|
a short
history of a
long journey |
STAGES is
a registered theatre company, formed in 1994 with the kind
support of Shell Companies in Singapore.
A group of young part-time actors – Jonathan
Lim, Sean Yeo, Nelson
Chia, Daphne Tan, Jacqueline Low and Liow Lee Hsiang –
performed a new play by Jonathan Lim - Red Packets
– at the Shell Lunchtime Programme. Ten vignettes about
Chinese New Year, touching on its origins, its faded significance
among youths, its curious rituals, the social problems it
highlights, and the loneliness of those who have no families
to celebrate it with.
The audience loved it. Young and old alike, yuppie and student
– they laughed, they wept, they walked away suddenly
very aware of what Chinese New Year meant (or did not mean)
to them.
The Shell folk loved it, and a start-up sponsorship was offered
for STAGES to become a proper company, with three productions
to deliver.
And that’s how it all began.
Since then, STAGES has drawn its talents primarily from between
the ages of 17-30, and aims at providing enriching and adventurous
projects for full-time theatre practitioners, as well as quality
theatre experiences for part-timers.
STAGES chooses not to limit itself to any one particular
genre, but instead celebrates variety. In the short years
since our conception, we have gustily and successfully run
the gamut from Sondheim
revues to bilingual plays, Shakespeare to sketch comedy,
Fry & Laurie to Tom Stoppard and beyond.
In short, we are an urban arts group of exemplary entrepreneurial
energy and artistic commitment. Witness our versatility and
growth in the years to come... |
