Director's Message Welcome to the 2023 edition of Pangdemonium’s Very Youthful Company (VYC)!
It is challenging in all the best ways, and it is a play I care deeply about.
I am so happy to have you at the theatre today. This is a special programme with a special group of participants. Every Saturday since September, nine teen actors and two teen stage managers have come together to rehearse for this production. In November, we entered an ‘intensive’ two-week period where rehearsal mimicked the schedule of professional productions. Along the way, our students also designed the programmes and posters, marketed the show under the guidance of our professional marketing team, and had a hand in designing the costumes. Our VYC was created to develop the whole theatre artist. By sharing focus with other aspects of theatre, I believe our performers and stage managers will have a better idea of the effort required to put on a play.
The play features a character known as the Stage Manager, who introduces the play and the town in question. Act One is called Daily Life; Act Two is called Love and Marriage; and Act Three is called Death and Eternity. Through the piece, we observe people grappling with what it means to be human within a community. In many ways, this is what VYC is about: community. Students from many different schools and educational programmes come together to create a work that is uplifting, beautiful, and theatrical. And so, welcome to Our Town. We hope you’ll enjoy your visit to Grover’s Corners.
The play I have chosen this year is Our Town by Thornton Wilder. This is one of the world’s oldest American classics, first performed in 1938. Even so, I find this to still be a stirring, stunning piece of writing with a lot to say about living, dying, and everything in between. At once, it is heartbreaking, funny, and enlivening.
Timothy Koh
Director of VYC
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A Note from Pangdemonium... Welcome to Pangdemonium’s VYC production of Our Town! True to our mission to pave the way for the next generation of theatre professionals, our Very Youthful Company has been created to nurture and mentor young people who are passionate about telling stories on stage. What we aim for is to not only stoke their love for theatre but also to instill in them the belief that the theatre they make can make a difference in people’s lives. The Journal of Experimental Social Psychology published a study in which 1,622 individuals were surveyed immediately before and after seeing a live theatre production. The participants completed a measure of their attitudes towards racial discrimination, income inequality, welfare, corporate regulations, wealth redistribution, and affirmative action. “After seeing the play, audience members reported feeling more empathy for the groups of people depicted in the plays, and changed their attitudes about political issues related to the plays,” said research author Stephen Rathje. “Additionally, after seeing the plays, people donated more to charity, whether or not the charity was related to the topics in the plays.” While these may seem lofty goals, Pangdemonium is extremely gratified to have received plenty of feedback over the years from our audiences about how they have been moved by our productions in many positive ways. This is the kind of theatre we believe in. And this production of Our Town that our 2023 VYC has created is exactly this kind of theatre. Because apart from their love for the craft of storytelling, they have imbued this theatrical classic with an innate empathy for the community around them, a deep belief in humanity, and a genuine concern for the future of their world. We have much to learn from this play and also from these youths. Thanks to Pangdemonium’s millennial Associate Director Timothy Koh for expertly guiding and herding (!) these Gen Zs over the past few months; to our creative/ production/ technical/ stage management teams for being awesome; and to our Very Youthful youths for being great company — the future is yours!
Enjoy. Lots of love,
Adrian & Tracie Pang
Artistic Directors
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OUR TOWNSFOLK
(IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER)
Tiana Lea Campbell
Mrs. Julia Gibbs,
Tiana is a fourth-year theatre student at the School of the Arts (SOTA). She started her acting journey in 2016, when she earned a coveted spot in the highly competitive Premiere Program. Among the hundreds of applicants, Tiana’s abilities earned her the distinguished Honourable Mention Award. With a passion for surrealism and a flair for the dramatic, she recently had the opportunity to share the lead role, Agnes, in the adaptation of A Dream Play by the renowned playwright Caryl Churchill for her recent SOTA Theatre Year 4 production. Looking ahead, Tiana is thrilled to have the opportunity to be a part of Pangdemonium’s VYC 2023 production of Our Town.
Natasha Chan Natasha is a Year 3 School of the Arts (SOTA) student who enjoys theatre and is trained in hip-hop dance. She also practices parkour as well as playing the ukulele and guitar. Natasha has performed in Icarus And Daedalus and A Series Of Unfortunate Events with Centre Stage Singapore. In SOTA, she has performed Cloud Play and two devised performances.
Wally Webb, Howie Newsome, Simon Stimson Oleg Chaykun
Dr. Frank Gibbs, Professor Willard, Constable Warren
Oleg always had a passion for Acting, especially in its transformative nature. In his journey, Oleg has studied the method of Lee Strasberg through his training at the Haque Centre of Acting and Creativity. He has also explored improvisation and Film, with a record of multiple shows under The Improv Company and being a part of Sisters of the Night. Now, primarily mentored in Stanislavski’s Method, he is honoured to be able to forge his skills through the vigour and professionalism of Pangdemonium’s Very Youthful Company. Oleg is also very active in sports. He is an experienced competitive Taekwondo fighter of 16 years and has studied traditional Korean swordsmanship for 4 years. Though Oleg is not all brawn, he has a fondness for public speaking and reading.
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Grover’s Corners, New Hampshire Pearlin Chew Sekercioglu
Mrs. Myrtle Webb,
Pearlin is delighted to be part of VYC’s 2023 production of Our Town. Currently attending the School of the Arts (SOTA), she believes in the transformative power of theatre and its ability to connect people. Pearlin has been involved in several arts’ community projects, including projects with Play! for Singapore Art Week and experiments with forum theatre in Ladies’ Night. Moreover, she previously participated in Wild Rice’s inaugural Singapore Youth Theatre programme, contributing to the devised production The Good Citizen (2021). With a passion for musical theatre, singing, and the arts, Pearlin is constantly seeking ways to push the boundaries of self-expression through the arts.
Celestine Sixuan Groleau
The Stage Manager
With a passion for all things theatre, Celestine is thrilled to have the opportunity to explore and experiment with various aspects of production alongside this vibrant and talented group in Pangdemonium’s third batch of VYC for the production of Our Town. Celestine is currently pursuing her love for theatre as a student at SOTA. She has had the recent opportunity to share the leading role of Agnes in SOTA’s fourth-year production of Caryl Churchill’s A Dream Play. You might also recognise her from her roles as Director in the production of Happy Phantom (Capitol Theatre, 2020) or as Jean in Season 4 of Whoopie’s World (MediaCorp Okto, 2021), among other appearances in advertisements, television programmes, short plays, or hosting as an emcee. She hopes to inspire others through her art and is delighted to contribute to this performance.
Mrittika Kumaran
Rebecca Gibbs, Mrs. Soames, Sam Craig, Si Crowell, Joe Crowell
Mrittika is an inquisitive 16-year-old. She found her passion for the arts at the age of eight when she created a script for her siblings to perform in front of their parents. Years later, she joined her school’s drama club and was selected as president shortly after. She has discovered her love for theatre ever since then. She is also keen on learning how movies are made. She has been fascinated by film since age 5 and hopes to be part of the movie world in the future. Mrittika is thrilled to be part of this year’s VYC and to get to work with very talented individuals to put on a magnificent play called Our Town. Mrittika has also been in Wild Rice’s Singapore Youth Theatre company and was part of a double bill called Every Student Is A Good Student/In My Head. She is enthusiastic about being part of this innovative world where dreams come true.
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OUR TOWNSFOLK
(IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER)
Gabriel Sujan Kumarasingam
George Gibbs
Gabriel, short, 15. He is currently studying at St Joseph’s Institution (SJI), where he is the vice president of the Drama CCA. He first discovered his passion for the arts in his primary school’s Dance CCA, and later found his love for theatre when he joined the Drama Club. He enjoys his busy schedule, made busier by his VYC rehearsals. Gabriel is psyched to participate in this year’s VYC, performing Our Town by Thornton Wilder. He has relished this experience to work alongside other passionate thespians to perform in his first external production. Gabriel’s prior experience consists of plays performed by SJI’s Drama Club, such as SJI Drama Night 2022’s The Brothers and SYF 2023, alongside another internal production Who __’ll Be: The Musical.
Kirstin Kyle
Stage Manager
Kirstin Kyle, 19 years old, is a human being who has been heavily shaped by the arts. Her passion for theatre goes back to her secondary school days and has continued to define her being throughout the years. Pangdemonium’s VYC has provided her the platform to explore the craft of stage management through her position as the Assistant Stage Manager of Failure: A Love Story (2022). This year, she was given the opportunity once again to delve deeper and broaden her knowledge of the craft. She is thrilled to present Our Town together with the rest of the participants.
Elise Phoon
Assistant Stage Manager
Thanks to Pangdemonium’s VYC, 15-year-old Elise Phoon takes the spotlight as the Assistant Stage Manager for the very first time. This marks her inaugural journey into the theatre scene, and she’s ready to make her mark. Offstage, Elise’s heart is a mosaic of passions. She adores the enchantment of Halloween and the warmth of Christmas, celebrating both year-round. Books transport her to distant realms, while nature beckons as her haven of inspiration. At the core of Elise’s world lies her deep bond with family, a wellspring of love and support. And let’s not forget her special affinity for turtles, those wise and gentle beings that embody her connection to the natural world.As she embraces her role as Assistant Stage Manager, Elise carries with her the essence of these passions, ready to infuse her first theatre production with the magic of her spirit.
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Grover’s Corners, New Hampshire Andrei Rasmussen An avid dancer, singer, and actor, Andrei Rasmussen fell in love with acting at a young age. He performed in Singapore Lyric Opera’s 2012 production of Puccini’s Madame Butterfly as The Son. Andrei has since been part of multiple short films and won Best Actor in the acting competition “Theatre Slam” organised by Kids Performing Academy of the Arts. He is thrilled to share the stage with this year’s VYC after having the opportunity to perform in last year’s Failure: A Love Story as Henry Fail.
Mr. Charles Webb, Joe Stoddard Aria Zhang
Emily Webb
Aria is currently a student at UWCSEA Dover. Her theatre journey started at the age of six at Stamford Theatre Productions. The Woodlanders; The Seven Little Penguins; and The Goblin Next Door. 2016 was the year she took a big leap and started doing productions outside of school. Navodaya Brink Of Hope (Shantha Ratii Initiatives) at Esplanade Theatre Studio. Aria was in Wild Rice’s “First Stage Kids” in Monkey Goes West (2016); Mama White Snake (2017); A $ingapore Carol (2018); Peter Pan In Serangoon Gardens (2019); and Rice Ball MASKquerade (2020). In 2017, she played ‘John’ in Fun Home (Pangdemonium). Most recently, with Pangdemonium, she was in Triple Threats (2023). Beyond theatre, Aria has also been involved in commercials, including Toys’R’Us and Costa Cruises.
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CREATIVE TEAM Timothy Koh
Grace Lin
Director
Set Designer
In New York City, Tim has worked as an Assistant Director at Lincoln Center Theatre and Manhattan Theatre Club, held a Fellowship at Playwrights Horizons, and directed thesis plays at New York University’s Graduate Department of Dramatic Writing. Other US experience includes work with Scott Rudin Productions, Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival, and the Lucille Lortel Awards. In Singapore, he is the Associate Director of Pangdemonium, where he helms the New Works Lab and VYC. With Pangdemonium, he directed Doubt: A Parable and Muswell Hill. He assistant directed with The Mother; The Glass Menagerie; End Of The Rainbow; and People, Places & Things. Training: New York University Tisch School of the Arts (BFA Theatre), College of Arts and Science (BA English and American Literature).
Faith Liu Yong Huay
Lighting Designer Faith Liu trained at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts in Lighting Design (2016), under the National Arts Council Arts Scholarship (Postgraduate). In September 2017, she cofounded 微 Wei Collective with theatre practitioner Neo Hai Bin. They are interested in the performance of space, and how material and movement can allow one to experience a breathing space.
Grace Lin is a designer of sets/ environments for plays, musicals and film. Arriving at set design from a background in architecture and graphic communication, she has over 10 years of experience working in commercial editorial design and graphic illustration as well as environmental design, and has been working as a full-time theatre freelancer since 2015. Grace holds a Bachelor of Arts in Architecture from the National University of Singapore and a Masters in Design Communication from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology.
Daniel Wong
Sound Designer Daniel Wong is a sound designer, composer and music producer. He graduated from Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music with a B.Mus (Hons) in Recording Arts & Science. Sound design credits include Doubt: A Parable; People Places & Things and Muswell Hill (Pangdemonium), 2:22 - A Ghost Story; The Almighty Sometimes; The Sound Inside and Tuesdays With Morrie (Singapore Repertory Theatre), I And You (Gateway Arts), G*d Is A Woman and Cafe (Wild Rice).
She is honoured to have worked on numerous theatre and dance productions in Singapore.
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ProductioN Team Cast (in alphabetical order)
Creative Team
Tiana Lea Campbell Mrs. Julia Gibbs
Thornton Wilder Playwright
Natasha Chan
Timothy Koh Director
Wally Webb, Howie Newsome, Simon Stimson
Grace Lin Set Designer
Oleg Chaykun Dr. Frank Gibbs, Professor Willard, Constable Warren
Faith Liu Yong Huay Lighting Designer Daniel Wong Sound Designer
Pearlin Chew Sekercioglu Mrs. Myrtle Webb
Production & Stage Management Team
Celestine Sixuan Groleau Stage Manager
Kirstin Kyle Stage Manager
Mrittika Kumaran Rebecca Gibbs, Mrs. Soames, Sam Craig, Si Crowell, Joe Crowell
Elise Phoon Assistant Stage Manager
Gabriel Sujan Kumarasingam George Gibbs
Ryan Ng Sound Operator Jean Yap Sound Operator (RF)
Andrei Rasmussen Mr. Charles Webb, Joe Stoddard
Special Thanks
Aria Zhang Emily Webb
Leonard Augustine Choo, Petrina Kow, Joanne Sim
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Pangdemonium Team
Pangdemonium Board
Tracie Pang Artistic Director/ Managing Director
Kusum Singh S. Fundraising & Engagement Manager
Adrian Pang Artistic Director/ Producer
Clare YuRu Business Development Manager
Raeza Ibrahim John Currie Debbie Andrade Leonardo Drago Dr. Jade Kua Beatrice Chia-Richmond
Renee Tan General Manager
Michelle Seetoh Ticketing Manager
Timothy Koh Associate Director
Mariem Touahria Accounting Manager
Leah Sim Production Manager
Guinevere Low Company Administrator
Sunitha Nayar Production Manager
Kerine Lam Marketing Assistant
Cat Andrade Company Stage Manager
Eunick Moira Ticketing Assistant
Koh Yi Wei Production Coordinator
James Tan Associate Artist
Tracie Pang Adrian Pang
Supported By The Diana Koh Foundation The Grace, Shua Jacob Ballas II Charitable Trust
Kristal Zhou Marketing Manager Richie Ryan Digital Marketing Executive
Production Team
Rehearsal Photos
OUR TOWN © 1939, 1957 The Wilder Family LLC By permission of Alan Brodie Representation Ltd www.alanbrodie.com
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@veryyouthfulcompany
Pangdemonium Theatre Company Ltd is a registered charity with IPC status. Registration number: 201229915M Pangdemonium Theatre Company Ltd is supported by the National Arts Council under the Major Company Scheme for the period from 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2026.