Does your child have what it takes to be a musical star? Here’s a chance to kickstart your kid’s singing career in a musical – and it’s not just any musical.
The Sound of Music is returning to Singapore at The MasterCard Theatres at Marina Bay Sands this November. The last time the musical played here was in 2014, but this time round, it is looking at bringing a local touch to the audience.
The production company is looking for 18 Singapore child stars to play the roles of six von Trapp children: Friedrich, Louisa, Kurt, Brigitta, Marta and Gretl. The seventh von Trapp child has already been cast.
The 18 children from Singapore will be cast in three rosters.
Children who wish to audition are expected to have a good level of skill in acting, singing (including part singing with harmonies) and dancing. All nationalities are eligible.
They must also fulfil the following height limits:
Auditions will be held at The MasterCard Theatres from May 26 to 28. Prospective candidates are required to complete an online form at www.soundofmusicsg.com.
Candidates are also required to be physically present at the pre-registration sessions on May 22 and 23 at The MasterCard Theatre foyer.
The Sound of Music, which tells the story of fun-loving governess Maria, who changes the lives of widowed Captain von Trapp and his children, features some unforgettable songs such as “Do-Re-Mi, “Edelweiss”, and “My Favourite Things”.
It was adapted in 1965 as a film musical starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer.
Taiwanese singer Show Luo will be in Singapore for a one-night concert on Aug 12, as part of his Crazy World Tour.
Better known by his nickname, ‘Xiao Zhu’, Luo last performed in Singapore in 2013.
This time, the concert will be held at Resorts World Convention Centre, according to the Sistic website.
Luo’s reportoire will include 40 songs spanning across his 12-year career, with hit singles from his 2003 debut album, right up to those from his latest album released in 2015.
Ticket prices range from $88 to $228, excluding booking fee.
Priority ticket sales for Singtel customers began on May 16, while public sales will start on June 1.
Get your body ready for a Ninja Warrior-style obstacle course this weekend!
In celebration of the 50th anniversary of National Service this year, Gillette is presenting to you the Gillette ProShield Challenge – an obstacle course designed to simulate the training our NSmen undergo during their service.
The Gillette ProShield Challenge will be officially unveiled at Plaza Singapura on May 19, 5pm and will last till May 21. A team face-off with local celebrities will start off the challenge.
Participants must race against the clock while scaling a warped wall, swinging from bar to bar and leaping across platforms.
Members of the public are welcomed to join in the fun too, and even grab their own NS50 Limited Edition Gillette Fusion ProShield Razor at a discounted rate.
The first 150 participants on May 20 and 21 will each walk away with a pair of movie ticket vouchers.
The NS50 razors come in 10 different designs, inspired by the Army, Navy, Air Force, Civil Defence Force and Police Force.
The razors can also be customised at any of the 10 island-wide roadshows, making a perfect gift for our NSmen, and just in time for Father’s Day too!
Mega Roadshow Date: May 19 to 21, 2017
Time: 6pm to 9pm on May 19, 11am to 9pm daily from May 20-21
Venue: Level 1, Outdoor Front Plaza, Plaza Singapura, 68 Orchard Rd Singapore (238839)
Full roadshow schedule
5th – 7th May – NTUC FairPrice Xtra Jurong Point
12th – 14th May – NTUC FairPrice Xtra Serangoon Nex
The theme of this year’s National Day Parade (NDP) will be #OneNationTogether. This is the first time the hash symbol (#) has been incorporated into an NDP theme, enabling Singaporeans to share the rally call through social media.
Sharing the inspiration behind the theme, Chairman of the NDP 2017 Executive Commitee (EXCO) Colonel Ong Yoke Lam Melvin said in a statement on Wednesday (May 17): “This year’s NDP celebrates our precious social unity and the racial and religious harmony we enjoy today.”
“It is in thus unity that we will continue to rally together as one people and one nation, against all future challenges, striving towards a brave and confident future,” he added.
Highlights of NDP 2017 include the dignified Parade & Ceremony featuring the Presidential Gun Salute on the M3G Raft, a Salute to the Nation performed by the five Republic of Singapore Air Force F-15SG fighter aircraft, and a special tribute to 50 years of National Service.
For the first time, NDP will feature two Dynamic Defence Display segments showcasing our national defence capabilities and Whole-of-Government response against rising security threats.
Singaporeans are also encouraged to join the NDP 2017 conversation by tagging their photos, well-wishes, reflections or stories on their personal social media platforms and/or NDP social platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, with the following hashtags: #OneNationTogether, #NDP2017, #NDP17, #SG52.
The hash-tagged photos, well-wishes, reflections or stories will be compiled and published on the official NDP website.
That’s Kristang for “do you want to learn a new language?” If the answer is an affirmative “seng”, you might want to check out a unique festival on one of Singapore’s least-known heritage languages.
This weekend, the inaugural Kristang Language Festival will be putting the spotlight on a 500-year-old language belonging to the Portuguese-Eurasian community in Singapore and Melaka.
Taking place at the Asian Civilisations Museum from May 20 to 21, the festival will include workshops and discussions, poetry and dance performances, a minority languages trail, and even the launch of a new board game and some food.
Ila-Ila di Sul, a new board game in both English and Kristang, will be launched at the inaugural Kristang Language Festival. (Photo: Mayo Martin)
The event is organised by Kodrah Kristang (KK), a group that is revitalising what’s considered a dying tongue in Singapore.
While there are reportedly more than 1,000 speakers in Melaka (and another 2,000 in the rest of Malaysia), only roughly a hundred people speak it here.
AWAKEN, KRISTANG
Kristang is a creole language combining a primarily Portuguese vocabulary (with a smattering of other languages) with Malay grammar. The word itself comes from the Portuguese term “cristao” or Christian, and can refer to the language, the religion, or the people who spoke it.
In Singapore, much of the Kristang community traces its origins to the start of the 19th century, with many Eurasians moving here from places such as Melaka. But these days, not many even know the language exists, said Eurasian-Chinese Kevin Martens Wong, director of both KK and the festival.
“The youngest fluent speakers we know of are in their 50s, so it’s quite a serious situation where not many Singaporeans know about this language. We’ve thus been aggressively pushing for awareness by holding classes and talks, and the festival is sort of the culmination of that.”
The 25-year-old author and linguistics undergraduate student from the National University of Singapore is the man behind these efforts to revive Kristang, after he stumbled upon the language two years ago while researching for an article for a linguistics magazine he had founded, Unravel.
And he did not have to look far to discover it.
“My maternal grandmother is Portuguese-Eurasian; she in turn learned it from my great-great-grandmother who spoke Kristang exclusively. My maternal grandfather, who is Danish-Eurasian, picked up the language when he was dating my grandmother and had to get to know my grandmother’s family,” he said.
Last year, Wong and five like-minded individuals founded Kodrah Kristang, which means Awaken, Kristang.
Kodrah Kristang and Kristang Language Festival director Kevin Martens Wong (centre) with KK’s core group members (from left) Fuad Johari, Andre D’Rozario, Luis Morgado da Costa, Frances Loke Wei, and Anirudh Krishnan. (Photo: Marvin Tang)
To date, there have been five iterations of the classes, with around 150 to 180 regular students, of which two-thirds are Eurasians. The youngest is 11 and the oldest is in his 80s.
“The remaining speakers like that there are so many young people involved, which is healthy for the language,” he said.
The group’s efforts would eventually catch the attention not just of local and international media, but even Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong himself, who gave a shout-out to Wong on his Facebook page last month.
MAKE IT HEALTHY AGAIN
The group’s aims are long term. In fact, Wong came up with a revitalisation plan that stretches all the way to 2045.
“For us, the end game is to make Kristang a relatively healthy language again, which means 10 to 15 families using it on a daily basis and passing it on to their children. It’s a modest goal,” said Wong.
It’s a slow-but-steady project. In fact, the festival is only the culmination of the first phase of the plan. At the moment, it’s about building awareness, slowly growing a community of the interested and curious, and encouraging them to develop a more active and personal interest in the language.
Kristang flash cards anyone? These will be launched at the first Kristang Language Festival. They’re not for sale at the moment but who knows? (Photo: Mayo Martin)
Among the projects at the festival is the launch of an online dictionary, which currently comprises 3,500 words and will be freely accessible.
They will also be launching a set of flash cards and even a bilingual boardgame called Ila-Ila di Sul (Southern Islands). Both aren’t commercially for sale, but Wong said they are open to the possibility in the future.
The festival will also go beyond Kristang-as-language and will look at culture, with the Kristang 1511 O Maliao Maliao dance troupe from Melaka coming down to perform and hold a workshop on the dance form branyo (which is related to the Malay form of joget).
Eurasian food establishments Quentin’s and Mary’s Kafe will also be present to showcase Eurasian food such as Pang Susi, a minced meat-filled bun, as well as Kari Debal, popularly known as devil’s curry.
But at the heart of all these cultural efforts is the language itself, which Wong believes binds everything together.
“The whole initiative is still focused on reinvigorating the language, but we’re hoping the culture gets reinvigorated as well,” he said.
And the festival isn’t just about Kristang. A couple of events, including the Languages Of Singapore Trail, also looks at other minority languages in the country, such as Baba Malay, Boyanese, Punjabi, and more.
While Wong admitted that revitalising a language with relatively very few speakers can be tricky, he pointed to successful efforts elsewhere.
“The Hawaiian language was dying in the 1970s, with only 2,000 speakers. But a bunch of people got together, and now it has 24,000 speakers and 2,000 kids learning the language. And along with that was the revival of Hawaiian culture and ways of thinking.”
START THEM YOUNG
Wong and his fellow Kristang crusaders want to start them young. In June, KK will begin classes for children between the ages of four and six, a critical period recognised by linguists for picking up language skills.
There are also others who are doing their bit independently — Eurasian writer Melissa de Silva is planning to publish a children’s book in Kristang, said Wong.
Kodrah Kristang with members of the Portuguese-Eurasian community from Melaka, including dancers from the Troupa de Santa Maria, who will be performing at the Kirstang Language Festival. (Photo: Jeremy Ou)
As for his own creative efforts, Wong has a YouTube channel called Kantah Kristang, where he sings translated Kristang versions of popular songs. In his new sci-fi novel Altered Straits, he has also sneaked in some Kristang, too. He’s also planning a new novel with “a lot more Kristang in it”.
For Wong, it has gone beyond simply saving a language, but also building new families and strengthening ties with his own.
“When I started out, it was as a linguist interested in finding out how to preserve a language. But as time has gone on, I’ve also come to do it for the older speakers. I’ve built very meaningful friendships with them. And working with my grandparents on the language – it’s a whole other side of a relationship that I had never experienced before.”
He added: “There’s so much about the older generation that we don’t know about, and I think it’s so important that we make an effort to bridge that gap before all of that knowledge is lost forever.”
BANDA ACEH – An Islamic court in Indonesia has sentenced two men to 85 lashes of the cane for having sex together, judges in the conservative province of Aceh said, ignoring pleas for clemency from human rights groups.
The public caning handed down by a panel of judges is the first time laws against homosexuality, introduced in the province in 2014, have been used. The sentence was more severe than the 80 lashes requested by the prosecutor.
“The defendants are proven to have committed sodomy and are found guilty,” the presiding judge, Mr Khairil Jamal, said in a statement.
The two men had opted to represent themselves in court and said they would not appeal the verdict.
A sharia court on May 17 sentenced two men to be publicly caned for gay sex for the first time in Indonesia’s conservative province of Aceh, the latest sign of a backlash against homosexuals in the Muslim-majority country. Photo: AFP
Aceh is the only province in Muslim-majority Indonesia that criminalises same-sex relations and that uses syariah as its legal code in addition to the national criminal code.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) had called on Indonesia to release the men who were detained in March after vigilantes reported them to religious police for allegedly engaging in gay sex.
“The verdict will increase fear among LGBT people not only in Aceh but also in many other, especially conservative provinces… in Indonesia,” said HRW’s Andreas Harsono.
The lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community in Indonesia has faced growing pressure since high-ranking government officials last year expressed reservations about activism by its members.
This picture shows a picture of an Indonesian man waits in a cell prior to his trial at a shariah court in Banda Aceh on May 17, 2017. Photo: AFP
Three years ago, Aceh province enacted a law that punishes anybody caught engaging in consensual gay sex with 100 lashes, 100 months in jail or a fine of 1,000 grams of gold.
It also sets out punishment for unmarried people engaging in displays of affection, adulterous relationships and underage sex.
Authorities in the province on the northern tip of Sumatra island caned 339 people in 2016 for a range of crimes, according to HRW.
Religious police in Aceh have also been known to target Muslim women without head scarves or those wearing tight clothes, and people drinking alcohol or gambling.
Two women were detained in October on suspicion of being lesbians after they were seen hugging in public, and were made to undergo “rehabilitation”, media reported.
SINGAPORE: Apple will be opening its first store in Singapore on May 27.
According to the consumer tech giant’s website, its Apple Orchard Road store at Knightsbridge Mall will open at 10am that day, with the daily operating hours stated as 10am to 10pm, Monday to Sunday.
The website also stated a series of programmes scheduled at the store, including an acoustic performance by Singapore Idol 3 winner Sezairi Sezali on the store’s opening day. A photo walk with local photographer Chia Aik Beng, has also been scheduled for the following day.
Hoardings around the outlet came down past midnight on May 22, showing off Apple’s signature all-glass store front.
Singapore’s first Apple Store (Photo: Milton Sau)
Apple’s signature all-glass store front at its Singapore outlet. (Photo: Milton Sau)
The opening of the store later this month comes after much-publicised delays. It was previously reported the first brick-and-mortar store in Singapore, and Southeast Asia, will open on Oct 31, 2016, before being pushed back to Jan 30 this year.
K-pop fans in Singapore will have plenty to be excited for with the country being the first stop for the 10th Music Bank World Tour organised by KBS (Korean Broadcasting System).
The concert, to be held on August 4 at Suntec Convention Centre Hall 601-604, boasts an all-star lineup such as SHINee as well as CNBLUE and Red Velvet.
For those who are unfamiliar, Music Bank is a weekly Korean music program from KBS with staged world tours in Asia, Europe, Middle-East, Latin America, and is broadcasted live to a worldwide audience.
Tickets are priced between $148 to $288 (not including booking fees) and will be up for sale at 10am onwards on May 23 via Asia Box Office.
For more information regarding the event, click here.
SINGAPORE – A 39-year-old woman has been charged on Wednesday (May 17) with keeping a farm and dogs without a licence.
Lin Xiaoqun, a Singapore permanent resident, faces one charge of owning a farm without licence and nine other charges of owning dogs without licence. The prosecution is proceeding with five charges.
Lin is the licensee of Ethans Pet Resort, located in Farmart Centre at Sungei Tengah. She was also found to have carried out dog breeding activities at the premises, without a valid licence .
The dogs that Lin kept without licence include a female Chow Chow and two female Golden Retrievers. The dogs averaged three months in age.
Lin had voluntarily surrendered a total of nine adult dogs and four puppies to AVA. She admitted that the unlicenced adult dogs were used for breeding.
She intends to plead guilty, the court heard.
For keeping or maintaining a farm without valid licence, Lin could face a fine not exceeding S$10,000, or a jail term of not more than 12 months, or both.
For owning a dog without licence, she could be fined up to S$5,000 per charge.
In court on Wednesday, Lin, dressed in a blue blouse, showed no emotion as her charges were read to her.
Doctor Chua Soo Pong from Singapore is directing a work entitled Dưới Bóng Đa Huyền Thoại (The Legendary Banyan Tree) for Việt Nam’s Tuồng Theatre. The performance will be staged at Pohang International Performing Arts Festival in Pohang, South Korea in August.
Dr Chua completed his master’s and doctorate in anthropology and ethnomusicology in the UK.
His works have been performed on nearly 80 international stages in the world. He has attended international stage competitions as juror, performer and chairman in many countries such as Turkey, Iran, India, Indonesia, Japan, Finland, Italy, Denmark, Russia, the US, and Việt Nam.
In recent years, he has worked with the Việt Nam National Drama Theatre staging The Mouse Daughter’s Marriage, which was performed at Malaysia’s George Town Festival in August, 2015.
He also led the theatre to perform in China, Japan, South Korea and Bangladesh.
Culture Vulture interviews Dr Chua about Vietnamese traditional tuồng classical drama and his efforts to popularise Vietnamese art in the world.
When did you begin to study Vietnamese traditional tuồng in general, and Việt Nam’s Tuồng Theatre, in particular?
Tuồng Theatre is one of Asia’s traditional theatres that has a long history, rich repertoire and complex performing aesthetics. I first saw tuồng when I came to Việt Nam as a senior specialist of the SEAMEO SPAFA Regional Centre for Archaeology and Fine Arts, to organise a seminar on documentation of performing arts in Southeast Asia.
Our partner is the Hà Nội Academy of Cinema and Theatre. I met Lê Đăng Thực, the director of the academy at that time. During the visit, I saw tuồng, chèo (traditional opera) and cải lương (reformed drama). I was most impressed by these beautiful theatrical genres of Việt Nam.
I also met Lê Tiến Thọ, a prominent tuồng artist, and we became good friends immediately as we share the passion of promoting traditional theatre as cultural heritage. I watched many more tuồng performances on my subsequent visits.
I also invited the Tuồng Theatre to participate in a Traditional Theatre at the Park and Seminar on Asian Traditional Festival I organised in 1988. Later, I facilitated the visit of Tuồng Theatre in China (I was then the Chief Adviser of the CHINA-ASEAN Theatre Week, in Nanning) and South Korea (Wonju),
Could you tell us more about the co-operation with the Tuồng Theatre?
It is a great honour to be invited by the Việt Nam Tuồng Theatre’s director Phạm Ngọc Tuấn to direct The Legendary Banyan Tree. It was a rewarding experience to work with distinguished artists like People’s Artist Hồng Khiêm, People’s Artist Ánh Dương and Meritorious Artist Minh Tâm after watching their performances for many years.
I really did not encounter any difficulty as the Tuồng Theatre has a wonderful team of artists who are dedicated and willing to put in extra hard work to achieve artistic excellence. Tuồng shares many aesthetic principles of traditional theatre genres that I have worked with, like Chinese opera, Japanese kabuki, and Indonesian wayang wong. When I demonstrate the movements desired for a particular scene, they immediately understand the quality of movements needed. And we refine them together.
Traditional art festivals have been held annually in Việt Nam. Have you had chance to attend a tuồng festival?
I was honoured and privileged to be invited by artist Thọ to the Tuồng Festival to commemorate playwright Tống Phước Phổ. The festival was organised by the municipal People’s Committee of Đà Nẵng and the Việt Nam Stage Artists’ Association. The festival was an excellent showcase of the passion and dedication of the hundreds of artists who are devoted to one of the traditional art forms of Việt Nam.
Playwright Phổ was one of the most prolific and respected playwrights who contributed to the development of tuồng. He was bestowed posthumously with the Hồ Chí Minh Prize for Literature and Arts in 1996, the highest award for such endeavours.
The festival gave me a rare opportunity to study his works and to view the works of six professional and 14 amateur tuồng theatre companies from different parts of Việt Nam. It was also an opportunity to visit Đà Nẵng’s Nguyễn Hiển Dĩnh Tuồng Museum and Theatre at 155 Phan Châu Trinh Street, which hosted the 11-day festival.
What most impressed you at the festival?
I had many impressions of the festival. The Việt Nam Stage Artists’ Association plays a key role in the promotion and protection of the tuồng theatrical genre. The event provides an opportunity for the Tuồng Theatre to present its works at a national level.
It is an honour for the amateur groups and an affirmation of their hard work and achievement in practicing the art form that does not attract young audiences.
The quality of productions varies as some lack resources and consistent training as seen from their simple props; inability to print brochures and make attractive costumes; and their lower level of performing skills.
The professional groups generally produce better shows supported by good orchestras, strong acting and singing. These productions are enhanced by good stage designs, too. There are also some outstanding actors and actresses among the amateur groups.
There are clear regional differences among the tuồng groups in musical styles. For example, I notice that the percussion of An Tư Công Chúa (Princess An Tư) by the HCM Tuồng Theatre was markedly different from the Việt Nam Tuồng Theatre of Hà Nội. The songs and music are not the same as those from northern Việt Nam.
The two productions from the central province of Thừa Thiên-Huế, Lâm Sanh-Xuân Nương and Ngô Vương Quyền (King Ngô Quyền) too, have distinctive musical styles.
There are the two types of repertoire including indigenous stories like Ngọn Lửa Hồng Sơn (Hồng Sơn Flame) and Sơn Hậu that have similar themes about loyalty, honesty, justice and perseverance in the traditional theatre of other Asian countries, like the Chinese opera traditional theatre, Indonesian wayong wong or khon of Thailand. These stories reflect the historical perspective of Vietnamese artists and the social issues with which they were concerned, as well as their cultural values.
