It's a wrap!

The second term has been packed with various activities but one of the highlights of this term was wrapping up the annual Singapore Society Production ‘Bumiputera’. This year was the first time the society performed an original play written by our fellow director, Edward Eng. The play follows 6 millennials who are witnesses to a suspected terrorist attack in Singapore. Following the attack of the building, the play takes place in a room within the police complex, where the characters are held for questioning. As the play unfolds, the relationships between the characters and how they are connected to the attack unravel. At its core, ‘Bumiputera’ is a portrayal of the different lives of the 6 characters and their relationship to the land we call home.

We’ve been working on the play since the first term so seeing the production come into fruition was both exciting and anxious. Working with an ensemble of 6 actors proved to be immensely rewarding as the group was small enough that it allowed everyone to work closely with each other and build on each other ideas. The creative process was a constructive and collaborative one where the actors and the directors/writers were constantly giving each other feedback to improve the play. The script went through several major changes which to me, was a challenge.

As an actor, I had to be flexible in terms of learning new lines or reviewing my character. I played an undercover police woman disguised as a civil officer who was held for questioning with the other characters. Her main aim was to uncover how the characters were involved directly or indirectly to the bombing. Being a central character was daunting to me as I felt pressured to not forget cues or lines. Thankfully, the cast supported each other and we adapted to mistakes by improvising. Putting on a play is always a team effort and I’m genuinely so grateful to have had a great team and make friends throughout the course of this production.

Earlier on in February, the Warwick Asean Conference was organized under the overarching theme of ‘Survival and Identity beyond 50’. In conjunction with the 50^th anniversary of the founding of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the conference consisted of several forums exploring economics, politics and human rights in the region. Through promoting discussion and debate on such topics, the conference aimed to empower the youth to carve out a future model of ASEAN.

One of the speakers invited to the conference was Sonny Liew, the comic illustrator and writer of ‘The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye’ which won the Singapore Literature Prize for Fiction in 2016. He was part of the human rights panel that explored the multi-faceted nature of the concept itself and how the region should go about building co-operation between government parties and NGOs to promote human rights. I found Sonny Liew provided a humanistic perspective to the issue and it was interesting to see how his political opinions inform his creative process. I got the opportunity to have dinner with him afterwards with some friends, which was a heart-warming end to the busy day.

Iffah Azman : 20 Apr 2017 18:36 |  Comments (0) |  Report a problem