Ng Yi-Sheng's Careerblog

2012-01-26T19:15:00.003+08:00

This Saturday, I'm hosting a talk with Singapore's top theatre reviewers!

It's the 4:30 Open Panel Discussion noted below:

Open Roads: Stage Talk -Theatre Talks Back and Open Panel Discussion
Saturday 28 January 2012, 2-6pm
Theatre Talks Back, 2-4pm
Open Panel Discussion, 4:30-6pm
The Substation Theatre
Admission: Free
This is an InHouse event

Open Roads: Stage Talk was a programme initiated by The Substation in collaboration with The Flying Inkpot Theatre and Dance in 2010 to invite members of the public to come together and converse about local plays. After two successful runs in 2010 and 2011, Open Roads: Stage Talk comes to a close.

*To end the programme on a high note, local theatre reviewers have been gathered for a final pow-wow session– an open panel discussion about the current state of theatre criticism and their personal processes of reviewing performances. Join Life! journalist Corrie Tan, TODAY journalist, Mayo Martin, local online arts journal The Flying Inkpot‘s Matthew Lyon and freelance reviewers, Ng Yi-Sheng and Tara Tan in an open discussion about local theatre. Look forward also to the first of our Theatre Talks Back sessions, where invited theatre practitioners will talk about their recent productions in a Q&A presentation.

The Theatre Talks Back session is hosted by invited theatre practitioners who will talk about their recent productions in a Q&A presentation. Cake Theatrical Productions will be showing a video presentation of Decimal Points: 4.44 and talking about the trials and tribulations of putting together the first co-presentation between The Substation and Cake Theatrical Productions.

2011-10-28T01:34:00.000+08:00

SPORE Art Salon 10 - the Halloween Edition!

Just a reminder to everyone that this month's SPORE Art Salon is coming - on Halloween itself! Guests include filmmaker Shaun Koh, artist Ila and sound artist Bani Haykal, and storyteller Kamini Ramachandran. Do also note that the price is now $20, and that it's now a free drink instead of free food.

In the spirit of 31st October falling on the very last monday of the month, we present to you, our first ever, themed salon - the SCARY EDITION! Don on your craziest costume creation, and come on out to The Loft to be spooked by a very special SCARY LINE UP of performing and visual artists who will be sharing the stage!!! It will be a night of halloween-inspired art making, nothing like another, so make sure you don't miss this spine chilling, mind blowing experience!

LOCATION: The Loft - 289A South Bridge Road (Corner of Smith Street & South Bridge Road)
Doors open at 7:30PM
$20/ticket donation/person
FB Event Page : https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=166529500101752

More info here.

2011-10-24T00:13:00.002+08:00

SWF STUFF!

1. I've been published in the wonderful Singaporean literary journal CERIPH, edited by Lee Wei Fen and Amanda Lee.

This is its 4th edition, branded as the white issue, launched last Saturday at the Singapore Writers Festival. I've got a poem to open each of the five themed sub-chapbooks in the journal (they like to monkey a lot with design): a poem on ivory, a poem on wheat, a poem on amber shift, a poem on cosmic latte, a poem on sleet.

Copies are $20 from BooksActually and the Select Books store at the Festival Pavilion, over at the SMU Green. You should totally pick one up.

2. I'm also being published in the mono-titular anthology Coast, edited by Lee Wei Fen and Daren Shiau.

Mono-titular means that every single story and poem in the book has the title "Coast". Contributors include every significant Singapore writer from Edwin Thumboo to Alfian Sa'at to Pooja Nansi to Theophilus Kwek.

Don't know how much it costs yet, but it'll be launched at the following free Singapore Writers Festival event:

date : 26 October 2011, Wednesday (Deepavali)
time : 2 pm ~ 3 pm
venue : Singapore Management University (Festival Pavilion, Campus Green)

Be there or be square.

3. I'm also hosting an event at SWF: the screening and discussion of the short film Civic Life: Tiong Bahru. I'll be interviewing co-director Joe Lawlor, bookstore owner Kenny Leck and someone else.

Tiong Bahru Trailer from Desperate Optimists on Vimeo.

The timing of the event is:

date : 30 October 2011, Sunday
time : 2 pm ~ 3 pm
venue : National Museum Gallery Theatre

Right now, the free advance tickets have been snapped up, but further tickets will be available at 1pm on the day itself from the Museum Box Office. More info here.

2011-10-14T10:57:00.000+08:00

Reading tonight!

Just thought I'd say: my NTU students have forced me to do a poetry reading.

Epiphany Literary Society's first Open Nic Night
Fri 14 Oct, 7pm
HSS Building B2
NTU

Hope there'll be some kind of audience!

2011-10-09T13:01:00.001+08:00

Call for Entries to EASTERN HEATHENS: an Anthology of Fiction Based on Asian Folklore

Dear Writers,

We love Asian folklore. We grew up listening to Chinese legends, Arab fairy tales, Malay ghost stories and Indian sacred epics, and their fabulous images have continued to inhabit our imaginations ever since.

But as adults, we’re sometimes bugged by the moralistic, simplistic way these fables are told. We’re aching to hear these tropes subverted, perverted or simply adapted to reflect our times.

So, we’ve decided to reinvent our heritage. We’re putting together ‘Eastern Heathens’: an anthology of short stories based on folklore from our continent. We're looking for intelligent, imaginative myths, retold for adult connoisseurs.

We’d like you to base your story on a pre-existing Asian folktale. To help you out, we’ve included a list of our favourite traditional stories and sagas at http://easternheathens.tumblr.com. (Do feel free to interpret a story that’s from a culture other than your ‘own’.)

Our deadline is 31 January 2012. Entries should be in prose; poetry will not be accepted. Please include your name and your contact information in your submission. Also include the title of the original folktale that’s inspired your story, as well as a brief summary of that folktale for our reference.

Please e-mail easternheathens@gmail.com for enquiries and submissions.

Yours sincerely,

Amanda Lee and Ng Yi-Sheng
Editors

P.S. Both of us editors are based in Singapore, but we welcome international submissions.

2011-10-01T02:34:00.002+08:00

THE CITY LIMITS COLLECTIVE PRESENTS: "RHYME AND PUNISHMENT"

I've helped to put together this little event for the Singapore Writers Festival Fringe. It'll be on 21 October, 8:30pm, at the SMU Steps. Basically, we were programmed in the middle of a bunch of acts extolling the virtues of poetry, so we've decided to create an event where we ritually execute bad poems instead.

Help us make the event a success by uploading some bad poems on the Facebook page!

https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=232728086778744&ref=ts

WE WANT BAD POEMS! PLEASE POST THE WORST OFFENDERS BELOW!

A time of reckoning is upon us. Bad poetry must die!
For too long, we have tolerated its presence in our libraries, bookstores, schools and festival programs. We have been tortured by its slipshod rhythms; we have been oppressed by its tyranny in literature syllabuses. We have been scandalized by the repugnant politics of some of its texts – why, some of the damned things just won’t stay banned!

But just as a good poem should be praised, a bad poem deserves to be punished. (Never mind subjectivity – we’re readers, dammit, we know what we like!)

We have therefore resolved to hold a series of bloody executions, so that these miserable verses may die for their sins. And we look to you, the audience, to nominate those worthy of death.

So from now until 14th October, we ask you to post bad poems on this wall, along with your accusations thereof (e.g. banal rhyming, flaccid imagery, inciting civil unrest). You may also submit poems that you feel have been wrongfully charged as 'bad' and deserve a fairer trial in public.

At our event on 21st October, your poems shall either be acquitted or found guilty as charged. You will have the power to choose their fate: whether they enjoy a swift and painless death or suffer the agony of disemvowelment, or worse.

Let the killing begin!

2011-09-21T15:18:00.002+08:00

Two literary events ahead!

First of all, there's the upcoming SPORE Art Salon:

The featured artists that I rustled up include singer/songwriter Bani Haykal, poet Yong Shu Hoong and visual artist Lip.

DATE: Monday 26 September 2011
TIME: 7PM - 11PM
LOCATION: The Loft @ 268A South Bridge Road #02-01 (Corner of Smith Street & South Bridge Road)
There is a ticket donation of $15/person to cover event costs, and proceeds go to efforts of featured artists.

Webpage: http://www.sporeartsalon.blogspot.com/
FB Event Page: https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=231373196910164&ref=ts

Second, there's the next Word Forward slam at Blu Jaz! I'm hosting!

DATE: Thursday 29 September 2011
TIME: 8PM - 10+PM
LOCATION: Blu Jaz Cafe, 12 Bali Lane, Singapore 189848

Still waiting for the event page to go up online...

2011-08-27T13:57:00.001+08:00

SPORE Art Salon 9!

Monday 29 August, 7-11pm

ECHO LOFT, Chinatown, Singapore, Singapore 162005
http://sporeartsalon.blogspot.com/2011/08/spore-art-salon-9th-edition.html

In the month of AUGUST, we are proud to present you a mish mash of artistic wonders! Doors open 7pm at ECHOLoft, a local short film screening will commence at 7:30PM... life drawing sessions, a stage play, poetry reading, an acoustic trio n then some!

SPORE Art Salon is a non-profit opportunity created for visual artists to meet, mingle, inspire, and share with performing artists. During the event, we alternate between drawing sessions with live models, and performances from musicians, contortionists, poets, dancers, actors and more. We also feature works of, and demonstrations by visual artists, individually or collaboratively.

For those who are new to the art salon, our event is modeled after world famous Giles Larrain's Art Salon in NYC, with a distinctly Singaporean twist and flavour!

There is a minimum donation of $15/person at the door, and proceeds will benefit ECHOLoft and our featured artists. There will be alcoholic drinks for sale, and a small spread of 'tapas'! Come meet, mingle and inspire with fellow creatives of various disciplines. Guests are encouraged to participate in the life drawing sessions in between performances, so, bring your charcoal, pastels, paints, drawing pad, ipad...... you are also welcomed to take the stage at the end of the evening during our 'open mic'!

FEATURED VISUAL ARTIST:

JOW ZHI WEI (film maker)
http://jowzhiwei.wordpress.com/

Born in Singapore, Jow Zhi Wei graduated with first-class honours from The Puttnam School of Film, Lasalle in 2010. He believes in making films that deeply examine the human condition through compassionate, intimate observation of behaviour, discovering the cycles of life and death, the fragility of relationships and the emotional isolation that characters feel in urban spaces.

During his two year study at the school, he wrote and directed two short films. His first, Outing, was selected for competition at the 58th San Sebastian International Film Festival in Spain. His graduation work, Waiting, had its international premiere at the 15th Busan International Film Festival in South Korea. It also received the award for ‘Best Script’ at the 2nd Singapore Short Film Awards 2011, and a ‘Jury Special Mention’ for both ‘Best Director’ and ‘Best Performance’.

Both his films have screened at the National Museum of Singapore’s Cinematheque programme, the Singapore Short Cuts, a showcase of outstanding short films from Singaporean filmmakers.
Collectively, they have screened in over 20 countries.

He is an alumnus of the Golden Horse Film Academy in Taiwan, organized by illustrious Taiwanese filmmaker, Hou Hsiao-hsien and is due to pursue his studies at Le Fresnoy - National Studio of Contemporary Arts in France.

'WAITING' will be screened at 7:30PM.

FEATURED PERFORMING ARTISTS:

BECCA D'BUS (host)
Eugene Tan is an artist who works in performance, garments and drag. Till recently, Eugene was based in Boston, MA, where he worked he directed A Street Theater Named Desire, a guerrilla AIDS activist performance troupe that did work in gay cruising areas in the middle of the night, he also created Come As You Are: Celebrate Queer Sex!, a performance series that looked at queer sexual values 40 years after Stonewall, versions of Come As You Are were seen in 13 cities across the US, from major gay capitals like San Francisco to cities such as Cedar Rapids, Iowa. As an artist in research at the Berwick Research Institute in 2005, Eugene started an exploration of garments as performing objects, this, he has continued this work with costume design for plays, and also in the creation of Becca D’Bus, his drag persona. Eugene is currently a theater reviewer for The Flying Inkpot.

ALL I WANT - a stage play by Ren Robles
“What are you looking for in a partner?” Watch Vince and Amy try to answer this age-old question that has plagued single people all over the world in the charming romantic comedy ALL I WANT. A lighthearted romp through the perils of singledom and the quest to find The One, this one-act play is written and directed by playwright Ren Robles. ALL I WANT stars Jason Miller as Vince and Crista Leopardi as Amy, two old friends who stumble, bumble, and fumble their way to finding out just what they’re looking for.

REN ROBLES (Playwright and Director) finished with a degree in Psychology but pursues his passions in theatre as a veteran of Repertory Philippines Children’s Theatre as well as the Asian premiere of the stage version of HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL directed by Chari Arespacochaga for Ateneo Blue Repertory in Manila.

JASON MILLER (Vince; Ba. Musical Theatre at CQUniversity) has played Lennox and understudy for Banquo and Malcolm in MACBETH: THE CONTEMPORARY ROCK OPERA (2009), directed by Beth Child at Cremorne Theatre, QPAC.

CRISTA LEOPARDI (Amy; BS in Dance Management) is mostly a dancer but proudly credits roles in CHILDREN OF EDEN (Ensemble), BEND (an Original staging), and ANNIE GET YOUR GUN (Winnie).

ACE BIGCAS is Stage Manager for this production.

The Russian Dolls (acoustic trio)
Fuelled with the passion for music, Sarah E., Fauzo, and Ed came together in the spirit of this one mutual love, to try a hand at a new collaboration. The results weren't surprising... not yet anyway! But are increasingly entertaining, sparked off by the great chemistry within this unexpected trio! Let The Russian Dolls bring you a night of entertainment and laughter!

Stephanie Dogfoot (performance poet)
http://stephdogfoot.wordpress.com/
Stephanie is a performance poet who toys with ideas about identity, foreignness, (not) growing up and river snails. She won the Annual Singapore Poetry Slam in 2010, and represented Singapore in the Indian Ocean Poetry Slam on Reunion Island that same year where she competed against poets from countries like Botswana, India and Madagascar and bridged geographical, cultural and language barriers with a universal ode to hawker food. She was also runner-up in the Vancouver Queer Slam 2008.

Stephanie is in back in Singapore for the moment but is more often found in London where she performs poetry and hosts spoken word events in various spaces around the city (especially squatted buildings) and sometimes finds the time to study law. She recently came to the conclusion that lawyers and poets are more similar than they would like to think because both are in the business of arranging words to change people’s feelings. Stephanie is inspired by things in the world (but especially Singapore) that make her enraged, being righteously enraged, then laughing at them. Her work has been described as ‘spiritual lyrics for the human journey’ (some guy named Sky) and "um...a bit chim. A bit embarrassing for our family. But nice." (her sister).

2011-08-10T01:46:00.003+08:00

CONTRADICTION 7, Sat 13 Aug, 7:30pm!

Hi guys,

Some of you might know about IndigNation, Singapore's annual queer pride festival. It's on now, and the calendar's up here:

http://indignationsg.wordpress.com/

I'd just like to plug my own little event, which is part of the festival: CONTRADICTION 7!!!

https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=197068853683688

Our annual queer literary reading is back! Prepare for a sumptuous salon with Singapore’s most talented new GLBT writers, curated by Ng Yi-Sheng, Jasmine Seah and Amanda Lee.

Featured artists include singer/songwriters Iris Judotter and Roy Lim, poets Teng Qian Xi and Mika Yamaji, playwrights Joel Tan and Drayton Hiers, author/artist Tania de Rozario, slammers Stephanie Chan, Atiqah Lukman and Deborah Emmanuel, Golden Point Award winner Jeremy Tiang, and heterosexual guest star, accordionist Faizal Bochtiar. Hosted by drag queen Becca D'Bus.

Date: Sat 13 August (this weekend!)
Time: 7:30 onwards
Venue: 72-13, Mohamed Sultan Road (TheatreWorks office)

Free entry! Refreshments provided!

Rated R-18 by MDA - we just got the licence. :D

2011-07-24T22:57:00.001+08:00

SPORE ART SALON 8!!!

I'm a little brain-dead right now, so I'll just advertise this quickly: there's a SPORE Art Salon tomorrow, only it's at THE PIGEONHOLE, a lovely little shophouse bar, instead of the normal venue.

In short:

SPORE Art Salon 8

THE PIGEONHOLE

Mon 25 July, 7pm drawing, 8pm performances

$15 entry (inclusive of food, catered by the Pigeonhole)

Directions are as follows:

From Tanjong Pagar MRT Station: EXIT A
Choon Guan Street - Wallich Street - cut through Orchid Hotel - Craig Road - 52&53 Duxton Road

From Outram Park MRT Station: EXIT G
Cantonment Road - Neil Road - Craig Road - 52&53 Duxton Road

But you want to know what's actually happening on the day itself, don't you? Well, here's the info:

SPORE Art Salon is a non-profit opportunity created for visual artists to meet, mingle, inspire, and share with performing artists. During the event, we alternate between drawing sessions with live models, and performances from musicians, contortionists, poets, dancers, actors and more. We also feature works of, and demonstrations by visual artists, individually or collaboratively.

FEATURED PERFORMING ARTISTS:

NG YI-SHENG (featured model)

SUZANNE SUBHA CHEW (Laughter yoga artist)
http://mylaughingjourney.blogspot.com/
Suzanne zests for continuous learning and upgrading herself has motivated her to sign up for the Certified Laughter Yoga teacher (CLYT) course. She was trained under the world renowned guru Dr. Madan Kataria and had successfully obtained a certificate on the course in January 2010 conducted in Bombay, India. She is convinced, upon completion of the CLYT course, that the world could go HOHO-HAHAHA !!! and enjoyed the cheapest way to a healthy and happy living with little and best no medication. It can also be said that laughter is the best medicine to a stressless life.

JURANE (musician)
21-year-old Jurane Solano has been singing since the age of 4 in her native country, the Philippines where she spent a part of her childhood. “Growing up, music has always been a huge part of my life, and I think it always will be.” When she migrated to Singapore, she joined and won a few singing competitions, spurring her to purse her passion in the performing arts. Her latest achievements include being the central female character in a musical ‘Paul the Musical’ staged in NUS University Cultural Centre (2009) and also lead actress in the musical ’13:34’ staged in Singapore EXPO (2010) to sold-out.

ZUNI (poet)
Metaphorically speaking, Zuni is part-lion (not lioness), part-flying whale, part-fastest mealworm in the world. Literally speaking, she is a young woman who sang before she spoke, told stories before she learnt to read, speaks with respectful intent to people and objects and is grateful to her pillows for listening to her early compositions which were altogether incomprehensible, violent and vulgar. It is most shameful that she did not discover poetry slams until she turned 19, but throughout her life she has always tried to put words in a hear-worthy order. She tells stories through spoken word or music and she does not compose fiction; everything she writes has either happened, is happening or will. There is a peace sign in her signature and it is easy to forge.

As a poet, she has stuck her toes into Blu Jazz poetry slams and Open Mics at TAPAC. As a musician, she’s performed originals at post-museum and other places with a feminist-male/partner-in-crime . She is currently a philosophy student who spends her time in the company of Descartes, an ever-creasing dysfunctional poet family and deathly reassuring music. She writes everyday, half of which is discarded by the evening. Please give her your opinions because she's always up for more angles to frame the English word. Also, persons without opinions simply don't care.

FEATURED VISUAL ARTIST:

MELISSA TAN
http://www.wix.com/melissatan/weixiang

Melissa is interested in the idea of the push and pull of opposites. Elements and processes that are seemingly contrasting, and discovering the harmony of the in between, that gives her work its balance. Lately, she has been exploring materials, and learning to manipulate them differently. Merging them with other mediums, allows her to incorporate fragility that harmonizes into organic forms, translating a certain dialogue between the materials to inspire a certain ethereality of the work.

The theme for her recent work is on the transience of reality. Inspired by accidental mark makings, the uncontrollability of change and the constant act of trying to control. Merging the accidental marks with her own renderings, make it difficult to differentiate the two processes, however, the delicate line works that harmonizes the piece, aims to elicit the fragile beauty of the ephemeral.

2011-06-23T03:44:00.005+08:00

Moving Words Slam, this Saturday, 630-8pm, Esplanade XChange Burger King!

As stated before, I'm devoting a full post to this event, because I'd really like it to be successful. It's the first poetry slam I've organised (with the blessing of Word Forward), and also the first I've emceed in quite some time.

It's part of the Moving Words festival to promote Singaporean poetry, organised by The Literary Centre, who also published GASPP, doncha know. The event's held in conjunction with the featuring of Singaporean poems on MRT trains, a nationwide poetry competition, and the run-up to this year's Singapore Writers Festival.

Also! It features some really cool writers!

RAFA'AT HAMZAH, guest poet: A director, producer, performer and poet in the Malay language; Creative Director of COKELAT Events.

MIRIAM NASH, sacrificial lamb: A young and amazing poet from the UK, currently heading the Writing the City project at the British Council.

MARC NAIR, competitor: One of the young stalwarts of the Singapore slam scene who's represented us in the World Slam Finals. Author of Along the Yellow Line and Chai.

POOJA NANSI, competitor: Another young stalwart, author of Stiletto Stars and one half of the phenomenal music-poetry duo the Mango Dollies!

BANI HAYKAL, competitor: One of our most inventive slammers, frontman for indie-unclassifiable band B-Quartet, founder of multidisciplinary collective mux and associate artist with the Substation.

CHONG KOH YOU, competitor: An emergent voice and one of several of these writers to be jamming in the upcoming Lit Up! performance, The City Limits.

STEPHANIE MILANI, competitor: An Indonesian brought up in Singapore who's performed at the Singapore Writers Festival and the Ubud Writers and Readers Festival.

BENJAMIN CHOW, competitor: A former contestant on Singapore idol and one of our most consistent winners at the Blu Jaz slams!

Seriously, these are some of Singapore's best performance poets. I kid you not. And it'll be a real slam, with tension and competition and prizes.

Judging will be Rafa'at Hamzah, Word Forward co-founder Savinder Kaur, student writers Almira and Azura, as well as a few random audience members.

So once again:

Moving Words Poetry Slam

Saturday 25 June, 630-8pm
Esplanade XChange Burger King
http://www.facebook.com/?tid=1869389166914&sk=messages#!/event.php?eid=180821831975252

The slam is supported by BooksActually, Word Forward and the Esplanade Xchange.

Also click on the above to find out about the Moving Words open mic on Thursday 7 July from 7-9pm at 15 Minutes Cafe. And if you want to find out more about the MRT poetry prize, go to the Moving Words website.

2011-06-21T02:44:00.001+08:00

Poetry Readings Galore!

I'm just back from Southern Africa! And I suppose photos may emerge at some point, but right now I have to gear up for the ridiculous number of readings I'm hosting, reading at, or curating in the next week and a half:

The Contemporary: An International Conference of Literature and the Arts
Friday 24 June, 815pm
NTU, Creative Studio, HSS-B2-01
http://portal.cohass.ntu.edu.sg/TheContemporary/programme.asp

... I'll be reading 5 minutes at the university to academics. Suchen Christine Lim will also have a bit. There's also going be a launch of Spark, the Singapore Poetry Archive.

Moving Words Poetry Slam
Saturday 25 June, 630-8pm
Esplanade XChange Burger King
http://www.facebook.com/?tid=1869389166914&sk=messages#!/event.php?eid=180821831975252

This deserves a whole post to itself. Akan datang!

SPORE Art Salon
Monday 27 June, 7-11pm
ECHO Loft, Chinatown
Corner of Smith Street and South Bridge Rd, Second Floor
$15 for entry (including performance, sketching and food)
http://www.facebook.com/?tid=1869389166914&sk=messages#!/event.php?eid=126847487396738

I've curated Indonesian slam poet Stephanie Milani for this multidisciplinary performance!

Carnal Stash, the House of Incest Reading
Tuesday 5 July, 730-9pm
Post-Museum, 107 Rowell Road.
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=210225729018745

Erotic texts and artworks curated by Amanda Lee. I'll get 15 min to read alongside folks like X'Ho, Alvin Pang, Pooja Nansi, Madeleine Lee and Tania de Rozario, in front of works by Genevieve Chua! The art show's opening tonight, in fact.

LangDetecten>zh GoogleC

诗歌朗诵嘉豪！

2011-06-12T06:16:00.002+08:00

Hello 2111!: a collaboration with Michikazu Matsune

If you happen to be in Vienna/Wien, Austria, this coming week, why not head down to a performance art/art installation I've helped to create called Hello 2111?

It's featured in Wiener Festwochen's "Survival Strategies", and it's initiated and mostly created by Michikazu Matsune, a Japanese artist working in Austria whom I last met at the Flying Circus Project 2007.

The performance segment is a letter to the people of the year 2111, performed by Mich himself. I helped generate the text (in fact, I just got off Skype with him as we hammered out the final version). Can't fly over because I'm currently in Zimbabwe.

Anyhow, details are:

13 to 18 June 2011
Kunsthalle Wien, project space karlsplatz
brut at Künstlerhaus

(The performance is on 18 June!)

More info about the exhibition here.

2011-06-03T23:41:00.002+08:00

I'm being featured in "Utter", directed by Natalie Hennedige, Sat 18 June!

I've only got a single poem in the programme: "Ne Zha", from my collection "last boy". But I wuv Natalie, and the YouTube keeps gliding over "GASPP", so I'm pretty damn chuffed.

Sadly I'll still be in South Africa on the date of the performance, so I can't watch. But maybe you can!

Here's the synopsis, from the bookings page on Gatecrash:

utter : to give audible expression to (something), to articulate (words); pronounce or speak. Example: He can hardly utter a sentence without swearing.
utter : carried to the highest degree; absolute, complete, total. Example: Utter madness

What do you get when you add three exciting talents from the theatre, television and film circles to a mixed bag of creative writers from Singapore? Three utterly riveting evenings of highly dramatised readings you don’t want to miss.

Utter is curated and directed by Natalie Hennedige (Nothing, Cuckoo Birds), Lee Thean-jeen (The Pupil, Singapore Short Story Project) and Ken Kwek (Kidnapper, It’s a Great, Great World). These directors will draw fresh content from anthologies Telltale: 11 Stories, & Words and upcoming writers and screenwriters. Watch them breathe new life to these Singapore texts and brew a heady concoction for your enjoyment!

June 17: Curated and directed by Lee Thean-jeen

One moment, savour the quiet of the written word, and the scent of the flipped page and the next, put on new spectacles as characters take on new life - phrases shout out with new emphasis while other words are whispered or uttered into your ear. Observe how your fellow audience member reacts to the mounting tensions, the shattering relations and increasing distances even whilst you settle into your own seat. Thean-jeen turns the reading upon the reader as every gesture adds a different layer of interpretation to the text, and filmed footages add a new dimension to themes and topics explored in Singapore content including Dave Chua’s ‘The Drowning’ and Alfian bin Sa’at’s ‘Autobiography’.

Cast: Lim Kay Tong, Christina Sergeant, George Young

June 18: Curated and directed by Natalie Hennedige

'Thirteen Ways of Looking and Other Observations' utters naked truths and offers poignant and tender observations of life from the perspective of Singaporean writers. It weaves poems written by Yong Shu Hoong, Madeleine Lee, Ng Yi-Sheng, Cyril Wong, Alfian bin Sa’at, Toh Hsien Min, Alvin Pang and Felix Cheong into Alfian bin Sa’at’s short story ‘Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Hanging’. Directed by Natalie Hennedige and performed by Julius Foo, Noorlinah Mohamed and Lim Kay Siu, it is a celebration of the diversity, honesty and power in Singaporean writing.

Cast: Julius Foo, Lim Kay Siu, Noorlinah Mohamed

Sound Designer: Philip Tan

June 19: Curated and directed by Ken Kwek

What happens to a society of pragmatic Singaporeans when it falls under the spell of a magical, soporific haze? Applying the cinematic technique of time fragmentation, filmmaker Ken Kwek deconstructs Jeffrey Lim’s dazzling short story, ‘Haze Day’, and introduces a new chaos to the parallel lives of Evan, Fathul, Nallini and Hwee Leng as they unravel in a blanket of narcotic smoke.

Cast: K Rajagopal, Lim Kay Siu, Sukania Venugopal, Koey Foo

Advisory for 19 June 2011 performance: Mature content and some coarse language. Recommended for ages 16 and above.

2011-05-29T20:17:00.004+08:00

SPORE ART SALON, Monday 30 May, 7-11pm

The SPORE Art Salon, our monthly multidisciplinary showcase of performance poets, artists and musicians, is back! Be at Echo Loft in Chinatown tomorrow night to check us out!

Plus, we've lowered the donation price to $15 to make it more affordable. Proceeds benefit the ECHO Music Sponsorship Program for disadvantaged kids.

There will be models posing between performances and you are encouraged to take part in these mini live drawing sessions. I'd really like to recommend Miriam Nash (a splendid British performance poet who's leaving Singapore soon) and Ben Chow (a splendid Singaporean slam poet, full stop).

SPORE Art Salon
Tuesday 29 March, 7-11pm
ECHO Loft, Chinatown
Corner of Smith Street and South Bridge Rd, Second Floor
$20 for entry (including performance, sketching and food)
http://www.facebook.com/#!/event.php?eid=206097452746078

FEATURED PERFORMING ARTISTS:

BILL LEARY JAZZ TRIO: Bill Leary is a master jazz musician, who aims to educate and entertain people with his music. He will remove some of the mystery and myths about jazz music, and make it accessible to all listeners. Many times people are turned off by jazz because they don't truly understand the art form. Allow Bill to be your tour guide through this organic and ever-changing art form.

BEN CHOW: Benjamin spends most of his time slouched over a desk in a dark cobweb infested basement. He survives on rats and the occasional snake while crafting short little horror stories that often don't scare people as much as he would like. However, during those rare moments when Benjamin does crawl out from beneath the woodwork, he has been known to sing, loudly and annoyingly, and sometimes even tap dance. Benjamin sightings have been few and far between, but he has been recorded to have been seen at Blue Jazz, during their monthly poetry slams, at TAPAC (the Telok Ayer Performing Arts Centre), during their fortnightly Open Mics, and every now and then in one or two really off-off-OFF Broadway musicals. Nowadays, Benjamin is spending more and more time masquerading as a Student of Lasalle's BA (Hons) Acting Programme, while secretly using the basement there for his dark and mysterious purposes. It's more spacious. And they have a great theatre. Go figure.

MIRIAM NASH: Miriam Nash is a British poet, currently sneaking around Singapore. She has performed her poetry in London, Chicago and Singapore, at the Esplanade, the Arts House, Tate Modern, Tate Britain, Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club, Young Chicago Authors and too many bars and cafés to count. She appears regularly at Word Forward’s Blu Jaz SLAMs and her work has been featured on 938LIVE. She coordinated England’s first national youth poetry SLAM and regularly runs workshops in schools. Her first book of poems will be published this year by flipped eye publishing.

NOLUYANDA MQULWANA: Is an engaging and passionate choreographer and dancer from South Africa. She brings a genuine and heartfelt authenticity to all her projects. She is looking forward to inspiring the art salon with her sensitivity and strength...a performance that MUST be seen!

FEATURED VISUAL ARTIST:

AVA TAN: This talented artist was born in Shan Dong province of China where she came to experience painting through the master Ma Yan Hong and later came to love painting as she continued to fervently pursue numerous summer programs in Beijing before enrolling at the local art high school. Her current work explores an inward turning world that appears incongruent from the workings of a sensing body. Through a voyueristic glass that is turned upon the human self and its various participants, it is at once a sympathetic and disparate view of an amorphous body image when the lines between performance and reality are blurred in the eyes of others as they are turned in upon oneself.

2011-05-21T08:31:00.003+08:00

Moving Words launch today, 4-6pm @ Esplanade XChange!

Have you heard about Moving Words, the new initiative by The Literary Centre to promote Singapore poetry? It'll be launched today at 4pm, Esplanade XChange, right next to Dunkin Donuts.

There'll be poetry readings from Singapore’s established poets whose works are gonna be featured on the SMRT train network. Poets such as Gilbert Koh (aka blogger Mr Wang Says So), Chia Hwee Pheng, Liang Yue, Rasiah Halil, Grace Chua and KTM Iqbal will read their featured poems.

The Proletariat Poetry Factory will provide poetry-on-demand for passing commuters using typewriters as a medium with accompanying local 3-piece Jazz band – The Reflections, entertaining the crowd.

Plus, we'll have the Moving Words Poetry Competition will also officially open for entries. The first 20 people to submit their poems for the Competition at the launch will receive a Books Actually voucher worth $20.

Here's some info on the competition:

We invite all aspiring poets, young and old, to participate in an open Moving Words Poetry Competition. This is a great opportunity for budding poets to showcase their poems, in any of the four languages, on a national platform – the SMRT train network!
Call for submissions for the Moving Words Poetry Competition. This competition is open to all Singapore citizens and Permanent Residents. The competition period is 21st May to 15th July 2011. The 12 best entries will be shortlisted by a panel of judges for display on the SMRT train network from August to October 2011. The public will then get to vote for their favourite entry and the public’s votes will decide the winning poem. The winner receives a brand new iPad2 and there will be two consolation prizes of Books Actually vouchers worth $200. Voters also stand a chance to win attractive prizes like the iPod Touch and Books Actually vouchers. Details about the competition can be found at www.movingwords.sg .
The 12 best entries will also be published in the Moving Words Anthology together with the works of established Singaporean poets, and launched in October at the Singapore Writers Festival 2011, Singapore’s largest literary event.

The website is www.movingwords.sg - it'll be live later today!

2011-05-17T06:29:00.001+08:00

I'm acting in a show in the Singapore Arts Festival!

Technically, it's part of Flipside. It's a 10-minute play called "The Tent" by Wee Lilin, to be performed as part of Tisch Asia's "Love and Other Disasters" on Wednesday 18 and Thursday 19 May, 7:15pm and 8:15pm at the Esplanade Concourse.

Come come! It's free entry. Facebook page here:

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=161177063944462

The Esplanade and The Department of Dramatic Writing at Tisch Asia team up to bring you two nights of short plays about love, loss, and zombies.

Performing on the Concourse Stage, Tisch Asia writers will be showcasing some of the most popular plays from the past two years.

This is a free event, and is part of the Flip Side, the Esplanade's companion event to the Singapore Arts Festival.

Featuring plays by Josh Billig, Adeline Food, Lou-Lou Igbokwe, John Marsh, and Wee Li Lin.

Direction by Maxim Dashkin, Drayton Hiers, Dean Lundquist, and Wee Li Lin.

And starring Michael Chua, Tim Garner, Sophie Khoo, Bill Kovacsik, Jacqueline Landsman, Ng Yi-Sheng, Glory Ngim, Adeline Pang, and Erik Wayne.

With Philip Leung as the Emcee.

TWO SHOWS NIGHTLY: May 18 & 19 at 7:15 and 8:15. Each performance is the same set.

2011-04-18T06:44:00.001+08:00

SPORE Art Salon, Tue 26 April

I was involved in curating this one. Come down and watch young slam poet Deborah Emmanuel - she's really cool.

SPORE Art Salon
Tue 26 April, 7-11pm
ECHO Loft, 268A South Bridge Road

Here's the blurb:

This month we will be featuring a live art installation/creation, featuring the visual artistry of ART SASPUTROWARDOYO and DAWN ANG. They will be combining their talents for improvisational line drawing, to absorb the atmosphere and produce a fantastic and imaginative landscape in real-time. This must be seen to be believed!! As always, we will be conducting live model drawing sessions throughout the evening, so bring your pencils, charcoal, pads and paper. Let our engaging and eclectic models inspire your creativity. All guests are allowed and encouraged to participate in the drawing sessions.

FEATURED PERFORMING ARTISTS:

ALICE RENOU BOUILET: Miss Alice hails from Paris, France, where she has enjoyed an exciting performance career. Having performed as a dancer at the world famous Lido theater, and distinguishing herself as an accomplished modern dancer, harpist, choral singer and actress, she now joins the SPORE Art Salon to weave her wonderful blend of cabaret, jazz, and sophistication. A truly tempting treat!

DEBORAH EMMANUEL: Deborah Emmanuel is a full-time learner, part-time teacher and performer who has newly discovered her love for telling stories. Most of the stories she has told have used theatre and drama as their medium. Within the last year, she has started using performance poetry as the way to tell hers and other people's. Most of her poetry is based on snatches of time or striking life experiences which explore raw emotion. Deborah believes that it is this essence of each story which brings people together, since every person has been sad, happy, angry or afraid- even if they pretend not to be. She hopes that you hear her stories with an open heart and mind, and that they make you feel.

EDMUND LEE: Sir Edmund Lee is a heartfelt and passionate singer/songwriter. Deeply inspired by the work and stylings of Jason Mraz and John Mayer, Edmund continues to create welcoming and warm pictures and stories with his music. Come let him speak to your soul.

You don't want to miss a single minute of this month's event. The cost of the evening is $20 CASH ONLY. Proceeds go to fund the ECHO music school.

2011-03-20T04:30:00.001+08:00

By the way, there's an interview with me on Writing the City.

I share my top five writing tips!

http://civiclife.sg/writingthecity/index.php/my-five-ng-yi-sheng

2011-03-17T00:54:00.005+08:00

I've a bunch of gigs coming up!

1) I've got a poem in Man/Born/Free: Writings on the Human Spirit, edited by Gwee Li Sui. It's being marketed in South Africa right now as part of Spotlight Singapore. I hear it's doing rather well.

I'll be speaking on a panel at the Singapore launch! Here's the info:

Launch of "Man/Born/Free"
Friday 26 March, 11am-12pm
Living Room, Level Two, Arts House

And here's a blurb from this site:

"This literary anthology – centred on the travails of the human spirit – is like none other published in Singapore. It testifies to the social reflections of generations of Singaporean writers and their inquiries into issues of freedom, equality, humanity, and hope. The selection brings together works originally written in English, Chinese, Malay, and Tamil across almost six decades of Singaporean life. They are arranged here in a compelling way that argues for the inevitable interconnections of these concerns. Man/Born/Free is an exciting initiative to commemorate the relationship between Singapore and South Africa as extended through the 2011 event, Spotlight Singapore in Cape Town.

2) I'm performing stuff at the SPORE Art Salon. It's an event cooked up by Ryan Beck, a dancer at Resorts World's Voyage de La Vie circus show (no, I'm not kidding). He and his fellow artist/performers have been longing for a way to connect with the greater Singapore arts scene, which is really hard for them since they're usually working Wednesday to Sunday.

They've set up this monthly event where they can gather and showcase works by both Singaporean and expat artists - plus, there's live models present for sketching, so you can practise your drawing skills. Unfortunately, it costs $20, but the proceeds go to charity, and there'll be a lovely tapas spread to boot.

This month's will feature myself, musicians/comedians Jacqueline and Bill Landsman, pianist/songwriter/performer Johnny Kim and accordionist/singer/songwriter Faizal Bohtiar.

SPORE Art Salon
Tuesday 29 March, 7-11pm
ECHO Loft, Chinatown
Corner of Smith Street and South Bridge Rd, Second Floor
$20 for entry (including performance, sketching and food)
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=187152654659220

3) I was involved in a collaboration between artists and writers, organised by the literary journal CERIPH and the Substation. Not a lot of publicity materials out yet, but I'm just gonna announce the launch of the art exhibition:

Synaesthesia Launch
8-17 April (launch 7pm on Friday 8 April)
Substation Gallery, 45 Armenian St

Thankyee, y'all!

2011-03-14T22:45:00.002+08:00

Singapore Biennale 2011 Young Art Writers Programme

I'm leading creative workshops at the Singapore Biennale on Wednesday and Thursday!

If you're interested in finding out more, e-mail education@singaporebiennale.org.

2011-03-11T03:16:00.001+08:00

I'm writing for the Canvas!

Just wanted to let you know that I'm now a member of the Council, i.e. the unpaid staff who write for the National Art Gallery blog, the Canvas.

Why? Because I frickin' love art and writing about it is a good way to waste my time and hasten my death. E.g. I recently wasted time blogging about photographer Alecia Neo, plus I vomited up a piece called 10 Gloriously Cheesy Merlion Artworks, in honour of the Singapore Biennale 2011.

Speaking of which, I'll be attending the opening of that event in eight hours. No costume this time, sadly.

2011-02-14T13:18:00.002+08:00

ROJAK 17, this Fri 18 Feb, @ 5 Magazine Rd, Central Mall

Dearest friends,

Come to ROJAK 17! (I'll be hosting.)

Welcome to our first ROJAK of 2011, this Friday,18th February, co-curated by BBH and FARM. It promises to be alot of FUN, with live performances scattered throughout the night.

We are hosted by BBH at their lovely courtyard space at 5 Magazine Road (Central Mall). Syndicate will start spinning at 7pm, and presentations starts at 8pm. Come early to support and see!

Our presenters for the evening, are, in no particular order:

1. Syndicate, Visual & Music
2. Colin Seah, Architecture & Design
3. Yuki Mitsuyasu, Jewellery Design
4. Quek Kiat Sing, Chinese Art
5. Hunn Wai, Product Design
6. Douglas Hamilton & Adrian Chan, Advertising
7. Abednego Trianto, Photography
8. Andree Weschler, Fine Arts & Performance
9. Felix Ng, Design
10. The Observatory, Music

Remember to bring drinks and beer to share for the beloved ROJAK dinghy. Bring your friends and family too! It's all in the spirit of ROJAK sharing. :)

P.S. This salivatingly-fabulous poster is designed by BBH (lotsa thanks!!)

2011-02-08T17:24:00.001+08:00

PANEL DISCUSSION: From Ideas to Theatre Idols

(I'm moderating this!)

Meet three past winners of Theatre Idols, an annual event where staged readings of original new plays are held and the winner decided by public voting for a full staging of his/her play. These upcoming talented playwrights - Jacke Chye, Edgar Liao and Yak Aik-Wee - will chat about their experiences writing plays and taking part in Theatre Idols and also discuss real challenges facing new playwrights in the Singapore theatre scene.

Organised by the National Arts Council's Mentor Access Project and supported by The Arts House.

Free Admission.

Friday 11 February 2011,
7pm - 8.30pm ,
Arts House Play Den

Event details from: http://www.theartshouse.com.sg/event_details_2011.php?id=43. For enquiries, contact The Arts House at: 6332 6900.

2011-02-01T10:28:00.002+08:00

Friday reading, Gay's the Word, London, 7pm

As you know, I'm in London promoting GASPP: a Gay Anthology of Singapore Poetry and Prose (in addition to some of my own work.) As part of the tour, I'm doing a reading at the UK's only GLBT interest bookstore.

If you're in London, please come! There'll be wine and Chinese New Year goodies.

Friday, 4 February, 7-8pm
Gay's the Word
66 Marchmont Street
(Russell Square Tube), London WC1N 1AB
020 7278 7654

Facebook page here: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=172960122748942

By the way, the event's been set up by Clara Yee, part of the amazing informal cultural promotion group Creative SINergy. Thanks so much, guys.

2011-01-20T02:19:00.003+08:00

I'm going to London!

And I'll be appearing at these two events. Possibly a third, if we get our act together. :)

Count on Queers, Singapore!
Friday, 28 January 2011, 5:30-7pm
Room 104 (Senate House, First Floor), Institute of Commonwealth Studies
School of Advanced Study, University of London

Part of a public seminar series on Singapore Politics at the University of London. Queer Singaporean writers Ng How Wee and myself will be chairing the first part of the event, followed by a talk by Dr Simon Obendorf (University of Lincoln) on queer politics in Singapore.

writLOUD
Monday, 7 February 2011, 6.30pm onwards.
RADA Foyer Bar, Malet Street, London WC1E 7JN.

Birkbeck's monthly readings event, organised in partnership with Oxfam. I'll be one of the featured readers.

Facebook event page: http://www.facebook.com/#!/event.php?eid=174827652553310
writLOUD official page: http://www.writershub.co.uk/writloud.php

2011-01-19T09:31:00.001+08:00

Crime Night, 29 January, 8pm at Prologue, Orchard ION

Haven't mentioned this before, but I'm in Crime Scene: Singapore, and anthology of crime writing set in this country, edited by Richard Lord and published by Monsoon Books. Buy it! I get royalties. :D

There's an event happening later this month, but unfortunately I'll be in London at the time (never mind what the poster says). Go support these writers anyways.

N.B. It's on Amazon too!

2010-11-27T03:03:00.005+08:00

Call for submissions for ASYMPTOTE: a new international journal of literary translation

My friend's setting up a new journal of translation called Asymptote! (Yeah, I was originally drama editor, but I couldn't commit the time. It's still an important effort.)

It's founded by multi-genre polyglot Singaporean writer Lee Yew Leong, but we've got other editors based in Germany and the USA. Our first issue is coming out in Jan 2011.

If you're a writer in a non-English language or a translator of non-English literature into English, we'd love to see your work. The deadline for submissions is 20 December 2010 and the guidelines are here.

Ooh, and get a load of our landing page, here: http://asymptotejournal.com

Some very cool international writers have already agreed to be featured in the Jan 2011 edition. We'll be featuring:

- a dispatch from Afghanistan about the plight of women in the context of the ongoing war
- an essay from Japan comparing "Literature and Mathematics" (which we thought apropos for the launch issue of a magazine called Asymptote)
- a group of poems by Melih Cevdet Anday, writing in the manner of a famous 17th century folk poet, translated from the Turkish by Sidney Wade and Efe Murad
- an interview with the award-winning lyricist who not only brought the 2010 World Cup song into Mandarin but has done some amazing (literary) things across Mandarin and Cantonese as well.
-excerpts from Singaporean playwright Alfian Sa'at's "Nadirah", last year's prizewinning script at the Life! Theatre Awards.

Hope to read your stuff on the site soon!

2010-11-25T06:34:00.002+08:00

Fries Parade

About a month ago I participated in the following outdoor improv event with Mission: Singapore.

I'm wearing a really ugly T-shirt because the original idea was that we were supposed to exchange T-shirts in a crowded area. (Shrug)

Oh yeah, and I'm thirty years old today! Woohoo!

2010-11-13T02:43:00.002+08:00

Bookstore Launch of GASPP, Sunday 21 Nov, 3pm

Since a lot of folks couldn't make our last launch at Play, we're having an additional launch in an actual bookstore space.

Sun 21 Nov
BOOKSTORE LAUNCH OF GASPP
3-4pm, Birds & Co, Orchard Cineleisure #03-05A
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=159379880764684

If you haven't heard of Birds & Co, it's 'cos it's BooksActually's new outlet in the shopping centre district of Singapore. Ours will be the first book event to be held there. We're expecting to feature readings with Ovidia Yu, X'Ho, Lee Yew Leong and Cyril Wong.

2010-10-28T06:02:00.002+08:00

Just reminding everyone: the launch for GASPP is tomorrow!!!

Fri 29 Oct, 8-9:30pm, Play Club, Singapore
OFFICIAL LAUNCH
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=158729217489754
With readings by Alfian Sa'at, Chrystal Wang, Irfan Kasban, Michael Corbidge, Jason Wee and Tania de Rozario.

Updates at http://gaspp.wordpress.com. This is what our cover looks like:

Works by Johann S. Lee, X’Ho, Ovidia Yu, Alfian Sa’at, Cyril Wong, Jason Wee, Lee Yew Leong, Ng How Wee (黄浩威), Adrianna Tan, Koh Jee Leong, Wang Zi Si (王子思), Jasmine Seah, O Thiam Chin, Zhuang Yusa, Ng Yi-Sheng, Michael Lee, Selwyn Lee, Irfan Kasban, Andrew Cheah, Michael Corbidge, Desmond Kon, Johann Loh, Chrystal Wang, Ash Lim, Geraldine Toh, Jabir Yusoff, Mint Hong (思敏), Grace Chua, Nicholas Deroose, Tata So, Dominic Chua, Tania de Rozario and a little someone called Anonymous.

2010-10-26T07:09:00.004+08:00

> theatre
Cinta Julia
The Esplanade
Esplanade Theatre Studio
Sunday

This is the first time veteran Malaysian actress Fauziah Nawi is performing in Singapore, but let’s hope it won’t be the last. Her performance in Cinta Julia (Julia’s Love) is a tour de force, showcasing her extraordinary artistic command of voice and movement.

The play premiered just last year in Kuala Lumpur, but it represents an older tradition of sandiwara theatre, most popular around the seventies and eighties.

Written as a dramatic monologue, it tells the tale of a young woman named Julia and her widowed mother. Theirs is a classic story of women’s suffering at the hands of the men they love, spread over two generations.

Playwright-director Iryanda Mulia Ramli (Mul) has created a text replete with elaborate, poetic language. He alludes endlessly to “the well of love”, even comparing Julia’s humble home to a palace.

Often, the play feels dated. Several scenes centre around an antique gramophone and memories of joget cabaret halls. Also, there is no acknowledgment that late 20^th century women’s lives involve fulfilling careers or friendships. The feminine world remains bounded by family, romance and exploitation.

Mul also avoids straightforward storytelling techniques, so that we’re never sure of certain details, including the accident that killed Julia’s father. Episodes melt into one another with utter fluidity, making it sometimes tricky to follow the course of events.

Luckily, Fauziah’s presence is mesmerising. Even seated and motionless, as she is at the beginning of the play, she grips our attention as she makes the air ring with the venomous curses of a woman scorned.

In later scenes, her skills as a physical actor rise to the fore. She re-enacts abuse by slapping her own face and recoiling violently in shock. She dances her sorrows away as Julia’s mother, her body encapsulating both anguish and joy, both the stiffness of aged bones and the memory of carefree youth.

The conclusion is rather cliché. Heartbroken over the failure of her marriage, Julia hears a divine voice and realises that she has sinned by turning away from the love of God. Fortunately, this gives us a chance to hear Fauziah’s lovely singing voice, as she closes the play with a song of repentance.

Cinta Julia is ultimately valuable for its very datedness. It reminds us of the strength and beauty that sandiwara can possess, especially when performed by a maestra. In this age of contemporary theatre, it’s good to return to the classics.

This review appeared in an edited form in Straits Times Life! on Tuesday 26 October 2010. As a poet, I'm distressed by the way the text flowed (or failed to flow) after editing. That's why I'm reposting this. Ideally, I need to figure out a writing style that'll come out more gracefully.

2010-10-26T03:14:00.003+08:00

Hantuween @ Post-Museum, Sat 8pm onwards

I've just been invited to read at this year's Hantuween, a fundraising event to feed the hungry by Food #03 and Post-Museum!

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=109186545811556

Post-Museum invites you to its very first Hantuween Party!

Join us for a Halloween celebration with a distinctly Southeast Asian flavour.

Come frolic under our Banyan tree with the Little Nonya’s rotting corpse, Ah Meng’s spirit, a semi-retired bomoh and more.

Take this chance to learn more about the myths and historical figures from our region. Come dressed as your favourite character and have a freaky good time with cabaret-style performances and Southeast Asian beats going on all night!

For More info:
email: admin@post-museum.org
tel: 6396 7980

* Entrance $25 with 2 drinks

* We are having an open call for our cabaret-style open mic session, so please get in touch with your performance ideas.

2010-10-25T03:23:00.000+08:00

Writing the City - Launch event on Tues 2 November at Arts House

Like it says! Don't forget to RSVP!

2010-10-23T03:33:00.001+08:00

GASPP at Seksualiti Merdeka

This is a basically a cut-and-paste of the blog entry I put up at my GASPP site. But I do want to reiterate what I said about KL (yeah, I'm self-quoting):

"Now I understand why Alfian and The Necessary Stage people love to go up there so much: because there's this young, idealistic community of activists and intellectuals and artists who can't afford to take for granted the values that Singaporeans are utterly blasé about: secularism, racial harmony, non-corruption, and the right to even heterosexual romance."

Unfortunately, my own photos of the Seksualiti Merdeka festival are lousy. So I'll have to rely on everyone else's photos of our event.

For instance, here's us at the Queer As Books event at 2pm, Sunday 17 Oct in the Annexe!

Remember, this was a joint launch (for us, technically a pre-launch event) of three books. So from left to right: Matahari Books publisher Amir Muhammad, Diana Dirani and Azwan Ismail, co-editors of the Malaysian Malay language queer anthology Orang Macam Kita; Alfian Sa'at, playwright of the Asian Boys Trilogy; and myself, Ng Yi-Sheng, co-editor of GASPP.

(The photographer is our own publisher, Fong Hoe Fang of The Literary Centre/Ethos Books.)

And here's GASPP itself:

We had a promotion going on: for every copy of GASPP or Collected Plays Two: The Asian Boys Trilogy we sold, you got a free copy of Charlene Rajendran's Taxi Tales. (No, she's not gay herself. But she's supportive!)

The launch was actually a private event, hence the low levels of publicity. Folks were afraid of attracting undue attention to Orang Macam Kita, a real danger since the queer Malaysian English language anthology, Body2Body, recently got pulled from the shelves after a complaint.

But still, we had readings from the contirbutors, such as Nizam Zakaria (wish my Bahasa Melayu was good enough to follow what was going on) before I goaded Alfian to go up and read something from our own book: Irfan Kasban's short prose work Dua Lelaki.

Yes, that is an expression of consternation on Alf's face. Dua Lelaki is kinda provocative.

Here's a shot of me reading from my short story Lee Low Tar, gleaned from the Facebook album of Dib Jual Kata. Yeah, we sure established ourselves as unsavoury types.

Adrianna Tan was originally supposed to come too, but she had to cancel suddenly for health reasons, so the event really ended up being quite a sausagefest. Hopefully this won't be the case for our Singapore launch!

This last shot's by Malaysian artist Jun Kit. At one point during the Q&A, I got asked whether we'd be able to sell the book openly on the shelves in Singapore. And I had to admit, well, actually, things are much easier for us in Singapore than in KL. Yes, we complain about censorship, but that hardly ever happens to books (only when important government figures get directly insulted) and what happens to plays is R-ratings and funding cuts and text changes: the whole production does not get shut down.

When we compare ourselves to London or New York or Stockholm, our freedom of speech record is lousy. But we're in a better situation than Malaysia, and we should remember that.

Plus, we should buy their books. Orang Macam Kita can be bought from Matahari Books by mail or from Amazon. Alfian's book should be available in all major Singapore bookstores, and if it's not, demand it.

And as for us, we're coming soon... :)

2010-10-15T22:34:00.001+08:00

It's in print...

Copies were just delivered to the publishers at 5:30pm today. We caught it at Yeng Pway Ngon's book launch at the Arts House at 7pm.

Whoa. None of us can believe it's here. But it is! And it looks good.

Selling for $25 - less if you happen to be at a special event.

Now I'm catching a bus to Kuala Lumpur for the Seksualiti Merdeka festival!

2010-10-13T01:03:00.000+08:00

Launch of Poems [1] Rebellion by Yeng Pway Ngon

I'm promoting this 'cos it's a project by The Literary Centre, the same folks who're publishing GASPP: a Gay Anthology of Singapore Poetry and Prose. The launch is this Friday night at the Arts House Play Den - come if you can!

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=148281591880449

The Literary Centre (Singapore) cordially invites you to the launch of Yeng Pway Ngon's Poems 1 [Rebellion] at The Arts House.

Poems 1 [Rebellion] is a translated selection of Yeng Pway Ngon's works published between 1967 and 1970, a period in which his poetry openly confronts issues of urban modernity, consumerism and apathy, social decadence and cultural decay, moral hypocrisy, and the corruption of power. This is the first of a series of chapbooks in translation which will explore the range of Yeng's poetry from the 1960s to the present.

Born in 1947, Yeng Pway Ngon is a poet, novelist, playwright and critic who has published 24 volumes of poetry, essays, fiction, plays and literary criticism in the Chinese language. He has previously been translated into English, Malay and Dutch. He is also the recipient of Singapore's 2003 Cultural Medallion for Literature.

Date: Friday, 15 October 2010
Time: 7pm - 9pm
Venue: Play Den, The Arts House

Featuring: Mr Yeng, and translators Alvin Pang & Goh Beng Choo

2010-10-06T03:45:00.001+08:00

GASPP: A Gay Anthology of Singapore Poetry and Prose

You may remember me calling for entries for this collection a while back. It's an anthology of writing by queer Singapore citizens and residents that I've edited together with Dominic Chua, Jasmine Seah and Irene Oh. And it's coming out this month!!!

Oh, and of course I've set up a blog about it: http://gaspp.wordpress.com. This is what our cover looks like:

It's a photo by Lin Weidong, augmented by designer David Lee.

I should list our contributors, too: Johann S. Lee, X’Ho, Ovidia Yu, Alfian Sa’at, Cyril Wong, Jason Wee, Lee Yew Leong, Ng How Wee (黄浩威), Adrianna Tan, Koh Jee Leong, Wang Zi Si (王子思), Jasmine Seah, O Thiam Chin, Zhuang Yusa, Ng Yi-Sheng, Michael Lee, Selwyn Lee, Irfan Kasban, Andrew Cheah, Michael Corbidge, Desmond Kon, Johann Loh, Chrystal Wang, Ash Lim, Geraldine Toh, Jabir Yusoff, Mint Hong (思敏), Grace Chua, Nicholas Deroose, Tata So, Dominic Chua, Tania de Rozario and a little someone called Anonymous.

Our launch dates are:

Sun 17 Oct, 2pm, Annexe Gallery, Kuala Lumpur
QUEER AS BOOKS (part of the Seksualiti Merdeka Festival)
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=135470589834336
This is a pre-launch release. Two other books will be launched at the event: the Malay-language Malaysian queer anthology Orang Macam Kita and Singaporean playwright Alfian Sa'at's Collected Plays Two. There'll also be a panel discussion at 3pm on Queer Writing in Singapore and Malaysia.

Fri 29 Oct, 8-9:30pm, Play Club, Singapore
OFFICIAL LAUNCH
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=158729217489754
This is the big one! We're planning a festive evening of readings (plus a Q&A) at one of most popular gay clubs in the city, showcasing the voices of queer Singapore writers from different generations. Free entry, of course. :)

More details as the dates draw closer!

2010-09-15T02:36:00.002+08:00

The Ultimate National Day Wish List

I was interviewed by Sinema for this. See their blog at http://sindie.blogspot.com.

Maybe I should explain that I was still wearing my costume for ContraDiction when they did the interview at 0:08. That's why I'm dressed so weird.

2010-08-20T04:28:00.003+08:00

ROJAK 16: next Saturday night!

I'm hosting again!

It'll be on:

28th August 2010,
Saturday, 7pm
Blk 263,
Waterloo Centre,
Singapore 180263
1st storey void deck

2010-08-09T07:26:00.003+08:00

I've been extremely behind with my updates.

But here we go:

1. I'm going to be a torchbearer for the Youth Olympic Games on Friday 13 August, roughly around 10:35am on Kallang Road, slot number 6081. You can stand by the road and support me if you like!

Announcements

Yes, I know it's ridiculous and that the YOG itself is really pretty fucked up, and the uniforms are fugly: baggy grey and orange, with clear stipulations that we are not to alter them or wear them in a non-uniform manner or promote any socio-political-cultural agenda with them while we're running.

But NAC Literary Dept asked me to be a teensy part of Singapore history, and since they've generally been pretty cool people, how could I ever say no?

2. My interview with Boo Junfeng about his upcoming film "Sandcastle" is up on Civic Life.

It's showing in Cinema Europa, VivoCity from 26 August onwards. Go early so you can convince the cinema to keep it in the theatres longer.

3. I never mentioned the fact that I've got a story up there myself: Last Kampong Boy, a brief summary of my father's memories of growing up in Tiong Bahru.

I think I'll talk about ContraDiction in a separate post.

2010-08-04T04:32:00.004+08:00

I've done an interview with Royston Tan.

It's about his upcoming movie, OLD PLACES/老地方, co-directed with Eva Tang and Vitric Thng. It's up on the Civic Life Tiong Bahru blog, commissioned by the British Council.

The movie itself is being shown on TV: it'll be on Sunday 8 August at 8pm on Okto (wah, so many eights, must be auspicious). It's a series of personal stories told by ordinary Singaporeans about the vanishing places in Singapore.

Trailers here:

Loads of photos on the website. Tune in!

2010-07-28T03:22:00.001+08:00

The IndigNation calendar is up!

Click here.

Including the literary reading ContraDiction SIX!

Sunday 15 Aug
7-9pm@72-13

Our annual queer literary reading is back! Curated and hosted by Ng Yi-Sheng, this year’s edition will feature writers such as poet Joel Tan, fiction writer O Thiam Chin, songwriter Amanda Tee and (hetero) guest stars Bani Haykal and Michaela Therese.

2010-07-05T00:39:00.000+08:00

Five Foot Broadway Mini Musicals
Presented by MUSICAL THEATRE LIMITED

SIX new short musicals are performed In-Concert style, showcasing local musicals writers:

YS: I won't be around for this, so why don't you turn up and let me know how it goes?

1. MEE POK MAN (Ng YiSheng and Ting Si Hao)

2. CUPID'S BET (Darius Lim and Ken Lyen)
3. THE OTHER WOMAN (Stella Kon and Desmond Moey)
4. IL CASINO (Richard Lord and Ken Lyen)
5. ESTHER (Joshua Greene)
6. BIRTHDAY BLUES (Mohamad Shaifulbahri and Ken Lyen)

FREE Admission - Register through email MTLminimusicals.register@yahoo.com.sg .
The HALL, The Arts House
2010 July 9 FRI 7:30pm (SOLD OUT)
2010 Jul 10 SAT 2:30pm (SOLD OUT)

2010 Jul 10 SAT 7:30pm (NEW SHOW!)
Call Desmond Moey (+65) 92721648

2010-07-04T16:36:00.001+08:00

I'll be in Europe from 4 to 22 July.

I have a press pass for the Over het IJ and Julidans Festivals in Amsterdam, then the Theater der Welt festival in Ruhr, which is part of its European Cultural Capital 2010 celebrations.

View Around the World in 80 Books in a larger map

Yeah, I'm surprised they gave it to me too. After that I'll be in Zurich for a week, working on a book.

2010-06-30T13:18:00.002+08:00

A review of "Over There: Poems from Singapore and Australia" in Cordite Magazine

It's a short review. The weird thing is, there are only three poets mentioned in the whole thing, and I'm the only Singaporean.

Click here: http://www.cordite.org.au/?p=9719

UPDATE: How blind of me. There are four poets, and Heng Siok Tian's the other Singaporean. D'oh!

2010-06-09T03:13:00.001+08:00

ROJAK 15! I'm co-hosting

Who: FARM
Where: Emily hill, 11 Upper WIlkie Road, Singapore 228120
When: 12.06.2010 Sat 08.00pm till 12.06.2010

It has been a long while since the last one. We have been busy the whole of last year and also spent some time moving to our new space. But now we are back with ROJAK 15!

It's happening on 12th June, Saturday, 8pm till late at a lovely shed on Emily Hill. Thank you to the good people at Emily Hill and sixdegrees for their cosy space for the night. You can see the shed in the poster, taken by Jeremy San! Thanks Jeremy :)

For directions and a better view of the space, you can download the poster here.

Kelvin Ang and Ng Yi-Sheng will join us once again as the hosts for the night.

Our presenters for the evening, in no particular order:
1. MINDWASABI, Design Strategy
2. Rage Goh, Poetry
3. Nataliette, Illustration
4. Natalie Lee, Graphic Design
5. Liao Jiekai, Film
6. Jeff Chouw, Photography
7. Brian Chia, Graphic Design
8. Dan Prichard, Film
9. Kenneth Chong, Architecture and Arts
10. Chan Mei Hsien, Fine Arts

(For the actual links, go to the original invite here.)

Bring drinks and beer to share for the beloved ROJAK dinghy!
It's all in the spirit of ROJAK sharing :)

See you there!

2010-06-08T23:54:00.000+08:00

I wrote a poem about football.

It was printed in today's Today newspaper. The graphic is really super-cheesy (they printed our poems in curly fonts on scrolls for crying out loud, way to alienate the non-poetry reading crowd). But there's some decent stuff.

Commissioned by Mayo Martin, but I take credit for suggesting Pooja Nansi and Leong Liew Geok. Click here.

2010-05-21T00:38:00.001+08:00

> theatre
Y O’Clock
faifai
Drama Centre Black Box
Thursday, May 20, 2010

The sheer inventiveness of Y O’Clock is enough to blow you away. The show presents audiences with a bewildering succession of ingenious handmade props: a tightrope, a smoke cannon in a cardboard box, a cloud made of edible marshmallow.

Japanese theatre group faifai thrusts us back into the imaginative world of childhood, engulfing us in an environment of constant play. Characters are portrayed as dolls, with actors manipulating their limbs and voices, surrounded by sets and costumes as colourful as a box of crayons.

Audiences, too, are invited to play. Before we even enter the theatre, we are given paper planes and are invited to draw on disposable plates, which will reappear later in the show, transformed into flowers.

Surprisingly, the plot isn’t truly gripping. The tale focuses on Potato, a part-time teacher at a daycare centre, played by Koji Yamazaki. He bonds with one of his charges, an eight year-old boy named Youji, and is highly disturbed when the child suddenly leaves the school to return to his orphanage.

The story is drawn from the real-life experiences of director Chiharu Shinoda, who formerly worked in a daycare centre. Its very ordinariness is to its credit: it’s a thoroughly believable story of adult alienation, taking place in a sea of childlike fantasy.

And of course, we love the fantasy. My favourite scenes are the dream sequences: actors slip into costumes to play giant mermaids, Egyptian mummies and King Kong gorrillas, terrorizing the world of the dolls.

But real life also becomes marvelously mutated in this show. At Potato’s class reunion, performer/designer Shiro Amano appears in business attire, controlling two life-size marionettes, forming a trio of identical yuppie salarymen. On another occasion, Yamazaki strips his clothes to reveal a crowd of felt tip faces drawn across his body: an array of characters to depict the chaos of a party.

And even the simplest of concepts is portrayed in the zaniest way possible. To show she needs to pee, actress Mai Nakabayashi balances a beaker on her head, while another actor fills it with a watering can.

Yet this show isn’t all bells and whistles. As a finale, the cast clears the stage in seconds, leaving a blank space where Potato encounters an adult Youji, and, with difficulty, he accepts the inevitable changes that life entails.

The two then begin a gymnastic dance, half-desperate and half-joyous. This becomes the thesis of the play: that as adults, we must not live in regret, but must celebrate the sensation of the present. This, regardless of the fact that the glorious playthings of childhood have vanished, never to return.

2010-05-13T02:01:00.003+08:00

Re: the Singapore Arts Festival Blog

I've just blasted the National Arts Council Festivals Department on my blog for refusing to give the Flying Inkpot the tickets they asked for. Less than a week before the Festival began, they only agreed to supply 8 out of 13 tickets requested. No other theatre company has ever treated us so shabbily.

Read about it here.

But here's a little something extra: I'm feeling a little guilty about the whole situation. Why?

Reason #1. My own ticket allocation is not affected. This is because I pulled out of doing my reviews for the Flying Inkpot at the last minute. Why? Because the plays I'd decided to cover were "Cargo" and "Football, Football", and the Straits Times had later approached me to review these same plays.

I felt bad about cancelling these ticket requests with Inkpot and the Festivals Department, but they were pretty cool with it in the end. We've done this kind of thing before. In the end, it's the same person reviewing, but for a different company. Kenneth and Matthew volunteered to take over my review commitments.

Reason #2. I was told when I set up the Festival blog that me and my team of four or five could have "some" tickets. I went and assembled a team of about 20, so we could cover all the shows, and receive comps to them, too. And all our comp requests were approved.

The thing is, we're not going to be doing in-depth, incisive, Inkpot-standard reviews of the shows we're watching. That wasn't part of the agreement. The idea was just to write "something".

Some of us, like Rui An, will probably write really analytical reviews, but most of us will post a more personal response. And that's if we're lucky - so far, most of the rest of the team hasn't blogged much at all.

So I'm feeling a wee bit responsible for this mess. The least I can do is decry it and confess it.

Yurg. It also feels silly to go on about this when the Yong Vui Kong verdict is coming up on Friday. Also PinkDot on Saturday. I'll be there.

2010-05-11T02:53:00.003+08:00

Singapore Arts Festival Blog!

I'm doing the official independent blog for the Singapore Arts Festival 2010! Check it out here:

http://singartsfestival.wordpress.com/

The official independent bit means that the department at NAC asked me to do it and is giving us complimentary tickets, but will have no control over what we say over there, though Kee Hong says he'll drop me a mail if there's a factual inaccuracy.

So far he hasn't contradicted my postulations that the guys who cut back on W!ld Rice and TheatreWorks funding are idiots, and that the marketing materials are weird and scary, so you know, I'm assuming that's factually true. :)

Other people who've agreed to blog include fellow Inkpot reviewer Ho Rui An, classical music reviewer Dr Chang Tou Liang, playwrights Irfan Kasban, Bryan Tan and Faith Ng, choreographer Kiran Kumar, poet Pooja Nansi, christ, who else, theatre researcher Ken Takiguchi, music writer Jeremy Yew, art writer Wong May Yee, arts worker Ephraim Loy, writer Richard Lord... y'know, I'm going to get their titles mixed up soon so let's just assume they're all cool interesting intelligent people who've got something worth saying.

Ooh, and if you feel like doing a guest post, write to me and let's do it!

2010-04-02T13:16:00.000+08:00

Child's Play (or why baby Jesus looks so strange)

Yo! Forgot to tell everyone that Alan Oei included me in this exhibition!

The opening's already over, but a series of my poems called "Matriline" is still hanging up there as if it's honest-to-goodness visual art. Go and have a look, since I can't. I also have personally illustrated copies of "last boy" on sale.

Child's Play (or why baby Jesus looks so strange)
Dates: 1 - 31 Apr 2010
Time: 630pm - 930pm
Venue: Evil Empire, 48 Niven Road S228396

Artists: :phunk, Andre Tan, Ang Song Ming, Charlotte Cain, Eudora Rusli, Huang Wei, Kosuke Misawa, Lynn Lu, Rebecca Lim, Tan Wee Lit, Zhao Renhui, Ng Yi-Sheng
Curator: Alan Oei

2010-02-24T07:01:00.003+08:00

What the...?

It seems that at the end of last year, someone at the National Library created an Infopedia article about me.

http://infopedia.nl.sg/articles/SIP_1619_2009-12-21.html

Infopedia's an online database on Singapore topics. There's even a blog, called Infopedia Talk, where every new update of Infopedia is noted. The latest writer to be included is the horror and transsexual fantasy writer Joash Moo.

2010-02-19T08:02:00.003+08:00

NUS Evening of Poetry and Music

I'm doing a reading on Sunday (not tomorrow! Sorry) at the Arts House Play Den, 6:45 to 9:30pm. Come if you can.

More info here.

2010-02-06T04:17:00.004+08:00

SDP's Let's Talk

At the Ubud Writers' Festival, at a forum on Internet connectivity and freedom of speech, I polled the audience on whether I should agree to a web interview with SDP. (That's Singapore Democratic Party, an opposition party in Singapore, for those of you from abroad.)

Surprisingly, given that it's a human rights event, half the audience members said yes and the others said no. (Those who said no said they were scared I'd never get a government grant again.)

Anyway, I'd kind of made the decision already: the only good reason to say no would be that I was afraid. And the only way to change society is to live without fear.

But I'm talking out of my arse a little. The truth is, I hate listening to myself on recordings so much that I can't watch this clip. So I don't know what bits of the interview got selected.

Ooh, fun fact: the interview itself took place on my birthday last year, 25 November. The interviewer and the director, Chan Tee Lick and Seelan Palay, are both born on the same day. What're the odds?

2010-01-30T02:49:00.002+08:00

Verse City

I should also mention that I did a column about the state of Singapore literature for Quill, a Kuala Lumpur-based literary magazine funded by MPH. It's online here at the official site, and also at editor Eric Forbes' site, where it has more comments.

There's going to be regular coverage on Singapore lit by Singapore residents/citizens. Amazingly, the magazine accepted my name for the column: "The Noise Downstairs". :)

2010-01-29T11:30:00.001+08:00

Interview for South China Morning Post

I got this done during last year's Ubud Writers' and Readers' Festival. Click to read!

2010-01-21T20:31:00.002+08:00

Esplanade Concourse Show!!

Hey guys, quick news: next Tuesday and Wednesday, I'll be performing poems from "last boy" at the Esplanade. I'll be accompanied by indie musicians Clarence and Sam, who've created songs based on poems from the book. (They're the main act, really.)

That's them, btw. Yes, Sam is short for Samantha.

Once again:

Tue 26 and Wed 27 January
7:15pm and 8:15pm (same show done twice)
Esplanade Concourse

B).

2009-12-31T14:51:00.003+08:00

Three Cheers for ACT3!!!!

With my editor's permission, I reworked an article for my kids' newspaper into a story for The Online Citizen, paying tribute to Singapore's first professional theatre group on their 25th anniversary. (Hint: it's not TheatreWorks.)

Going clockwise from the top, that's Jasmin Sumaat Simon, Ruby Lim-Yang and Rama Chandran, from their first publicity photo in 1981. (Wah lau, they're old.)

Click here.

2009-12-31T14:50:00.000+08:00

"Nostalgia"

My short story, "Nostalgia", has been uploaded on the Singapore culture site Five Foot Way. It's based on artist Michael Lee Hong Hwee's installation at the National Museum.

I'm not actually happy with the written version yet, so it's best if you listen to it in audio. It's supposed to be a little creepy. :)

(Image by Stephen Black).

2009-12-30T19:41:00.001+08:00

@ School in Bengaluru!

As promised, here are photos from my workshop at Widia Poorna Pragna School:

And a few from Jnana Vijnana Vidyapeetha:

Sadly, no shots from the last school, whose name escapes me for the time being (though it was terribly posh). Camera breakdown, doncha know. The assistant teacher said she might mail me some, but don't hold your breath.

UPDATE: The last school's name was MES Kishore Kendra Public School. Wrote 'em all down in my notebook.

2009-12-15T13:49:00.001+08:00

In Bengaluru now!

Did a school workshop yesterday at a Hindu-based school, and I'll be doing another in a couple of hours. Unfortunately, the battery on my camera has gone out (think I left it on by accident) and I didn't bring my charger. What's more, neither Adeline Foo nor Felix Cheong, the other Sg , have brought cameras themselves.

What's a compulsive archivist like me gonna do? Can't use PhotoBooth for everything. Can I?

Evening event tonight at Time Out bookstore on Cunningham Road. 6:30pm - we'll be talking about sensationalism and censorship in Singapore. Adeline Foo, who's a kid's writer, will be reading excerpts of her new racy ho-mo-sexual play!

Oh, and this really deserves a post of its own - but I've finally figured out where my Singaproe Art Show short story "Nostalgia" was uploaded. Click here to download the audio story.

2009-12-11T23:48:00.003+08:00

I'm going to India!

Should've blogged about this before. Was featured in the Straits Times yesterday, in fact.

Basically, I'll be participating in the Bengaluru Habba and the Chennai Local. Here are my dates so far:

Tuesday, 15 December:
Literary Reading (with Felix Cheong and Adeline Foo)
Time Out Reliance book store
Bengaluru
6:30-8:00 pm.

Tuesday, 22 December,
Poetry reading
Spaces,
#1 Elliots Beach Road, Besant Nagar,
Chennai
7pm

I'll be back on Xmas eve if you all want to kacau me. Don't call my handphone, can?

2009-11-13T00:27:00.003+08:00

The Jakarta Post owes me an itsy-bisty apology...

Alerted by Gwee Li Sui's Facebook notes! The Jakarta Post covered Singapore Writers Festival in this article, which included the following paragraph:

"There were almost 70 Singaporean literary luminaries directly participating in events, including established writers like Catherine Lim (The Bondmaid, 1995), a self-described “incorrigible, unstoppable storyteller”, and de-facto poet laureate Edwin Thumboo (Ulysses by the Merlion, 1979) to emerging talents like Wena Poon, who won the Singapore Literature Prize for her debut novel Lions in Winter."

Well, as most of you know:

1. "Lions in Winter" is a collection of short stories, not a novel.

2. Wena's debut novel was actually the self-published sci-fi thriller "Biophilia".

3. She didn't win the SLP. She was shortlisted the same year that, ahem, I won. (She was my favourite to win, though.)

Wena's pretty pissed at them too. They referred to her latest book, "The Proper Care of Foxes", as a romance.

Speaking of literary gossip, there's been an intriguing spate happening between NUS English student Nicholas Liu and Gilbert Koh, a banker who also goes by the nom de blog of Mr Wang.

Basically, Nicholas did a QLRS review of Gilbert's first collection of poems, "Two Baby Hands". It's a very, very cutting review, but I have to say I agree with the points made - I've got a certain style and approach to poetry, after all.

Gilbert, however, hasn't handled the criticism well. And it's quite natural to be upset - I'm always upset when I read bad or even mediocre reviews of my theatre work. But he got really - well - snarky and ad hominemly defensive in his responses: see here, here and here.

I dormed with Gilbert at the Pulau Ubin writers' retreat, so I can say he's a pretty nice guy in person. His poetry's a hell of a lot more accessible than mine, too.

But he's gotta learn something: almost all coverage is good coverage. More people are going to check out his book because of the review, and a lot of them are going to like the book. And the controversy caused by this is making more people think about our work in new ways.

Now if only Jakarta Post would write something, good or bad, about me...

2009-11-06T19:45:00.002+08:00

I haven't mentioned, have I, that I've set up another Flying Circus Project blog?

It's on Wordpress this time. Go to http://flyingcircusproject.wordpress.com.

B).

2009-11-04T02:32:00.006+08:00

expo zéro by Musée de la Danse

I'm serving as the official documenter for this! It's on this Saturday and Sunday, 1-6pm, at 72-13/TheatreWorks. Drop by if you can!

TheatreWorks / 72-13 presents

Flying Circus Project Platform 01: expo zéro by Musée de la Danse

The first-ever dancing museum in Singapore hosted by the Flying Circus Project, expo zéro is a unique exhibition without objects conceived by acclaimed French choreographer, Boris Charmatz and Musée de la Danse.

expo zéro is only open on two days: 7 & 8 November at 72-13 between 1pm and 6pm.

An `exhibition' project with no photographs, no sculptures, no installations, no videos. Zero things, not one stable object. But artists, and areas occupied by gestures, projects, bodies, stories, dances which everyone will choose to imagine.

In the process spirit of the Flying Circus Project (FCP) conceived by Ong Keng Sen, expo zéro is a kind of 'think tank' through analysis, description, performance, movements and ideas which each guide-artist will develop with the audience. This comes at a timely occasion as Singapore has no dancehouse (tanzhaus, dansens hus, centre chorégraphique national), a question which TheatreWorks / 72-13 is presently pondering.

expo zéro is headed by Boris Charmatz in collaboration with dancers-choreographers, François Chaignuad, Mette Ingvartsen and actor-director Yves-Noël Genod. In Singapore, it collaborates with Asian artists, architects, theorists of FCP 2010 like Padmini Chettur, Heman Chong, Torrance Goh of FARM, Donna Miranda, Joavien Ng and Ong Keng Sen.
For all bios, please go to www.theatreworks.org.sg / www.72-13.com

Visitors will experience these individuals' visions, subjective and utopian, of what a dancing museum can be.

Join us and be part of expo zéro now!

EVENT INFORMATION

Flying Circus Project Platform 01
expo zéro by Musée de la Danse

Date: 7 & 8 November 2009
Musée hours: 1pm – 6pm daily
Venue: 72-13 Mohamed Sultan Road
Admission: Free

Please call 6737-7213 or email tworks@singnet.com.sg to register your attendance.

For more information:

www.theatreworks.org.sg
www.72-13.com

2009-10-28T04:08:00.002+08:00

Still at Singapore Writers Festival...

And informing you of changes to events I'm involved in! Yes, I'm still in all the events I blogged about earlier, and right now I'm specifically working on the walking tour I'm doing for the Library's Experiencing Singapore Literature.

But the final event, the launch of the "Tumasik" anthology, has been moved up to Friday, just after the Golden Point Awards. Come for the free food, if for nothing else.

Will also be at the Creative Writing Experience, talking about my Survivor Ubin experience. More on that later. ;)

30 Oct 2009, 6:00 pm
Launch of Tumasik: Contemporary Writing from Singapore

Price: Free
Venue : Play Den

Co-published with the Iowa Writing Program, University of Iowa, the anthology Tumasik features the works of Singapore’s finest writers hailing from the four official languages of English, Chinese, Malay and Tamil. Edited by poet Alvin Pang, the anthology includes Singaporean writers such as Anuar Othman, Madeleine Lee, Quah Sy Ren, Johar Buang, Toh Hsien Min, Kirpal Singh, Verena Tay, MK Narayanan, Latha and Wong Yoon Wah.

Event end: 7.30pm

31 Oct 2009, 6:00 pm
The Creative Writing Experience

Price: Free
Venue : The Hall

Featuring: Alvin Pang, Suchen Christine Lim

This October, 15 Singaporean writers are taking part in a week-long creative writing camp on Pulau Ubin, based on the renowned Arvon retreats in the United Kingdom and organised by Catalyst Central, a not-for-profit arts initiative directed by Alvin Pang and Fong Hoe Fang. Some of the participants and tutors will share their camp experiences and discuss the value of structured writing residencies in sharpening writing skills. You can also find out about how you can participate in future creative writing residencies!

Event end: 7pm

In collaboration with British Council and Catalyst Central

2009-10-19T03:42:00.005+08:00

I'm gonna be MIA until Saturday.

I'm going for the first Arvon Writers' Retreat on Pulau Ubin from Monday 19 Oct to Saturday 24 Oct - which is, of course, the day the Singapore Writers' Festival opens its doors to the public.

Do I think it's been particularly well organised this year? No, I do not. Witnessed its wonderful ambitious themes fall apart due to lack of budget and lack of luck.

But it still is the first year I'll be a featured participant. So here's the events I'm involved in (including one I'm moderating!):

24 Oct 2009, 12:30 pm
Listen to This

Price: Free
Venue : Living Room

Featuring: Madeleine Lee, Ng Yi-Sheng, David Leo

Moderator: Eleanor Wong

Cutting beneath Singapore’s sceptic veneer, Madeleine Lee, Ng Yi-Sheng and David Leo lyrically weave the nation’s essences into poetry. These poets are politically aware, transnational and cosmopolitan, frequently presenting their intensely focused, self-questioning and highly individualised perspectives of Singaporean life, society and culture via their collections. Listen in and find out how Singapore has inspired and challenged them.

Event end: 1.30pm

30 Oct 2009, 6:00 pm (TIME AND DATE CHANGED!!!)
Launch of Tumasik: Contemporary Writing from Singapore
Price: Free
Venue : Play Den

Co-published with the Iowa Writing Program, University of Iowa, the anthology Tumasik features the works of Singapore’s finest writers hailing from the four official languages of English, Chinese, Malay and Tamil. Edited by poet Alvin Pang, the anthology includes Singaporean writers such as Anuar Othman, Madeleine Lee, Quah Sy Ren, Johar Buang, Toh Hsien Min, Kirpal Singh, Verena Tay, MK Narayanan, Latha and Wong Yoon Wah.

Event end: 7.00pm

31 Oct 2009, 5:00 pm
Award-Winning Writers from Singapore

Price: Free
Venue : Blue Room

Featuring: Ng Yi-Sheng, Chia Hwee Pheng, Yeng Pway Ngon, Mohd Latiff Bin Mohd, Latha
Moderator: Kirpal Singh

Singapore’s multi-language and multi-cultural landscape is reflected best in its varied and colourful literary scene. Join Singapore Literature Prize winners and Cultural Medallion award winners as they discuss their roles as writers, their literary adventures in the four official languages of English, Chinese, Malay and Tamil, and their hopes for literature in Singapore.

Event end: 6pm

01 Nov 2009, 3:00 pm
Evolution: The Curious Case of Books
Price: Free
Venue : Blue Room

Featuring: Thangavel Palamalai, Appala Narasiah, Meira Chand, Robert Yeo
Moderator: Ng Yi-Sheng

How do books affect or change our lives? What is this medium that moves and transforms? Does it have any place in our visually saturated and fast moving world? Join four of our top writers from India and Singapore as they share their favourite books and debate on the contemporary role of books and literature.

Event end: 4pm

01 Nov 2009, 5:00 pm
Dissecting the Merlion
Price: Free
Venue : Chamber

The Merlion is a many-splendoured thing, alternatively praised and parodied. From its birth as a uniquely Singaporean tourism symbol to its reputation for endless literary exposition since its lyrical lionisation by Edwin Thumboo, the completely made-up creature has earned much currency. How it has come to take on the baggage of a nascent nation is a compelling phenomenon. Dissecting the Merlion brings together eight writers from different backgrounds and generations for a fun, no-holds-barred debate to expound on the topic: the Merlion has been maligned.

Writers include Alfian Sa’at, Desmond Kon, Leong Liew Geok, Ng Yi-Sheng, Alvin Pang, Adrian Tan, Teng Qian Xi and Ovidia Yu. The moderator-host is Eleanor Wong. Also to be launched at the event is a poetry anthology inspired by the Merlion across the four national languages.

Event end: 7pm

2009-10-16T02:57:00.002+08:00

Experiencing Singapore Literature: An All-Night Symposium by the National Library

Back from Bali! I'm gonna talk about the events I'm doing for the Singapore Literature Festival real soon, but first, here's a special side event that I've been planning with the National Library, happening on the night of Fri Oct 30 to the afternoon of Sat Oct 31. I'm pretty stoked.

Join us for a Symposium on 30-31 October! Forget about sitting and listening to boring discussions. We will be bringing you unique Experiences which are more exciting and on a bigger scale! As the name suggests, we want YOU to Experience literature. Come along and meet the ‘greats’ of the literary circles!

For more details and registration to the different segments of the Symposium, please access our blog at http://blogs.nlb.gov.sg/esl/symposium/.

Supper Club,

Starts 11.30pm Friday 30 October to 6.30am Saturday 31 October
Kick off at Possibility Room, Level 5, National Library Board
*open to those aged 16 years and above

Breakfast Club & Explore Singlit,

Starts 9.30am to 2.00pm on Saturday 31 October 2009
The Pod, Level 16, National Library Building

Admission to the two segments are free and on a first-come-first serve basis as seats are limited. Registration is from now till 20 October 2009. Supper, Breakfast and Lunch arrangements are included accordingly to the different segments.

*Your registration is complete when you receive a confirmation email from us. Seats are limited, so please register only if you can really join us.

2009-10-09T08:47:00.003+08:00

Speaking today At the Ubud Writers and Readers Festival!

First time officially. Was corralled into replacing an absent speaker yesterday at the Lands of Chocolate event, where I read poems about mooncakes and vegan ex-boyfriends and shared anecdotes about how my father hates chox after being given flavoured laxatives as a child.

Things are luxurious here, but a little muddled. Will report more later.

Friday 10.45 – 12.15, Neka Museum

Breaking the Taboos
Queer Asian writing

Amir Muhammad
Ernest JK Wen
Ng Yi Sheng
Cok Sawitri
Chair: Dede Oetomo

Saturday, 10.45 – 12.15, Left Bank Lounge

Literary communities

Angelo Lacuesta
M Aan Mansyur
Omar Musa
Ng Yi-Sheng

Chair: Degung Santikarma

Sunday, 4.00 – 5.30, Neka Museum

A New Frontier:

Blogging, Dissent & Solidarity

Doel CP Allisah
Dian Hartati
Antony Loewenstein
Ng Yi-Sheng

Chair: Angela Meyer

2009-10-06T09:40:00.001+08:00

So what the hell happened with the CAP Mentorship?

I'll talk about it in due course. But as of now, the most comprehensive place to talk about it is over at Yawning Bread.

Right now, I'm rushing journalism deadlines and running off for the Ubud Writers and Readers Festival. I'm doing three panels!

I still miss having a mentee though. Sigh. Probably selfish. Made me feel like a grown-up.

2009-09-27T04:32:00.000+08:00

I'll be doing a presentation on my musical "Georgette" next Saturday, 3 October, 2:30 to 4:45pm at the National Library.

Drop by!

2009-09-18T07:01:00.003+08:00

Oh yeah! And I'm going to be working with Proletariat Poetry Factory on Saturday (tomorrow) at Raffles City.

It'll be at:

Basement 1, Raffles City Shopping Centre (Outside MPH & Gloria Jeans)
3:00pm - 7:00pm

We'll be using typewriters and headphones to create stream-of-consciousness poetry on order, for $4 or so per piece. Come along and patronise us!

I think we're a run-up event for Singapore Writers' Festival? But I may be mistaken.

2009-09-15T02:29:00.002+08:00

Rethinking the Nanyang

There's a public forum happening at 3:15 on Sat 25 September at the National Library on the Nanyang Artists (i.e. folks like Liu Kang, Georgette Chen and Cheong Soo Pieng who established a natively Malayan school of painting here in the '50s). Come if you like.

I'll be speaking the week after on Saturday 3 October, 3pm, same time, about the development of the musical "Georgette". Details forthcoming.

2009-09-11T04:29:00.003+08:00

What I'll be doing in Ubud

And whom I'll be doing it with!!!

Friday

10.45 – 12.15
Breaking the Taboos
Queer Asian writing

Amir Muhammad
Ernest JK Wen
Ng Yi Sheng
Cok Sawitri

Chair: Dede Oetomo

Saturday

10.45 – 12.15
Literary communities

Angelo Lacuesta
M Aan Mansyur
Omar Musa
Ng Yi-Sheng

Chair: Degung Santikarma

Sunday

4.00 – 5.30
A New Frontier:

Blogging, Disfsent & Solidarity

Doel CP Allisah
Dian Hartati
Antony Loewenstein
Ng Yi-Sheng

Chair: Angela Meyer

I actually have no idea if "Disfsent" is a typo or a postmodernist "différance"-style neologism.

2009-08-30T03:05:00.000+08:00

I've printed the programme for ContraDiction!

Innit pretty?

Pfah, wait till you see my costume.

2009-08-25T05:06:00.000+08:00

CONTRADICTION V this Sunday

Just to let all you guys know again, I'll be hosting our annual queer literary reading this coming Sunday:

ContraDiction V
Sunday, 30 August,
from 7-10pm
72-13 Mohamed Sultan Road, 2nd floor
(Here's how to get there.)
Part of the IndigNation Pride Festival

I've curated and emceed this edition, and I'm very happy with the standard of writing that's being represented, as well as the established and emerging faces who'll be present. It'll be very casual, so even if you're just curious and feel like sticking your head in a while for sh*ts and giggles, feel free. Be warned, though: seats fill up fast. Fortunately, there will be beanbags.

This year, our guests include Robin Loon, Jasmine Seah, Leona Lo, Michael Corbidge, Lee Yew Leong, Irfan Kasban and Iris Judotter, to name just a few!

Hope to see you there!

2009-08-18T05:29:00.001+08:00

I have two poems in Asian Cha No. 8.

It's a HK-based online journal. Check it out.

2009-08-05T03:45:00.004+08:00

THE PATRIARCH ALWAYS PAYS

... is the title of the commedia dell'arte inspired play that I've devised with four other writer/performers as part of the DramaBox Blanc Space collaborative playwriting programme, under the guidance of American playwright Joan Holden.

It's a makeshift presentation using texts we wrote over the weekend, so it won't be stellar, but it'll be fun. It's a comedy set in old Suzhou about organ transplants! I play the faithful servant Ah Lek, based on Arlecchino.

Details are:

Sat 8 August, 4pm
The Hall @ The Arts House (i.e. the small building with the Vietnamese restaurant, next to the Arts House proper)
Price: FREE

The writers/performers are:

Chris Lee
Verena Tay
Peggy Ferroa
Jacklyn Kuah
Ng Yi-Sheng

2009-08-01T01:39:00.000+08:00

Come to IndigNation!!!

What's IndigNation, I hear you say? Here's from the website:

Indignation is the LGBT Pride season in Singapore, reaffirming our participation in the intellectual and cultural life of this country, reminding all that we are as much a part of Singapore as anyone else. The organisers are motivated by a belief that however difficult, progress is possible. We are not passive victims of ignorance and prejudice in an unchanging landscape. We are active citizens playing our part in making Singapore a better place.

I've been involved in every single IndigNation since 2005. This year, I'm curating and emceeing ContraDiction, a literary reading at 7pm on Sunday 30 August at 72-13 Mohamed Sultan Road. There'll be foretaste of that at this event tomorrow:
Come to IndigNation!!!

Opening Reception, 7.30pm @ 72-13 Mohamed Sultan Road

People Like Us’ annual reception is becoming a tradition. Along with finger food and wine, this year the programme for the evening includes: (1) the presentation of the 2009 Dignity Award, (2) the announcement of the winners of the Rascals Prize, (3) the launch of a Coming Out guide by Sayoni, (4) poetry by Koh Jee Leong, as a preview to the much anticipated ContraDiction, Indignation’s premiere writing-and-music event. All are welcome. Come and be emancipated!

Seriously, straight people are welcome too. Just be prepared to get checked out if you're cute.

2009-07-21T23:34:00.001+08:00

I've got two poems in "Writing Singapore", the first truly comprehensive anthology of English lit in Singapore, launched just tonight.

Unfortunately I neglected to bring a camera, and my mum's absconded with the volume in question, so I can't really advertise it photographically.

Still, it's really interesting! About a quarter devoted to pre-1965 writing, and another quarter to the 1965-1990 period (both of which contain many writers I've never heard of).

Unfortunately, it's expensive: $75 a copy. But maybe you can get a discount somehow. The two poems, by the way, are "Crystal Pear" and "Equidistance", both of which are extremely gay.

2009-07-01T13:21:00.007+08:00

I'm gonna be in the National Library Board's 144-hour reading marathon this weekend

Reading local English fiction on Sunday morning, 5 July, 3 to 3:30am at the Central Library foyer. Seeya there!

Insomniacs: Do you feel frustrated every time you stay awake beyond the witching hour while the rest of your friends are soundly under the covers?

Clubbers: Don’t you always feel that the night ends too early?

So, on the morning of Sunday 5 July, from 1am to 7am at the Central National Library foyer, do something different, take a break from your routine: support literary arts!

Show your support for this one-of-a-kind Singapore Writers Festival (SWF) pre-festival event. The SWF team and some of Singapore’s more well-known writers will be reading a selection of homegrown works in public. Readers include Felix Cheong (The Call from Crying House), O Thiam Chin (Free Falling Man), Aaron Lee (Five Right Angles), Ng Yi-Sheng (Last Boy), Alvin Pang (City of Rain), Heng Siok Tian (Crossing the Chopsticks) and Jeffrey Lim (The Coffin That Wouldn't Bury).

Coffee, tea and biscuits to keep us awake are welcome, but just stopping by to listen to our readings are fine too!

Organised as part of READ! Singapore 2009 by the NAC.

UPDATE: It's actually happening already! Schoolkids were reading when I went Friday afternoon.

Can't wait!

2009-06-25T04:37:00.003+08:00

We're performing tonight!

I'm talking about ARTS Fission's A Garden Affair 013: Bird Call, of course. Tickets are sold out (well, it's free, but we've got a capacity of 40 and we've got bookings of about 65 each night. So yeah, we're sold out).

Unfortunately the dance studio is not very photogenic:

From left to right: Elysa Wendi (choreographer), Scarlett, Shirley, Mayu, Edwin, Bobbi and Lynn.

Look how they turn the simplest of tasks into an artistic act! No lah; I'm seriously impressed at how the ARTS Fission troupe willingly commits itself to practice, teaching, brainstorming, researching and sai gang. They're a really cool group of people.

I do have a few gorgeous pics, but they'd give away some of the ideas we have. So I'll post them after the show.

2009-06-18T23:20:00.001+08:00

Bird Call was in the papers today!

Straits Times Life!. Will scan it in soon.

2009-06-17T01:46:00.003+08:00

Garden Affair 013: Bird Call

Next Thursday and Friday, I'm involved in a contemporary dance performance called Bird Call, produced by ARTS Fission group and choreographed by Elysa Wendi. It's centred around the theme of birds, so I might have to do some dressing up in feathers. :)

Garden Affair 013 - Bird Call
Thursday 25 & Friday 26 June 2009, 8.30 pm
Garden Studio, Cairnhill Arts Center
126 Cairnhill Road #01-07/09
Within (tedious) walking distance from Newton MRT

2009-06-15T23:57:00.002+08:00

Someone made me fanart!

Her name's Marylyn and this is what she drew, based on my poem "kami/kaze: a correspondence".

2009-06-11T00:36:00.001+08:00

I recently participated in KYTV's POP Station...

... thus yielding one of the most embarrassing videos of myself, ever.

The exhibition's showing at the Esplanade Jendela Studio till 29 June.

Oh, and I made a second one, too:

2009-04-11T20:42:00.002+08:00

I'm going to Zurich to work on a book about rent-boys.

I'll be gone until 11 May; then on 13 May I'm flying off again to the States for my brother's graduation. I'll only be back in Singapore for a respectable time from 6 June onwards. So don't call my cellphone.

I have of course set up a blog as a diary for my voyage, but it won't be open to the public to read. I'll put up little excerpts on my personal blog occasionally, or maybe I won't. This is the first sentence I've written:

I don’t know what I’m doing and I’m fucking scared.

Complete the short story with the sentence, with emphasis on correct grammar and spelling. (25%)

2009-04-07T03:56:00.000+08:00

Poet X Poet X Photos!

That's me squirming while Prof Lee read my early adolescent juvenilia. I eventually retaliated by performing "Prospect of a Drowning" in Singlish.

Ooh, did I mention we had an audience?

They stuck around for two hours - some of them standing! - while we gabbed about each other's poetry (with brief anecdotal excursions about our personal lives, and those of others, for which I sincerely apologise). Very good response, according to Kenny: someone said it was the best Singapore lit event s/he'd been to in a long time.

This was thanks in no small part to our moderator, Gwee Li Sui. (Edwin Thumboo also interjected a fair number of times. He's being hidden by the stack of plastic cups.)

And really, it was a gorgeous place to have the event:

Photos courtesy of Alvin Pang.

While we're at it, why not some photos from the Life! Theatre Awards? Here's Wong Chee Wai/Ng Tze Wei getting his Best Set Design for "The Last Temptation of Stamford Raffles".

And here's the crowd: (from left to right: Brian Gothong Tan, members of ZingO Drum Group, Fran Borgia, Elizabeth Tan, K Rajagopal):

And our (unnervingly precocious) entertainment:

Now that they've scaled it back to a nominees-only ceremony, it's unlikely that I'll be invited back next year. Ah well, I've decided to concentrate on books rather than drama this year, and there's a price for every venture. (More on that in a later post.)

Now to file my taxes.

2009-04-03T02:33:00.000+08:00

BooksActually
presents

“Poet x Poet” series
Session No. 1: Lee Tzu Pheng x Ng Yi-Sheng
Moderated by Dr. Gwee Li Sui

P O E T R Y D I A L O G U E

Date // 3 April, Friday
Time // 7 pm
Venue // BooksActually (No. 5 Ann Siang Road. T / 6221 1170)

Poet x Poet is a dialogue session where two well-known poets are invited to read and critique each other's works. This is a first in Singapore where poets from different generations and practice engage in intellectual critical dialogue regarding their craft. The audience is welcome to pose any questions and/or participate in the dialogue. Moderated by Dr. Gwee Li Sui. Organized by BooksActually.

LEE TZU PHENG:
Lee Tzu Pheng was born (May 13, 1946) and educated in Singapore. She has a Ph.D in English from the University of Singapore from where she has recently retired as a Senior Lecturer in its English Department. She has four volumes of poems to her name; of these, the first three, Prospects of a Drowning(1980), Against the Next Wave, (1988) and The Brink of An Amen(1991) were winners of the National Book Development Council of Singapore (NBDCS) Award. Aside from literary studies, her other interests include children's literature and church work.

NG YI-SHENG:
Ng Yi-Sheng (b. 1980) is a Singaporean writer. He has published a collection of his poems entitled Last Boy (2006) and SQ21: Singapore Queers in the 21st Century (2006). He won the Singapore Literature Prize in English in 2008.

2009-03-30T16:20:00.001+08:00

I didn't win anything at the Life! Theatre Awards...

...but I got to pick up the trophy for Ka Fai who got Best Multimedia for Reservoir.

He's in the UK filming stuff for Diaspora (TheatreWorks people never attend the thing anywayz), so I went up, talked about what a great guy he is to work with and that he should be recognised as a director as well as as a multimediator, and then exhorted everyone to watch his upcoming Revolution Per Minute (23 to 25 April).

Ng Tze Wei got Best Set Design for "The Last Temptation of Stamford Raffles"! And he deserves it. Seriously, that man can spin straw into gold.

2009-03-27T02:05:00.003+08:00

Life! Theatre Awards Nominations 2009

I've been nominated for Best Script for "The Last Temptation of Stamford Raffles"!

It's also got noms for Best actor (Rehaan Engineer), Best set (Ng Tze Wei) and best costume (Moe Kasim, with later modifications by directors Christina Sergeant and Ivan Heng). "Reservoir" is also nominated for Production of the Year and Best Sound Design (Chong Li-Chuan) and Best Multimedia (Choy Ka Fai).

This time I'm sure I won't get the award myself: hot favourites for both Best Script and Best Production are the fabulous "Gemuk Girls" and "Temple". We might win some technical stuff, though.

The article came out on Sat 19 March, when I was in Italy; that's why I didn't know the news was released yet. (I knew about the noms ages ago, though.)

Here's the full list for your perusal, with productions I was involved in italicised. Prize presentation ceremony on Monday.

Production of the Year:

* Gemuk Girls (The Necessary Stage)
* House of Sins (Dramabox)
* Reservoir (Theatreworks)
* Temple (Cake)
* The King Lear Trilogy (Ho Tzu Nyen)

Best Director:

* Natalie Hennedige (Temple)
* Li Xie (House of Sins)
* Christina Sergeant (The Hypochondriac)
* Alvin Tan (Gemuk Girls)
* Wong May Lan (The Soldier & His Virtuous Wife)

Best Script:

* Natalie Hennedige (Temple)
* Li Xie (House of Sins)
* Ng Yi-Sheng (The Last Temptation of Stamford Raffles)
* Jean Tay (Boom)
* Haresh Sharma (Gemuk Girls)

Best Actor:

* Rehaan Engineer (The Last Temptation of Stamford Raffles)
* Najib Soiman (Gemuk Girls)
* Noor Effendy Ibrahim (National Language Class)
* Peter Sau (House of Sins)
* Tay Kong Hui (House of Sins)

Best Supporting Actor:

* Oliver Chong (Flare)
* Najib Soiman (Temple)
* K. Rajagopal (The King Lear Project)
* Darius Tan (The Soldier & His Virtuous Wife)
* Sebastian Tan (Snow White & The Seven Dwarves)

Best Actress:

* Fanny Kee (Boom)
* Jo Kwek (Moon Story)
* Noorlinah Mohamed (Gemuk Girls)
* Yeo Yann Yann (National Language Class)

Best Supporting Actress:

* Goh Guat Xian (Flare)
* Li Xie (Temple)
* Judy Ngo (The Vagina Monologues)
* Susan Tordoff (The Office Party)
* Emma Yong (Shanghai Blues)

Best Ensemble:

* Bilik Ahmad (Teater Ekamatra)
* Drift (Dramabox)
* First Light (Toy Factory)
* Own Time Own Target (Wild Rice)
* The Hypochondriac (young & Wild)

Best Sound Design:

* Bang Wenfu (The Hypochondriac)
* Chong Li-Chuan (Reservoir)
* Philip Tan (Temple)
* Zing O Drum Group (Death of a Hero)
* Zizi Azah (Above us only sky)

Best Lighting Design:

* Fita Helmi (Above us only sky)
* Andy Lim (House of Sins)
* Lim Woan Wen (Pinocchio’s Complex)
* Suven Chan (Temple)
* Yo Shao Ann (Shanghai Blues)

Best Multimedia Design:

* Choy Ka Fai (Reservoir)
* Loo Zihan (Gemuk Girls)
* Brian Gothong Tan (Temple)
* Tan Kai Syng (The Vagina Monologues)

Best Set Design:

* Eucien Chia (Shanghai Blues)
* Claudio Girardi (Das Experiment)
* Wong Chee Wai (House of Sins, Apocalypse Live!, The Last Temptation of Stamford Raffles)

Best Costume Design:

* Moe Kasim (Beauty World, The Enchantment of Sangkuriang, The Last Temptation of Stamford Raffles, Snow White and The Seven Dwarves)
* Natalie Hennedige (Temple)

2009-03-26T04:42:00.002+08:00

My books are now available at Shakespeare & Co.

Yep, the famous bookstore in Paris - You can just drop off two copies and they'll keep them in the catalogue (it's on consignment, though, so you'll have to travel back there to get the money if anyone buys it).

"last boy" is there, and so is "Eating Air". Alvin Pang dropped his books off there too. It's 37 rue de la Bûcherie, near Place St. Michel, within walking distance of the Cathedral of Notre Dame. What joy.

2009-03-13T23:18:00.001+08:00

I'm on p93 of Men's Folio, March 2009!

It's weird to be in a magazine where every single other person is sexier than you.

2009-03-11T04:41:00.003+08:00

I'm going to Italy for World Poetry Day!

There's a bilingual Singapore/Italy poetry anthology called "Double Skin" that Alvin Pang and Tiziano Fratus edited. Pang, Teng Qian Xi and Toh Hsien Min are going too, with Ethos publisher Fong Hoe Fang to shepherd us around.

Will probably be leaving on the night of the 18th, and I should thereafter be in:

Cuneo, 19 marzo 2009 (h. 6.00 pm), L'Ippogrifo Bookstore;
Torino, 21 marzo 2009 (h. 5.00 pm), Circolo dei Lettori.

And coming back by the 23rd. Can't wait!

2009-02-19T02:20:00.005+08:00

'Life Styles: Theatre and Biography Across Cultures'

I'm speaking at this Symposium at the National Museum on Friday afternoon!

Turns out we're getting a bigger space, so space won't be as limited as I thought. Thus I can advertise this with impunity.

2009-02-11T04:34:00.000+08:00

BUY MY T-SHIRTS.

I've made a few, available on order at Ministry of Press. Here's one!

MOP itself is a little shop at #04-31, Far East Plaza, and the owner, Arnold Wee, has commissioned local poets to create 14-word T-shirt slogans for Valentine's Day. The shirts themselves are American Apparel, so they're very comfy. Regular shirts cost $39; the poets series is $69.

2009-01-22T11:14:00.000+08:00

Poetry Slam at SMU at 5pm, Friday.

I'm reading and judging.

2009-01-12T23:42:00.003+08:00

I'm hosting ROJAK 13!

ROJAK 13: Interiors is happening on January 23rd, Friday 8pm at the National Museum (2nd level Concourse)

We have a wonderful lineup for the evening. The ROJAKers are:

1. Lin Weidong, Photography
2. Alecia Neo, Photography
3. Gilles Massot, Art
4. Maxine Chionh, Art
5. Donna Ong, Art
6. Mark Wee, Architecture & Interiors
7. Hans Tan, Industrial/Product Design
8. Larry Peh, Commercial/Industrial Design
9. Raihan Halim, Film
10. Benjamin Tan, Film

Rojak 13 is held in conjunction with Come-in, an exhibition of the Institute for Foreign Cultural Relations (ifa) and presented by National Museum of Singapore and Goethe Institut Singapore.
See you all soon!

2009-01-06T02:02:00.001+08:00

Er... so. I've had my poem published on the SDP website.

This is gonna do my next grant application a lot of good. :)

See here. (Hey, Dr Chee said he liked the piece. How could I say no?)