First Act(s), Part 3

First Act(s) is a 4-part series featuring 8 plays-in-progress from a group of budding playwrights brought together by fate. These plays were born at the ‘Playwriting Workshop with Haresh Sharma’ (organised by the National Library Board, September – October 2018), and have now been taken to their next developmental step of rewrites and readings.

The plays will be publicly read to an invited audience for the first time, over 4 separate Guest Room sessions from March to July 2019:

Part 1, March 2019

• Twin Butterflies by Clara Mok
• We Cannot Bring Money When We Die by Christine Chia

Part 2, April 2019

• Touch Wood by Auderia Tan
• Untitled by XM Lim-Fang

Part 3, June 2019

• A Midsummer White Dream by Ivy Chen
• The House of Golden Chains by Larnce Alahendra

Part 4, July 2019

• If Tomorrow Comes Again by Ivan Choong
• Silence by Alicia Kan

A Midsummer White Dream by Ivy Chen

Synopsis – Sarong Party Girl/White Fever – These just refer to a woman who is mad over white cocks. Why? Do these women want to be colonised by their former colonisers? This is a question that needs an answer to.

Playwright – Ivy is a fresh graduate from NTU with a double major in English and Psychology. She is looking for a job to sustain her side interest, that is, playwriting.

Actors – Auderia Tan, Grace Kanai, Ivan Choong, Jaisilan Sathiasilan, Miriam Cheong

The House of Golden Chains by Larnce Alahendra

Synopsis – Westernized Sinhalese girl who grew up in traditional high caste kandyan family struggling to come out as a lesbian as her fiercely traditional mother prepares an arranged marriage for her.

Playwright – Larnce Alahendra is a Sinhalese born in Sri Lanka and who moved to Singapore after her marriage. She has completed a short course in screenwriting at the Tisch School of arts Asia and is currently editing her first novel.

Actors – Victoria Chen, Grace Kanai, Ivy Chen, Ivan Choong, Tanvi Kothary, Jaisilan Sathiasilan, Te hao boon