Boy was I really into theatre! It probably started when I studied at Raffles Institution. There was a lot of emphasis on the arts at RI at that time (and there still is). I was first introduced to theatre by my Secondary 1 form teacher, Mr Alvin Tan. At that time, he was our English and Literature teacher, and was only involved part-time as the artistic director of his own group, The Necessary Stage (TNS). I still remember back in those days, we had a lot of programmes such as Street Theatre, Drama Feste and the annual Raffles Player production. And who could forget 'Lord of The Flies'. It was a GEP production and our Secondary 2 Literature text had been selected, probably because we all had a thorough knowledge of it, and the fact that it had a all male cast... I was in charge of the props and sets for this production and as can be expected, we encountered a lot of difficulties with the exotic props required. Notable ones were the pig's head, conch shell and a dead airman!

Drama Feste is THE theatre event at RI and RJC. And then there was Brian, Brian and Brian, the Hullett house play for 1995. Hullett has always been known for its experimental plays, which have always been well received. But for the last few years, we haven't been winning as many awards as we would have liked... and we just wanted to try out something for a change. BBB was basically a sort of a 'musical'. Not the mega-Hollywood ones like Cats and Phantom, but one with a more local flavour, like Beauty World and Fried Rice Paradise. There wasn't any live singing though, but there was a lot of taped music and the sets were elaborate to say the least. So, in the end, BBB came as a shock to most. We didn't win anything (as Best Props and Sets was scrapped for that year...) but that didn't mean anything. There was a lot of criticism from people but at the end of the day, I was really glad that we did not bow down to the pressure and do something stereotypical. In fact, I was quite glad to be very involved in the production of this play, to be a part of it all. I can still remember the countless nights we spent in our classroom, which we have transformed into a makeshift workshop and storeroom. The night class students at RI who used our classroom for their lessons would probably still remember the sawdust, beer-girl posters, lamp-post and backdrops littering the place every night.

Not too long ago, the event was still being held at venues with professional lighting and sound, such as at the WTC Auditorium. I was especially fond of the post mortem sessions held by the judges just before the results of the final were announced. This was a good oppotunity both for the audience to appreciate the play more and for the production cast and crew to learn from their mistakes so that they can improve their work next time. The sheer feeling of being totally involved in a play, be it backstage as a production crew or frontstage as a cast, is something which everyone should have a chance to experience for oneself, whether or not you like theatre. Although I have only been involved with 'amateur' productions so far, one similiarity which I have noticed with the 'pro' productions is that the people involved are just as dedicated and serious about their work.

As for the local scene, it is really quite a pity now to see many experienced 'players' moving on to the small screen in recent times. People like Jacintha, Lim Yu Beng, Tan Kheng Hwa, Margaret Chan and Daryl David, who are not given roles consumerate with their wide range of acting skills in serials. Fortunately, there is a supply of new blood emerging, especially for behind-the-scene jobs like scripwriters and directors, thanks to support and funding from National Arts Council(NAC) and many other companies.

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