From Page to Stage: 17A Keong Saik Road
By Woo Hsia Ling, Koh Hui Ling, Jean Tay, Charmaine Leung
12 August 2020 (Wed)
7:30pm – 9:00pm
Online
Course Fee: $0.00
Charmaine Leung’s autobiographical novel 17A Keong Saik Road tells of her childhood growing up in the prominent red-light district in Chinatown, and was brought to life as a dramatised reading in March this year.
This panel discussion brings together the Producer, Director, Playwright and Author to share their experiences on how they brought the autobiographical novel to the stage. Learn first-hand about the process of translating a novel from the page to the stage, as well as the challenges and rewards of bringing the novel back to its dialect roots for a new audience.
The panel discussion is open to the general public as well as writers interested in adapting literary works for the stage.
About the Trainer: Woo Hsia Ling, Koh Hui Ling, Jean Tay, Charmaine Leung
Woo Hsia Ling is an independent Producer, Production and Stage Manager. She has produced participatory theatre performances such as A TINY COUNTRY by Attempts (commissioned by M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2020); and Saltwater by Jamie Lewis (Theatre Works in Melbourne 2015, Brisbane Festival 2015, and Bleach* Festival 2016 in Gold Coast). Ling was also the Managing Producer for Chinatown Crossings by Drama Box, a promenade theatre performance that ran two sold-out seasons in 2018 and 2019. She is currently the Producer for The Little Old Cooking Club That Could by Jamie Lewis which will premiere at Drama Box’s Scenes Festival this year.
Ling graduated from Queensland University of Technology with a Master of Creative Industries (Creative Production & Arts Management).
Koh Hui Ling is a theatre practitioner who finds meaning in the process of community engagement and the participation of non-artists in art-making. Her desire to create alternative avenues for public dialogue has led to the development of GoLi – The Moving Theatre, Singapore’s first inflatable moving theatre that transforms spaces into vibrant places for critical discourses. Currently the Associate Artistic Director of Drama Box, she formed its youth engagement work and has developed a set of Drama-in-Education and Theatre-in-Education programmes for youths, teachers and adult-learners. Recognised for her contribution to community, youth and culture, Hui Ling has been awarded the Young Artist Award from the National Arts Council Singapore and the Singapore Youth Award from the National Youth Council.
Jean Tay graduated in 1997 with a double-degree in creative writing and economics from Brown University, USA.
Plays produced include The Shape of a Bird (2016), Senang (2014), Sisters (2013), Everything but the Brain (2005, 2007, 2013), Boom (2008, 2012) and Plunge (2000). Jean also wrote the books for the musicals Great Wall: One Woman's Journey (2017), The Admiral’s Odyssey (2005), and Man of Letters (2006). Her plays have been performed in Singapore, US, UK, and Italy. She has been nominated four times for Best Original Script for the Life! Theatre Awards, and won for Everything but the Brain in 2006. Her plays Everything but the Brain and Boom have been used as 'O' and 'N' Level literature texts for secondary schools. Jean is the founding Artistic Director of Saga Seed Theatre.
Photo credit: Crispian Chan
Charmaine Leung is the author of 17A Keong Saik Road – a creative nonfiction book about her childhood in Keong Saik Road when it was a prominent red-light precinct in 1970s and 1980s. After a life overseas for almost 20 years, Charmaine returned to Singapore and discovered a vastly different Keong Saik Road. Her childhood and the changes she witnessed upon her return promoted her to pen a memoir of her growing up years. 17A Keong Saik Road was shortlisted for the Singapore Literature Prize 2018 and has been featured in various panels in Singapore Writers Festival and talks since its launch in May 2017.
Registration Details
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Registration is on a first-come-first-served basis and workshop fees must be paid before the workshop. If the minimum number of participants is not met for the class, the organisers will inform all participants about possible postponement and cancellation, two weeks before the workshop date.
Cancellation & Substitution
The workshop can be cancelled or postponed two weeks before the workshop date if the minimum number of participants is not met. Participants will be fully refunded for workshops cancelled by us.
Participants who are unable to attend a workshop they have registered for are to inform us of the reason two weeks before the workshop date. They will be fully refunded in the event of extenuating and mitigating circumstances (E.g. illness, bereavement, accidents) . Those who inform us up to five (5) working days before the workshop date will receive a 50% refund. Participants can also attend another course at the same value within the same year.
Upon registration, you are deemed to have read and understood the cancellation, withdrawal and substitution policy and accept the terms contained therein.