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Publications

PIE to SPOILT

Collection of four highly innovative plays written by Chong Tze Chien, the resident playwright of Singapore's socially committed theatre company, The Necessary Stage (f.1987). The plays are complemented by an introduction by Prof. K.K. Seet, director of the Theatre Studies Program at the National University of Singapore and interviews with Alvin Tan, founder of the Necessary Stage. The plays cut furrows far from conventional boulevard theatre and deal with society's margins and constantly question, confront and destabilise conventional norms of Singaporeans. Chong Tze Chien's PIE (Pan Island Expressway) won the 1998 Singapore Dramatist Award and was staged by TheatreWorks in 1999.
2002
 

Essays/Writings

Prospects for Multi-Sectoral Partnerships in Singapore

How has the growth of civil society in Singapore affected the development of multi-sectoral partnerships in the city-state?  What are the political context of state-society relations in Singapore, and the prospects for such multi-stakeholder partnerships?

 

Project Serial Number: AA200201

Due to copyright restrictions, we are unable to reproduce this essay/writing online. Please contact the resource owner directly for permissions if reproduction rights do not belong to The Necessary Stage Ltd. Otherwise, kindly contact us for access to the full resource. Do note that archival access and reproduction charges may apply.
2002
 

Workshops

Playwright's Cove

Launched in February 2001, The Necessary Stage's Playwright's Cove is a development and mentorship programme aimed at nurturing, processing and platforming contemporary playwrighting for Singapore Theatre.

Over the past year, an ensemble of playwrights in Singapore have met regularly to create new works, discuss and exchange ideas, engage in dramaturgy, and received mentorship and guidance from The Necessary Stage. Additionally, the playwrights are exposed to the working environment of the professional theatre company to understand different aspects of theatre-making from administration to production.
2001

Productions

Pale Testament

Grey Shirt. Hotel Room. Club Sandwich. Hougang. Sarkies Road. Car. Car. Car. Bra. Cigarette. Television. A sea of images. Associate, dissociate, mis-associate. Be prepared for a sensory overload as Julius Foo and Chong LiChuan joins Herman Chong aka NoSleepRequired in the first remix of Pale Testament. Pale Testament was first realised as a video installation as part of the exhibition Dense which was presented at the Alliance Francaise in July 2000. This is first remix of Pale Testament.
2000
 -
Singapore
 

Productions

Princess Diana is Dead

A totally new theatrical concoction. A mockumentary. A corporate video. An installation.  A short movie. What the hell do The Necessary Stage, Singapore and Marine Parade have to do with the death of "England's Rose"?
2000
 -
Singapore
 

Workshops

Playwright's Web

Playwright's Web is an exciting cross-cultural project spanning 6 months (Jan - Jun 2000). The project, organised by The Calgary Arts Centre and jointly administered with The Necessary Stage, will enable young people to promote cultural understanding, aesthetic learning, research and writing skills, creativity, the use of IT, and of course making new friends. Students from two local schools, Tanjong Katong Secondary School and St. Hilda's Secondary School will be linked up with students from Milton High School in Calgary.

They will be communicating mainly via e-mail, and will 'meet' via video-conferencing. The students do research on each other's culture, resulting in scripts being written, and then finally each other's scripts in their respective schools.

While the project with The Calgary Arts Centre will end by June 2000, the process in Singapore will continue as the schools prepare to stage the plays that emerge from Playwrights' Web at M1 Youth Connection 2001. Watch out for them!!!
1999
 

Productions

Picture the Mirroring

"Everyday" situations and the physical being are highlighted through video, language, text, body parts. What is/are the connection/s? Picture in the Mirroring presents this challenge, inviting audiences to investigate and make their own connections.
1999
 -
Singapore
 

Essays/Writings

Performing Performance

Published in Substance July-August 1999.

This essay/writing was reproduced courtesy of The Substation.

Project Serial Number: AA199901
1999
 

Essays/Writings

Postmodern Elements of Theories And Practice

This thesis investigates collaboration as a creation method that contests the assumptions behind traditional theatre's hierarchical structure. Tradtionally, the playwright occupies the primary creation phase, leaving the director, designers and actors to fulfill an interpretative function. However, works primarily reliant on non-literary signifiers require a methodology that involves artists from varied disciplines earlier in the creation process.

Collaborating hierarchically gives way to co-authorship collaboration, revising the natures of artistic roles, relationships and composition. Interdisciplinary practice is adopted by practitioners interested in exploring the interactions between the literary text and the resources of other disciplines, giving rise to hybrid and semiotic-based performance texts.

The aim of this thesis is to appreciate the ways in which issue-orientated '60s and '70s social transformation theatre is contemporised to a theatre of empowerment whose object is to challenge rationalised mindsets and empower imaginations through engaging the audience as co-artist. The collaborative practices of British playwright Caryl Churchill and American's Wooster Group are compared to examine the relationships between their processes and application of artistic strategies in organising their materials. The thesis concludes with an analysis of how a Singaporean theatre company, The Necessary Stage modifies and applies the lessons learned in its collaborative works Pillars and Galileo (I Feel The Earth Move).

Project Serial Number: AA199902
1998
 

Staging

Pillars

An exploration of Malays and Chinese in Singapore past and present, the play is divided into six episodes:

Sang Nila Utama has a vision for tomorrow.

People run amok.

SitiMat tells the story of the nangka.

Three sisters try to resist rape.

Father knows best.

Virgins bathe at the well.

Using music, movement, humour and strong visuals, Pillars weaves yesterday's folklore and fables with today's images and metaphors, and brings you into a quirky new world which is also your home.
1997
 -
Singapore
 

Productions

Pillars

An exploration of Malays and Chinese in Singapore past and present, the play is divided into six episodes:

Sang Nila Utama has a vision for tomorrow.

People run amok.

SitiMat tells the story of the nangka.

Three sisters try to resist rape.

Father knows best.

Virgins bathe at the well.

Using music, movement, humour and strong visuals, Pillars weaves yesterday's folklore and fables with today's images and metaphors, and brings you into a quirky new world which is also your home.
1997
 -
Singapore
 

Talks & Interviews

Playwriting in Singapore

The Necessary Stage hosts a series of forums with the aim of discussing issues pertinent to artists and their craft. These forums were recorded and documented in 9 Lives: 10 Years of Singapore Theatre.

Over the past five years, there have been more opportunities for playwrights in Singapore - with playwriting workshops, writer's laboratories, commissions and playwriting competitions. However, with the growth of commercial theatre, film and tele-drama in Singapore there is a perception that playwriting is facing a certain crisis.

Panelists offered their personal responses to the following:
- What drives a playwright to write
- Can playwrights exist by just writing for the theatre
- Will film, TV and growing commercialisation lead to the demise of the Singapore playwright

The video recording is available upon request.
1996
 -
Singapore
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