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 ]
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.
#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.
