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What memorable experiences do you have of participating in drama or theatre productions?

(Please leave your name in the 'subject' of your response)

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What memorable experiences do you have of watching drama or theatre productions?

(Please leave your name in the 'subject' of your response)

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What memorable dramatic texts have you studied in the past?

(Please leave your name in the 'subject' of your response)

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Share one insight you remember about studying a dramatic text. Which text was it?

(Please leave your name in the 'subject' of your response)

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Share one insight you remember about studying a dramatic text. Which text was it?

(Please leave your name in the 'subject' of your response)

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I was the dramaturg for The Second Breakfast Company's restaging of Robert Yeo's The Singapore Trilogy in March 2021. I got to work directly with Robert himself about adapting the 3 plays in the trilogy into the first-ever 3-in-1 production. Largely due to its explicitly political themes, we were rejected by NAC for funding :O

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I watched the 2019 staging of Off Centre by Haresh Sharma and The Necessary Stage, surrounded by other 'O' Level students (not mine) and I left wondering about the difference between watching and studying a play that is so dear to me.

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'O' Level:
1. A Midsummers' Night Dream by W. Shakespeare

'A' Level: (several, but my highlights are)
1. Richard III by W. Shakespeare
2. Taming of the Shrew by W. Shakespeare
3. Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett (Theatre Studies)
4. Sizwe Bansi Is Dead by Athol Fugard (H3 Literature)
5. Master Harold... and the Boys by Athol Fugard (H3 Literature)

I'll stop there -- though I have some favourites from uni too!

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Top Girls by Caryl Churchill

Figuring out how to study overlapping lines of dialogue -- understanding how characters talk at cross-purposes / self-interest / self-indulgence.

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Any play by William Shakespeare

Do I need to understand every single line and what it means?!?!?!?!

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I’ve been performing in drama performances since secondary school (we called it DramaFeste) and at university — at NUS Stage, where Huzir Sulaiman was my director — he was the model for how plays should be directed and produced 🙏

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I watched 'Midsummer Night's Dream', a production by my JC's Theatre CCA, in 2022. It was my first time watching a play and the main reason I went to watch it was because my friends were acting in it. I did enjoy the play a lot, especially the music.

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I didn't take pure Literature or Alevel Literature so I have unfortunately have never studied any dramatic texts, but I am excited to start now :)

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I've particpated as an actor for my school play, back when I was in primary school. The theme of the play was something along the lines of friendship and coming of age - I can't remember exactly but footage should be online somewhere!

It was a great form of expression for me back then, and I believe it still does. The stage is a powerful medium, and I enjoy dramas and plays a lot.

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For me, it would have to be my A Level texts, as learning them allowed me to appreciate drama and its intricacies even more!

1. Woman in Mind by Alan Ayckbourn
2. Playing for Time by Arthur Miller

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Woman in Mind by Alan Ayckbourn

Learning about the importance of lighting and stage directions, how it contributes to the atmosphere of the space that the audience is interacting with, and by extension, how it affects their interpretation/feelings with regards to the drama/play.

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Does every character need to be analysed? Sometimes I feel some characters are just there as a filler...

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While I have never been present as a physical audience in drama/theatre productions, there were times my classes have used online resources (e.g. Shakespeare's Globe on youtube) to watch them instead. I remember once, staying up at till 2am to catch the live performance of Macbeth on Shakespeare's Globe youtube channel during my 'O' Level year (it turned out to be quite boring though).

The most memorable production I watched would be an adaptation of Macbeth which split the stage into the side of "Good" and the side of "Evil". The characters' position on stage then determines how "good" (represented by the church) or how "evil" (represented by the witches) they are. This fluctuates throughout the play especially for Macbeth who started on the side of "good" to slowly move towards "evil" which I thought was a really interesting stage device.

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'O' Level:

1. Macbeth by W. Shakespeare

'A' Level:

1. Measure for Measure by W. Shakespeare

2. Hamlet by W. Shakespeare

Others:

1. Emily of Emerald Hill by Stella Kon

To be honest, my experience with drama revolves mainly around W. Shakespeare...

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The Typists by Murray Schisgal

Aside from the general setting, atmosphere, tone and dialogue, the diction and stylistic choices present in stage directions can also reveal the character's inner thoughts and emotions. This is not only done through analysis but also the imagination.

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Sometimes I just cannot translate my insight of a character's state of mind into words. When their dialogue is so rich with emotions, how can I express all that with any accuracy?

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I absolutely love watching musicals, one particularly memorable one was ‘lion king’. You could really see the effort they put in to making the props and even during the intermission they brought some of the props up to keep the audience’s attention on the musical. I felt that ‘Lion King’ broke the fourth to some extent and I really liked that

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O levels:

‘Off Centre’ by Haresh Sharma

A levels:

‘Hamlet’ by William Shakespeare

‘Saint Joan’ Bernard Shaw

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‘Off Centre’ by Haresh Sharma

It taught me what breaking the fourth wall meant and what effects it had on the audience, I was also able to understand the importance of stage positioning/directions. It was clear to me because I was able to watch the play at the Victoria Theatre with my cohort at that point in time as well.

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I have not participated in any drama productions or theater performances before. Mainly because I have been very active in the sports field rather than the Arts and performing arts.

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The closest I have been to participating in theatrical productions is dance. I really enjoy every moment on the stage, and all the preparation that goes into presenting a flawless performance.

I suppose dance can be considered a non-verbal, interpretive form of drama; it tells a story for the audience to analyse in its own beautiful way.

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My most memorable experience would be watching Shakespeare in the park. I attended my first ever play + Shakespear in the park this year 2023. Going in to Fort Canning and not knowing what to expect, I was pleasantly surprised by the production of Midsummer nights dreams.

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I watched Shakespeare in the park earlier this year, though I am not a fan of the modern take on a classic play.

I will admit that the lighting was stunning though, and does a lot to set the scene and atmosphere.

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I have watched musicals such as Wicked and Hamilton (on Disney Plus but hoping to watch in Singapore soon)

I have also watched some local productions such as Here and Beyond and Late Company

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I'm terms of drama, I have studied A view from the bridge by Arthur Miller, Romeo and Juliet, The Tempest by Shakespeare, Doctor Faustus by Christopher Marlowe and Saint Joan by Bernard Shaw.

My favourite drama texts from above would be Doctor Faustus and The Tempest.

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Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare

'A' Level:

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf by Edward Albee

Playing For Time by Arthur Miller

Woman in Mind by Alan Ayckbourn

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Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf by Edward Albee

Trying to understand the stage directions and how things look like on stage from a block of text

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No Exit by Jean-Paul Satre.

It's not a school text, but it is an existentialist play text I read on my own. I quite enjoyed this. The notion presented that 'hell is other people' is something that I relate to.

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What if my interpretation of the stage directions from the text is different from what is actually carried out?

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Setting and even colour theory can play a huge role in analysing play texts. The positioning of props also has dramatic purpose, and gives the play text extra dimension, compared to prose and poetry.

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Doctor Fautus

The importance of learning the context and premise that the play is set on. Learning that Fautus was a clavanist and a Renaissance Man, filled the gaps to justify his actions. It made studying the play more poignant and I was able to empathize for Fautus on a deeper level.

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Honestly whenever I study a play, I'm not sure if my analysis and interpretation of the text is accurate and I'm afraid that I'll miss out any important references to the mythological and contextual references.

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I think the most memorable drama I watched live would be Off Centre in Secondary school as it talks about mental health in Singapore. The actors were well prepared and able to convey the very difficult emotions of the characters. What struck me the most was especially a scene nearing the end where Vinod stripped

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"The Tempest" William Shakespeare

Honestly it was memorable because I really did not like the drama. I could not appreciate the fact that everybody based on cannon still lives and there was no actual revenge. It was technically a "happy" ending ignoring all the possible connotations of the cycle repeating itself. I just really did not like how Prospero renounced his magic and all that. :(

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1. Pygmalion by Bernard Shaw (O Levels)

2. Woman in Mind by Alan Ayckbourn (A Levels)

3. Playing for Time by Arthur Miller (A Levels)

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I really enjoyed studying A Streetcar Named Desire and The Crucible during my high school and middle school education! We would watch the play in class which I found very entertaining as opposed to simply reading the text.

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Sometimes I believe that scripts or plays, as a literary text, is very up to interpretation; stage directions are occasionally vague and the tone of certain lines may not always be there. This makes analysing it somewhat confusing because the way I perceive the text could be different from another’s interpretations.

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Plays (in my opinion) are meant to be watched, felt and experienced by the audience. To what extent does studying the text / through a book provide an authentic experience of engaging with the play, and does it do the playwright justice?

Also, how can we sharpen our analysis for Drama / Plays in contrast to analysing poetry and prose?

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A Streetcar Named Desire

The idea of plastic theatre intrigued me. It made me realise how important it is to pay attention to what perspective the audience is exposed to (e.g the Polka music in Blanche’s head)

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Woman in Mind — Beyond analysing the diction and language to form meaning, analysing the effect of lighting and sounds in a play to add richness to the play.

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'O' Level

A view from the bridge by Arthur Miller

'A' Level

Hamlet

Measure for Measure

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One insight is to always pay attention to stage directions, props and costumes (elements that are unique to drama).

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A View From the Bridge

Learning about the hidden intention behind dialogues between characters. Also the importance of the setting and environment.

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In Secondary School, I have watched the Here and Beyond theater play performed by Off Centre.

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I have read Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw.