The Vault: RE:CALL is an inter-disciplinary exploration of the creative synergies between dance and theatre. It is a performance response to the text Recalling Mother and its conceptual framework as a “living script”. First written and performed by Claire Wong and Noorlinah Mohamed in 2006, and in revised iterations later on in 2009, 2015 and 2016, Recalling Mother is an evolving text featuring two women telling stories about their mothers and the complexities in their relationships with them.

RE:CALL is devised by two female performers Ho Shu En and Syimah Sabtu who come from different backgrounds and dance training, and are collaborating for the first time under the artistic guidance of movement artists Hasyimah Harith and Norhaizad Adam. The performance playfully combines their responses to the original text and their personal relationships with their mothers.

Accompanying the performance showcase is a workshop where the performers will share their devising techniques and processes with dance participants and facilitate the creation of participants’ own responses to the text of Recalling Mother.

RE:CALL is produced by the Arts Management Collective in collaboration with P7:1SMA and Centre 42, with the support of Dance Nucleus and Checkpoint Theatre.

Video Documentation

RE:CALL is an inter-disciplinary exploration of the creative synergies between dance and theatre. It is a performance response to the text Recalling Mother and its conceptual framework as a “living script”. First written and performed by Claire Wong and Noorlinah Mohamed in 2006, and in revised iterations later on in 2009, 2015 and 2016, Recalling Mother is an evolving text featuring two women telling stories about their mothers and the complexities in their relationships with them.

Transcript

0:01:04.324,0:01:09.396
Your grandfather was very good to me la, he only said one thing to me one day during lunch:

0:01:09.781,0:01:12.894
“You’re a very good person, but you can’t even lay an egg.”

0:01:15.369,0:01:20.486
After that there was one day,

0:01:21.122,0:01:24.967
I told your father, my menses didn’t come leh.

0:01:24.968,0:01:27.859
It’s very weird, I feel nauseous when I brush my teeth.

0:01:28.591,0:01:32.048
Your father said, eh maybe, you’re pregnant?

0:01:32.048,0:01:35.511
So I bought a pregnancy test kit to do a urine test.

0:02:29.363,0:02:33.368
Eventually my tummy grew bigger and bigger, bigger and bigger,

0:02:33.368,0:02:36.608
but we couldn’t tell from the ultrascan whether the baby was a girl or boy.

0:02:37.541,0:02:41.800
The doctor found it so weird, why was this baby always covering there?

0:02:41.800,0:02:46.058
(laughs) It’s not letting us look leh!

0:02:46.558,0:02:53.801
When I was nearing my delivery date, we still couldn’t see but suspect la, suspected it’s a girl.

0:02:54.645,0:03:00.000
Then, Dr Cheng asked your father, “you disappointed not, if it’s a girl?”

0:03:00.000,0:03:04.927
“If it’s a girl I’m so happy you know! I win lottery leh!”

0:03:51.850,0:04:00.000
I was supposed to give birth at 43 weeks but I gave birth at 41 weeks, two weeks early.

0:04:00.783,0:04:04.819
My tummy was too big, there was no more space, no space for the baby to move.

0:04:04.819,0:04:09.013
(chanting a prayer) I wanted it to be smooth, because it was happening the next day.

0:04:10.190,0:04:13.463
If everything is ready, the caesar (caesarean section) will take place at 7 o’clock.

0:04:13.685,0:04:15.685
I kept chanting and chanting.

0:04:17.744,0:04:21.874
The doctor was very fast, he spoke to me,

0:04:22.256,0:04:28.168
said some funny things, and I went to sleep and was unconscious, because of the jab.

0:04:29.272,0:04:32.671
When I awoke, the baby was out. He said:

0:04:32.671,0:04:36.134
“Oh congratulations, you have a baby princess.”

0:05:14.033,0:05:17.051
I was a bit giddy then.

0:05:17.623,0:05:22.867
In the evening the nurse asked me: "You want to see your baby in the nursery?"

0:05:23.058,0:05:27.539
I said okay lor, so she pushed me in and asked me to guess, your father followed behind.

0:05:27.857,0:05:28.966
“You guess which one?”

0:05:28.966,0:05:33.700
I thought, my tummy was so big, it had to be the one with a lot of hair.

0:05:34.082,0:05:36.816
“That one la, I think. I got sixth sense.”

0:05:37.833,0:05:39.292
“Oh ya, correct, correct!”

0:05:39.292,0:05:44.501
The one with the very tall hat, hair standing up, was you. So funny!

0:20:58.447,0:21:00.447
“Why aren’t you showering?”

0:21:11.146,0:21:13.400
“Why aren’t you sleeping, it’s late!”

0:21:26.621,0:21:28.812
“Why are you drinking cold drinks again?”

Resources

Reading Materials

As part of Centre 42’s Blueprint Issue #16, Arts Managers: Going above and beyond is about how a group of budding and existing arts managers as part of Arts Management Collective (AMC), comprehend the intricacies of arts management and learn to navigate through the different roles an arts manager undertakes, through the producing process in The Vault: RE:CALL.

Arts Managers: Going above and beyond | The Vault: RE:CALL

Published: 24 May 2021

#2: SMU-X STUDENTS PRESENTS RE:CALL

The Singapore Management University (SMU) news featured The Vault: RE:CALL under ‘Highlights’, as the production was conceived as an assignment for a module under the SMU Arts and Cultural Management programme, ACM201: SMU-X’s Introduction to Performing Arts Management. Students in the module were mentored by Assistant Professor Hoe Su Fern and Ma Yanling, the Company Manager of Centre 42. Click to read to view the course instructors reflections on RE:CALL!

#3: DEAR WATERLOO STREET, FROM AN EMERGING ARTS MANAGER

In this article on ArtsEquator, the dance artist Ho Shu En reflects on the significant role of Waterloo Street, specifically the arts organisations in the arts belt, in her journey as an emerging arts manager. Click to view Waterloo Street through her perspective, as well as her adorable illustrations, which also featured RE:CALL as a milestone in her personal and professional growth.

Programme Booklet

This programme booklet serves as supplementary information for the audience who attended the live showcases on 21 and 22 August 2021.

Permisi: WIP Showing

On 26 March 2021, the dance artists Shu En and Syimah performed in Rumah P7:1SMA @ Stamford Arts Centre for PERMISI, their first preview of RE:CALL as a work-in-progress showcase.

PERMISI is a non-curated platform provided by P7:1SMA for anyone to ‘make it and share it’ with friends from their larger community.

The aim of this work-in-progress showcase and sharing is to enable knowledge-sharing and exchange, which will hopefully serve two objectives:
(1) to deepen and refine one's own processes and project, and
(2) to kickstart conversations about cross-disciplinary collaboration, exploration and experimentation.

This recording of The Vault: RE:CALL showcased the work-in-progress showing on 26 March.

Pasted on a white wall, two huge white paper are decorated with post-its.

In lieu of the COVID-19 restrictions, the team had also put up two questions for the audience to respond via post-its for the post-show, as a form of safe measurement.

Live Showcase

21 and 22 August 2021

Showcase

Black Box @ 42 Waterloo Street

Photograph for The Vault: RE:CALL, with two dancers in a dark setting, wearing light blue and yellow outfits.

On 21 and 22 August 2021, the dance artists Shu En and Syimah performed in the Black Box @ 42 Waterloo Street.

Reviews from the Arts and Culture Management community who managed to attend the live showcase of RE:CALL on 21 & 22 August, can be found on AMC’s Instagram (@artsmgmtco).

21 and 22 August 2021

Pre-Show and Post-Show Information

Rehearsal Studio @ 42 Waterloo Street

On 21 and 22 August 2021, this pre-show and post-show information ran in the Rehearsal Studio @ 42 Waterloo Street prior to and after the showcases.

Photograph of the pre-show and post-show information for The Vault: RE:CALL.

Online Watch Party & Dialogue

3 September 2021

Online Watch Party & Dialogue

Online on Zoom

On 3 September 2021, Arts Management Collective held an online watch party and dialogue to showcase the recorded session of The Vault: RE:CALL on 21 August 2021.

Over 30 guests attended the online watch party and joined in the dialogue panel facilitated by Dr Hoe Su Fern as part of AMC, featuring invited panellists such as Claire Wong from Checkpoint Theatre as the original creator of Recalling Mother, Nabilah Said from ArtsEquator, and Dominic Nah from The Second Breakfast Company, to share their thoughts and reflections of watching the showcases both online and in-person. The team has also invited their dance artists, Shu En and Syimah from the artistic team of RE:CALL, as well as Yanling from Centre 42 to share their reflections being part of this whole journey from the beginning.