Admission: Give-What-You-Can (via Eventbrite upon registering for a ticket)
All proceeds collected for this event will be evenly distributed to participating writers.

PART OF

Headline Acts

Headline Acts is a fun and informal reading series open to writers of all experience levels wishing to showcase plays or scenes. The only rule is, each work is a short (10-15 minutes) dramatic pieces that respond to recent headlines.

For this special SIFA edition of Headline Acts, part of Centre 42's group show SIFA-X: there is no future in nostalgia, we are turning our attention to that special dynamic between new and old, past and future. And so we're asking all participants to respond to a headline of their choice from 30 years ago - in the year 1993.

6 writers were shortlisted through an Open Call that took place on 1 March 2023. The works they will be presenting are:

"Sotong" by Kay Lynn Er
"All Kinds of Time” by Wisely Chow
“An Examination” by Ivan Choong
“The Chilli Powder Sisters” by Melizarani T. Selva
"Kids, Gifts, COEs & Roast Duck" by Irsyad Dawood
"Is It Because I'm..." by Isaac Lim

The events will be headlined by two invited writers whose careers kicked off in the 90s. Their new works are:

"The Three Ages" by Jean Tay
"Motherland" by Very Shy Gurl by fendy

These eight new short pieces are presented across 2 sessions. Acts 1 will take place on Saturday 27 May 8pm, and Acts 2 will take place on Sunday 28 May 3pm.

Acts 1

"The Three Ages" by Jean Tay

Responding to the headline "MRT trains collide at Clementi: 132 hurt"

A photograph featuring three actresses, two standing and one seated, each holding a script in hand.

Serene Chen, Karen Tan and Arielle Jasmine van Zuijlen perform in the dramatised reading of The Three Ages. View more at: Centre 42 Facebook

Synopsis:

A woman, Elizabeth, looks back at her life at three different points in time.

Written by: Jean Tay
Directed by: Thong Pei Qin
Performed by: Karen Tan, Serene Chen, Arielle Jasmine van Zuijlen

Jean Tay

"Kids' Gifts, COEs & Roast Duck" by Irsyad Dawood

Responding to the headline "Kids' Gifts, COEs & Roast Duck"

A photograph of the performance of "Kids' Gifts, COEs & Roast Duck".

Joshua Elias, Genevieve Tan and Ashley Ru perform in Kids' Gifts, COEs & Roast Duck. View more at: Centre 42 Facebook

Synopsis:

Two people get lost on their way to a friend’s kid’s birthday party. They talk about some things. There is a goose. There is roast duck.

News Source: New Paper, 26 November 1993, Page 18

Written & Directed by: Irsyad Dawood
Performed by: Genevieve Tan, Ashley Ru, Joshua Elias

Irsyad Dawood

"Is it because I'm..." Isaac Lim

Responding to the headline "Why the Malay male is 'not romantic'"

A photograph featuring the cast members of "Is It Because I'm..." performing in the dramatised reading.

Miriam Cheong and Fadhil Daud perform in a dramatised reading of Is it because I'm.... View more at: Centre 42 Facebook

Synopsis:

Ibrahim is a sexy and charming man. But he just cannot find the right love. The reason? They all say he isn’t romantic enough. He recollects his past relationships over the past year to find the true problem.

Written by: Isaac Lim
Performed by: Fadhil Daud, Miriam Cheong

Isaac Lim

"Sotong" by Kay Lynn Er

Responding to the headline "Zon Zon can carry on in spite of Pon Pon"

A photograph featuring the cast members of "Sotong" performing in the dramatised reading.

Letitia Chen and Karthika Warrier perform in a dramatised reading of Sotong. View more at: Centre 42 Facebook

Synopsis:

What starts as the purchase of the wrong brand of cuttlefish snacks turns into a heated discussion about one family's past and relationships with each other.

News Source: The Straits Times, 12 May 1993, Page 22

Written & Directed by: Er Kay Lynn
Performed by: Karthika Warrier, Letitia Chen

Kay Lynn Er

Acts 2

"Motherland" by Very Shy Gurl by fendy

Responding to the headline "At the White House, Israeli PM Yitzhak Rabin and PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat signed the Oslo Accords"

A photograph of the performance of "Motherland".

Bada Jabari and Irfan Kasban perform in Motherland. View more at: Centre 42 Facebook

Synopsis:

Two unknown soldiers deeply in love and with different loyalties contemplate the inevitable when the night sky in the distance starts to burn red.

News Source: September 13, various news media

Written & Directed by: Very Shy Gurl by fendy
Performed by: Irfan Kasban, Bada Jabari

Noor Effendy Ibrahim

"The Chilli Powder Sisters" by Melizarani T. Selva

Responding to the headline "Chilli powder sisters gets jail"

Two actresses on stage, one seated with a script in hand, and the other standing, hands on a table behind her.

Grace Kalaiselvi and Roshini Periyachi perform in a dramatised reading of The Chilli Powder Sisters. View more at: Centre 42 Facebook

Synopsis:

Armed with chilli powder and an aching desire to leave Singapore, two sisters hatch a plot to rob a woman at their HDB while arguing about the best ways to spend the bounty — on a dowry or or a degree.

News Source: The Straits Times, 27 March 1993

Written by: Melizarani T. Selva
Directed by: Lucas Ho
Performed by: Grace Kalaiselvi, Roshini Periyachi

Melizarani T Selva

"All Kinds of Time " by Wisely Chow

Responding to the headline "Buy a CD and get to know me too"

A photograph of the dramatised reading of "All Kinds of Time".

Ilyas Lukman, Medli Dorothea Loo and Masturah Oli perform in a dramatised reading of All Kinds of Time. View more at: Centre 42 Facebook

Synopsis:

A wedding is interrupted, and time folds onto itself.

News Source: The New Paper, November 14 1993

Written & Directed by: Wisely Chow
Performed by: Masturah Oli, Medli Dorothea Loo, Ilyas Lukman

Wisely Chow

"An Examination" by Ivan Choong

Responding to the headline "376 to resit English exam as papers lost"

A photograph of the dramatised reading of "An Examination".

Chio Su Ping, Audrey Luo and Zee Wong perform in a dramatised reading of An Examination. View more at: Centre 42 Facebook

Synopsis:

A loss of test papers that were differing opportunities for two young lives. It leads to examinations with unexpected findings.

News Source: The New Paper, 20 July 1993, Page 9

Written & Directed by: Ivan Choong
Performed by: Audrey Luo, Chio Su Ping, Zee Wong

Ivan Choong

SIFA X: there is no future in nostalgia

Start: 20 May 2023

This edition of Headline Acts is part of Centre 42's group show SIFA-X: there is no future in nostalgia, in collaboration with Singapore International Festival of Arts.