Friday, June 07, 2002 :::
 
Oceans written by Muhammed Taufiq R.M.

Trans/script for
HEARING VOICES ONE: DISCOVERY
Date/Time: 23-25 May, 2002, 8pm
Venue: The Black Box, Fort Canning Center
Performed by Margaret Chan, Herwan Abdul Samad, Chermaine Ang & Godfrey Yeo
Directed by Lim Yu Beng
----
All it takes is a story. Where do I begin? This seems to be the latest question. Well, for a start I would like to begin with this poem and then we will see where it leads us from here.

Trickles on my chest,
Droplets of blood.
Five ounces short ,
Of a beating heart.

Dark. That is what I thought. What does it mean? My mind was in disarray. This poem reminded me of a tale. Anecdotal perhaps, that remains to be seen. This tale begins without fanfare. Just a story of a little boy, looking out.

Toes touching on the cobbled path. In the valley of dreams. Pale skin glistening in the moonlight. Up the valley I walked until I reached the peak. Before me lay the the horizon. I stood there a while. Feeling the gentle breeze on my skin. For a moment I felt as if I was a leaf swaying, dancing gently to a rhythm that only I could feel.

The music seemed to come from far away. �It is there�, I pointed to no one in particular.
It was as if I had lost my mind. Such peace, Such beauty. It was almost as if I was in heaven. To a eleven year old child this was perfect.

Just a distance away, I saw the ocean that lay before me. The sight that held before me had an almost surrealistic quality to it. I floated effortlessly to the beach. At the waters edge there sat a mermaid. Her head tilted towards me. Eyes as bright as the moon above piercing through me. She beckoned me to approach. This cannot be real, I thought. I hesitated for a while. Then as if my feet had a mind of their own they slowly walked towards her.

We stared at each other for a while. Then suddenly she spoke. It was barely a whisper. I almost missed it. It was almost as if she spoke to my heart and this is what she asked.

What does the ocean dream?

Before I could even comprehend what she had said, she dove into the waters and disappeared.

Then I knew, I was asleep. This was but a dream. Yet, try as I might. I could not wake myself.

Half giving up, I walked along the shore feeling the water envelop my bare toes. Swirling around my feet. Crystal clear water.

Just then I felt a draught. I looked up and saw two men sitting apart. Walking nearer I could tell from their faces that they were engrossed in conversation. I edged nearer, they looked up for an instant, or so I thought for they immediately continued their discussion.

I overheard one man saying, � ye stupid ol man! I am unique I tell ya. There ain�t anybody like me not now not ever!�.

The other one replied, � Unique is, as unique does! You should know, life is like a box of chocolates!�

This was starting to sound familiar to me. The other man continued, �May the force be with you for the clones are coming�.

Now I was totally bewildered. Nothing made sense. Where was I? Hell? I thought. I half wanted to laugh and the other half wanted to cry. Time to walk away I decided then, and walk away I did!

I walked as far away as I could from those two nutters. The earlier question was still in my mind. Try as I might I could not find an answer. I decided to sit down and enjoy the view. As I sat my eyes closed. Deep slumber overcame me. I awoke to find myself on a bench. Surrounded by tall buildings, people walked around me in a blur . How unreal it all seemed. Not a Sound could be heard. Neither the rustle of the trees nor a chirp from the birds. A gentle looking man approached me out of the sea of people. He asked me if I had a dream. Before I could give him a retort he said that he wanted to be rich, �I am not like the others you see�, He said. Without taking a pause he continued, �four and twenty blackbirds would not be able to peck me off my course, for I am different from the rest you see, yes I am yessiree�.

Then as abruptly as he came he went off, disappearing into the swamp of people around me.
This revelation of sorts did startle me a bit. After all what did this matter to a child of my age.

Barely having time to digest, a boy appeared next to me. Tattered clothes, dirty feet, face covered with soot. Hands as small as a new born childs. Legs folded comfortably beneath him on the bench. He mumbled to me all of a sudden, �droplets of blood� and just like that, he looked away. Not moving , not breathing. He could be made of stone for all I could see for not a strand of hair moved. Still, statue like.

This was getting a little unnerving for me though I did not show it. The blur of people in front of me got my attention yet again. Now they no longer resembled like people. A splash of colours, gradients of a light hue. I saw no heads, no arms. Just colours. I stuck my hand out , trying to see if it made a difference. My hand went in to my wrist. I felt something solid and it grabbed my hand. As I pulled my hand out I saw that I was holding on to someones hand. There she was ,A sight to behold. A smile appeared across her face. Her whole being seemed to light up.

Gently she moved to sit next to me. (All this happened while the boy was rock solid.) Encouraged by her smile I asked her if she had a dream. She seemed to take an instant before she answered. �I would like to fly away to a distant land�. But why ? , I went on. You seem happy . �You see that blur of colours� she said to me. �I am not like them I know my path and I know where I am going�. Then why did you take my hand?, I asked.

Then like a bad dream her face changed colour, blackened by anger she stood up and shouted, � I am unique I tell you!�. And just like that she disappeared back into the mob.

This time the boy moved. He turned to look at me. �Want to play?� He asked holding up a small ball in his hand. Why not I thought. Ten minutes passed , the surroundings arround me melted away.

I found myself in a room of sorts. Strange, for I could not see the corners. White and empty that is how the room was. A clown came to me. Juggling his red coloured bowling pins. He jumped and ran and continued juggling without missing a beat. His face was painted in every colour imaginable. He continued to juggle around me laughing and smiling. STOP! I said, for he was making my head spin. And lo behold as if like magic he froze. His pins came crashing on the floor. I giggled a little looking at him for he looked silly in that pose. One leg up, hands outstretched,ho could barely hold himself steady. He looked around as if to see, if anyone saw him. Perhaps even expecting an applause, I guess. A wrinkle crept in starting from the corner of his mouth then spreading to his face. A sad disappointed look. Realisation had set in that there was no one else. He quickly regained his composure and sat down next to me, warily.

Why are you sad I asked? "No one appreciates me,� he said. "All I accomplished to do was to make you dizzy. I am so bored, with nothing to do. Nobody ever comes here".

Tell me, would you be interested in solving a question that has almost become an enigma to me? I asked him. His eyes widened in glee, "would I?!" of course I would. Tell me, tell me!"

Okay here goes, "What does the ocean dream?�.

With this he burst out laughing. IT dreams of me of course! He said. Bye bye ,thank you for that. I have to go. That was it. Off he went.

This is it, I have had it. I decided there and then that I wanted to wake up. I lay down and quickly drifted to sleep.

I awoke the next morning to sounds of birds singing. Okay okay!. I awoke to the blasted sound of jackhammers going off. After all this was the garden city of singapore. Ironies of life. And no I was not eleven but 30 years old. A country where marriages last for 24hours and HDB apartments cost an arm and a leg! Bitch, bitch, bitch! As for the answer to "What does the ocean dream?�, why wet dreams of course.


::: posted by tarnhow tan at 9:00 AM


 
Market Research written by Tan Suet Lee-Stories from your local wet market.

Trans/script for
HEARING VOICES ONE: DISCOVERY
Date/Time: 23-25 May, 2002, 8pm
Venue: The Black Box, Fort Canning Center
Performed by Godfrey Yeo
Directed by Lim Yu BengMonologue

Scene 1
(As a customer approaches his stall Royston animatde, and full of energy begins his pitch) Yes�hello how are you? Anything today?�..Dried scallops? Yes. How much?�.One kilo $24. No sister�it�s not expensive (shaking his head)�..no�no sister�. that type is different�.my scallops are from China, from the�where�s that place huh�you know lah�the northern part�aiya cannot remember�anyway, the scallops from there are better, sweeter�.. and not so salty. That other type can be very�..how to say�tough�.chewy, and sometimes very (emphasis) salty. One time I bought that type and the customer complain. I had to send the whole lot back�and get scolding from customer some more�.no sister you try this�.I don�t bluff you�the quality is different�.you are regular customer�I don�t bluff you� what for bluff you?�Otherwise next time you don�t come back �.bad for business correct or not�.no you try this�buy one kilo�..very sweet, the children love it�any problem you bring back to me okay (digs into the plastic bag and takes out handfuls of scallops)�.anything else? Coriander seeds? Don�t buy; mine not fresh. Garlic, shallots, ikan billis? (Turns his attention to customers walking by) Hello�..yes hello anything? Hello uncle, so late this morning? Anything? (He turns back to first customer) Shallots? You take from the front there, is better�.see�.nicer�half kilo? Buy one kilo, better�. get your maid to cut thinly and then fry, then you can keep and put it on you fried bee hoon or noodle soup�.very nice�very tasty. Garlic? Half�. one? One. Eat plenty of garlic�very good. My uncle eat raw garlic every day�he never sick�.very strong�.strong like an ox�never get flu� he���oh now? Oh now, he die already�.lung cancer�..he like to�..(makes smoking gestures), 2 packs of Marlboro a day. I tell my Aunty��on the packet already say �smoking kills� , still not scared, still like to smoke.�she say he cannot read��what to do?�bo bian lah (puts everything in one pink plastic bag)� �.altogether $35. (She hands him $50). Can�.no problem�.. $15 change�okay thank you huh.��..any problem you come back�.okay�bye�(Winston turns his attention onto the next customer) yes uncle�shallots, ikan billis?

Scene 2
(Royston sits with his shoulders hunched over a bag of ikan billis. He is painstakingly sorting a mall bag of ikan billis into �with head� and �without head�.)
Head�no head�.head�no head�..no head�no head�.head��no head�(suddenly he sits upright and addresses the audience)�you know I look at this ikan billis and I think�� maybe our life is like an ikan billis�..you are swimming in the sea, with your family and your friends��.just swimming. You don�t know why you are swimming, or where you are going�� but you�re happy�you�re free. But one day�sure one day�.. that big net will catch you, and before you can say �nasi lemak� you are sleeping friendly with burn�t kaceng next to sambal: or sitting pretty on top of a bowl of �ban mian� soup. (Lets out a deep sigh) Sorry lah�sorry�I�m just a little�.head�no head�head�.a little confused. ..I mean how can this happen? How can one simple sentence change everything? Change my life. You know when I took up this stall, all my mother�s friends laugh�..it�s true�.. Adopts a feminine voice. �Royston why you want to be a hawker�. so low class?� �Why not work in an office?�An office got air-con, not so hot.� I tell them, I want to be my own boss. Earn my own money. What for work for other people? Work so hard and let other people benefit. So that after ten years they give you a nice watch�. or..or�a $50 Takashimaya voucher. Who wants? I don�t want!! Then when recession comes, and the economy is down, they call you into the office and say, (puts on officious voice) �Royston, you have been with us for many years, and you have made a big contribution to the company, but unfortunately due to cost cutting�..blah..blah..blah� Friday will be your last day.� How do you feel? You look at your nice watch and think, what about my CPF, my mortgage; the maid; the loan on the car��how to pay, how? So you send back the maid, and start looking through the classifieds, for a smaller HDB, a second hand car. After all those late nights and missed dinners what do you have to show?�.. A lousy watch with the company logo!! No�no�no�I tell myself, better be my own boss. Yes, I must work hard�. I get up every morning at 3am�but everything is mine, I make all the decisions�... I am my own boss�..it�s true sometimes customers can be difficult and demanding, but after so many years, some of them become like friends. You know the big big houses on Carnation Road? Many of them come to my stall. Sometimes at Chinese New Year they even give me Ang Pow. I know what they want. I buy only the best quality�. my customers are high class they want quality goods. Business is like that. Must know your customers. Then they like; they come back. They don�t like�.(sighs heavily)�� simple right..�if business is good, I make money�I�m happy. If business is bad, no choice I have to close shop. It�s okay, I accept. It�s natural, like the jungle�survival of the fittest��.But I cannot accept� (gets more emotional)� I just cannot accept, when business is good�when my regulars always come back�.in a single sentence they tell me�..(In a solemn official sounding voice) �we are closing the market in 2003.� Just like that. No warning. Nothing. When I heard, (points to his heart) my heart beat so fast�boom,boom,boom, I feel like I want to have a heart-attack or something. I ask you, is that fair? This is my livelihood you know? All my blood and sweat is here (pointing to the walls, table, shelves )�and here�and here. Their words are very powerful. Like a monsoon or a hurricane, they sweep away fifteen years of early mornings, my blood, my sweat�� my life and throw them into the sea. (Laughing mockingly) They say never mind, you can go somewhere new and set up stall. No problem. (Shrill voice) But the rental in other places is so high. And what about the competition? I have to start all over again; find new customers, find what they want. How can I do it? How can I survive? Cannot lah�... I tell you cannot. So now I ask myself. What can I do? Where can I go? I don�t know�I really don�t know. (Laughter getting more hysterical) Funny don�t you think? I�m no different from the man in the aircon-office�. I am being retrenched��me (pointing to himself) retrenched (shaking his head with disbelief)�..and I don�t even have the lousy watch or the Takashimaya voucher. (now laughing hysterically/sobbing at the irony of it all)

::: posted by tarnhow tan at 8:57 AM


 
Trans/script for
HEARING VOICES ONE: DISCOVERY
Date/Time: 23-25 May, 2002, 8pm
Venue: The Black Box, Fort Canning Center
Performed by Margaret Chan
Directed by Lim Yu Beng

Family Recipes - Interview of Mrs Catherine Hu (March 2002)
Recipe for Black Sauce Chicken (Xi Yaw Kai)
AH: You steam a nice big chicken till it is cooked. Then out will come some juice, a gravy. And the chicken is well cooked. You take out the chicken and leave the chicken broth or so aside. Then you prepare 5 tablespoons of mushroom sauce, 1 white sauce, 1 black sauce, 1 tablespoon of wine, the best is Fa Tiu Zhao. And some sugar to taste. You mix it. Then you have 5 cloves, 1 star aniseed and 1 piece of cinnamon and 5 to 6 of these shallots. People pound shallots, but I just fry. I add in the spices and then the mixture, which I had in a bowl, of the sauces - I pour it in. When the bowl is all poured in, there is some sticky parts, I wash it with a bit of water and pour it in. It�s very fragrant after the frying. Then the broth, put it in, the chicken broth you put it in, and you mix it well and it begins to bubble. The fire, it must be absolutely very small fire. Then you put the chicken in first, lying down in, upside down, back down, and then front down - you change. What you do is get a big spoon and you�
VT: Dribble the sauce�
AH: You bathe it� bathe it with� Now to make it all even, have a pair of bamboo chopsticks to hold it and bathe it. First the back, then the front, then on the right side of the chicken, then the left side. And you again bathe it and bathe it. The chicken is already cooked when you steamed it. So this is the formality of giving it a nice even colour. It is a very short time only. It will be nice and brown. And then you take it out and cool it and you chop it up.
Recipe for Shanghainese Rice Sticks (Nian Kao)
AH: Rice sticks are very hard. They really are like stones, little pebbles. But, you soak them overnight. At least they must be soaked overnight. Rice sticks are eaten mostly in the evenings. So you get ready your� I have chicken bones, people like to put MSG, but I put chicken bones, mostly. I put a few dollars of chicken bones and that is very rich stock. I have the salted vegetable which can be bought now in shops in tins. Open the tins and cut them into smaller pieces - they are very long - they are about 1� inches long, this big - so you cut them into very fine pieces and you lay aside. And then winter bamboo shoots, we shred them, we cut them into tiny shredded pieces and you put aside also. Then we have either pork or chicken, also shredded pork or chicken. You don�t mix the two together. You either have chicken, or pork. Then you season it. And I like to do this, after seasoning for some time, usually the night before. Then when I want to cook it, I heat up the oil and put garlic in, cut up garlic, and fry till it is very fragrant and nice light brown. I pour in the shredded meat. I fry it. The meat, you add a bit of flour, of starch, tapioca flour, and then it gives it its smooth texture, and then I take it up. Then I fry the bamboo shoots which are shredded already. And the big pot of soup - I just dish it out, I just pour it in to make the stock, the soup. Then I add in my cut up kiam chye or salted vegetable. Don�t use the Teochew kiam chye or the Thai kiam chye. It must be the Chinese, Shanghainese kiam chye�
VT: Ok�
AH: Xie cai.
VT: Ok.
AH: And then when the soup is boiling, a little while later the soup boils, you put in the nian kao. And let it boil. Don�t overboil, then it will become so sticky and mushy. As soon as it is boiled, you put it into a container, a casserole. And you spread the meat on top. And together with it� but this is not Shanghainese way, the Shanghainese serve it as it is with a bit of sesame oil - that is the Shanghainess style. But local people add in spring onions, fried onions, and a bit of wan swee, the Chinese celery. That is a local style. People do also. I like it because of the colouring it gives to the soup. And so this is very easy to prepare. Actually it is very easy.

::: posted by tarnhow tan at 8:53 AM


 
Daphne Chang's Trans/script for
HEARING VOICES ONE: DISCOVERY

Date/Time: 23-25 May, 2002, 8pm
Venue: The Black Box, Fort Canning Center

Performed by Margaret Chan
Directed by Lim Yu Beng

Invitation to Treat
-------------------

I have been signing as a volunteer for about 10 years, and have therefore also worked with and interacted with the community for about 10 years (although I have been curious about the deaf community since I was very young). I first took up sign language sometime in end of 92 � it was a course at the Singapore Association for the Deaf (�SAD�).

I will always remember what a deaf friend said � never work with the deaf for too long, or you will regret it. She said this because she once knew a volunteer who successfully entered the deaf community because of her ability to sign fluently, so she was somewhat readily accepted. But she found the community very political, and that person eventually got caught up in the web. But I suppose that is the same everywhere. Although there is a difference in the deaf context � that friend of mine noticed that it is the hearing who work with the deaf, who get most frustrated ultimately because they are stuck in between everything � it became very much the case that, �If you are useful to our cause, we will view you as a deaf person. But if there are any problems concerning hearing persons, we will not hesitate to point fingers at you.� So you get no thanks in the end. And most volunteers who leave the community do not return to ever work with the hearing impaired. When I first started volunteering, I saw the older interpreters and thought that they looked really jaded. And being younger, I thought that despite the realities of things, I was prepared to take a risk, because I believed in the cause. And I was determined not to end up as jaded as them. But now, I have also left volunteer work, and I suppose, I am all the more wiser for the experience.

In one of the courses I took to qualify as an interpreter, we had an instructor from the SEE center in US (SEE Centre of Advancement for the Education of Deaf Children), who gave us a lot of insight into some of the issues surrounding the deaf, and on the role of the interpreter � the interpreter has a strange role: he is from the hearing community, no one denies that, yet the deaf requires your assistance to communicate with the hearing world, i.e. the deaf views you to be from the hearing world, whereas the hearing world views you to be from the deaf world. This is a big issue. This instructor led us in sessions where we would talk about the political implications of the interpreter � being hearing and being able to understand the deaf, to sign, and also being able to understand the hearing. In my view, there is a lot of tension there � the deaf needs to trust you, but they do not know if they can. Whatever they say, you understand, but whatever you say, they cannot understand (especially if your back is facing them). To illustrate what I am saying, there is a joke from the deaf community on their views of an interpreter� there was once a deaf person who was a runner for a drug trafficker (hearing), he keeps a part of the loot. Of course the drug lord was unhappy, because he had thought he could �use� the deaf person to do the job effectively without implicating himself � the guy is deaf, he can�t tell anyone any stories. So the drug lord gets an interpreter to come in to question the runner as to where he hid the money. Deaf guy says, �I do not know what you are talking about�. Drug lord says, �You either tell me where you kept the money or I�ll blast your brains out.� Runner says, money is at such a place. Interpreter says, �the runner says you will not dare do it.� The runner is killed, and the interpreter gets the money. We laugh at the joke, but it tells you what they are thinking. So you see, at the end of the day, the interpreter is the bad guy, not the runner or the drug lord.

Whether here or overseas, the deaf community has always viewed the hearing as oppressive to their cause. Because if you look at deaf history in Europe � Alexandra Bell originally invented the telephone as a hearing device for the deaf, because his wife and also his child was deaf though this was not widely admitted. There are a few things about deaf culture you have to understand. Deafness in Europe was a very frustrating thing in the past because the wealthy could only pass land and property by law to a viable human being, i.e. a normal human being. And the measure of an heir�s ability to take property is you know, the ability to do the usual stuff, like read, write, communicate � so if your child turns out to be deaf at that time - and medical science was not advanced then - you would not be able to communicate with your deaf child. And because he can�t talk, can�t send to school, can�t read, can�t write, therefore the conclusion is � he is stupid. That�s where the term �deaf and dumb� came from. Therefore wealthy parents with deaf children will go to great lengths to make sure their children learn to read and write, so they tried to find ways and means to teach deaf children how to read and write etc. And sometime late 1800s, there was a very bleak year for the deaf because at an international congress, they decided to ban signing. And they passed a law where all deaf children had to learn how to speak. And if I�m not wrong, Bell was instrumental in pushing this law through. But unfortunately, because of this, the impression that deafness was a disability was reinforced, and a lot of people all the more saw deafness a gene that had to be removed. They had schools where deaf kids would be sent (very much like concentration camps!), and they would be taught basic survival skills in these schools (can�t remember the name for such schools though). More importantly, one characteristic of these schools was that boys and girls were segregated - they were thus meant to ensure that these deaf kids do not procreate and therefore pass on the �disease� of deafness. Of course, now we know that only 10% of all deaf kids get their deafness genetically, others get it through infant disease (such as meningitis) and other prenatal/postnatal complications. How did this initiative to stop deaf kids from procreating fare? If you just look at the deaf community in Singapore, then it is small. But considered together worldwide, the deaf community is not small. And the initiative to �stop these kids from procreating� did not meet with uniform success worldwide. For example, this initiative to �weed out� deaf kids never took off in the US. But this initiative is something the educated deaf know about, and is always brought out when they have any grouses against society, i.e. that you, the hearing, the so-called normal folks, tried to oppress us. And because of this emotional baggage, parents who choose to educate their deaf children to speak normally have come to be criticized for doing so, because being able to speak normally has come to be associated with oppression. Personally, I do not advocate speech pathology or simply, oralism/audiological training as the sole solution to bringing up a deaf child. Rather, there should be total communication � sign and speech, audio and visual. But I agree oralism should be part of the solution though not the only part. But because of the general perception, most people associate making a deaf kid learn how to speak normally as a mark of a parent�s success in bringing up such kids. It has to be admitted therefore, particularly by parents of deaf kids, that not all children will succeed in audiological training, because honestly, to succeed in speaking when you were born deaf really takes some inborn talent! But so often, if you read books about deafness written by deaf people and their views of hearing people, speaking normally is how deaf kids are judged. So, in 9 out of 10 kids in media-publicized cases, these kids are put through the audio logical training as the only source of communication, so it is not surprising that they will find it traumatizing. Because to a deaf person, it is going against your nature � how do you reproduce a sound you can�t hear? And then, you get scolded for being unable to speak! And because this has been a widely pushed view that deaf children should be taught to speak, people generally become very sympathetic to their cause (because so much suffering has been generated). And this actually makes the matter worse! Because then the deaf are expected to be judged by how well they manage to learn how to speak when this is actually very hard and unnatural to achieve. And this perpetuates their trauma, because they are expected to live up to these standards of speech. Which in turn creates sympathy for their cause etc because of the trauma involved. And in a way, the stage is set for the deaf to be outcast by the hearing, because it is exceptional for them to be able to learn how to speak normally. And this is the basis of the deaf�s grouses against hearing - that �you have made hearing the norm, and because of your norm, we are outcast.� Unfortunately, this view is perpetuated by the media�s endorsement of it. The media portrays a deaf kid who successfully learns how to speak as a success for the deaf community, but at the same time, they also portray the life of kids who have been made to communicate in the language of their hearing as such a stressful time that sympathy goes to them, so the media puts a negative slant on both angles (because the reference point is how well you speak).

Indeed, many socio-linguists have proposed a theory that sign language for the deaf is a way to keep out the hearing, so as to preserve their so-called strength. Let me explain this in more detail. In the English speaking world (as opposed to other languages), sign language is categorized into 3 types - native signs, pidgin signs and English signs. Native signs are developed naturally amongst the deaf, have own syntactic and grammatical structure, and cannot be translated into any spoken language. One e.g. is American Sign Language (�ASL�). You cannot look at ASL and say it is English. It is as similar to English as Chinese is to English. Pidgin sign incorporates native sign normally in English syntactic structure, but not the full form. That means, they will use words that are equivalent to certain English words and for the benefit of communicating with a native English speaker, it is positioned in the normal English structure. For e.g. Singlish is English in Chinese or Malay sentence structure. And on the other end, Signed Exact English (�SEE�) is purely English syntactic structure, so some comment that SEE is not a really sign language, because you are taking the word from native sign, expanding its form by breaking it into different synonyms. Also it shows English grammar. Therefore it is arguably not a sign language (defined as a language that originated from the deaf). I prefer to take the view that this is a continuum. People take the view that the deaf would swing from one end of the continuum to the other depending on the audience. Returning to the question of how the deaf use sign to �keep out outsiders� i.e. the hearing, certain linguists believe that signing, especially with native and pidgin signs, gives them power over the hearing person by way of exclusion. This is because a hearing person would be highly unlikely to be able to understand native and pidgin signs because it is not natural to do so! Unless, of course, for e.g. you are the child of a deaf adult. This is how the deaf �wield power� against the hearing. In support of this point, I have observed that there is a general reluctance on the part of the hearing impaired community to teach hearing persons native signs, though if a hearing person picks it up on his own, he would be likely to be welcome into the community. But nevertheless, they generally do not welcome hearing persons into their community. So native signs work as a code amongst the deaf, to keep out the hearing. And in this respect, even for interpreters, it is very difficult to win their trust as an interpreter. For myself, although I had a certain degree of empathy with their cause, I was never really considered �one of them� especially whenever they had any issues to take up with the hearing. So I prefer to remain on the periphery. I have left since the deaf community as a volunteer although I still have friends in SAD and the community. Now, I use SEE specifically to educate, I make no distinction between my hearing kids and deaf kids. Out of class when they talk to me, I may of course be less formal in language of course. But that is the same for any of us, isn�t it? I do not wish to be made aware/reminded of the differences between the hearing and the deaf because to me there is no difference. I want to see no other distinction than just the difference in language, just like Chinese as opposed to Malay as opposed to Tamil. The deaf community can be xenophobic � they view themselves as a minority sub-group, like the Malays or Eurasians in Singapore. They view themselves as a linguistic minority that has characteristics of an ethnic group, i.e. deaf vs. Chinese, Malay, and Tamil etc. While I can understand why language can bring about a different culture, I do not see why they have to consider themselves a separate minority group to the extent they do, why they are bringing all this pain on themselves. Language perpetuates culture because it is the medium of communication/transmitting stories, so as to maintain and preserve culture. Because the deaf use a unique language, definitely there will be unique stories. But they will need to understand that whilst there are many languages in the world, there are many subculture that cut through these languages, you should not use language to segregate. Language should be used for sharing, communication of ideas � to say because of the language we use we are an ethnic minority and it becomes an us vs. them issue, is just stretching it too far. Everyone speaks a language, it�s like saying you should segregate people according to blood types.

So, signing is being used as a marker of their own deaf �ethnicity�/culture. For e.g. in the papers recently, we read that UMNO has rejected the proposal of re-opening English medium schools in Malaysia, because one of the concerns was that the national language might suffer. Similarly, there is this fear of losing your language which is definitive of your culture/your own identity, what makes you, you (in this case, the culture of the deaf). For the deaf, making them not sign is like making them lose their deafness, which is an inherent part of themselves, something they are born with. Take it away and they lose their identity/ their sense of themselves! The deaf are very proud of their deafness. Sure, there are many ways to look at it, for e.g. this protectiveness of their deaf culture can be seen as a way to protect themselves from the hearing. Because they feel hearing people look down on them - it�s a way of resisting others� perception of them. Or they think, �I�m born like this, why should I be ashamed of it.� Of course, you have people who think this belies their insecurity, but I think there are truly people who are proud of their deafness because it�s about being comfortable with you are. We are talking about people who are born deaf, so in their memory they have known nothing else, so why should they not be comfortable with their deafness. I think this is fine. But then, why use this deafness against other people? You would have thought they would have preferred to reach out to other people, i.e. the hearing. For e.g., I do use my Chineseness to keep others away from myself; put another way, I do not see speaking Chinese as definitive of my Chineseness. I do not think that using sign language to define your ethnicity is logical � this is the basis of their xenophobia/myopia � the fear that you, the hearing, will try to use their language to infiltrate their culture! And then that will lead to the death of deaf culture. This really doesn�t make sense to me. But it is true in my observation that the deaf seem to be threatened by hearing persons who can sign well. One of my good friends (hearing impaired) is an exception to this, because she accepts the need to reach out to the hearing community. But she is one of the very few who think this way. Even so, she does not really trust us hearing on more personal and private issues.

On the other hand, the hearing society is generally clueless about the deaf, and really, they do not have many chances to encounter the deaf. Most hearing persons who encounter the deaf are already partial to wanting to help them, i.e. the volunteers to be/volunteers. So for the general public, I don�t think there is a deliberate marginalisation, though if you bring to their attention about the deaf, the Singaporean is pragmatic. You have to do things for the benefit of the majority otherwise it will not justify the costs involved. There are 2 different ways to look at this � the layperson will not think about it, and this is not necessarily marginalisation. But if they did, then the rationale given to decision-making is very pragmatic. For e.g. I asked a colleague that if he had to come up with an atypical lesson, e.g. a video without a script, would you go out of the way to get script ahead of time, or let an interpreter watch the video ahead of time (given your busy schedule). Well, he said he would not do anything on top of his normal preparations (and we all know how stressed and busy secondary school teachers are nowadays!), because he cannot allow the majority of the hearing students suffer. If the deaf children cannot obtain the full benefit of the video, then so be it. So, you see, there are inadequate resources and support for the hearing impaired children in school � there is no organized/ non haphazard system for them as of yet. There is a protem/makeshift system now � it is made up as it goes along. Essentially, the philosophy is basically utilitarian � and people don�t care unless they have to. And so in a way, the deaf kids may not get the full benefit of education sometimes because they may be systematically left out of the system. Seen another way, they are also absolved from certain responsibilities because as a result of their deafness, they are exempted from doing certain things/knowing or understanding certain things or as much or as fast as other kids. So, in this way, they are arguably protected. But this actually works against them in the long-term, because they fail to learn social responsibilities and become socially inept when they are adults. And then, truly, the world will look like it�s against them. Because at the time when they grow up, no one will make excuses for them anymore.

Is there societal prejudice against the deaf? Deafness is an unseen disability (not socially a disability as much as it is a medical disability) � because it is only when the deaf start signing that the hearing realize they are deaf and then they get uncomfortable. But actually, cognitively the deaf are normal except that they cannot hear and therefore cannot speak. When I first started signing in public, my parents were very uncomfortable (i.e. the fear that others might think their daughter was deaf too!), but with exposure they are now ok. I don�t think it�s prejudice, it is more like fear of the unknown. But admittedly, there is a certain stigma against the deaf. Because it is perceived as a disability. So it takes education to change people�s perceptions. For e.g. my parents, they are so comfortable now, and my mum corrects notions people have of the deaf now. Like when people say deaf and dumb, she will say they are not dumb, they can talk. Basically, people need to be exposed and educated. But there will always be self-centred, myopic people with little compassion for others around no matter what education they receive. Marginalisation (of the deaf) is inevitable with such people. Actually, marginalisation of the deaf can work both ways, for e.g. I have seen that in a family with a deaf kid and other normal kids, either parents overcompensate with love and marginalize the hearing kids, or they ostracize the deaf kid completely. Either way, the deaf kid becomes very maladjusted.

::: posted by tarnhow tan at 8:50 AM


 
Leslie Williams' Trans/Script for
HEARING VOICES ONE: DISCOVERY

Single Minded, Silent Secret Longing

�Drats! What�s come over me I�ve lost count again. Lets see 25, 26, 27�32� Oh yes that�s 35 times I�ve touched this bar of soap!
If it weren�t for that stupid car horning in the car park below I would have finished lathering ages ago. Let�s see now this shower head�s gotta be just right 90% angle to the floor. Ok stay there boy! And now for the water. Here it comes.

Okay my front�s seem done let�s try the back now woah! Water�s colder now. Damn! Who shut of the heater again? That pesky brother of mine! Never mind must finish off my back. Good another 6 more rounds. Clock wise and then the last 7 anti-clockwise. Would I be done in about another 10 minutes? Fat Hope?

The rinsing takes longer this time, water pressure seems kinda slow now. Maybe, Malaysia�s fooling us again..
Shit! Lost my concentration again, that car below has a maniac for a driver. Can�t seem to make up his mind.. Stop the engine and get out or drive away fool! What�s all this horning about anyway? Is he deaf or what? Just like to show off that, he�s horny I guess! Nah Bad Joke..

Wait a minute! This guy might just be having some compulsion..same as me..Yeah.. needs to tap on his horn 20, 30 times? Give the man a break. We OCDs (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder)need our satisfaction too.. Can�t get no satisfaction! Mmm� sounds familiar. Which idiot wrote this line anyway?

Alright, time for the drying off. Ok lets take one end of the towel here and start from the back. Lets see..left right, up down, left right, seems kinda funny this time.
Missed a spot there! Mmm� lets do it a little harder this time.. Up down, left, right, Yeah, Grandma used to know exactly how to wipe it off! Rubbing me raw and dry! Nice and clean.. no weird feelings.. What a feeling!

I remember clearly..She used to wait for me outside the class.. Ever ready with her flask of Milo..sweet and warm, just the right mix of condensed milk and sugar... I can still taste those �cornflaky�, spicy corn beef sandwiches with those really unique prawn sambal paste. Man! I swear it was the best sandwich I�ve ever had or will ever have..What a damn waste! She�s not around anymore. One helluva cook and angel all rolled into one. A regular typical Mother Theresa with a talent for cooking unsurpassed this side of the causeway. What a sweet smile! Melts most people�s heart I�m sure..That�s why I recall she always used to bring home so much more meat and vegetables everytime she went to the market..Smiled her way through those hard bargains with those shrewd stall holders. Ask for an ounce and they�ll give her a pound. Amazing!

Dad always used to marvel at her resourcefulness. Once, I remember during the oil crisis when things were expensive..She managed to make us grand dinners of casserole pies with leftovers from the previous day�s lunch and dinners. What a woman. Really missed her you know..

What the hell! My left legs starting to sleep now! Knew I shouldn�t have been standing on my right leg for the last 5 mins.. Damn it! Ok don�t panic it�ll just make it worse..Just straighten it a little there.. Try to feel the toes..tweedle dee tweedle dum..What a stupid expression! Oh good, looks like some colour�s coming back..Can feel the war blood flowing back again..What a rush! Umm� lets recall� did I twiddle my toes 7 or 8 times? Just in case lets make it 7 times. One for the road and 6 for good luck!

Martha? Yeah, I remember her well as my first and only girlfriend! We were together for a while at the work centre..called FreeLink at Siglap. She used to love the number 6. Ya! Wrapped up those plastic gift packs in 6 folds always using six pieces of scotch tape..Had a real precise eye for details. 2 cm off the mark and she had to begin wrapping it up all over again. Nice girl but kinda quiet. Pretty long straight hair with a distinct aroma of �Clairol Herbal Essence Shampoo�. Used to purposely sneak up behind her to see if she had washed her hair that day. Seemed weird I know, to all the other prying eyes..

You know you can tell a lot about a girl from the smell of her hair.

Followed her to Parkway once for lunch..Had a quiet meal of seafood steamboat. Didn�t say much but she seemed to really enjoy the food and I hope the company as well..She was the only girl I know who didn�t mind a guy lacking an �O� level cert or having strange compulsive notions. Why didn�t I pluck up the courage to ask her out again? Guess these things are always like that .. You wait too long and �vamoose� the opportunity just flies!!

Maybe if I had, had a car, life would have been much easier. Take her out, take her home and before you know it everything�s fine and dandy..Coming up roses and stuff!
A hole in one courtesy of Mr Nissan Sunny or Mr Toyota Corolla.
Fat hope with the allowances I was getting. Even dreaming of a mountain bike would have been way beyond my league. Once no Vitamin M always no Vitamin M.

Ah well time really flies that must have been what!? at least 12 years ago? Wonder what she�s doing now? Probably married to a stable regular Joe. A straight white shirted graduate type..with a nice car and all the other 5 Cs or perhaps more! Character as well? How to compete? Never mind she�s probably overweight with at least two wailing kids in tow anyway! I can just imagine those long �Clairol� smelling tresses of hers pulled this way and that by her two little mischievous devils..

Oops! There goes my bloody towel. All wet again dropped right into that watery bucket.. Should have been more careful! Luckily I always keep a spare in here..Comes in handy now..Knew this would happen. Lets see� have to go through this wiping just another 6 times since for this week my lucky number�s six so said the my horoscope in the New Paper on Sunday.

Okay, one last time..Finally over! Let�s place this damn towel nicely back in the rack. Straighten this end a little.. lets see.. left side seems longer than the right.. Yup straighten this part here.. Oh no! overcompensated here again.. Lets try this one more time..Yes Yes very nice..And now to make sure everyone doesn�t get a fright when I step out of this bathroom..Lets put these clothes on..

Left leg first or right leg first? Decisions, decisions..I remember yesterday when I used my left leg first, things didn�t seem to work out well. Got chased by that nasty dog all the way to the lift. Just minding my own business when this inquisitive lady with her bitch starts asking me to move aside. Didn�t she know I was counting the packets of milk to see whether they were even or odd? Damn impatient just shoved me aside with her fat sweaty arm like a piece of wood. Served her right that I fell over her dog and stepped on its tail. Didn�t feel any bite until my lower left leg felt funny. A little tingling sensation. Luckily I kicked it loose and ran.. If not for my thick jeans its bite would have broken my skin. Would�ve been rabies for me. Poor me rendered insane by a dog�s over enthusiasm to please its stupid�s mistress! What a Bitch!

Nah� what do they always say..Better be safe than sorry.. The right leg it is..Might is right won�t give me a fright..Now what�s the story with this T-shirt Okay lets go for the conventional right arm first than the left. Never seemed to matter the last time.
Nice and fresh ready for my meal and then medicine time!

Doctor told me would need less of it if I could just control myself and think positively, more exercise and regular exercise. Tried a regular job. I remember going for that interview at Pizza Hut. That restaurant Manager, a Pakistani PR I think..just shoved that interview form straight into my fat face and vanished even before I had the time to ask him any questions..regarding the job.. the pay ..working hours. When he came back again I passed the form back and asked him questions about the form and pestered him to sit down and explain. Was I being too unreasonable in asking him how many times he wanted me to call him back to find out if I was accepted to start and where?

What an odd expression these people give me. Do they think I�m crazy? Maybe I might have these well..notions..but I�m definitely not crazy. In fact, I think I�m smarter than most. Its just that nobody understands me. I just need a little more time to check that everything�s perfect. For my �O� level, I knew most of the answers its just that I didn�t have the time to finish, no time to check my margins, spelling grammar, punctuation marks etc. Really those punctuation marks can make all the difference between a right and a perfect answer or even a wrong answer. A full stop is more than just a dot. It marks the end of a well thought out message. A meaning that needs to be put to rest. Why a full stop�s the epitome of all punctuation marks!

Enough of this nonsense! Its plain and simple. They just don�t understand where I�m coming from. Everyone�s unique in their own way right? Why can�t they seem to understand? Dr Leong knows understand this. Perhaps, I�ll take my �O� level again this year. Nah� this year I think is a little too late..Where are all my books, my commerce, English, General Maths, Gosh 12 years! I don�t think there�re relevant anymore. What if the whole syllabus changed? What am I to do? Got no job..How to buy new books. What about private school? Can be quite expensive these days..

Last time I repeated in that Catholic Private Institution. Our Lady of Lourdes School. Didn�t do very well! But that kindly middle aged Indian principal Mr Simon, always gave us a leg up. He always had a good word or two to encourage us. Our class was not exactly taken from the cream of the crop you know. Matured dropouts, more or less from the other schools. But he treated us like we were special. Only a few of us I think eventually made it past �O� levels but none the less all of us had heart.

No point dreaming now the schools not there any more. I think last time I was at the Church it had been converted to a commercial outfit for foreign students. Why must things always change? Look at all the old buildings I once knew torn down replaced by faceless facades of metal, steel and glass. What happened to the old Siglap Market? Tay Buan Guan, Katong ? where Grandma used to buy our meat and vegetables. Where Dad used to shop for our favourite toys. Not all those computer games, Pokeman, or Nintendo stuff. Just plain old racecars, battery operated robots and plastic powerboats.

What happened to the former Plaza Singapura? Now all renovated, and seemed to have lost its Character. Yoahan had the best �An Pan� and Pastries. Could always find the clothes, I needed there shopping every Christmas. Things you wanted or needed could be found there but not in the new place. Only place I know that comes closest to an old world shopping experience is Mustaffa�s. Only thing is there are really too many foreign Indians, strange smells and stranger looks.

Ah dinner�s ready, what are we having today? The same thing again? Chicken Sauce with Prawn Sambal and fried long beans in Chilli paste. Yes! My favourite fried poached egg is also here. That�s the one thing I never get sick of! Wonder why they call it poached egg?. Like it was stolen or something? Well let�s begin the routine..

First the rice I think today it has to be 6 scoops since its Saturday the sixth day of the week and all! Okay, arrange properly in the centre of the plate. Pat it down nicely and hold for 10 seconds to flatten it just right. Now, for the Chicken Sauce.. Lets see� 3 scoops of sauce first followed by one leg of chicken and another 3 scoops to one more chicken part (the breast I think is the best) and finish off with another 3 scoops of gravy. Shit! Did it again flooded my whole plate with gravy. Going to get Dad all worked up again! Good he didn�t really notice! Now for the sambal. 3 prawns and 5 scoops will do the trick. There we go Oops! Too much! Looks like I�ve messed up the whole plate again. Gonna get it this time here it comes..Okay Ok heard it all before.. Can�t even eat like a normal person. Always putting things on the plate like it�s my last meal? Better be careful this time with those long beans. Just take 3 or 4 will do. Never really liked them anyway. Here goes. Nice Job if I do say so myself. Now, just my favourite poached egg to put some sauce on. Two twirls of the stuff dispersed on the white parts and the some small circles on the yellow parts.

Sheesh! Too much black must�ve overdid it again.. Never mind ..Break half and munch and swallow quickly. Last time when my Grandma was around there was no need to rush. Not so much stress. She understood that I needed a little more time with my food. Cooked all my favourites. Fish Ball Soup, Port Luncheon MeatCurry, Sambal Kang Kong. She knew what I liked and when I liked it. Not the same Chicken this, Chicken that almost every other day. I swear if I�d ate anymore Chicken I�ll sprout feathers and crow like a rooster.

Grandma was a real saint. Every school day morning we could smell the aroma of fried eggs and corn beef and sometimes pancakes with syrup, butter and jam. I�ll never forget her painstaking loving attention even in the cold early morning air. Waving goodbye, her tiny arms covered by an even tinier red cardigan sweater. Her sweet longing smile wishing us back to a lovingly prepared dinner after the harsh school hours ahead.

Finally, it seems meals over. Almost 10 already. Gosh! How time flies when you�re having the time of your life looking back and reminiscing the past. What an indulgence! Where�s the maid? What is she up to now? It's past 10 already. Up to her tricks again. Drinking all my good strawberry milk on the pretext of arranging and cleaning all the things in the kitchen. Hayati!

Where�s my medicine saucer? Where is that Hayati! Taking her time with my pills. Its already 10 minutes past my medicine time. Four different types to swallow. The blue capsule with the white stripes, the white elongated one, the round pinkish slightly orangey one and the smallest white round one. The bitterest of the lot. I�ll leave it for the last, then swallow it with the sweetest part of the remaining Milo.

Yest all of them here �Brain Chemicals�. Hate that term. Trust my �smart alecky� brother to come up with this demeaning terms of endearment.

Okay now, lets arrange everything in order. The blue capsule here, the long white one there, the round pinkish one next and finally the smallest bitter white devil.

Here it goes� count� then swallow in order ..With the MILO last of all.
FINISHED!

::: posted by tarnhow tan at 8:46 AM


 
Lionel Chok's Trans/script for
HEARING VOICES ONE: DISCOVERY

Date/Time: 23-25 May, 2002, 8pm
Venue: The Black Box, Fort Canning Center

Performed by Chermaine Ang and Lim Yu Beng
Directed by Lim Yu Beng

Exchange with a Labourer from China (Suggested/Revised)

Exchange #1:

Lights dim �

Girl stands by side�

Man walks in � stops and glances at her for a moment � then exits.

Beat.

Girl stands � shifts position.

(Same) Man walks in again � stops and glances at her for a moment again � then heads for the exit - stops � turns around � goes up to her.

Lights up.

Interviewer (I): (Hesitant) Hmm�

Beat.

I: Miss� how much�

China Girl.1(CG): (All in Mandarin) $100�

I: Can chat a little bit� for a while first?

CG: What you want to chat? Takes up time, you know� I need to
earn money, no time to have a chat with you...
If you want� then faster�.
I want to get more clients�
(Beat)
Alright, alright, you want a chat right? Can... hand me - $10 � I�ll
chat with you�

(She was given $10)

CG: Heart pain - $10 to just talk?

I: (shakes his head) So � what�s yr name?

CG: Why must know name? Just talk?

Beat.

CG: Ok�you can call me --- (pause) Yang � Yang Yang!

I: So � which part of China do you come from?

CG: Ai-ya! I tell you also no use � China so big�

Beat

CG: Ok - San Xi... I come from San Xi � you know where?

I: (Shakes his head) No�

CG: See � told you?

I: Why do you come here?

CG: Ai-ya� my friend say money good here, so I came and try!

I: First trip? With friends?

CG: This is my first visit - Visa and ticket so expensive � of course, I come

I: How do you find Singapore?

CG: Ok la... so so...

Nowadays, many is not easy to earn. Especially Singaporean Men. It
is more difficult to earn their money. You those so call � Lao Ah Bei�
(old man) all very stingy!

Beat.

CG: Ay! You ask so much - $100 � okay or not?

Lights out/dim.

(Immediately � Exchange #2)

Exchange #2:

Lights dim �

Girl stands by side�

Man walks in � stops, and looks around � then glances at her for a moment � and start to approach her.

Lights up.

Customer come in : How much??

CG: $100

Customer: $100 included everything? Got included hotel or not??

CP: Are you mad! $100 cover everything, then you better go home and cover yourself!

Customer walks away. All this while - the Interviewer stands by the side - watching what�s happen.

CG: (Turns to Interviewer) You see, you see...you all these Singapore �Ah Bei� (uncle) all like that.

Interviewer(audience) laughs

CG: You laugh...by all means you want. You all Singaporean men are all perverts,
perverts, PERVERTS!

Okay, you want to talk right. Then I tell you, Once there was this men, just like you la, love so much to talk, so we went back to the hotel and talk. Talk Talk...Talk rubbish! Once stepped into the room, he started to touch me. Touch me here, touch me there, touch until like very enjoyable...still said just want to talk to me. I �Pei�!

Customer come back.

Customer: Your $100 got �ice-cream�??

CG: (Sign...) Alright, alright, today I am in a good mood. Special service(offer) for you la! I
will make your backside as shine as the moon!

Customer: $90 no com. Can?

CG: $90 without com? You must be dreaming! Do I look like a $90 type? I am of good
Quality you know!

Customer leaves. She turns and talk to the interviewer again.

CG: You see, Singaporean men not only stingy but are preverts too! There was once this
useless man, wasted my 1 hour. He himself cannot do it, still blame me, and refuse to
pay me!

You think it is easy to do this line. It�s labour work too you know! I tell you, I already
have a target amount I want to earn in mind. I must earn at least $10 K before I go
back home. My family is still waiting for me to bring the money back. I came here,
what else can I do to earn this much?

Ai-ya� Okay, I have finish my words.

What about you - $100 � quite cheap for you ,right?

Footnote:
(I) Motive from girl � (a) Finding love (b) the girl actually like it.
(II) Many voices � to be heard (perhaps � play my CD presentation on loop?)

::: posted by tarnhow tan at 8:40 AM



Wednesday, June 05, 2002 :::
 
NOTES ON HEARING VOICES MEETING 04.06.2002

Review of Presentation I
� Many felt that the writings are at the �mercy� of actors and director. There is, however, a sense of satisfaction for the playwrights to see their works presented in interesting ways.
� Comments by audience were often pertaining to performance and not the works of the writers, though the audience were a sophisticated bunch who seemed to understand the process of the works.
� On hindsight, the feedback sessions could have been more structured to elicit more valuable responses.
� But generally good feedback. Audiences who liked it felt they�re seeing something new and authentic.
� The issue of language is not discussed sufficiently:
- e.g. How to present certain issues effectively such that audience are not alienated? Particularly �problematic� in pieces like the �Hearing Impaired�,�Inter-consensual� and �Malay Dilemma�.
- If the works are written in their �native� language, they would defeat the purpose.
- What�s real vs. what�s realistic. Importance in bringing the issues to the people and community. Translation may or may not be necessary. The language issue would be solved when the pieces are ready to going to (particular) groups of audience.
- Tarn How�s final advice: write as if we hear it, then look at who we�re performing for, how to translate, and the choices in performing, staging, casting etc. later.

Moving forward...
� Are we agent for voices or should we develop an entertaining piece?

TH�s reply: This exercise is not a sociological one, but it is one on playwriting, drama and theatre that is authentic and fair, yet at the same time could be engaging, provoking, entertaining, offering freshness and novelty in perspectives. The process and knowledge gained is like a ladder that might have to be thrown away when one starts working on a play. The play itself could be character driven, plot driven etc. but the play itself should not be based entirely on the development of the original transcripts. There is no restriction to the length but writers must be true to the concept of Hearing Voices.

3 Important points to think about:
(a) Language
(b) audience
(c) What is the play you want to do now. What is important to you.
� Workshops by Desmond Sim: more of trouble-shooting, getting down to nitty gritty and practical �solutions� to playwriting, rather than broad and theoretical.

Desmond has requested for writing samples from individual. Original writing samples submitted to Hearing Voices would be passed to him, as well as the transcripts you have developed for Presentation I. Should you have new writing samples you would like to submit please forward to traslin via email latest by end of this week.

Workshops dates are confirmed as follows:

Workshop 1: 25/6 tue 730pm-10pm
Workshop 2: 2/7 tue 730pm-10pm
Workshop 3: 9/7 tue 730pm-10pm
Workshop 4: 16/7 tue 730pm-10pm
Workshop 5: 23/7 tue 730pm-10pm
Workshop 6: (optional/contingent): 30/7 tue 730pm-10pm

Please pencil them into your diary! Full attendance and punctuality is strongly encouraged. It will be opened to the public for $200 per person. Max number of participants (including HV writers): 15-20 pax.
� Working with other artists: for the next two weeks, playwrights should actively seek out other artists (photographers, visual artists, painters/iluustrators, poets, musicians etc.) who are interested in, or who has done works on similar subjects/issues. TheatreWorks will provide a list to help you start your search but it is by no means exhaustive. Proposals on who to work with and why, plus an indication of a minimal budget/honorarium should be shared with the group by the next meeting.

� Presentation II: Undecided as a group whether to do it or not. Pros will include sharing the unique process with audience, and getting invaluable feedback from them. Cons include worries with shortage of time in terms of script/new development. Group will decide again whether to go ahead with presentation by 16th July.

� Presentation III & Retreat: Group should pencil in 4-10 Nov for a writing retreat / hothouse with actors and directors, involving fine-tuning and/or completion of script plus shot-gun rehearsals. This will then culminate in a final HV presentation.

Tarn How�s Questions for all HV writers to think about...
� What is important and why?
� Why should anybody care?
� Who are you writing for?
� What are you saying that�s worth listening?

The guiding principle for writing your script - search for it and decide what it is...

::: posted by tarnhow tan at 10:33 PM



Wednesday, May 29, 2002 :::
 
HEARING VOICES ONE: DISCOVERY
Date/Time: Thursday, 23 May, 8pm

Venue: The Black Box, Fort Canning Center

Three nights of dramatized readings, of original voices that is seldom heard on the Singapore English-language stage.

Readings by�.. Margaret Chan, Herwan Abdul Samad, Chermaine Ang & Godfrey Yeo

Directed by�.. Lim Yu-Beng

About Hearing Voices:

Part of TheatreWorks Writers' Lab, Hearing Voices is a one-year writing playwriting development program under dramatist Tan Tarn How.
It seeks to unearth the voices that exist outside the normal experiences of mainstream English Language theatre.

The Readings�..

These readings are a revelation of the thoughts and feelings of the marginalized and often voiceless people who have been interviewed by the nine writers in the project. The aim is to enter their lives and reveal these people as they see themselves and the world � not as writers see them.

The aim of the readings is also to open the Hearing Voices project to all artists � painters, dancers, writers, sculptors, potters, performance artists, actors, directors and any other practitioner � who want to respond to or add new voices heard at the presentation. An event called Hearing Voices Two � Response will be held in August, which will pull together the artists' work. We hope you will join us in the effort to spur new possibilities in writing and other forms of art and invoke new perspectives about life in Singapore.

� Inter-Consensual Exchange written by Lionel Chok-Thewomen who sell their bodies for money.
� The Malay Dilemma written by Edwin Roberts -The Singapore Malay Muslimcommunity after the September 11 incident.
� Invitation to Treat written by Daphne Chang-Thehearing impaired in a world of the hearing.
� Family Recipes written by Verena Tay - Thesilent women behind the apron.
� A Man So Ordinary written by Lucy Lim- Storiesbehind our local taxi drivers.
� Market Research written by Tan Suet Lee-Stories from your local wet market.
� Oceans written by Muhammed Taufiq R.M. - Insearch of dreams.
� Filipinos written by Ng Swee San- TheFilipino community in Singapore.
� Single Minded SecretLongingwritten by Leslie Williams � Acceptance by society.


::: posted by tarnhow tan at 8:29 PM


 

HEARING VOICES ONE: DISCOVERY

Date/Time: Thursday, 23 May, 8pm
Venue: The Black Box, Fort Canning Center

Three nights of dramatized readings, of original voices that is seldom heard on the Singapore English-language stage.

Readings by�.. Margaret Chan, Herwan Abdul Samad, Chermaine Ang & Godfrey Yeo

Directed by�.. Lim Yu-Beng

About Hearing Voices:

Part of TheatreWorks Writers' Lab, Hearing Voices is a one-year writing playwriting development program under dramatist Tan Tarn How.
It seeks to unearth the voices that exist outside the normal experiences of mainstream English Language theatre.

The Readings�..

These readings are a revelation of the thoughts and feelings of the marginalized and often voiceless people who have been interviewed by the nine writers in the project. The aim is to enter their lives and reveal these people as they see themselves and the world � not as writers see them.

The aim of the readings is also to open the Hearing Voices project to all artists � painters, dancers, writers, sculptors, potters, performance artists, actors, directors and any other practitioner � who want to respond to or add new voices heard at the presentation. An event called Hearing Voices Two � Response will be held in August, which will pull together the artists' work. We hope you will join us in the effort to spur new possibilities in writing and other forms of art and invoke new perspectives about life in Singapore.

Inter-Consensual Exchange written by Lionel Chok-Thewomen who sell their bodies for money.
The Malay Dilemma written by Edwin Roberts -The Singapore Malay Muslimcommunity after the September 11 incident.
Invitation to Treat written by Daphne Chang-Thehearing impaired in a world of the hearing.
Family Recipes written by Verena Tay - Thesilent women behind the apron.
A Man So Ordinary written by Lucy Lim- Storiesbehind our local taxi drivers.
Market Research written by Tan Suet Lee-Stories from your local wet market.
Oceans written by Muhammed Taufiq R.M. - Insearch of dreams.
Filipinos written by Ng Swee San- TheFilipino community in Singapore.
Single Minded SecretLongingwritten by Leslie Williams � Acceptance by society.

We look forward to having you with us!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

For RSVP and further enquiries, please contact me at Tel: 63384-077/ fax: 63388-297 or email: [email protected]

_______ Yes, I can attend on Thursday,23 May 2002

_______ No, I can�t. But I would like to come for the presentation on 24 / 25 May 2002

_______ No thank you, I will not be able to attend.


::: posted by tarnhow tan at 8:27 PM


 
Dear Board Members,

The company would like to invite you and a partner to the presentation of

HEARING VOICES ONE: DISCOVERY

Date/Time: Thursday, 23 May, 8pm

Venue: The Black Box, Fort Canning Center

Three nights of dramatized readings, of original voices that is seldom heard on the Singapore English-language stage.

Readings by�.. Margaret Chan, Herwan Abdul Samad, Chermaine Ang & Godfrey Yeo

Directed by�.. Lim Yu-Beng

About Hearing Voices:

Part of TheatreWorks Writers' Lab, Hearing Voices is a one-year writing playwriting development program under dramatist Tan Tarn How.
It seeks to unearth the voices that exist outside the normal experiences of mainstream English Language theatre.

The Readings�..

These readings are a revelation of the thoughts and feelings of the marginalized and often voiceless people who have been interviewed by the nine writers in the project. The aim is to enter their lives and reveal these people as they see themselves and the world � not as writers see them.

The aim of the readings is also to open the Hearing Voices project to all artists � painters, dancers, writers, sculptors, potters, performance artists, actors, directors and any other practitioner � who want to respond to or add new voices heard at the presentation. An event called Hearing Voices Two � Response will be held in August, which will pull together the artists' work. We hope you will join us in the effort to spur new possibilities in writing and other forms of art and invoke new perspectives about life in Singapore.

Inter-Consensual Exchange written by Lionel Chok-Thewomen who sell their bodies for money.
The Malay Dilemma written by Edwin Roberts -The Singapore Malay Muslimcommunity after the September 11 incident.
Invitation to Treat written by Daphne Chang-Thehearing impaired in a world of the hearing.
Family Recipes written by Verena Tay - Thesilent women behind the apron.
A Man So Ordinary written by Lucy Lim- Storiesbehind our local taxi drivers.
Market Research written by Tan Suet Lee-Stories from your local wet market.
Oceans written by Muhammed Taufiq R.M. - Insearch of dreams.
Filipinos written by Ng Swee San- TheFilipino community in Singapore.
Single Minded SecretLongingwritten by Leslie Williams � Acceptance by society.

We look forward to having you with us!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

For RSVP and further enquiries, please contact me at Tel: 63384-077/ fax: 63388-297 or email: [email protected]

_______ Yes, I can attend on Thursday,23 May 2002

_______ No, I can�t. But I would like to come for the presentation on 24 / 25 May 2002

_______ No thank you, I will not be able to attend.


::: posted by tarnhow tan at 8:25 PM



Tuesday, April 02, 2002 :::
 
Lucy's Bio

After Lucy graduated in law from the National University of Singapore, she worked as a lawyer in both the public and private sectors until she decided she had paid her dues and gladly retired from her job in 2000. Between 1986 and 1988, she enrolled in the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts and participated in the IBM Art Awards in 1987. To this day, she recalls her disbelief upon learning that IBM had purchased one of her paintings which was exhibited. She has written short stories, poetry and nonsense in the closet for as long as she can remember. Her first attempt at a short play, The Trouble with Mel, was the product of a playwriting workshop conducted by Theatreworks and Central Singapore CDC in 2001, and was performed at the Singapore River Buskers� Festival the same year.

She believes that God and selective amnesia keep her sane. She is married with two children: an 11-year old son who makes her feel young and a 15-year old daughter who makes her wish she was.

::: posted by tarnhow tan at 8:49 AM



Monday, March 25, 2002 :::
 

Bio of a Poor and Struggling �Playwright Wannabe� -
by his alter ego Brian

Leslie Williams, a �Play write wanna Be� has been working in a technically biased background since graduating with a BSc (NUS) and an MBA (Henley Mgt College). He has only recently been delving into the �make believe world� of playwriting as a reflection of real world people and events having been initiated into it by his participation in the Playwriting Workshop, Play: Write a Theatre Works Outreach Programme. His first attempt at writing a play (a comical skit on singles) almost saw the light of day at a dramatised reading in conjunction with The Central Singapore District Arts Festival held in November last year.

Leslie has been living and schooling in Singapore since his birth, more than three decades ago and has accumulated experiences peculiar to the �Singapore Experience�, �air conditioned� or otherwise. His association with grassroots work in his capacity as Sr Mgr in Peoples Association (PA) has given him crucial interactive exposure to a diverse group of �heartlanders�. He has also contributed articles for PA in their various publications, especially �Citizen�s� a magazine highlighting events and activities at CCs. Since last year he has taken on the voluntary role of a key committee member of �Club Cosmopolitans� a club set up to cater to the social needs of PRs and expatriates providing him with usefull networking opportunities with �cosmopolitan� types.

Leslie�s forays into the dramatic art began when he was invited to audition for an acting role in a Church Play �The Apostle� by the Hossana Music Ministry in 1994 where he landed the roles of a Soldier and Pharisee. This involvement later progressed to a more prominent role as the eldest son of Noah in the play �Noah�s Ark� staged by Holy Family Church in 2000 to raise funds for it�s rebuilding.

His prime motivation in taking part in the �Hearing Voices� project is to be able to contribute a unique perspective of the unexpressed and underrepresented sectors of society through the most engaging form of the entertainment medium �The Play�.

::: posted by tarnhow tan at 9:19 PM



Sunday, March 24, 2002 :::
 
This is in reply to Anonymous' view that a Malay should be writing about the subject matter Edwin is tackling. It might be easier for a Malay to do the interviewing (the subjects might be less guarded), and a Malay might approach the issue with greater passion and intensity simply because it is more personal to him. However, I believe there is some merit for a non-Malay to tackle the issue. Edwin can detach himself from the subject and look at the whole picture and perhaps represent what various Malays feel as opposed to what the Malay writer himself feels. Just like how a lot of European directors can make a truly American film. As outsiders, these European directors can see something about the American culture that Americans themselves take for granted.

I have similar difficulties as Edwin in that I am a Singaporean trying to see the Filipino community through Filipino eyes. Sure, I can never fully understand what it is like to be discriminated against or feel what a Filipino nurse or engineer or maid feels. But I believe that if we open our eyes and our hearts, and be observant to not just what a subject says but how he says it, we can write something credible.


::: posted by swee san ng at 2:12 PM


 

Half-Hour Presentation

As for April 1st, what am I supposed to present during my half-hour? Is it peculiar to playwriting, as in my own experiences? Or sharing some of the joys and disappointments in bringing a play to fruition? Don't want to present something that is not relevant....

Edwin

----------

It's Your 30 Minutes

Hi Edwin,

Engross, entertain, inspire us for half an hour. Read something, tell a story, relate a personal experience, bring a game which helps to be see something in a new light or which will get our creative juices flowing, make us do some physical exercise. Anything goes. I will be taking a back seat during that time. The group is yours.

Each of the rest, including myself, will also be doing a one-minute 'Sharing in a Circle'. I have two things I want to talk about, but not sure which - read out a Tang poem I cam across recently (er, in English) or talk about my wife and her views on Machine and how that affected me. (But the kaypohs in all of you, I am sure, will want to know about the second...)

Tarn How

::: posted by tarnhow tan at 10:53 AM


 

Suet Lee�s Proposal

A few months ago, while making a regular trip to my local wet market, stallholders informed me that the market was going to be demolished in 2004, to make way for a new condominium. I found this news quite devastating. I have frequented this market for the last seven years, and to me, it is more than just a place to buy your chicken and veg. Despite the overpowering smells, wet and slippery floor, hustle and bustle and general haggling noises, it is a comforting place of familiar faces. A place where I know I won�t be cheated; a place where I can seek advice on recipes for my first Reunion dinner; a place that I can rely on.

How will I cope, when it�s gone? Sure, I can go to another market. Or even one of those omnipresent NTUCs. But it won�t be the same. It�s not that easy to replace an old friend. And what about the stallholders? The young ones will probably move on. Perhaps they have little affection for the place anyway. But the old guys, what will they do? Some of them have worked at their stalls for half their life. It is their life. How do they feel? Maybe they�re too tired to uproot and start afresh, in a new place with new neighbours. Or maybe they relish the opportunity to conquer new ground. I don�t know.

But that�s what I hope to find out in this project. I propose to interview several market stallholders of varying ages at my local wet market. I hope to find out about their lives, what they feel about the decision to demolish the market, how they are likely to be affected, and what are their hopes for the future. I hope to hear their voices.

::: posted by tarnhow tan at 10:49 AM


 

Er... but you are not Malay...

""Dear Edwin,

As much as I'd really like to help you, I still believe a Malay person should be writing about these issues you're exploring.
(name withheld)""

--------

 Hi Tarn How,

     A Malay
playwright (see above) has brought up an interesting point. Must someone be in a similar predicament to be able to present truthfully the voices that are not being heard? I beg to differ....
I will be conducting another 2 interviews next week. Will forward the
transcripts to you once ready.



Edwin.

 

From Tarn How: Any views on
this? And how does it relate to your own projects?

::: posted by tarnhow tan at 10:41 AM


 

Tan Suet Lee�s Biodata

Once upon a time, many years ago, Suet Lee graduated with a degree in Accountancy from the University of Wales. She then inflicted more pain on herself by going on to become a Chartered Accountant at KPMG Peat Marwick, where she practiced as an auditor for a number of years. This experience provided the inspiration for her MSc thesis topic - Earnings Management (commonly known as �Cooking the Books�), which she later completed at the National University of Singapore. Currently, Suet Lee (a mother of two boys) plays multiple roles. These include; chauffeur, housekeeper, school tutor, and general punch bag for her sons� boxing practice.

Whenever she can escape, Suet Lee dabbles in a little theatre and TV acting, as well as play-writing. Her first serious attempt at play-writing was at the age of seven, when she wrote a twenty-paged play that involved a �far away land, a queen, and several peasants.� Her more recent attempt was a play called Choices. This was developed at a workshop conducted by Theatreworks and Central Singapore CDC, and was performed at The Singapore River Buskers Festival in Nov 2001.

::: posted by tarnhow tan at 10:23 AM


 

Taufiq's Bio.

Taufiq is a boring 27-year-old who has no life!
Graduated from Uni(Deakin University Melbourne Aus)
at the age of 24. Majored in Media Arts.
Flunked his O'levels with flying colours.
(Hated "structure", plus his principal was a NAZI commander).

Started own Company, a Design House,
Became a sleeping Partner afterwards to pursue a career in Broadcasting.

Write in his own spare time, short stories, poems and scripts.

Taufiq sucks at punctuation as he believes that these little dots and strokes disrupt his flow.

And finally, he talks too much.

::: posted by tarnhow tan at 9:55 AM



Friday, March 22, 2002 :::
 

Hearing Our Own Voices?

This is a very important post from Lionel:

In searching for interviewees, I have been thinking, deliberating and considering who/what I should/could be seeing... and then I realised that a lot of it depends on who we come into contact with.. If we now go out and 'meet' the people we would like to interview, how sure are we to say that they will tell us what they want to tell us simply because we are collecting information? On the other hand, if we know some people well enough - we know their inner thoughts, their unheard frustrations, their perverse ideas - then are we then right to say: "Let's uncover their inner voices" - i.e. hearing inner voices?

And through us - the interviewer and ultimately the playwright who takes in all the info and sifts thru them - and presents - are we then hearing our own voice - i.e. filtering thru what's subjective? I have been hearing too many voices...

From Tarn How: Anyone want to post on this - or reply via yahoogroups?

::: posted by tarnhow tan at 9:42 AM