Arts Equator mentorship

ArtsEquator performance criticism mentorship

From September 2018 to April 2019, I ran a performance mentorship programme with two young writers: Teo Xiao Ting and Casidhe Ng. I tailored a trajectory of six performances that would challenge and sharpen their critical practices, including a beloved Singaporean classic, an experimental blend of prose poetry and movement, a contemporary adaptation of Shakespeare, a site-specific performance tour and a popular musical. We played with different forms of performance criticism, including an epistolary exchange and use of the interactive online fiction tool, Twine. Xiao Ting felt that the programme helped her to see critique as “a practice of freedom” and, on occasion, reach a “critical utopia”.

Casidhe Ng: “Corrie Tan has been an outstanding reviewer, a critical editor, and most of all, a knowledgeable guide. Her invaluable advice, perspectives and revisions act in tandem to sharpen my voice as a reviewer, and to lend it legitimacy and weight where it might appear to be lacking. She draws from her intimate understanding of the work of various directors, which informs her response. It is through this that she leads and mentors by example.”

This mentorship programme was organised by ArtsEquator and initiated by the National Arts Council, Singapore.

You can read Xiao Ting’s work here.

You can read Casidhe’s work here.