Download Annexes - National Arts Council

ANNEX 1
MOBILE
DIRECTORS’ PROFILE
Alvin Tan
Alvin is the Founder and Artistic Director of the Necessary Stage (TNS), as well as the
Co-Artistic Director of the M1 Singapore Fringe Festival. Under Alvin, TNS has grown
from a society in 1987 to one of Singapore’s most prominent and respected theatre
companies. He initiated the Company's Theatre For Youth Branch, the annual M1
Theatre Connect and the Marine Parade Theatre Festival. He has a BA from the
National University of Singapore, a Diploma in Education from the Institute of Education,
and an MA from the University of Birmingham. One of the leading proponents of devising
theatre in Singapore, Alvin has directed more than 40 plays, which have been staged
locally and at international festivals in Glasgow, Cairo, Busan, Seoul and Melbourne.
Some of these landmark productions include Lanterns Never Go Out, Still Building,
Pillars, Galileo, Koan and godeatgod. In 1997, Alvin was awarded a Fulbright
Scholarship. The following year, he was conferred the Young Artist Award by the
National Arts Council. Alvin is also strongly involved in civil society work, representing
Singapore in numerous conferences and workshops around the world. He was also
invited to participate in the World Culture Forum Alliance in Sao Paolo and the
Conference of Asian Foundations and Organisations in Barcelona. Most recently, Alvin
participated in Res Artist ‘05 in Berlin, as well as the World Culture Forum in Jordan.
Tatsuo Kaneshita
Born in 1964, Tatsuo Kaneshita was a member of the theatrical troupe, The Youth
Theatre, before launching his own company, THE Gazira, in 1987. He has produced
many works as playwright and producer. Among the awards he has received are the
Minister of Education Award for Emerging Artist, the Kinokuniya Drama Prize in the
Individual Category, and the Grand Yomiuri Drama Award.
ANNEX 2
MOBILE
HEAD WRITER’S PROFILE
Haresh Sharma
Haresh is Resident Playwright of The Necessary Stage, as well as the Co-Artistic
Director of the M1 Singapore Fringe Festival. To date, he has written more than 50 plays
which have been staged in Singapore, Glasgow, Birmingham, London, Dublin, Cairo,
Melbourne, Busan, Seoul and New Delhi. Haresh has a BA from the National University
of Singapore as well as an MA in Playwriting from the University of Birmingham,
obtained in 1994 on a Shell/NAC Scholarship. He has also been awarded fellowships
and grants by the British Council, the United States Information Service and Asia-Europe
Foundation, and was conferred the Young Artist Award in 1997. He has two published
collections of plays - ‘Still Building’ (awarded the Singapore Literature Prize and the
Singapore Book Prize) and ‘This Chord and Others’. Another play, Off Centre, was
published by Ethos Books in 2000. His play Koan premiered at the 2003 Asia Theatre
Festival in Busan(Korea). Other recent works include Such Sweet Sorrow, the anchor
production of M1 Theatre Connect, as well as the reworked Mardi Gras and its spin-off
Top Or Bottom, all in 2004. His play, What Big Bombs You Have!!!, premiered at the
inaugural M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2005 to critical acclaim. Since 2003, Haresh has
been participating in a new collaboration among Southeast Asian theatres, spearheaded
by Setagaya Public Theatre in Tokyo, Japan, which recently culminated in the production
Hotel Grand Asia. His most recent plays were Boxing Day: The Tsunami Project and
Separation 40, staged in May and September 2005 respectively.
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ANNEX 3
MOBILE
PERFORMERS’ PROFILE
Reina Kakudate – Japan
Reina joined Seinendan in 1994. She has appeared in many of Seinendan’s
productions, which are written and directed by Oriza Hirata: such as SKogen Kara (From
S Plateau, 1994) and Tokyo Notes (Tokyo Notes, 1998, 2002, 2004). She has also
appeared in Nous les heros (1999), written by Jean-Luc Legarce and directed by
Frederic Fisbach, and Three Sisters (2003), directed by Motoi Miura.
Tetsuya Kataoka – Japan
Tetsuya learned acting at the Actor's School of The Black Tent Theater (BTT), after
graduating from high school. In 1998, after finishing BTT's school, Testuya joined The
Black Tent Theater (BTT) as an apprentice and became a formal member in 1999. In
2000, he appeared in the Kuo Pao Kun's play The Silly Little Girl and The Funny Old
Tree for the Asia Arts Festival, which was sponsored by the Japanese Cultural Affairs
Agency. Other than BTT performances, Tetsuya attended workshops with PETA, The
Philippines, VIVADI, India, and NOTTLE, Korea.
Rody Vera – The Philippines
Rody has written more than 20 original plays, and has adapted and translated various
plays into Filipino. He is also a singer and performer. Formerly Artistic Director of
PATATAG singing group and Musical Director to some of its album recordings, as well
as Artistic Director of PETA, he has appeared in some musicals and films, notably Sister
Stella L. and the musical 1896. His plays include Kung Paano Ko Pinatay si Diana Ross
(2nd Prize, Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards), Balangiga (2nd Prize, Carlos Palanca
Memorial Awards), Luna: Isang Romansang Aswang (1st Prize, Carlos Palanca Memorial
Awards) and Dreamweavers (2nd Prize, Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards). He has also
written plays that were performed by PINTIG cultural group, a Fil-American theatre group
based in Chicago: Sky Legends ( 3rd Prize, Palanca Memorial Awards) and The Bells of
Balangiga, a musical. Senyor Paciano, Rody’s first film script, won 2nd Prize in the
National Centennial Literary Awards in 1998. Rody has travelled extensively in North
America, Europe and Asia, teaching and performing drama. He was recently awarded
the Bellagio Study Grant by the Rockefeller Foundation. Rody was last seen on stage in
Mardi Gras (2004) and Top Or Bottom (2004) by The Necessary Stage.
Mailes Angeles Kapani – The Philippines
Mailes is a free-lance actor for stage, television, and film. Her most recent theater
productions are Sepharad, Voces de Exilo for Dulaang Unibersidad ng Pilipinas, Unravel
Noh with Noh Master Umewake Naohiko and the Cultural Center of the Philippines, No
Exit with director, Abdel Langit, Philippine Bedtime Stories with the Rinkogun Theater
Company in Tokyo, and various plays from classical to the absurd with Tanghalang
Pilipino. She is also a voice actor for foreign soap operas.
Jarunun Phantachat – Thailand
Jaa is a founding member of international theatre ensemble International WOW
Company. She begun her acting in the company’s first production, Wow!. She has also
appeared in PUSH, Stairway to the Stars and Death of Nations. Jaa was also the
assistant director of Project 304, a non-profit art organisation. She co-founded b-floor
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Theatre with a group of designers, actors and directors, in 1999. The theatre group
experiments with the expressive abilities of the human body to develop non text-based
action and situation. Jaa also coordinated the Bangkok Theatre Festival in 2003. In April
2005, she was a project director between b-floor and Theatre Company Nottle (Korea) in
Wonju, South Korea. The project was supported by Arts Network Asia. Jaa performed
with The Necessary Stage for Boxing Day, which was staged in May 2005.
Narumol Thammapruksa – Thailand
Born in Bangkok, Thailand, Narumol is known as an actress, dancer and director of
contemporary theatre. Based in the old city of Chiang Mai, northern Thailand, she grew
up in a very strong arts and cultural community, and trained on her own supported by
teachers and friends. Narumol has used her community skills as a volunteer for many
organizations particularly with empowering women and children, and with AIDS patients
and prostitutes for three years. In 1996, she was co-founder of The International WOW
Company focusing on intercultural exchange. With Thai, Indonesian, American,
Taiwanese and Japanese actors, the WOW Company created eight plays in three years,
post-modern style, using dance as well as theatre in each piece. She was selected by
the Japan Foundation to participate in the Japan-Thailand collaboration drama entitled
“Akaoni” with Japanese director Noda Hideki, co-organised “World Artists for Tibet” in
Thailand, and continues her work on Tibet as a writer and social arts activist. She was
previously awarded a grant from Asian Cultural Council to study theatre and dance in
America. Narumol is currently working on projects for Art Network Asia.
Pradit Prasartthong – Thailand
Pradit was trained in Thai classical dance, drama, singing and body music in Thailand.
His current area of emphasis is community theatre. He is the director of The Grassroots
Micromedia Project (MAKHAMPOM Theatre Group) in productions that address the
needs of community cultural development, working with children and youth from the
village or urban poor. The group builds grassroots links with communities through
theatre workshop programs. The workshops are often complemented by theatre
productions, training and information activities and address issues AIDS and drug
abuse. His company has toured Thailand, England, Germany and Australia.
Aidli ‘Alin’ Mosbit - Singapore
Aidli ‘Alin’ Mosbit has acted in numerous productions for The Necessary Stage including
Off Centre, Sing Song, The Exodus, Pillars, Rosnah, 1+1=3, Don’t Say I Say and Sing
Song. She has also devised, written and directed her own plays including Ikan Cantik,
…Dan Tiga Dara Terbang Ke Bulan (chosen to represent Singapore at the Cairo
International Festival of Experimental Theatre), Kosovo and Lintasan (commissioned by
Action For Aids Singapore for World Aids Day 1994). Kosovo and …Dan Tiga Dara
Terbang Ke Bulan won the Commendation Prize in 1995 and 1997 respectively at the
Literary Awards, presented by the Singapore Malay Language Council. In 2003, together
with writers, Aidli published an anthology of plays in the book, ‘BISIK’. December 2003
saw her devising, writing and directing actress Molizah Mohd Mokter in La Libre Latifa, a
one-woman play showcased in the Pesta Raya 2003 programme commissioned by the
Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay. She was last seen in The Necessary Stage’s
godeatgod (2004), which was recently performed at the Sibiu International Theatre
Festival in Romania, What Big Bombs You Have!!! for the M1 Singapore Fringe Festival
2005, Boxing Day: The Tsunami Project and Separation 40, a collaboration between The
Necessary Stage and Malaysia’s Dramalab.
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Chua Enlai - Singapore
Enlai is an established actor in the local theatre industry, with credits including W!ld
Rice’s Oi Sleeping Beauty!, Cinderellah!, The Visit, Aladdin, TheatreWorks’ Shanty –
Follow That Dream, Action Theatre’s Shakespeare’s R & J, Singapore Repertory
Theatre’s The Morning People, Toy Factory Theatre Ensemble’s Bent and Spell #7’s 7x7
and Various Gangsters. At the 2002 DBS Life! Theatre Awards, Enlai was named Best
Actor for his performance in Mark Ravenhill’s Shopping & F***ing. In the same year, his
work in Plunge, directed by Krishen Jit, earned him a nomination for Best Supporting
Actor. Enlai was also seen in The Necessary Stage’s What Big Bombs You Have!!!, for
the M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2005, as well as Separation 40, a collaboration
with Malaysia’s Dramalab. Enlai was last seen on Channel 5 in My Sassy Neighbour and
has taken on various television roles in programmes including Chase – Blueprint, The
Odd Squad, The Big Buffet, Phua Chu Kang, Daddy’s Girls, and Xena: Warrior Princess.
He is also a popular Kids Central host, known for programmes like Hobby TV, Jobs for
Juniors, Science Guy PI and Look Who’s Leading. Enlai is a proud member of the
Association of Singapore Actors and is represented by Fly Entertainment.
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ANNEX 4
MOBILE
CAST LIST
Conceived by
Alvin Tan (Singapore)
Directed by
Alvin Tan (Singapore)
Tatsuo Kaneshita (Japan)
Written by
Narumol Thammapruksa (Thailand)
Rody Vera (The Philippines)
Tatsuo Kaneshita (Japan)
with
Head Writer
Haresh Sharma (Singapore)
Performed by
Reina Miura (Japan)
Tetsuya Kataoka (Japan)
Rody Vera (The Philippines)
Mailes Angeles Kanapi (The Philippines)
Jarunun Phantachat (Thailand)
Narumol Thammapruksa (Thailand)
Pradit Prasartthong (Thailand)
Aidli ‘Alin’ Mosbit (Singapore)
Chua Enlai (Singapore)
Set Design by
Vincent Lim (Singapore)
Multimedia Design by
Brian Gothong Tan (Singapore)
Lighting Design by
Naomi Shoko Matsumoto (Japan)
Choreography by
Kuo Jing Hong (Singapore)
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ANNEX 5
MOBILE
PROFILE OF THE NECESSARY STAGE
Formed in 1987, The Necessary Stage (TNS) is a non-profit theatre company with
charity status. Their mission is to create challenging indigenous and innovative theatre
that touches the heart and mind. They are committed to developing new works, providing
a platform for new artists and reaching out to new audiences, while maintaining high
standards of production. Some of the productions by TNS include Top Or Bottom (2004),
Sing Song (2004), koan (2003), BOTE: The Beginning Of the End (2002), godeatgod
(2002 & 2004), Close – in my face (2002), ABUSE SUXXX!!! (2001), Completely
With/Out Character (1999), Pillars (1998), Rosnah (1995, 1996, 1997), Off Centre (1994)
and Still Building (1993), which were not only popular successes but also critically
acclaimed. TNS has also produced nine publications to date.
Besides producing an average of four original plays a year for its Main Season here in
Singapore, TNS also stages its plays abroad and invites foreign works to be presented
by the company in Singapore, as well as through dialogues, workshops and training
opportunities. To date, the company has performed in Berlin, Birmingham, Busan, Cairo,
Dublin, Glasgow, London, Macau, Melbourne, New Delhi, Seoul and Taipei.
TNS also reaches out to the youth and the different communities in Singapore through
its Theatre For Youth and Community (TFYC). This includes presenting short plays
during school assemblies, interactive Theatre-In-Education programmes, workshops,
and process-based drama programmes that focus on personal development. It was
responsible for the successful Marine Parade Theatre Festival (2000), FamFest (2001),
The Necessary Community Festival (2001), M1 Youth Connection (1997 – 2003) and M1
Theatre Connect (2004).
Another TNS initiative is The Triangle Project which was started in 1992 with the aim of
providing opportunities for the less privileged to watch theatre. TNS matches donors and
charities with the former buying tickets to our productions for the beneficiaries. This
scheme has proven to be very successful and numerous beneficiaries of Voluntary
Welfare Organisations have experienced theatre as a result.
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