BI(CARA) is a new work based on the talk Why Do We Do What We Do? by zoologist and ex-CEO of the Singapore Zoological Gardens Bernard Harrison. His controversial talk questioned the ethics of man in the ways we treat animals as meat for consumption, entertainment and commodity.

“Bicara” is the word for “talk/discuss” in Malay and Indonesian, while “cara” means “how”. BI(CARA) reflects Pink Gajah Theatre’s wish to have a conversation with you about the individual relationships we have with animals and how we are journeying alongside them in the 21^st century.

This visceral physical work by perfomer Sharda Harrison questions society as much as it reflects upon and unravels human behaviour and our relationships to animals through history, myths, and examining the rituals and culture of the Orang Asli (First People).

BI(CARA) is commissioned and presented by M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2016, under the Festival theme “Art and the Animal”. As a physical performer, most, if not all of Sharda’s vocabulary comes from the animal, so much so that she does not distinguish herself as separate from an animal. This work is her submergence into the physicality of a few animals (and humans) that have evolved through extensive research through articles, essays and interviews on wildlife and conservation with her research and playwriting team. As an animal, standing up for animals, Sharda felt that she needed to address this and to poke, provoke, excite, intrigue and draw audiences back into a visceral world of ritual, honor, connection and acknowledgement of who we are in relation to every other being living amongst us.

Credit source: M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2016

BI(CARA) began in September with Sharda’s solo sessions in the space, writing the texts, the ideas; then bouncing them off with co-writer Sabrina and experimenting movement ideas with physical director Alessandra. The greater team – with light, sound, multimedia designers – came into the space in December to experiment with the various set design ideas. A work-in-progress was presented to the Fringe festival team and invited guests on 7 January 2016 in the Rehearsal Studio, where discussion about the work – from performative details to set design to text and intentions – took place. Input gathered will go towards refining the play in the last few weeks leading up to the opening on 21 January 2016.

Apprentice Dramaturg Nidya Shanthini Manokara, who is in the Centre’s Dramaturgy Apprenticeship Programme (The Garage) is on a work-attachment with BI(CARA), offering dramaturgical support to Sharda throughout the developmental process.

Pink Gajah Theatre
Pink Gajah Theatre is a company formed in 2013 and founded by local arts educator and theatre practitioner, Sharda Harrison. Our focus is in two aspects of theatre. We are a drama in education company and work with students and participants of all ages from the community. Our second focus is to provide a platform to devise and create new works.

Man Made God, Pink Gajah’s debut performance, was launched at the 2013 Lit Up indie arts festival by Word Forward. Why Do We Do What We Do? was performed as a solo piece by Sharda Harrison in 2014 in collaboration with Word Forward.

Performer/ Director/ Co-writer – Sharda Harrison
Sharda Harrison is an actor currently residing in Singapore. She graduated from LASALLE College of the Arts with a BA (Hons) degree in Acting in 2009. In 2013, Sharda set up her own theatre and education company, Pink Gajah Theatre. Her most recent works include Hotel, Another Country and The House of Bernarda Alba by W!ld Rice, Gitanjali (I feel the Earth Move) and untitled cow number one by The Necessary Stage, Decimal Points 5.1 by Cake Theatre, The Crucible by Toy Factory, Naga Mandala by HuM Theatre and her own work, Why Do We Do What We Do? by Pink Gajah Theatre.

She has been nominated twice for Best Supporting Actress at the annual The Straits Times Life! Theatre awards for her roles in The Necessary Stage’s Crossings and Toy Factory’s The Crucible. Her most recent nomination at The Straits Times Life! Theatre awards was for Best Ensemble in The Necessary Stage’s Poor Thing.

Physical Dramaturg – Alessandra Fel
Alessandra Fel is an actress and physical theatre performer, director and teacher. After 12 years of professional experience in London, in 2012 she founded TheatreLab, an International Physical Theatre Centre (IPTC), in her hometown in Italy. She relocated to Singapore in 2013. Since then she has been teaching theatre and improvisation at LASALLE College of the Arts, Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, School of the Arts Singapore, and acting in theatre productions and commercials.

After receiving her degree in philosophy, Alessandra completed her Master in Contemporary Theatre at the Brunel University, London and then continued with a two years full-time Lecoq training at the London International School of Performing Arts (LISPA). During this time, she also studied Butoh, acrobatics and clowning. In 2009, she received a diploma in teaching adults and children from City Lit London.

During her time in London, Alessandra gained significant experience as a director and performer in the following fields: physical theatre, dance theatre, tragic chorus, site-specific theatre, opera, short films, voiceovers and teaching.

Some of her most notable collaborations include Bizet’s The Pearl Fishers and Handel’s Radamisto at the English National Opera (ENO).

Alessandra is also a choreographer in residence at Maya Dance Theatre.

Resident Researcher/ Visual and Text Dramaturg – Charlene Shepherdson
Charlene Shepherdson is interested in the intersection where environment, heritage and technology meet. She forges new towers of meaning with stories to help people find their voices. Her words have been published in From Walden to Woodlands (Ethos Books), A Luxury We Cannot Afford and SingPoWriMo 2014: The Anthology (Math Paper Press) and The Straits Times. Her words have also travelled to poetry slams and open mics in Asia and made appearances as visual text at The Arts House, The Substation and Singapore libraries under the National Art Council’s Project LAVA.

Lighting Designer – Cheyenne Alexandria Phillips
Cheyenne Alexandria Phillips has been a theatre enthusiast for as long as she can remember. A graduate from Tampines Junior College’s (TPJC) Drama Elective Program, Cheyenne has directed, crewed and designed lights and sounds for numerous productions in TPJC and National University of Singapore. She debuted as a lighting designer and stage manager for Yellow Chair’s (Mono)play (2014) and pushed her design work in Word Forward’s and Pink Gajah Theatre’s Why We Do What We Do (2014). With each performance, she hopes to hone her skills further to give each and every audience member a truly memorable experience.

Co-writer – Sabrina Dzulkifli
Sabrina has spent nearly her whole life writing, and only recently transposed her interests to theatre. As an International Baccalaureate Career-related Certificate (IBCC) theatre student at School of the Arts, Singapore (SOTA), Sabrina has been immersed in both crafts and hopes to continue to be able to do so once she graduates (hopefully!) this year. Her other writing credits include a student production of Have a Ball on Me (2012), Of Babies (not really) and People (2013) which toured around the Southeast districts of Singapore as part of TheatreWorks Writers’ Laboratory. The latter was the winning play in the Youth Category of TheatreWork’s 24-hour Playwriting Competition. She has also written for her graduate student production Between the Red and White (2015) and will be showcasing another written piece Counting (2015) as part of her Playwright Residency at Woodlands Regional Library in early 2016. Besides writing, Sabrina also has interests in directing and collaborative devised work. Her recent directing credits include student productions of Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea (2013) and Majulah, Comrats! (2015)—which she also wrote for—where she explored elements such as mask work, physicality and multimedia. In her artistry, she hopes to explore other languages of storytelling, incorporating interdisciplinary and multi-disciplinary work.

Visual Artist – Sean Harrison
Sean Harrison is an up-and-coming filmmaker and media designer who has worked on many film and commercial sets. He has a diploma in film and is currently pursuing his degree in film at SAE Institute. Sean is Pink Gajah’s Artistic Director and runs the company’s film direction. He has worked closely with Sharda Harrison to design media for theatre, which is fast becoming one of his passions and skills. He designed the film art for Pink Gajah Theatre’s debut performance Man Made God. His recent works include Pink Gajah Theatre’s In Sya Allah—a short documentary on a Eurasian woman’s conversion to Islam. He has recently been selected as one of the artists to be mentored under Brian Gothong Tan for The Necessary Stage’s The Orange Playground. Sean is also a musician and singer.

Sound Artist – Mei Yin
Lim Mei Yin started her journey in music making with learning to play the piano at the age of nine. She moved on to percussion in her teenage years, and eventually her curiosity in sounds led her to explore the realms of sound design and music composition. Currently working as a videographer, her approach to creating soundscapes is often inspired by what she sees around her and how that translates to how she feels. As the resident sound artist for Pink Gajah Theatre, she hopes to continually explore and work towards making sounds that affect minds and stir hearts.

Credit source: M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2016