robin and Nora that demands accountability, but gives students a safe space within which to work independently.

“Dr. Loon and Ms. Nora made the work-in-progress drafts a very resonant point,” says Dennis Chen from Old Lines New Meanings (2020). “They always say, ‘Just show us your work, then you can edit and discuss.’ It’s like a spine, so that we won’t be afraid, and we can try whatever we want.”

The testing bed allows students to constantly rejig their experiments and craft their own research parameters, justifying or even rejecting options on their own terms.

I see this especially strongly in the groups’ work-in-progress presentations, where the students often defend their decisions against the provocations from their teachers by offering reasoning, or even counter-proposals.

Celine Sara Thio and Dennis Chen performing as Grace and Leslie in Old Lines New Meanings.

In Old Lines New Meanings, Allen is the straight brother of the queer protagonist while Leslie is her gay best friend. Jedidiah Huang, who is part of the group, says, “Dr. Loon once suggested we explore a scene with Allen and Leslie in it. But we decided not to because their masculinity would have been the most obvious trait, and we didn’t want to explore masculinity.”

“Our focus was on interrogating the notion of binaries instead, the fact that you’re always seen as either one or the other,” Ella Wee from the same group, explains.

The ability to self-determine is something Robin highly encourages and facilitates as the dramaturg, opting for a more hands-off approach.

“I prompt the students to think about certain things, but I don’t interfere with their work,” he explains. Instead of instructing them, Robin sometimes doles out one of 3 words: edit, clarify and distill. He explains that that prompt alone is sufficient because the students can recognise how to proceed.

“”Edit, clarify and distill” can mean anything, but it needs to be specific and tailored to the process. The students understand instinctively and kinaesthetically—not just cognitively—what it means, because they’ve gone through the process,” Robin adds.

It nearly flies over my head, so I shoot him a disbelieving look. But then, he asks that I assess my own recent works with the same three words—and I understand intuitively how it works.

The prompts point to three types of general actions the group may adopt: to edit, such as to rearrange or to cut; to make clear, and to concentrate. There are a myriad of ways to interpret and implement the actions depending on the work, but the best choice of how, is always theirs.

“These are all refinement keywords. It’s one of the things that I feel a dramaturg will use without being too interventionist,” Robin explains.

I am beginning to see how the various elements come together to support the students, forming a safe space for their own creativity to take centre stage.

Granted, making theatre is not always refined or straightforward; it cannot always be contained. The creative fissions are often messy and elusive, sometimes even unkind, but the students prove that the laboratory framework facilitates deep inquiry, while still encouraging creative problem-solving and spontaneity.

Old Lines New Meanings in a work-in-progress showing on 3 April 2020.

“Our process involves a lot of interrogation,” says Dennis. “ Somebody will give an idea and I’ll go, “but why?” and we’ll keep pushing, saying “no, that’s not strong”, or “that’s okay, but why?””

It is a good way to keep the work rigourous and insightful, but the group sheepishly admits to “spiralling” very often as a result. They ended up developing sensitivity to these moments of obsession and frustration, and figured a way to break it with the phrase: “let’s just game this”.

“When we need to snap out of overthinking, we play theatre games because they are a good way to just trust the process,” says Ella. “Games also help us to find and shape impulse, a starting point to put a structure to instincts,” Dennis adds.

I’m heartened to learn that the group balances this combination of structure and spontaneity to push their ideas forward, but I also notice that there is an air of steely determination and stubborn refusal to settle for less when it comes to devising work.

When I point this out, they agree in unison. They explain that there is a certain satisfaction in problem-solving for the stage.

““That’s too easy” is something we say a lot. It’s a very common and valid criticism in our process.” Ella says. “If we don’t push it, it can get boring.”

It is exciting to see the students develop their own methodology and philosophies to their work, when given the right space and guidance to pursue it. Robin too, is understandably thrilled at the creative and pedagogical possibilities that arise every year in TS3103. “So much of our education system is about fulfilling certain assessment criteria. This is no exception. But I want to empower students to control and direct their own learning, so that it will stick with them,” he says.

The class of TS3103 Theatre Lab 2020, The Vault: Ties That Bind, with technical director Henrik Cheng, producer Nora Samosir and dramaturg Robin Loon.

“At the end of the day, it’s all theirs. The work, the thinking, it’s all theirs. And no one can take it away from them.”

Sure, the laboratory framework creates a safe and rigourous environment for exploration, and the modality of the response makes the process self-directed and insightful, but all these allow for the students to make their own discoveries, through problem-solving and peer-to-peer instruction, enabling a strong sense of agency and confidence.

As a senior looking back upon the journey of the same name that I once embarked on, I recognise that TS3103 has become a whole new beast, with needs for a very different time. And while there is a new way to the module, there is no perfect method to it. Yet, one thing that has remained constant through the years is the desire of every batch to make good of their time in Theatre Studies with one final hurrah, because even though it bookends the curriculum, perhaps TS3103 is ultimately not just about what students have done, but what they can do.

By Lee Shu Yu
Published 13 May 2020

At the time of the interviews in March 2020, The Vault: Ties that Bind was slated for a public showcase at Teater Ekamatra’s Greymatter on 18 April 2020, but was cancelled due to the COVID-19 outbreak. As the situation escalated, so did the national measures. Eventually, the students evolved and presented their performances in a private Zoom session for their class assessment on 17 April 2020.

On 10 May 2020, NUS Theatre Studies and Centre 42 presented the Zoom watch party of The Vault: Ties That Bind. The Zoom presentation is now available for public viewing, along with a series of documentation materials, such as the timeline of developments in light of the COVID-19 situation. For more information, please visit click here.

Apart from developing a theatrical response, the students are required to deliver documentation to self-reflect and consolidate their learning processes. They embarked on this documentation journey with an introductory workshop conducted by Daniel Teo (Centre 42) on 21 February 2020. The workshop covered broad principles and focused on two methods, namely auto-ethnography and interviewing.

These skills were put to practice throughout the semester via individual and group documentation assignments. Each student had to document their own journey by submitting monthly reflections, effectively testing their auto-ethnography skills. The two groups – “GEL” and “Old Lines New Meanings” – would concurrently document the other group’s processes and practices. Each group had to conceptualise and rationalise their approach to documenting theatre and practice, and produce a written and a video documentation of the other group’s process behind their performance response.

The documentation output listed below provide insights to the creators’ process, but it also reveals the students’ reflexivity, sensitivity to, and understanding of the practices of others.

Documentation about “GEL”

Produced by the team from “Old Lines New Meanings”

Written Documentation: “GEL Alumni Instagram Account” Click to view.

Documentation about “Old Lines New Meanings”

Produced by the team from “GEL”

Written Documentation: Meet The Actors of Old Lines New Meanings

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The Vault: Ties That Bind features two original short performances devised in response to Eleanor Wong’s Wills and Secession. The two performance responses are created by the graduating students of the NUS Theatre Studies TS3103 Theatre Lab, engaging with and responding to the text and context of Wills and Secession. Ties That Bind is presented by Centre 42 and NUS Theatre Studies, and supported by Teater Ekamatra. Click here to find out more.

Wills and Secession is the second play in Eleanor Wong’s landmark trilogy Invitation to Treat, which features Ellen Toh, an ambitious lawyer and gay woman.

At the end of the first play, Mergers and Accusations, Ellen has fallen in love with colleague, Lesley, and parted ways with husband-slash-best friend, Jon. In Wills and Secession, Ellen and Lesley now live in London, but when the play opens, Ellen is back in Singapore to attend her mother’s funeral. With her religious sister, Grace, she sorts through her late mother’s belongings.

When Grace’s husband, a pastor, and her family are called away on a long-term missionary trip, Ellen moves back to Singapore with Lesley to look after her father. Lesley, however, develops a terminal illness. Grace returns as Lesley nears her demise.

Development

Eleanor Wong credits Ong Keng Sen, artistic director of TheatreWorks and co-director of Mergers and Accusations, for the push to write a sequel for Ellen. The following is an excerpt from an interview with writer Ng Yi-Sheng on 6 September 2019 when Yi-Sheng was conducting research for The Vault: Desert Blooms (2019):

“Wills [and Secession] was yet another Keng Sen intervention. I’m very grateful to Keng Sen for always being so manipulative. And I use the word “manipulative” in the most loving way.

“I was back in Singapore and working quite hard at an international law firm, but if I’m not mistaken, Keng Sen was the one who came to me and said, “Is there more to this story?”

“It was very, very, very hard to write, partly because of all the work I had, partly because it dealt with a topic that was more harmful than just love: family and religion.

“I still remember Keng Sen and his phone calls. We were at an office at Tung Centre, the glass windows facing into the secretarial pool, and somewhere in the middle of the day, 3 or 4 in the afternoon when he’d first woken up, he’d call and say: “El, what are you feeling? What is it about this scene?”

“And at the end, I’d be blubbering. I’d close the door, bring down the blinds. He’d do the El-whispering and make me cry, and three pages would come out. So it was a troubled birth that one.”

First Staging

Wills and Secession was first staged by TheatreWorks from 14 to 21 Sep 1995 at the Jubilee Hall, Raffles Hotel, under the direction of Ong Keng Sen.

Tan Kheng Hua and Koh Joo Kim reprised their roles as Ellen and Lesley respectively, and Claire Wong joined the cast as Ellen’s sister, Grace.

The set featured an installation of over 3,000 empty whiskey bottles, designed and created by Susie Lingham.

In her 2019 interview with Yi-Sheng, Eleanor recalled that she and the production team were worried that Wills would be shut down if audience members were to complain about the play’s handling of religion. The production received an “R(A)” rating from the authorities, but according to Eleanor, the rating was not for salacious content. Writing in the programme, Eleanor says,

“If you came for sex or violence, you’ll probably be disappointed… Instead, it’s family and faith. The F words that (to me, at least) make this an R(A) play.”

Wills was subsequently restaged in 2001 by TheatreWorks as part of a double bill, in 2003 as part of a triple bill by Wild Rice, and in 2004 as part of a Mandarin double bill by Toy Factory Productions.

Responses

“The work takes the lesbian identity of the two women [Ellen and Lesley] as a given and focuses largely on the issue of mortality, as Ellen comes to terms with Lesley’s terminal illness. Lesley serves as a conduit for repairing Ellen’s damaged relationship with her family, and by the end of the play Ellen has reached a higher level of truth and integrity in her most vexing relationship – the one between herself and her religious sister. Thus the play is more about mortality and the fragile but fundamental bonds between siblings than it is about Ellen’s identity as a lesbian.

[…]

As with Mergers and Accusations, the mature and confident handling of the lesbian identity of the play’s central character was not stressed in the promotional materials connected with the play’s production.

[…]

Because the lesbian identity of the play’s central character is a purely personal matter and the play does not lobby for change or present any fundamental criticism of society, it falls squarely within established censorship guidelines. The way in which the play was framed for public consumption by TheatreWorks mitigated the potential explosiveness of the play’s content, neutralizing any possible perceptions that the play contains with it a radical social statement.”

Source: Queer the Stage by William Peterson. In Theater and the Politics of Culture in Contemporary Singapore (pp. 150-151). 2001: Wesleyan University Press.

On the 2001 staging by TheatreWorks:

“Indeed Ellen Toh here shares much of the limelight with her sister. One could even argue that WILLS AND SECESSION is really Grace’s play, for the play charts her evolution from a woman deeply uneasy with her older sister’s sexuality and spiritual apostasy to one who is able to accept and love both her sister and her partner for whom they are. More importantly, Grace is a highly nuanced character, not simply some pharisaic assistant pastor’s wife parroting the party line, functioning as a crucial balance to Ellen’s emotive rhetoric which sometimes borders on the casuistic.”

Jurisimprudence by Seow Yien Lein. In Flying Inkpot (24 Mar 2001)

On the 2003 staging by Wild Rice:

“After the bittersweet ending of Mergers, Wills takes on a deeper, more pain-wrought tone. Sibling rivalry and resentment eventually tumble out in a hospital waiting room. But there is reconciliation and acceptance to be had. There is a moving moment near the play’s end, when Grace says family is there to ‘inconvenience and impose’.”

Source: Doublebill is double the treat by Clara Chow. In Straits Times (7 April 2003).

“The play is pensive, broken by sudden releases of tension, operating on an emotive as well as intellectual level that made the rich multi-layered dynamics of the script possible. Fraught with stillness, silence and tiredness, with missed chances and angry disconnections, it dealt with lost desires, lukewarm touches, obligations and a grudging acceptance of life and death. More than being just about the ghosts of the sisters’ childhood (wonderfully conveyed through bursts of song that delighted the audience), more than being about God or the belief in one, this play was about the reality of responsibility, about hurt that lasts, about the cruelty of disease.

“The script was honest, even confrontational, forcing one to feel less like a voyeur and more like a participant. The words spoken were raw and real and I found myself nodding in empathy as the lines were delivered, feeling the pain and crying the tears.”

Source: A Family Affair by Jolene Hwee. In Flying Inkpot (7 Apr 2003), https://tinyurl.com/y84oekxn

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The Vault: Ties That Bind features two original short performances devised in response to Eleanor Wong’s Wills and Secession. The two performance responses are created by the graduating students of the NUS Theatre Studies TS3103 Theatre Lab, engaging with and responding to the text and context of Wills and Secession. Ties That Bind is presented by Centre 42 and NUS Theatre Studies, and supported by Teater Ekamatra. Click here to find out more.

The Vault: Ties That Bind features two performance responses devised in response to Eleanor Wong’s Wills and Secession.
This is a recording of the 17-Apr presentations adapted for the Zoom platform.
GEL – 00:00:45 / Old Lines New Meanings – 00:20:06
[ Content Warning: Some strong language and content dealing with religion and sexuality ]

SynopsisGELOld Lines New MeaningsResourcesCredits3 Apr: WIP Showing10 May: Zoom Watch Party

The Vault: Ties That Bind comprises two short performances devised in response to Eleanor Wong’s Wills and Secession. This public presentation was to have taken place on 18 April 2020 at Teater Ekamatra’s Greymatter, but was cancelled due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Since January, eleven students of the National University of Singapore’s Theatre Studies TS3103 Theatre Lab have been engaging with the text and context of Wills and Secession. The play is the second work of Eleanor Wong’s landmark trilogy Invitation to Treat, which features ambitious lawyer and gay woman Ellen Toh. In Wills and Secession, Ellen contends with family obligations, her sister’s religious beliefs, and her partner’s impending death.

The Theatre Lab students devised in response to the themes, issues and dramaturgy of Wills and Secession, and from their perspective as young theatremakers 25 years from when the play first premiered. Over the course of the semester, they also had to take into account the increasingly stringent safe-distancing measures. What emerged were two unique performances – GEL and Old Lines New Meanings – which encapsulate the concerns of the contemporary milieu, as well as our pandemic present.

The COVID-19 Pandemic

We were very fortunate to have been able to document a rehearsal of Ties That Bind on 3 April 2020, mere hours before the national Circuit Breaker measures were announced. In lieu of a public presentation, the Theatre Lab students evolved and presented their performances in a private Zoom session for their class assessment on 17 April 2020.

REGISTRATION

Saturday, 18 April 2020
2.30pm & 7.30pm
@ Greymatter, Aliwal Arts Centre

Admission: Give-What-You-Can
(Cash only, at the door)

– CANCELLED –

GEL is about strained relationships. Friends who fail to listen. Sisters who never really meet. Lovers tested by faith. But are these relationships truly that different from one another? What draws us, time and time again, to each other?

(From left) Lim Shi-An, Shirley Wang, Seow Shiying, Rose Marie Kit Yee Henry, Joe Ong, Rachel Yen

 

Artist Bios

JOE ONG is a dancer trained in Chinese dance and contemporary dance. Throughout her years of training in dance, she has choreographed various dance pieces including Light A Fire for Canvas II (2016), Reminiscence for NUS HERE! Arts Carnival (2018), and Homeward Bound for Huayi Chinese Festival of Arts (2019).

LIM SHI-AN was first introduced to professional theatre through the W!LD RICE pantomimes, which she performed in from 2006 to 2011. Her screen credits include the short film Balik Kampung by Derrick Chew and an HBO ASIA original entitled Serangoon Road. She was part of the 2015 and 2017 stagings of Normal by Checkpoint Theatre in 2015 and 2017. Apart from acting, Shi-An also enjoys singing and songwriting.

RACHEL YEN is an actor and creator. With training from the School Of The Arts (SOTA) and East 15 Acting School, she hopes to continue honing her craft whilst studying in NUS Theatre Studies. Her recent works include Open Studio: Still Life (2018) by Checkpoint Theatre, Girls Girls Girls (2019) on Not Safe For TV, and The Hawker (2019) by The Second Breakfast Company.

ROSE MARIE KIT YEE HENRY has been passionate about theatre since secondary school, taking part in many theatre productions. Since then, she has studied under the Drama Elective Program (DEP) at Anglo-Chinese Junior College (ACJC) and continues to study theatre in university. She has performed in works such as Lady Windermere’s Fan (2016), The Adventures of Odysseus (2016) and The Student is Present (2018).

SEOW SHIYING is a dancer and creator. Throughout her years of dance training in contemporary dance and street jazz, she has performed and choreographed pieces for productions, with her most recent project: Show Me How You Burlesque for NUS Dance Uncensored (2020). Prior to university, she has written and produced content for The Smart Local, discovering a passion for content creation ever since. Her love for the performing arts led her to major in the NUS Theatre Studies programme where she continues to hone her craft and passion.

SHIRLEY WANG has worked in films and plays such as Romeo and Juliet, Undercover and Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean. Her passion for theatre was ignited in secondary school, where she first dabbled in writing her first Mandarin play. Ever since, she has been a regular supporter of local theatre and arts.

 

Old Lines New Meanings features Grace, a typical student at St. Sebastian Junior College. She is a good Christian daughter, a kind sister to her younger sibling, and the faithful vice president of the Christian Fellowship — and she is in love with her best friend, Jean. How will Grace navigate the conflict between her faith and sexuality?

(From left) Dennis Chen, Celine Sara Thio, Saeyang Nitradee (Victoria), Jedidiah Huang, Ella Wee

 

Artist Bios

CELINE SARA THIO came to NUS to move away from performing on stage and yet, here she is. Her work as a Stage Manager includes How I Learned To Drive (Wag The Dog), 我的妈妈是ENY (Resorts World Sentosa), and Army Daze 2. Outside the theatre, Celine enjoys coffee and the company of her Pokémon.

DENNIS CHEN is an aspiring multimedia storyteller who writes about anything from hypertext (fan)fiction, to theatre reviews, to rants and musings about sociocultural issues. Dennis can be found lurking “anonymously” on Twitter @vforvesta_.

ELLA WEE doesn’t always know what/who/how she is but this is what she knows: she studies literature and theatre. She writes, tries to do aerial arts, screams internally, and backbends. She is interested in experimenting and wants to explore the ideas of care and reparative reading in our engagement with art.

JEDIDIAH HUANG first fell into theatre’s love trap through TS1101E: Introduction to Theatre Studies. Since then, he has performed in independent, hall and NUS stage and screen productions. He is in a committed relationship with narrative structure but has decided to cheat on her this once.

SAEYANG NITRADEE (VICTORIA) is currently pursuing a double degree in Theatre Studies and Political Economy of International Development. She enjoys travelling and is actively involved in the music community in the University Scholars Programme at NUS.

 

 

#1: ABOUT WILLS AND SECESSION

#2: TIMELINE OF TIES THAT BIND

#3: CONDUCTING DOCUMENTATION IN TS3103 THEATRE LAB

#4: “IF THAT’S WHAT YOU WANT, JUST GO FOR IT!”: A TS3103 REFLECTION

#5: THE HISTORY OF QUEER SINGAPORE THEATRE (1985-1995) / “THE VAULT: DESERT BLOOMS”

 

OLD LINES NEW MEANINGS
Celine Sara Thio
Dennis Chen
Ella Wee
Jedidiah Huang
Saeyang Nitradee (Victoria)

GEL
Joe Ong
Lim Shi-An
Rachel Yen
Rose Marie Kit Yee Henry
Shirley Wang
Seow Shiying

 

DRAMATURG
Dr. Robin Loon
(Module Chair TS3103 Theatre Lab)

PRODUCERS
Nora Samosir
(Coordinator TS3103 Theatre Lab)

Ma Yanling
(Centre 42)

TECHNICAL CONSULTANT
Henrik Cheng

DOCUMENTATION WORKSHOP FACILITATOR
Daniel Teo
(Centre 42)

DOCUMENTATION
Daniel Teo
Lee Shu Yu
(Centre 42)

 

Centre 42 and NUS Theatre Studies would like to warmly thank Eleanor Wong and Teater Ekamatra for their generosity and help.

 

This recording of Ties That Bind was completed just hours before the announcement of school and workplace closures to curb the transmission of the COVID-19 virus. A week earlier, all theatres had been shut down.

The closed-door work-in-progress showing of GEL and Old Lines New Meanings incorporates one-metre social distancing, and showcases only text and movement. The chairs represent audience configurations unique to each performance response. This is the last time Ties That Bind would be performed onstage in the semester.

 

On 10 May 2020, Centre 42 held an online watch party to premiere the Zoom presentations of Ties That Bind. Over 100 guests attended the premiere party and joined in a Q&A with the student creators facilitated by module chair Dr. Robin Loon. Click below to see photos from the event.

 

 

 

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The Vault: Ties That Bind features two original short performances devised in response to Eleanor Wong’s Wills and Secession. The two performance responses are created by the graduating students of the NUS Theatre Studies TS3103 Theatre Lab, engaging with and responding to the text and context of Wills and Secession. Ties That Bind is presented by Centre 42 and NUS Theatre Studies, and supported by Teater Ekamatra.