Drama Box

If work is a big part of our lives, who would we be without our work? How are different jobs valued? Step into a world where we’ve collectively lost our memories about the work we used to do.Through a mix of accounts by people of various professions and speculations of a post-AI future, hello, is this working? by Drama Box is a participatory experience that invites us to reexamine our relationship with work now, and to reimagine work in the future.Times may change, but work, and workers are here to stay. Ar

hello, is this working? (2024)

Performer

A new train station is planned for the estate, but there is little space left, and something must be demolished. What should stay and what should go?In this participatory theatre production, facilitators will take students through a series of activities as they learn about the costs, risks, stakes, and sacrifices that come with creating a community.Through this experience, students will be given the opportunity to explore how they value the different spaces in their own country, what their priorities and co

The Lesson (2024)

Director

Part theatre, part collective experience, ubin by Singapore theatre company Drama Box invites you to an immersive walking tour uncovering the stories and sites of Pulau Ubin – and share in a moment to reimagine the island’s future.&nbsp;There is another reality alongside ours – one where nature, community and a slower rhythm quietly stand against the march of urbanisation.&nbsp;This is Pulau Ubin: an island mere 15 minutes away from the main island of Singapore. Ubin, which means “squared stone” in Javanese

ubin (2022)

Facilitator

Isabella Chiam

"There is no greater beauty than flowers. When you smell them, they nourish the heart and the soul"– Abu WardA garden hidden in the middle of the city. A girl with memories of heartache, pop music and a father's love. An intimate, life-affirming encounter.Finding joy and love amidst life's losses and pain, The Last Gardener is a workshop that invites participants on a gardening journey of comfort, hope, and healing.

The Last Gardener (2021)

Dramaturg

Liew Jia Yi

We did not come here by choice.But we are here anyway.This place can be big and small.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; beautiful and ugly,Complete and brokenAll at the same time.Part installation, part theatre, A Window Travel is a solo self-directed participatory experience inspired by the self-reflection tool Johari Window. Offering a moment of introspection and mindfulness, audiences are given a "travel ki

A Window Travel (2021)

SCENES returns this September with its third edition, while also celebrating a huge milestone - Drama Box turning 30!SCENES: Participatory Practices is a virtual gathering of socially-engaged arts practitioners from Asia Pacific, and a practice of participation in shared solitudes. While gathering and live presence were central to previous iterations, against a backdrop of physical distancing, what other possibilities remain for critical engagement with society?Taking place over 7 days, with 3 Experiences, 

SCENES: Participatory Practices 2020

Artistic Director

STRANGER 艺族

A woman awakes and finds herself in the underworld, dead. As if that isn't enough, she learns that she needs to rush through her application for reincarnation. She revisits life-changing episodes of her life, only to find out that she has a knot in her heart, one that has been forgotten and buried in her mind ...waiting to be untied.

KNOTS is an original production created by the drama group, STRANGER. Made up of six young artists, STRANGER hopes to tell a story that depicts language politics and societa

Knots (2019)

Set Designer

A flower evokes…

life / death
fragility / strength
submission / resistance

FLOWERS&nbsp;is an experiential installation that investigates the patriarchal violence around and within us. Step in and let us (re)consider our lived experiences as men and women in relation to this violence. How does it seek to control and violate, and how might we resist and hope?


FLOWERS (2019)

Conceptualizer

MISSING: The City of Lost Things&nbsp;is a participatory experience that sets up a personal and intimate journey for the audience to re-encounter a lost connection in their lives.

It calls for you to step out of your comfort zone and take chances. Your experience depends entirely on what you're willing to give to this journey.


MISSING: The City of Lost Things (2018)

A traditional&nbsp;kopi tiam, rich in memories and heritage, is at risk of becoming irrelevant when faced with rapid changes in our society. How should the elderly owner of the&nbsp;kopi tiam&nbsp;and his grandson deal with these external changes and pressures, and negotiate their differing views?

Adapted from Cultural Medallion recipient Kuo Pao Kun's 1986 play,&nbsp;Kopitiam, this experiential and interactive theatre performance will take the audience to the world of traditional coffee shops, allowing 

Kopitiam (2016)

Adaptation

Multimedia Designer

Drama Box is celebrating its 25th anniversary with a festival on Forum Theatre, one of the most important forms used by Drama Box.&nbsp;SCENES: FORUM THEATRE&nbsp;is a consolidation of Drama Box's work and beliefs from the beginning. This is a major milestone for us, and is especially significant is that&nbsp;SCENES&nbsp;should be the official launch programme for GoLi – The Moving Theatre, the FIRST inflatable theatre in Singapore. GoLi is symbolic of a ground-up approach to our work in the community and o

SCENES: FORUM THEATRE 2015

The Silly Little Girl and the Funny Old Tree&nbsp;is a play written by renowned Singaporean theatre practitioner&nbsp;Kuo Pao Kun&nbsp;in 1987. The play tells of the story about a strange attachment that a girl develops with an old, funny-looking tree in her school. However, development and construction plans by the adults for that area threaten to put an end to this friendship. Despite exhausting all means, the girl fails to protect the tree from the construction cranes. In a rapidly transforming society, 

The Silly Girl and The Funny Old Tree (2014)

IgnorLAND&nbsp;is back and this time we are taking you to the Bukit Ho Swee estate! From the infamous fire in 1961 to the present, how much has changed in Bukit Ho Swee, and what has stayed the same?

See, hear and feel the story of Bukit Ho Swee!

Featuring performances and appearances by some of the Bukit Ho Swee folks.

Performed in Mandarin, English and Hokkien.


IgnorLAND of its Time (2014)

Assistant Director

Jin Tong is a senior-level civil servant. She longs to commit herself unreservedly to her same-sex relationship with new Chinese immigrant Jackie, but is hampered by fears she refuses to admit. When beautiful memories of her teenage years return to haunt her, how can her sassy mother help?

Secondary school Math teacher Vicky falls in love with her male student. Is she trying to fill a vacuum in her marriage, or is she just trying to flee from a past she can never return to?

One has a heart tangled up 

Farewell: The Body in 16 Chapters (2013)

Camera Director

Have you had to walk up the stairs because the lift was not working? When did you last cope with water rationing? What if food runs out for you and me?

When resources are limited, and consumption is on the rise, we face issues of supply and demand, responsibility and rights. Who gets priority when there isn't enough? What do we choose when we get down to basics?&nbsp;

Wouldn't It Be Nice?&nbsp;is an interactive theatre performance that explores what happens when there are several power failures, a sho

Wouldn't It Be Nice? (2012)

A little girl is digging a hole in the ground, waiting to bury her head in it when the hole is deep enough.

This Theatre-In-Education (TIE) performance combines entertainment (performance) and education (interactive activities) to investigate the phenomenon of adolescent depression.

The stress of modern life and societal pressures are challenging for our youth, who are still finding their path in life and developing their sense of identity. Through this programme, we hope to empower students to take p

Girl in the White Sand Box (2012)

Much has been said about the great work of Lim Bo Seng, one of Singapore’s most well-known war heroes during World War II. But have you ever wondered what he was like as a child, and what made him the person he came to be -&nbsp;a passionate and patriotic man?

《十一》Our 11th Brother: Lim Bo Seng's Formative Years&nbsp;explores the challenges that Lim Bo Seng faced as a young boy. The performance leads students in an exploration of values such as loyalty, responsibility and kinship through interactive activ

Our 11th Brother: Lim Bo Seng's Formative Years (2012)

A group of people come to a bus stop, a routine fixed within their everyday life. They wait for a bus that will take them to their destination, an ephemeral place that embodies their calling in life. Without fail, they must arrive.

They wait on ceaselessly, but the buses trail on, paying no heed to their existence. Minutes, days, months and years go by, bringing all hopes and dreams to naught. Yet... they continue to wait.

Now faced with a dilemma, these people have to decide. Should they continue to 

Bus Stop (2012)

Cast

Marketing

Publicity

While history often celebrates men, HERstory&nbsp;is&nbsp;a tribute to&nbsp;Singapore’s forgotten women in the 50s and 60s. Inspired by&nbsp;the women of that generation, Otto Fong tells the story of a&nbsp;tenacious woman with an unfulfilled dream.

She was a young girl with a beautiful voice and a love for&nbsp;singing. Embroiled in the politics of that era, this young&nbsp;woman was forced to give up the chance to pursue her love&nbsp;in choral singing, while struggling to keep her family together&nbsp

HERstory (2011)

Visual Artist

The Necessary Stage

Those Who Can’t, Teach is a classic of The Necessary&nbsp;Stage, first staged in 1990 as part of the Opening of&nbsp;The Substation.&nbsp;20 years later, the original creative team of director Alvin&nbsp;Tan and playwright Haresh Sharma, will revisit, revive and&nbsp;revamp the play into a contemporary classic.&nbsp;Set in the backdrop of a secondary school, the play&nbsp;looks at the madcap lives of teachers and students,&nbsp;with often hilarious results.&nbsp;As the teachers struggle daily to ‘nurture an

Those Who Can't, Teach (2010)

Assistant Stage Manager

Singapore Drama Educators Association

CityS&nbsp;is ARTivate's first devised play. It is also ARTivate's debut presentation following a year-round capacity-building process, during which the ARTivators underwent a series of training involving acting and playwrighting.&nbsp;

The play explores the concept of an inclusive city and questions the ideology constructed and perceived by majority of the society.&nbsp;


CityS (2009)

Publicity Designer

What Matters?&nbsp;was produced by under Esplanade's F.Y.I programme and NAC's Arts Excursion initiative. It featured a forum theatre play co-directed by Artistic Director of NeNeMas&nbsp;Koh Hui Ling&nbsp;and Rei Poh and also a series of 3 fringe activities. The cast of the play includes Kalaiselvi d/o Piramayan, Renee Chua, Siti Khalijah Bte Zaina and Rei Poh.

What Matters?&nbsp;aims to provide a whole new perspective on racial harmony locally and globally.


What Matters? (2008)

Stage Manager

Resident Artist

<p>Han Xuemei is a theatre practitioner based in Singapore. Her artistic practice involves designing experiences and spaces for people to be creative, disrupt routines and deconstruct paradigms. She has been a resident artist with theatre company Drama Box since 2012, and has conceptualised, directed, designed and facilitated numerous projects.</p>


Centre 42

Leave, Stay, or To Die&nbsp;is playcircle’s debut performance, exploring the relationship between a child and father. Through this, rethinking our role in the family unit. This play is also a crystallisation of its members’ learning in the arts. Playcircle&nbsp;is a young theatre collective made up of members of the pioneer batch of ARTivate, the youth wing of Drama Box Ltd &nbsp;(a platform for youths who want to explore and gain all-rounded insight into theatre).

Leave, Stay, or To Die&nbsp;was develop

Leave, Stay, or To Die by playcircle

Researcher

Sound Designer

ArtsEquator

Channel NewsTheatre

JENG JENG JENG…! Year in Review is back!

Where did 2021 go? How did the year unravel, and where have we arrived at?&nbsp;

In a year where the arts has had to acquiesce to multiple rules, hopeful for a return to normalcy, 2021 had us hurtling through an unknown abyss of multiple emotions best captured through this year’s theme: JENG JENG JENG!

From anticipation, to tentative excitement, shock, surprise and even the indescribable, our beloved colloquialism JENG JENG JENG covers it all.&nbsp;Into its 

Han Xuemei

PARTICIPATION IN C42

WORKS DOCUMENTED IN THE ARCHIVE

Han Xuemei

PARTICIPATION IN C42

WORKS DOCUMENTED IN THE ARCHIVE

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