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My Love Affair with Words...
What's next? More plays, ventures into short stories and maybe even novels... And now even a blog... About Selected Plays Bumiputra Cina
(Image above by Irfan Kasban) History: A chance meeting with Effendy in 2007 led me to articulate my concerns of whether I, as a third or fourth-generation Chinese Singaporean, could be considered a "bumiputra" or not. This led to 2 years of discussion, thought and emailing before we decided to bite the bullet and produce the show. Bumiputra Cina will be performed at The Substation Theatre (14–16 May 2009, 8 pm) directed by Noor Effendy Ibrahim and performed by Verena Tay, Shahril Wahid and Rizman Putra. Performed in English, Malay and Hokkien. English surtitles provided. What The Critics Say: "In masterful strokes, the piece excavated possible permutations of belonging through the physical and visceral means of a body bathed in earth... Tay's sensual writing intertwined the stories in an intimate way. Like earthworms they burrowed, finding resonance in the different strands which make up one's identity." ~ Tara Tan, Life! Section, The Straits Times, 16 May 2009, p.E8 "I felt that this small, low-key play...examined the relationships Singaporeans have with their country with sincerity and earnestness, if not necessarily great theatricality and flair. The theme is a pertinent one in the context of our immigrant, multi-racial society – who can call himself a true Singaporean and what does that phrase even mean? - and I appreciated how playwright Verena Tay made the political personal with semi-autobiographical details being woven into her story about a contemporary Chinese Singaporean woman searching for her identity. I also liked how she opened up the narrative by introducing vignettes involving war hero Lt Adnan Saidi (who was born in Malaysia but died for Singapore), poetic monologues by the earth itself, etc. Her well-intentioned attempts at comedy, usually through self-deprecation, often felt awkward and a little too raw, though." ~ Kenneth Kwok, 'First Impressions', The Flying Inkpot, 14 May 2009, http://inkpot.com/ (last accessed: 3 June 2009) "In a series of twenty-over vignettes the question of what it means to belong, to be rooted in, or tied down to a piece of land is explored with wry humour and at times cutting accuracy. Accuracy at least in the context of a Chinese female in Singapore. Verena’s examination of her own experience, is extended into that of the everywoman, and further questions as well the nature of the relationship of the term ‘bumiputra’ to even those ‘native’ to the crumbly earth with that raw smell that frankly we do not have a very intimate relationship with these days living in boxes in the sky (flats) where soil is found in pots that line the corridor walkway, an attempt possibly on our part to connect with the land, yet one that is frowned upon within housing board regulations that champion regularity and concrete... Earth in all its deep, mysterious, dark and organic glory took centrestage in the performance, with each character sweeping, scooping, toiling at it, lying in it or just letting it trickle through cupped hands. Its presence kept the performance and the abstracted observations about belonging grounded. Soil - what seeds would you plant here… The verdict? 4.5 out of 5 chungkols! Digg this!" ~ June Yap, 'Bumiputra Cina: A Chinese Child of the Soil', ARTERI, 15 May 2009, http://www.arterimalaysia.com/2009/05/15/bumiputra-cina-a-chinese-child-of-the-soil/ (last accessed: 3 June 2009) Prosperity
History: One of my earliest plays, Propserity was written in 1994. Although it was publicly read once, it was not produced until The Necessary Stage decided to stage Prosperity as part of ENCORE: An Evening of Ageless Theatre, the inaugural showcase of its pioneering Theatre For Seniors programme. This production (directed by Jean Ng and performed by Daisy Yeo and Thomas Lim) played at the Marine Parade Community Club Auditorium from 13 to 15 Mar 2009. (Photo: Courtesy of The Necessary Stage) The Lunar Interviews
History:
The Lunar Interviews was written in Oct 2007 while I was
attending the International Writing Program,
University of Iowa. It was produced by Magdalena (Singapore) and
The Substation as part of 2 double bills entitled, Blood Binds,
staged as part of the OCBC Singapore Theatre Festival 2008 organised
by W!ld Rice. This production (directed by Shelly Quick and
performed by Fanny Kee, Elizabeth Gott and Renee Chua) played for 3
performances over 23 & 24 Aug 2008. What The Critics Say: “...an extended poetic essay on the relationship between women and language. My favourite of the play's seven segments has to be the first, where the three actresses describe the difficult process of textual creation using the dense, visceral imagery of childbirth. I'm also appreciative of the stories of everyday women who talk too much or too little, sandwiching the stories of the goddesses, cementing the lot into a modulated whole that transcended expectations... Undoubtedly, the star of the show is Fanny Kee, who makes the most of her monologue as the Chinese moon goddess Chang-Er, giggling, simpering and dancing her way into our hearts. Tay does a good job rewriting this familiar character as a court lady thriving on gossip, selfish and occasionally bawdy - quite unlike, and yet not alien to the ethereal archetype we've seen so often on mooncake boxes... Still, I'm definitely impressed with the work as a whole: it's the first time in years of reading and watching Verena Tay's works that I've seen her tapping into such a wellspring of poetry for a script... Verena Tay's The Lunar Interviews (***1/2), on the other hand, is modulated, delicious and intense: using the recurring motifs of the moon and the goddesses thereof, the playwright describes a complex of relationships between women, language and power, drawing on a wellspring of poetry I've never seen before in her writing. A few clumsy moments pop up, stemming from inexperience in physical theatre and some extremely cumbersome props. But at the end of the day, I'm satisfied: this is a good piece of theatre.” ~ Ng Yi-Sheng, The Flying Inkpot Theatre Reviews, Review of 24 Aug 2008 performance, http://inkpot.com/theatre/08reviews/0821,bloodbind,ny.html (last accessed: 3 Jan 2009) Imperfect Family Recipes
History: Imperfect Family Recipes was written in Oct 2007 for the
Global Play Project (conceived by Mike Finn) as part of the 40th
anniversary celebrations of the International Writing Program,
University of Iowa. It was chosen as Short+Sweet Singapore 2008 Top 30
plays and staged at the NAFA Theatre Studio, 19–22 June 2008. It was
then selected to enter the gala final of Short+Sweet Singapore 2008
and was staged again at the Esplanade Theatre Studio, 27–29 June
2008. Acknowledgements: I would like to thank the following for making Imperfect Family Recipes possible:
- Mrs Catherine Hu for inspiring the play and sharing her
xi yau kai recipe once again
The Car
(Photo: Courtesy of ACTION Theatre) History: The Car is semi-autobiographical. I began the play in 1996 just before my father passed away of cancer and did not complete it until 2005 under ACTION Theatre's Playwriting Spa (2004-05). The Car won ACTION Theatre’s Theatre Idols 2005 by being awarded both the Jury Prize and the Audience Choice Award for ‘Best New Play’. The Car was fully staged at The Esplanade Theatre Studio by ACTION Theatre in late July 2006. The premiere production was directed by Samantha Scott-Blackhall and was performed by Tony Quek, Noorlinah Mohamed and Gene Sha Rudyn. What The Critics Say: “A feel-good piece about the sometimes tense relationship between daughters and fathers and the allure of being tied to the past, The Car was quite often touching, and always unpretentious.” ~ Hong Xinyi, Life! Section, The Straits Times, 1 Aug 2006, p. 7 “The Car was equally well done, a poignant tale of family told through a conversation between a woman (Noorlinah Mohamed) and her late father’s beloved ageing Fiat, played by Gene Sha Rudyn. … but neither detracted terribly from what was a powerful look at the problems people face, both in the past and the present.” ~ Aaron Lye, The Business Times, 4 Aug 2006, p. 29 3 Monologues: Good Girls Don't Wait, Jiving on Java, The Perfect Shoe
History: I first created and performed The Perfect Shoe for The Necessary Stage in 1997. Since then, it has been performed many times in Singapore and showcased in New Zealand (1999), Norway (2000) and Hong Kong (2004). Subsequently, I completed Good Girls Don’t Wait and Jiving on Java during 2003. I publicly read all the three monologues at The Substation in June and Aug 2003. Then The Substation produced a triple bill performance entitled, 3 Men Meet 3 Women, in Jul 2004. (Photo: Jori Ketten, courtesy of Magdalena USA) I began rehearsing my own performance of the three monologues in 2005. 3 Women: A Work-in-Progress was shown at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts on 22 Apr. Subsequently in 2005, 3 Women was performed at The Substation’s Dance Studio (30 Jun–1 Jul) and at the Magdalena USA International Festival of Women in Contemporary Theatre (31 Jul–6 Aug, Providence, Rhode Island). Two years later, I reprised 3 Women and performed the show at the following venues: • The Republic Cultural Centre, Republic Polytechnic, Singapore (2 Aug 2007) • beGallery, High Falls, NY, USA (18 Aug 2007) • Union College, Schenectady, NY, USA (22 Aug 2007) What The Critics Say: “3 Men Meet 3 Women succeeded in heralding the entry of a female playwright to watch – rare in a male-dominated scene and a cause for celebration.” ~ Clarissa Oon, Life! Section, The Straits Times, 26 Jul 2004, p. 9 "These are stories that are worth telling and are being told reasonably well, but more importantly they are being told with a lot of heart and sensitivity, which is what matters most in intimate productions of this nature." ~ Kenneth Kwok, 30 Jun 2005, The Flying Inkpot Theatre Reviews, Review of 3 Women and Still Flight, http://inkpot.com/theatre/05reviews/0623,stilflig,kk.html (last accessed: 19 Feb 2007) Published Plays
• 1 Monologue (Excerpt from Cotton & Jade) and 3 Short Stories (The Gravedigger, The Stray Cat, Hair); Writing sample for the International Writing Program 2007, University of Iowa (http://www.uiowa.edu/~iwp/WRIT/documents/TayWritingSample.pdf) • In the Company of Women: Selected Plays (Singapore: SNP Editions, 2004). [To purchase, please email contact Ms Clara Wong.] • 'Prosperity', 10-minute play published in More Than Half the Sky (Singapore: Times Editions, 1998), an anthology of Singaporean women’s writing. Essays Online • 'Bringing Life to a Simmer'. 26 June 2008. Far Eastern Economic Review (June 2008). http://www.feer.com/authors-corner/2008/june/Bringing-Life-to-a-Simmer (last accessed: 26 June 2008). • 'You Are What Your Eat: A Dietary Contemplation of Identity'. 21 September 2007. Iowa City Public Library and the International Writing Program Panel Series. http://iwp.uiowa.edu/archives/ICPL/Tay_WhatyouEat.pdf (last accessed: 26 June 2008). • '1988 - Mama - 2006: A Review of Mama Looking For Her Cat, by the Theatre Practice'. 11 December 2006. Theatrex, http://www.theatrex.org/?p=38#more-38 (last accessed: 26 June 2008).
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To
me, words
have always been precious. My mother says I didn't speak until I was
three, and when I did, I spoke in full sentences. I was a voracious
reader in my childhood and early teens. I pursued two degrees in English
literature. I wrote freelance
and edited for a living. Creatively, I fashioned crossword puzzles at
10, experimented with poetry in my teens and twenties, and finally began
writing plays and scripts from the early 90s onwards based on themes
close to heart. 
Synopsis:
Synopsis:
Synopsis:
Synopsis:
Synopsis:
Synopsis: A
woman waits for her boyfriend. A woman rejects work, buses and car
ownership, desiring peace and tranquillity. A woman seeks to keep her
feet happy... The 
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