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Performances/Readings
To date, Magdalena
(Singapore) has produced:
● Public
reading of Ng Swee San's
Desperate Escape and Dora Tan's
Just Late (17
Mar 2008). Directed by Shelly Quick. Read by Carolyn Camoens, Xavier
Kang, Bridget Therese Lachica, Philip Marcello, Laura Schuster, Ernest
Seah and Verena Tay. Attended by over 30 people.
● Public
Reading of Tan Suet Lee's
S/perm and Verena Tay's
The Lunar Interviews
(10 Mar 2008). Directed by Shelly Quick. Read by Carolyn Camoens, Renée
Chua, Musa Faizal, Laura Schuster, Adelynn Tan and Tara Tan.
Attended by over 40 people.
● Umbral
(4 & 5 May 2007), a performance by Cristina Castrillo of Teatro delle
Radici (Switzerland)
● Her
S P A C E (9 & 10 Sep 2005), a work-in-progress theatrical
happening devised over six months (Apr–Sep 2005) by Pushpa
Arumugam, Elizabeth de Roza, Koh Leng Leng, Anjeli Narandran, Verena Tay,
Audrey Wong, and Melissa M.S. Wong, performed as part of
The Substation's Septfest 2005.
Her S P A C E questioned how women
relate to the issues of self, identity and representation, refracting
these through the individual’s perception of her body, sexuality,
personal space, and emotions. Questions of subjectivity and the
observer’s gaze, the relationship between content and form in the
performance space, and working within an ensemble of performers from
diverse backgrounds, also came into play.
Magdalena
(Singapore) has also supported the following performances of its
members:
● 3 Women
(Singapore: 30 Jun & 1 Jul 2005; Providence, Rhode Island, USA: 2 Aug
2005), three short monologues written, performed and directed by Verena
Tay.
● Still Flight
(Singapore: 23 & 24 Jun 2005; Providence, Rhode Island, USA: 1 Aug
2005), a monologue performed and directed by Elizabeth de Roza based on
Cyril Wong’s text.
● Waiting...Wishing...Wearing...: Some Urban Tales (16, 21 & 22 Aug
2003), playreading by Verena Tay.
● Women Who Act:
Asian-Pacific Folktales (Distressed Damsels Not Wanted) (14, 15 & 20
Aug 2003), storytelling for adults by Verena Tay, Kamini Ramachandran
and Madanarathi.
● Incubating Juice
(6 Aug 2003), a multi-disciplinary performance that featured well-known
theatre actors, dancers, and a writer, from Australia and Singapore. It
also showcased two Magdalena Singapore members, Melissa W.S. Wong and Jaynthi Siva, who
was also the choreographer and co-director of the performance.
Wine, Women & Word / Women’s Open Space (WOS)
To date, Magdalena
(Singapore) has produced the following to showcase the work of
Singaporean women artists:
● Wine,
Women & Words
(27 Jul 2007)
during which the audience drank wine (supplied by TC Corporation (S) Pte
Ltd), listened to a wine appreciation talk (by Soon Fee Moi) and enjoyed
Singapore women artists and writers present light-hearted stories, short
performances, and readings. Artists featured included Verena Tay, Tan
Suet Lee, Carolyn Camoens, Neomi Ogo, Stephanie Ye, Pushpa Arumugam,
Haymini Muthusamy, Shakthi, Daisy Irani, and Sheela Narayanan. Sheela
Narayanan was the MC for the evening.
● WOS V: Open Doors
(23 Jul 2005) which explored the theme of domesticity as seen through
the eyes of women of different generations; featuring Aruna Narandran,
Natalie Tan, Sol Iglesias and Tia Siew Keng.
● WOS IV: The Social
and the Personal in Art-making—A Forum
with Women Arts Practitioners (2 Mar
2005), featuring Elaina Chong, Kimberly Creasman, Charlene Rajendran and
Jean Tay.
● WOS III: Film:
Perspective: Woman (16 Jul 2004), featuring the short films of Wee
Li Lin, Sun Koh, Lynn Loo, Tania Sng and Lisa A. Cunico.
● WOS II:
Kaleidoscope (14 Dec 2003), featuring Anjeli Narandran, Audrey Wong,
Juliana Yasin, Li Xie and Melissa De Silva.
● WOS I (16 Aug
2003), featuring Magdalena Singapore, Adelina Ong, Aidli ‘Alin’ Mosbit &
Molizah Mohd Mohtar, Nadya Hutagalung and Anne
Chua.
Participation in International Festivals
To date, Magdalena
(Singapore) members have participated in the following Magdalena
Project-related festivals:
● Magdalena
Sin Fronteras II,
Cuba (8–18
January 2008); organised by the Estudio
Teatral de Santa Clara, Cuba.
Click
here for Elizabeth de Roza's reflections on Magdalena Sin Fronteras
II
● International
Festival of Women in Contemporary Theatre, Providence, Rhode Island,
USA (31 Jul–6 Aug 2005); organised by Magdalena USA.
● Transit IV: Roots
in Transit: International Theatre Festival & Meeting at Odin Teatret
(15–25 Jan 2004); organised by Odin Teatret, Holstebro, Denmark.
● International
Festival of Women in Contemporary Theatre (Theme:
‘Theatre-Women-Travelling’) at the Brisbane Powerhouse Centre for Live
Arts (6–16 Apr 2003); organised by Magdalena Australia.
Workshops
To date, Magdalena
Singapore has produced the following workshops:
● The
Language of Memory
(7 & 8 May) by Cristina Castrillo and Bruna Gusberti of Teatro delle
Radici (Switzerland)
● 28
Apr–24
May 2007: Special collaborative workshop by Cristina Castrillo and Bruna
Gusberti of Teatro delle Radici (Switzerland) with Elizabeth de Roza &
Koh Leng Leng
● The Power of
Personal Stories: Art as an Act of Service (7 Sep 2003), an
introductory playback theatre workshop by Veronica Needa
● Jumpstarting Your
Script: Playwriting Masterclass (10 & 12 Sep 2004), by Kaite
O’Reilly
Forums
To date, Magdalena
(Singapore) has conducted the following forums:
● The
Creative Actor
(8 May 2007) featuring
Cristina Castrillo and Bruna Gusberti of Teatro delle Radici
(Switzerland) and Kok Heng Leun of Drama Box (Singapore). A forum
that discussed how an actor creates and collaborates with the
director from the preparatory phase through to the rehearsal space and
the final creation of a performance. Speakers drew from their personal
experience in making work for performance. Moderated by Elizabeth de
Roza.
● The
Arts in Everyday Space (3 Sep 2005), a forum in which theatre
practitioners were invited to share their views on the role of the arts
in daily lives—in public spaces, common
spaces, everyday living spaces, individual interior spaces. Panellists
comprised: Yani Mae (Women Community Bandung, Indonesia), Cecilia
Garrucho (Philippine Educational Theater Association) and Li Xie (Drama
Box, Singapore). This forum was organised in conjunction with
The Substation's
Septfest 2005.
Other Activities: IWD/Needs Assessment Survey/etc.
In March 2006,
Magdalena (Singapore) co-produced the following events with The
Substation in conjunction with International Women's Day:
● Space,
the Body and Movement in Performance (14 Mar 2006), demonstrations
and discussion by Elizabeth de Roza, Koh Leng Leng and Low Yuen Wei.
● Storytelling
for Adults: Strong Women (10
Mar 2006), by Verena Tay
● My
World of Chinese Opera (9
Mar 2006), a talk by Joanna Wong
During the course of July
and August 2003, Magdalena Singapore conducted a Needs Assessment Survey
of women artists/performers in Singapore to gain an insight on how to
improve the working conditions of women artists in Singapore and to
create a viable network of possible volunteers and participants for
future programmes. The findings in summary are:
● There was general
interest to support women doing things for and about women, and hence
support some form of networking/sharing.
● About 80% thought
that a festival is very essential/essential.
● About a third thought
their priority was to earn a living.
● About 50% said they
would like to help organise a festival.
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