The Cast
Josephine Peter

TRISHAW is not reflective of a collective vision but it is a journey towards it. I've thought much about my work with Haresh whilst doing this project. It is because of our deep friendship that we are able to challenge, take risks and negotiate a common vision in our plays. I am only beginning to develop similar friendships here. I have faith that with time, the Strathclyde-Singapore memorandum would have paved the way for lasting friendships among people of Scotland and Singapore—friendships that would make people of Europe and Asia secure enough to recognise and explore cultural conflict that can create an honest and organic global stage.

Dramaturg's Notes
Charlene Rajendran

Several phases of improvisations and devising took place in this collaborative and interdisciplinary performance, allowing for the artists to learn about one another's working processes and philosophies As they figured out how to play with the many possibilities of interacting through their particular mediums, they also challenged each other by raising questions about what it means to bring together their disciplines, training methods, aesthetics and politics.

Dramaturg's Message
Charlene Rajendran

In the making of a devised performance, the work of negotiation and listening is immense—especially when incorporating the varied demands of a classical literary text, traditional performance forms, contemporary dance, experimental soundscape, multi-media technology, and the varied imaginations of performers who stem from wide ranging histories of theatre, culture, politics and artistic training. It entails being able to trust the process and believe in the purpose, even when it remains unclear what the outcome will be. It requires generosity of spirit, critical responsiveness, tenacity and patience, artistry and curiosity, hope and heart—amid lengthy improvisations and rehearsals that pull and push the performer to generate material, learn new vocabularies, take risks and keep playing.

Alvin Tan

It is my hope that BrainStorm is an environment where we can learn together what we need to unlearn and what we can teach ourselves—how we can re-imagine the way we work, the way we see, the visions we set out for ourselves. BrainStorm is also a site for contesting views so that we take sparring partnerships as constructive means to develop rather than compete with one another. And perhaps that is the crux of the whole project—that we artistically and critically share in a social space that is not determinate nor judgmental to engender new forms.

In what ways have a diversity of artists been able to situate themselves in the Imagined Boundaries project?—A playwright's perspective.

Chong Tze Chien: Sometimes, I think that being a playwright is not all that different from being an installation artist. One works with a text composed of words and the other works with a text composed of visuals. At times, these texts conflate into a whole, each part of a larger design. This is what happens whenever I "dabble" in installation works myself.

An Interview—The Director, The Actor and The Stage Manager

Haresh: It's a very Chinese play in the way you've explained it. And if left in Mandarin, I think a lot of us would not be able to appreciate the Chineseness of it. And for me the more I read it or watch it, I realise, it's not only Chinese anymore. Because things like fortune telling, superstition and all that... they're all very Singaporean and universal. Anyone can identify with them.

Jen Erh: I wanted to use music or a song in the play. I was thinking whether I should use an old English song or a Chinese song. To me, personally, I'm very much at home with old Chinese songs. But then, to most of the audience, if we have an old English song, say Elvis Presley, immediately it goes back to the 50s or 60s. But if I use a Chinese song, it might not work for the audience. But I'm not sure if the character will listen to Elvis Presley. I don't think so.

Artistic Director's Message
Alvin Tan

A youth theatre festival has a significant role to play in a nation's cultural development. Because we are a small nation, it is crucial that effort is put in to create opportunities to identify and platform local talent and creativity in the arts. The presence of a youth festival in a nation's calendar of events celebrates theatre for and by youth.

Project Director
Kok Heng Leun

In 1995, however, the National Arts Council decided to stop YPT. It was with regret that my colleagues and I heard this. The building of new audiences must be a continuous and long-term effort.

Young people's theatre is an art form that needs nourishing for it to grow. it is different from mainstream adult theatre in its approach, methodology and forms. A specific focus on young people's theatre is particularly important in Singapore where we have a diversity of cultural heritage to draw from. With this resource, young people's theatre can go far and in time, evolve to become a vibrant part of Singapore's indigenous theatre.

From the Director's Chair
Kok Heng Leun

While working on this play, I met and worked with people who are "very old," "old," and "close to old." I often wonder "why did they respond to our call for audition, especially for the few who have not even acted before?" Was it just to get rid of boredom? Was it to make up for lost opportunities in their own lifetime?

Artistic Director's Message
Ann Meijer

Working on this fascinating play with young Singaporean actors has been most interesting. Living in Singapore, a melting pot of tradition and modernism, they are really 'children' of this time—the bridge between the past and the future. Searching for a connection between old Scotland and modern Singapore has been an exciting and enlightening experience; one that I enjoyed very much.