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Workshops

TOP Showcase 1

In 2014, The Necessary Stage launched The Orange Playground (TOP), a creative research and development programme for emerging and established artists. A total of five TOP Lab sessions were held, involving 36 artists going through more than 200 hours of intensive research and exploration. From 27 Feb – 1 March, 2015, we are proud to present TOP Showcase 1 where artists will share their works with the audience for discussion and feedback.
2015
 

Talks & Interviews

Visions of Utopia

Alvin was invited to be a Panellist at the Singapore Dreaming Conference, for the panel "Visions of Utopia", alongside Eunice Seng and Alfian Sa'at, moderated by Dan Feng.  Singapore Dreaming is a two year project by Asian Urban Lab where leading artists, academics, professionals and other thinkers across diverse disciplines share and explore alternative visions of a Singapore that is sustainable, creative and vibrant.

It is a ground up initiative that aims to move beyond layers of constraints – whether dogmatic or structural – to imagine all alternatives. It allows us to think the unthinkable, and to formulate new possibilities.
2015
 -
Singapore
 

Workshops

The Orange Playground Lab #5

Created by Artistic Director Alvin Tan, The Orange Playground (TOP) is The Necessary Stage’s newest initiative in creative research and development. We seek to collaborate with artists in an exploratory environment where risks can be freely taken within and with the creative process. TOP will provide opportunities for free, ad-hoc collaborative “jamming” and play with emerging and established talents.

This Lab aims to explore new theatrical forms by inviting artists to respond to TNS devising methodology. It also explores new ways social-engaged works can be presented by playing with character, narrative, theme and structure. There is a focus on alternative stories, histories and narratives that are eclipsed, invisible or absent.
2015
 

Productions

untitled cow number one

How do we exorcise the pain of loss? The Necessary Stage revisits 2 early works from its repertoire to explore the ways we deal with loss and how we rise above it. 

In untitled women number one, two women talk about their relationships, their past and future. Featuring Edith Podesta and Ethel Yap, the play looks at the notions of pain, death and interdependence, drawing from stories about gender, sexuality and womanhood. 

untitled cow number one is about the journey of a widowed cow through 12 days of mourning. Performed by Sharda Harrison and Bani Haykal, the play is influenced by Hindu and Buddhist texts, images and myths, and incorporates physical movement and soundscape.

Both plays have toured successfully to the Macau International Fringe Festival (2000), the Asian Theatre Festival in Busan (2002) and the National Theatre Festival in New Delhi (2003). 
2015
 -
Singapore
 

Productions

untitled women number one

How do we exorcise the pain of loss? The Necessary Stage revisits 2 early works from its repertoire to explore the ways we deal with loss and how we rise above it. 

In untitled women number one, two women talk about their relationships, their past and future. Featuring Edith Podesta and Ethel Yap, the play looks at the notions of pain, death and interdependence, drawing from stories about gender, sexuality and womanhood. 

untitled cow number one is about the journey of a widowed cow through 12 days of mourning. Performed by Sharda Harrison and Bani Haykal, the play is influenced by Hindu and Buddhist texts, images and myths, and incorporates physical movement and soundscape.

Both plays have toured successfully to the Macau International Fringe Festival (2000), the Asian Theatre Festival in Busan (2002) and the National Theatre Festival in New Delhi (2003). 
2015
 -
Singapore
 

Staging

untitled women

How do we exorcise the pain of loss? The Necessary Stage revisits 2 early works from its repertoire to explore the ways we deal with loss and how we rise above it. 

In untitled women number one, two women talk about their relationships, their past and future. Featuring Edith Podesta and Ethel Yap, the play looks at the notions of pain, death and interdependence, drawing from stories about gender, sexuality and womanhood. 

untitled cow number one is about the journey of a widowed cow through 12 days of mourning. Performed by Sharda Harrison and Bani Haykal, the play is influenced by Hindu and Buddhist texts, images and myths, and incorporates physical movement and soundscape.

Both plays have toured successfully to the Macau International Fringe Festival (2000), the Asian Theatre Festival in Busan (2002) and the National Theatre Festival in New Delhi (2003). 
2015
 -
Singapore
 

Workshops

Devising Masterclass

Here's your chance to get a first-hand experience of the unique devising methodology developed by The Necessary Stage’s Alvin Tan and Haresh Sharma!

Characters and relationships are key to The Necessary Stage’s signature works – indigenous, intercultural, character-driven and issue-based. The company’s founder and Artistic Director Alvin Tan and Resident Playwright Haresh Sharma will conduct this two-day Devising Masterclass, where they will share their distinctive creative process, honed through the creation of numerous important works such as Off Centre, Fundamentally Happy and Gemuk Girls.

Focusing on the Festival’s theme of Art & Loss, participants will create characters from a series of individual and group improvisational exercises. They will also come up with scenarios, use tableaux and write scenes based on their improvised characters.
2015
 

Festivals

M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2015

2015
 

Publications

Poor Thing

Another day in Singapore. Another minor road accident.

Another incident of road rage?

Typical Singaporeans.

Poor Thing, TNS' ground-breaking production by Alvin Tan and Haresh Sharma, grapples with the issue of road rage. A unique production involving social media interaction, audiences of Poor Thing were invited to watch a video clip of an accident before they enter the theatre to catch the 'live' action on stage. During the performance, more clips were posted online which audiences could view and comment on.

Poor Thing challenges you to explore what drives road rage in Singapore.
2015
 

Talks & Interviews

Designing Fun

From the ultramodern super-malls and the latest developments on Orchard Road to the National Stadium, the ArtScience Museum and the forthcoming National Gallery, we see how Singapore's architecture of entertainment is developing and becoming ever more daring.
2015
 -
Singapore
 

Essays/Writings

Dreaming in Paradox

Published in Singapore Dreaming: Managing Utopia.

The following is an extract from the essay/writing.The full version can be purchased online here.


Artistic practices in Singapore do not function with total autonomy. Tan Chong Kee’s (2001) essay “Can the Co-opted Speak?” points out that everyone is being co-opted. Theatre practitioners in Singapore have to consider this position especially when they carry out their operations. The Necessary Stage (TNS) is no different, and while there is a paradox, its survival in Singapore would be threatened should it insist on greater autonomy.


Project Serial Number: AA201505

Due to copyright restrictions, we are unable to reproduce the full 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.
2015
 

Essays/Writings

Quiet Riot For New Possibilities

Published in Civil Society and the State in Singapore.

The following is an extract from the essay/writing.The full version can be purchased online here.


Set within the context of growing political pluralism and the increasing use of new communication technologies for social mobilisation, the Institute of Policy Studies organised a national conference on civil society in November 2013. This collection of the essays that were presented at or inspired by the conference provides nuanced analyses of the development of the sector in Singapore since the Institute's first such conference held in 1998. The first section of the book discusses the different philosophies and approaches that underpin how civic activists engage with the State; the second section examines some key forces of change that are re-shaping the sector; and, the third section sets out some emerging issues facing it. Combining insights from experts and civic activists themselves, this book proposes an agenda for the future development of the civil society in Singapore.


Project Serial Number: AA201503

Due to copyright restrictions, we are unable to reproduce the full 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.
2015
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