About
For more than 25 years, I have acted, directed and written for local English-language theatre in Singapore. I created various solo and collaborative performances, often based on original, self-written material while I was as an Associate Artist with The Substation (2002-09).
My recently staged plays include Right and Left (2010), Bumiputra Cina (2009), Imperfect Family Recipes (2008), The Lunar Interviews (2008) and The Car (2006), which won Action Theatre’s Theatre Idols in 2005. These plays appear in my second book, In the Company of Heroes (Singapore: Maths Paper Press/BooksActually, 2011).
Two other collections of my plays have been published as well: In the Company of Women: Selected Plays (Singapore: SNP Editions, 2004) and Victimology (Singapore: Maths Paper Press/BooksActually, 2011). My plays and short prose have also been published in More than Half the Sky: Creative Writing by Thirty Singaporean Women (1998), Tumasik: Contemporary Writing from Singapore (2009) and A Rainbow Feast: New Asian Short Stories (2010).
An Honorary Fellow at the renowned International Writing Program, University of Iowa (Aug-Nov 2007), I am now working on my first volume of short stories as and my debut novel.
Apart from theatre, I bring stories vocally and physically alive in my unique fashion. Together with Kamini Ramachandran with whom I founded MoonShadow Stories in November 2004, I have been telling stories at various community venues across Singapore, much to the delight and enjoyment of adults and children. In particular, MoonShadow Stories has done much to push the boundaries of storytelling for adults in Singapore. In addition, I have regaled audiences in the US and Australia with tales from Southeast Asia. A Professional Member and founding member of the Storytelling Association (Singapore), I have successfully coached members of the SAS and members of the public to improve their craft of telling stories through my workshop, Beyond Storytelling 101, since 2008.
Outside of theatre and storytelling, I have worked in public affairs, marketed books, and edited newsletters and books on teaching and learning issues in higher education. My interest in performance led me to pursue an MA in Voice Studies (2005) at the Central School of Speech and Drama, London during 2003-04, thereby augmenting my MA in English Literature (1993) from the National University of Singapore. I currently teach voice, speech and presentation skills at the National Institute of Education and other local institutions.