M1SFF13 Sponsors Report

SPONSORS' REPORT

Page 1 of 48

CONTENTS

Executive Summary[ Pg 4 ]

Performance & Exhibition Details[ Pg 8 ]

Sponsors, Partners & Supporters[ Pg 15 ]

Publicity & Marketing | Outreach [ Pg 19 ]

Audience Feedback[ Pg 37 ]

Fringe Team 2013[ Pg 46 ]

M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2014[ Pg 47 ]

Page 2 of 48

“From a politically incorrect mockumentary-cabaret

that skewers just about everything to photographs of

the painstakingly rearranged petals and stamens of

flowers, the M1 Singapore Fringe Festival will turn

traditional notions of art on its head.”

- The Straits Times Life!

Déproduction by Association Sam-Hester | Perrine Valli (France | Switzerland)

Photo credit: Nicolas Lelièvre

Page 3 of 48

Executive Summary

The ninth edition of the M1 Singapore Fringe Festival, which ran from 16 – 27 January 2013, saw the

highest number of ticketed attendance in the history of the festival.

The festival's 24 ticketed shows reached out to a record-breaking 3,595 audience members, filling 81%

of the total capacity. This compares to 3,223 in 2012 [with 28 ticketed shows], 2,444 in 2011 and 3,447

in 2010.

This is also the first time the festival has exceeded 80% in audience attendance.

The festival, which headlined the theme Art & Entertainment, presented 15 works, 24 performances

and 3 exhibitions. In total, artists from 10 countries gathered in Singapore for the festival, with local

commissions including The Necessary Stage, established Malay company, Teater KAMi, emerging

dance group Re:Dance Theatre and visual artist Fong Qi Wei.

The Festival was officially launched on 17 January

2013 at the National Museum of Singapore, with our

guest of honour, Acting Minister for Culture, Com-

munity and Youth Mr Lawrence Wong. The opening

was also attended by sponsors, partners and participat-

ing local and international artists.

There were 3 Festival Highlights in 2013: 道德 Tao Te,

by Hungarian dancer-choreographer Ferenc Fehér, a

duet for male dancers which combines freestyle dance

and martial arts;赤子 Haru & Mina, Hideaki Hamada's fascinating collection of photographs of his

two young children exhibited at ION Art; and Best Of, The Necessary Stage's brand new play starring

the incomparable Siti Khalijah in a one-woman show.

3 shows were completely sold out in 2013: esnes.n.on2, the holycoaster s(HIT) circus and Xtra Large. Local

shows C.I.N.T.A. by Teater KAMi and Best Of by The Necessary Stage also saw full houses, with the

latter reaching 100% audience in 4 out of 5 performances.

Page 4 of 48

Guest of Honour Acting Minister Lawrence Wong and Festival Co-Artistic Director Haresh Sharma, with actors from Teater KAMi.

Photo credit: The Necessary Stage

Much of the increase in sales were attributed to school bookings as well as last minute word-of-mouth

recommendations due to the very positive audience responses to the works.

The festival also attributes increased sales to greater awareness from the public of the festival's identity

and presence, and a strong desire for cutting-edge works featuring Singapore and international artists.

Media coverage remained strong this year. The Straits Times devoted numerous preview articles, as well

as separate reviews for all the ticketed shows. Chinese and Malay dailies Lianhe Zaobao and Berita

Harian featured extensive coverage of the Fringe. TODAY newspaper and The Business Times also

featured previews and reviews, and highlighted the Fringe regularly. In addition, numerous reviews were

posted on popular arts websites such as Flying Inkpot, ArtInfo and The Muse. PENG! Palast &

Machol Shalem Dance House's the holycoaster s(hit) circus, potentially the festival's most controversial work

in 2013, received raved reviews across the media, including a letter of congratulations from the

Embassy of Switzerland published in The Straits Times Life! Mailbag.

We strongly believe that the high media activity and quick online reviews resulted in more audience for

Fringe 2013.

In terms of marketing and outreach, a more concerted

effort was made to brand the festival in outdoor sites.

More street banners along prominent roads (Orchard

Boulevard, Somerset Road) were displayed, in

partnership with the Arts & Heritage District as well

as Singapore Tourism Board. The festival also worked

with Clear Channel as our new Official Outdoor

Media to advertise the festival at more than 100 bus

stop shelters and taxi stands islandwide. Our Fringe

website was also mobile-enabled, which meant that its unique design was customised to be viewer-

friendly on all platforms – desktop, tablets and mobile phones alike.

The Festival also engaged social media more rigorously, via our Official Blog Community Nuffnang

and Official Social Media Community ChurpChurp. The Festival enhanced our viral marketing efforts

via engagement through social media including Facebook, Twitter and our dedicated website, designed

by local creative communications outfit fFurious and which received numerous design accolades.

Page 5 of 48

Best Of by The Necessary Stage

Photo credit: Alan Lim

The support from our venue partners remained strong. They include the Esplanade – Theatres on the

Bay, National Museum of Singapore and ION Art Gallery. Other partners include official hotel, Hotel

Grand Pacific, Official Magazine Time Out and Official Outdoor Media Clear Channel.

Finally, we are pleased to acknowledge the continued support of international embassies and cultural

institutes such as Japan Foundation, Goethe Institut, Institut Français and Embassy of Switzerland.

After nine years, the marked increase in media and online interest, the wide publicity and marketing

outreach and the record-breaking audience attendance all testify to the Festival's standing and deserved

significance on the Singapore arts scene.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank all our sponsors and partners. Without your enthusiasm

and support, we would not have been able to achieve this remarkable success for M1 Singapore Fringe

Festival 2013. We hope that you have found the Fringe experience as rewarding as it has been for us

curating and presenting it.

In this report, we are honoured to share with you more information and statistics on Fringe 2013. We

would love to hear your feedback and comments so that we can make next year’s Festival even more

meaningful to us and to our audience.

Here’s to our future partnerships!

Alvin Tan & Haresh Sharma

Artistic Directors, M1 Singapore Fringe Festival

Page 6 of 48

“A good alternative to more mainstream fare,

Singapore's annual M1 Singapore Fringe Festival

offers an interesting and varied programme.”

- The Economist.com

道德 Tao Te by Ferenc Fehér (Hungary)Photo credit: Zsolt Puskel

Page 7 of 48

PERFORMANCE & EXHIBITION

DETAILS

the holycoaster s(HIT) circus by PENG! Palast & Machol Shalem Dance House (Germany | Israel | Switzerland)

Photo credit: Sascha Engel

Page 8 of 48

Performance & Exhibition Details

Dates & Venues of Events

PERFORMANCE OR EXHIBITION DATES V ENUE

Fringe Highlights

Best Of by The Necessary Stage (Singapore)

24 – 27 January 2013(5 performances)

Esplanade Recital Studio

道德 Tao Te by Ferenc Fehér (Hungary)


Esplanade Theatre Studio

赤子 Haru & Mina by Hideaki Hamada (Japan)

16 – 27 January 2013 ION Art, Level 4, ION Orchard

Live Fringe

Revisit the Sunflower by Re: Dance Theatre (Singapore)


Gallery Theatre, National Museum of Singapore

Going on the Way to Get Lostby GOTANNDADAN (Japan)

16 – 17 January 2013 (2 performances)


Pratfallby Robert Foster (UK)


The Concourse, Level 1, National Museum of Singapore

the holycoaster s(HIT) circusby PENG! Palast & Machol Shalem

Dance House (Germany | Israel | Switzerland)



esnes.n.on2by cieLaroque | helene weinzierl

(Austria)



Xtra Largeby Compagnie Irène K. (Belgium)



Déproductionby Association Sam-Hester | Perrine

Valli (France | Switzerland)



C.I.N.T.A.by Teater KAMi (Singapore)



Page 9 of 48

PERFORMANCE OR EXHIBITION DATES V ENUE

Sonic Fringe

Fluid Pianoby Kyo Ichinose (Japan)

19 January 2013 (1 performance – doublebill)


Piano + Laptop Liveby Teruyuki Nobuchika (Japan)

19 January 2013 (1 performance – doublebill)


Fringe Gallery

Brush Strokes of Natureby Fong Qi Wei (Singapore)

26 December 2012 – 20 January 2013

The Atelier, National Museum of Singapore

A Note of Yasnaya Polyanaby Kanako Sasaki (Japan)

16 – 27 January 2013

Gallery Theatre Corridor, Basement, National Museum of Singapore

TOTAL NO. OF WORKS 15TOTAL NO. OF EXHIBITIONS 3

TOTAL NO. OF PERFORMANCES

26 TOTAL NO. OF VENUES

6

“For audiences tired of the mainstream, the M1 Singapore Fringe Festival promises to provide

audiences with alternative works that provoke and challenge.”

- 联合早报 Lianhe Zaobao

esnes.n.on2 by cieLaroque | helene weinzierl (Austria)Photo credit: Peter Huber

Page 10 of 48


Total Attendance – Free Events

EV ENT V ENUE ESTIMATED ATTENDANCE


ION Art, Level 4, ION Orchard 1,920

Brush Strokes of Natureby Fong Qi Wei (Singapore)

The Atelier, National Museum of Singapore 2,080

A Note of Yasnaya Polyanaby Kanako Sasaki (Japan)

Gallery Theatre Corridor, Basement, National Museum of Singapore

1,920

Pratfallby Robert Foster (UK)

The Concourse, Level 1, National Museum of Singapore 240

TOTAL ESTIMATED ATTENDANCE (FREE EVENTS) 6,160

“The production team were extremely supportive, both in the preparations for the performance, and at

the festival as well... My requirements were listened to minutely, and the options offered were exactly

what were needed.”

- Robert Foster, performance artist, for Pratfall

Pratfall by Robert Foster (UK)Photo credit: Robert Foster

Page 11 of 48


Total Attendance – Ticketed Events

EV ENTV ENUE (NO. OF PERFORMANCES)

TOTAL CAPACITY

TOTAL ATT. % HOUSE


Esplanade Recital Studio(5 performances) 1.090 978 90%


Esplanade Theatre Studio(2 performances) 360 196 54%


Gallery Theatre, National Museum of Singapore(2 performances)

342 200 58%

Going on the Way to Get Lostby GOTANNDADAN (Japan)

Esplanade Theatre Studio(2 performances)

360 285 79%

the holycoaster s(HIT) circusby PENG! Palast & Machol Shalem Dance House (Germany | Israel | Switzerland)


esnes.n.on2by cieLaroque | helene weinzierl (Austria)

Gallery Theatre, National Museum of Singapore(2 performances)

344 344 100%

Xtra Largeby Compagnie Irène K. (Belgium)


Déproductionby Association Sam-Hester | Perrine Valli (France | Switzerland)


C.I.N.T.A.by Teater KAMi (Singapore)

Esplanade Theatre Studio(2 performances)

684 551 81%

Fluid Piano | Piano + Laptop Liveby Kyo Ichinose (Japan) | Teruyuki Nobuchika (Japan)

Esplanade Recital Studio(1 performance) 200 138 69%

TOTAL TICKETED ATTENDANCE 3,577

Page 12 of 48

TOTAL ATTENDANCE (TICKETED) 3,577

TOTAL ATTENDANCE (NON-TICKETED) 6,160

TOTAL NUMBER OF AUDIENCE FOR THE FESTIVAL 9,737

TOTAL PERCENTAGE OF HOUSE FOR TICKETED SHOWS 81%

C.I.N.T.A. by Teater KAMi (Singapore)Photo credit: Teater KAMi

Page 13 of 48

“The M1 Singapore Fringe Festival brought its edgy,

experimental flavour to the realm of entertainment,

and earned a record-breaking attendance... its playful

line-up was... thought-provoking as it fed audience

members challenging content between the laughter.”

- The Straits Times Life!

A Note of Yasnaya Polyana by Kanako Sasaki (Japan)Photo credit: Kanako Sasaki

Page 14 of 48

SPONSORS,PARTNERS & SUPPORTERS

Xtra Large by Compagnie Irène K. (Belgium)Photo credit: Compagnie Irène K.

Page 15 of 48

Special Thanks

M1 Singapore Fringe Festival

Sponsors | Partners | Supporters

No. of Sponsors, Partners and Supporters 32

No. of Repeat Sponsors 20M1

Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay

National Museum of Singapore

ION Orchard | ION Art

Japan Foundation

Goethe Institut

AXA Fine Arts Insurance

Pixel Creations

CS Lite

Bureau for the Advancement of Lifestyle & Longevity

fFurious

IDP Media

Fridae.com

First Printers

CS Lite

Time Out Singapore

Nuffnang

ChurpChurp

Hotel Grand Pacific

Page 16 of 48

No. of New Sponsors 10Institut Français

Embassy of Switzerland

Clear Channel

Kultur Stadt Bern

Kultur Kanton Bern

Kultur Stadt Salzburg

Kultur Land Salzburg

AWEX Wallomia

Deutschsprachige Gemeinschaft Belgiens

Prohelvetia: Swiss Arts Council

No. of Repeat Partners 2NUS Centre For the Arts

OCBC Cards

Brush Strokes of Nature by Fong Qi Wei (Singapore)Photo credit: Fong Qi Wei

Page 17 of 48

"[I liked that] the festival includes all art forms and embraces each and every artist's vision and artistic

mission. It allows for a wide range of artists to tap on this platform to reach out to our local audience

and vice versa. There should always be an inclusion of small groups to provide them with a reputable

performance platform."

- Dapheny Chen, Manager and Choreographer's Production Assistant of Re:Dance

Theatre

Revisit the Sunflower by Re: Dance Theatre (Singapore)Photo credit: Eric Teo

Page 18 of 48

PUBLICITY,MARKETING &

OUTREACH

Best Of by The Necessary Stage (Singapore)Photo credit: The Necessary Stage

Page 19 of 48

Publicity & Marketing

List of Publicity Materials

COLLATERAL | AV ENUE DESCRIPTION

Print

Programme Booklets 40,000 copies | A5 size | 34 pages(4 designs, each with 10,000 copies)

40,000 booklets were distributed to all SISTIC authorised agents, community libraries, M1 stores, secondary schools, international schools, tertiary institutions, arts schools, arts venues, embassies and cultural organisations, cafes, restaurants, clubs, and entertainment and retail outlets around Singapore.

Programme Leaflets for all productions and exhibitions10,000 copies | A5 size | 4 pages

10,000 copies of in-house designed and printed programme leaflets about each work and artist were distributed at all performances and exhibitions.

M1 bill listings

The Festival was advertised on prime spots in all M1 customers' bill print-outs to informthem of the Early Bird discounts as well as the Festival.

Esplanade Diary

All M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2012 events at the Esplanade were included in The Esplanade Diary for January – March 2012, disseminated at SISTIC counters, lifestyle café chains, hotels, arts venues and Esplanade from end-November 2012.

Time Out Singapore advertisements

2 half-page advertisements for the November 2012 and December 2012 issues as well as a full-page advertisement for the January 2013 issue were included to announce the Early Bird promotions for the Festival as well as the Festival in general.

OCBC Credit Cards Billing InsertsInclusion of the M1 Singapore Fringe Festival in the Christmas billing inserts for all credit card bills for December 2012.

ENCORE! flyers

Events from the Festival that hailed from Europe were listed in the ENCORE! events listings in their programme booklet, disseminated free islandwide from January to February 2013.

SISTIC Run-on-PrintAdvertisements

2 full-page SISTIC Run-on-Print advertisements were featured in the December 2012 and January 2013 SISTIC Entertainment Guides, available at all authorised SISTIC agents islandwide.

Art Stage Singapore 2013 listingsArt Stage Singapore included listings on the Festival in their guide, disseminated at their event in January 2013.

Page 20 of 48


Print

ArtZone Advertisements 1 full-page advertisement was featured in theJanuary 2013 issue of Artzone.

Outdoor & On-Site Advertising

Clear Channel bus stop advertisements

102 bus stop posters advertising the M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2013 were displayed at bus stops around the island from December 2012 to January 2013.

Arts & Heritage District streetbanners

15 street banners were displayed along Armenian Street and Victoria Street within the Fringe belt.

Singapore Tourism Board street banners21 street banners were displayed along Orchard Boulevard and Somerset Road around the Fringe venues.

ION Orchard on-site marketing collaterals2 A1-sized directional signages about Fringe works at ION Orchard were displayed at concierge desks at the mall.

Esplanade on-site marketingcollaterals

Banners, floor stickers, directional signages, and posterboards of various sizes were displayed at venues in and around the Esplanade, such as the Box Office, Bus stop, Concourse and Tunnel. The Festival TVC was also screened.

National Museum of Singapore on-sitemarketing collaterals

2 ad panels were displayed at theNational Museum of Singapore from November to January 2013. The Festival TVC was also screened on on-site plasmascreens.

TicketCube on-site electronic posters4 different electronic poster designs were submitted to TicketCube for display at their space along Orchard Road.

Online Advertising & Marketing

M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2013 websitewww.singaporefringe.com

A dedicated Festival website was created atwww.singaporefringe.com, generating 18,714 unique page views and 10,673 visits from 22 October 2012 to 27 January 2013.

The website, designed by fFurious, was also mobile-enabled and customised for both desktop, tablet and mobile-phone viewing.

Facebook Page for the M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2013

A dedicated Facebook page was created, with regular event invitations, updates and discussions, as well as images of the festival and scans of articles.

Page 21 of 48



Twitter Account for M1 SingaporeFringe Festival 2013

A dedicated Twitter account was created, with regular event updates, contest giveaways, blurbs, discussions and recommendations, as well as uploads of previewand review articles.

Electronic Direct Mailers (EDMs)

8 unique EDMs were sent to a total mailing list of 100,000 (comprising databases of localand international partners of The Necessary Stage, SISTIC, embassies, sponsors, partners and venues, schools, The Necessary Stage's Volunteer E-Group and the Arts Community E-Group).

Genre-specific EDMs were sent to targeted groups such as educators and students.

Esplanade's online support

Advertising banner spaces on the Esplanade's dedicated website (www.esplanade.com) were allocated for M1 Singapore Fringe Festival events that would be held at the Esplanade.

4 EDMs were also sent to selected demographics of Esplanade's mailing list.

ION Orchard's online support

Events at ION Orchard were listed on ION Orchard's dedicated webpage for ION Art, as well as on their Facebook and Twitter blurbs. (www.ionorchard.com).

A dedicated EDM announcing the opening of the Festival was sent by ION Orchard to their mailing list database.

SISTIC's online support

4 EDMs were sent out to previous customers of the M1 Singapore Fringe Festival as well as customers of similar festivals on SISTIC's database.

1 SISTIC e-Buzz Sub-Headers, 1 SISTIC Large Highlight Icon, 1 SISTIC Small Highlight Icon, 1 SISTIC Rotational Flash Icon, customised webpages for all events, and 1-month long online promotion were included on SISTIC's website to advertise the Festival from October 2012 to January 2013.

SISTIC also provided unlimited events posting to the Festival on their Facebook page.

Page 22 of 48

http://www.ionorchard.com/

http://www.esplanade.com/



Nuffnang's online support

The M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2013's design was used as the skin for Nuffnang's official Twitter page from 31 December 2012 to 27 January 2013.

Network wide cost-per-click campaign provided box ads of the Festival to blogs signed up to Nuffnang (10,000 clicks) for January 2013.

Shoutouts and mentions of the Festival were done on Nuffnang's official Facebook and Twitter pages.

Feature blog post on the Festival was included on the Nuffnang site.

1 EDM advertising the M1 Singapore Fringe Festival was sent out to registered Nuffnang bloggers islandwide.

ChurpChurp's online support

Network wide social share cost-per-click campaign provided campaign messages of the Festival across all social media platforms (including Twitter and Facebook) at 3,000 clicks for January 2013.

Shoutouts and mentions of the Festival were done on ChurpChurp's official Facebook and Twitter pages.

Feature blog post on the Festival was included on the ChurpChurp site.

Fridae.com's online support

5 EDMs were sent out to Fridae.com's distribution lists and members.

Premium Homepage Banner advertisements were included on Fridae.com's website over a 3-month period.

3 Run-Of-Site Banner advertisement inserts were included in Fridae.com's agenda listings.

3 Email Notification Banner advertisements were included in Fridae.com's emailers.

1 Featured Agenda advertisement button were included on Fridae.com's website over a 3-month period.

5 Newsletter Banner advertisements were included on Fridae.com's emailers.

Page 23 of 48



Singapore Tourism Board's online supportInclusion of the M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2013 in the yoursingapore.com website by Singapore Tourism Board.

Time Out Singapore's online support

Online banner advertisements were included on Time Out's website from December 2012 to January 2013.

3 EDM blasts for October 2012, November 2012 and December 2012 were sent out to Time Out's database.

Facebook & Twitter blasts from December 2012 to January 2013 on various social media platforms, with online referrals to the M1 Singapore Fringe Festival's website.

Previews and event listings on Time Out's website from December 2012 to January 2013.

ION+ Rewards' online support Preview and event listings on ION+ Rewards electronic newsletters in October 2012 and December 2012.

OCBC Cards' online support Listing and visual in the OCBC Arts Showcase EDMs disseminated in December 2012 and January 2013.

Broadcast Advertising

Festival video

A 15-second Festival video was produced and screened from October 2012 to January 2013 at M1 shops, Fringe website, partners' websites, and on-site plasma screens at arts venues.

Others

Media Launch of the Festival

The M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2013 staged a successful press launch at the Esplanade which generated several press write-ups immediately after.

Library@Esplanade Talk on the Festival The Festival presented a pre-event talk about the festival line-up at library@esplanade on 5 January 2013.

Opening Reception of the Festival

The official Opening Reception of the M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2013 was held at the National Museum of Singapore on 17 January 2013, and was attended by various members of the media, sponsors and artists.

OVERALL PR VALUE OF 2013 FESTIVAL $2,549,914.47

Page 24 of 48

mailto:library@esplanade

mailto:Library@Esplanade


Programme Booklet

Page 25 of 48


Time Out Advertisements

Page 26 of 48


SISTIC Run-on-Print Advertisements

Page 27 of 48


Arts & Heritage District Street Banners

Page 28 of 48


Clear Channel Bus Stop & Taxi Stand Posters

Page 29 of 48


Esplanade Onsite Collaterals

Page 30 of 48


Esplanade Onsite Collaterals

Page 31 of 48


National Museum Ad Panels

Page 32 of 48


ION Orchard A1 Poster TicketCube Electronic Posters

M1 Singapore Fringe Festival TV Commercial (Screen Capture)

Page 33 of 48


Festival Website

Page 34 of 48


Electronic Direct Mailers

Page 35 of 48


Festival Facebook Page

Festival Twitter Page

Page 36 of 48

AUDIENCE FEEDBACK

Xtra Large by Compagnie Irène K. (Belgium)Photo credit: Compagnie Irène K.

Page 37 of 48

AUDIENCE FEEDBACK

Fringe Highlight:


Photo credit: Alan Lim

“There’s the kind of storytelling that lights up fireworks and milks this communal moment for all its worth. Best Of, The Necessary Stage’s enjoyable one-woman show featuring Siti Khalijah Zainal, skips all of that and simply tells.”

- Mayo Martin, in TODAYonline [25 January 2013]

“... deeply watchable and tosses up a great deal of food for thought – from funny to bitingly incisive observations on how the Malay community is perceived, to tender recollection of various religious traditions and the constant struggle to cope with loss.”

- Corrie Tan, in The Straits Times Life! [26 January 2013]

“[I enjoyed] the wit and intelligence of Sharma's script and Siti's extraordinary emphatic performance.”

- Audience member

Fringe Highlight:


“Dancer Akos Dosza and Fehér perform with thrilling exactitude, weaving in and out of unison with an emphatic precision.”

- Germaine Cheng, The Straits Times Life! [28 January 2013]

“Intense focus with laidback physicality... [I enjoyed] their subtle humour and honest/simple non-performative performance.”

- Audience member

“Slick transitions, very intelligent and exceptionally demanding choreography... Keep pushing the envelope and challenging the norm!”

- Audience member

Photo credit: Zsolt Puskel

Page 38 of 48

AUDIENCE FEEDBACK

Fringe Highlight:


Photo credit: Hideaki Hamada

“Simple, nostalgic and honest portraits.. I enjoyed the minimalist display; brought out the essence of the photographs.”

- Visitor

“The exhibition is amazing, warm and full of love... [I liked] the simple layout of the exhibition which complemented the works.

- Visitor

“[I enjoyed] the very universal theme of childhood! Everything is perfect, and the photographer [Hideaki Hamada] was also very nice... Very relaxing and enjoyable.”

- Visitor

Live Fringe:


Photo credit: Eric Teo

“We've admired [Albert] Tiong's propensity to use everyday gestures as a central dance vocabulary. But this full-length piece also reveals a masterful understanding of pacing and of flow, of structure and of variety. Within the tight patterns of movement that Tiong constructs, there is subtle play.”

- Mayo Martin, TODAYonline, 17 January 2013

“The hour-long work is a tremendous exhibition of stamina and strength...”- Germaine Cheng, The Straits Times Life!, 18 January 2013

“The dance movement and timing is very well-executed. Thoroughly enjoyable. Nice tempo.”

- Audience member

“Dynamic... Good effort from the dancers.”- Audience member

Page 39 of 48

AUDIENCE FEEDBACK

Live Fringe:

C.I.N.T.A. by Teater KAMi (Singapore)

“After watching C.I.N.T.A., directed and written by Anwar Hadi Ramli, I am amazed by his ability to weave five different love stories seamlessly into one play. As a writer, this is no easy task. Anwar successfully introduced all five stories without any awkward glitches.”

- Haryani Othman, Berita Harian, 12 February 2013

"I enjoyed the storyline and the energy showed in portraying the characters... The actors had a lot of chemistry."

- Audience member

“I enjoyed how unabashedly Singaporean the play was. The play dared to show a true and unpretentious side of Singapore.”

- Audience member

“I liked the lightheartedness of the play... it was definitely a break from other 'complicated' themes in other plays.”

- Audience member

Photo credit: Teater KAMi

Live Fringe:

Going on the Way to Get Lost by GOTANNDADAN (Japan)

Photo credit: Megumi Nakaoka

“Going On The Way To Get Lost has no exits, solutions or final destination; but what an enjoyable, weird jaunt it was.”

- Mayo Martin, TODAYOnline, 18 January 2013

“... a deliriously whimsical but also deliciously dark work that wrestles with the concept of memory and perception, urban alienation, thorny relationships, the meaning of life – and what a meaningful life means... Going on the Way to Get Lost is a lighthearted look at the ennui of modern living that feeds us bitter spoonfuls of the real world in-between the laughter.”

- Corrie Tan, The Straits Times Life!, 18 January 2013

“... beyond the laughs and squeals lies a tremendously complex, richly layered text that speaks its mind about issues as diverse as existence, memory and gender, not forgetting the accessible and universal question of what it means to love and be loved.”

- Tan Sock Keng, Flying Inkpot, 17 January 2013

“[Going on the Way to Get Lost] never really explodes into anger but provides a lingering sense of discontent, and is the kind of thing that will speak best to a late-20s, early-30s urban crowd. Playwright-director Shiro Maeda has honed this sensibility into a fine art, bringing a understated surrealism to bear upon this spiritual disquiet.”

- Adeline Chia, Artinfo.com, 18 January 2013

Page 40 of 48

AUDIENCE FEEDBACK

Live Fringe:

the holycoaster s(HIT) circus by PENG! Palast & Machol Shalem Dance House

(Germany | Israel | Switzerland)

“... gleefully pummels you with generous servings of insensitivity at a whole bunch of levels... for all of Circus' full-on goading to get you emotionally worked up – whether it's a sense of outrage, unease or plain embarrassment – there's something quite brilliant about what it's trying to discuss.”

- Mayo Martin, TODAYonline, 19 January 2013

“A no-holds-barred ride consisting of terrible racial jokes and stereotypes, sly button-pushing, a generous helping of mockery and all-round insensitivity. It was horrible and it was excellent. This deliberately incendiary performance, combining theatre, circus, film and live video, is a triumph of political incorrectness.”


“ Beneath the giggling and the goading, Holycoaster makes it clear that people the world over have the same sets of prejudices... It is these pointed observations beneath the veil of slapstick and painful humour that makes this layered production so engrossing.”


“The M1 Singapore Fringe Festival has the merit of bringing up serious social themes in a very entertaining way. Congratulations.”

- Peter Zimmerli, Counseller/Deputy Head of Mission, Embassy of Switzerland in Singapore, in The Straits Times

Life!'s Mailbag, 26 January 2013

Photo credit: Tom Keller

Live Fringe:

esnes.n.on2 by cieLaroque | helene weinzierl (Austria)

Photo credit: Peter Huber

“The energy in the movement was great. I liked the performance as it had music, dance as well as drama.”

- Audience member

“It was really engaging. Great showmanship! Excellent execution!”- Audience member

“Interesting and intriguing!”- Audience member

Page 41 of 48

AUDIENCE FEEDBACK

Live Fringe:

Pratfall by Robert Foster (United Kingdom)

“Hilarious! With the crowd gathering around him, i thought for a minute that there was an accident but I saw his get-up and realised that he was a performer.”

- Audience member

“To me, the defining quality of a great work of art lies with how it inspires contemplation regardless of its complexity in execution or concept. 'Pratfall' was simple and accessibly in its execution and presentation, but made me ponder deeply about the boundaries and definition of art and art-making. Bravo!”

- Audience member

“Has echoes of the old Charlie Chaplin silent movies, which is what the artist is probably trying to emulate. Slapstick fun! A breath of fresh air amidst the gravitas of the museum atmosphere”

- Audience member

“This quirky piece is a delight at first glance but juxtaposed against the formal and grand National Museum, it's more than simple slapstick as you reassess your ideas of art as well as its relation to the surroundings.”

- Audience member

Photo credit: Robert Foster

Live Fringe:

Xtra Large by Companige Irène K. (Belgium)

Photo credit: Compagnie Irène K.

“Xtra Large, much like Botero's work, wears its heart on its sleeve. It invites the audience to erase its expectations and remove the labels society has ascribed to the heavyset... Borguet-Kalbusch, like Botero, sees the personality in the person. And so should we.”

- Germaine Cheng, The Straits Times Life!, 24 January 2013

“I enjoyed the performers' paths of self-discovery and their release of inhibitions. Ingenious use of costumes too.”

- Audience member

“Dynamic, realistic. I liked the music and quirky moments in the piece. Kudos to the dancers – it must've been hard adapting to the costumes to dance!”

- Audience member

“Spectacular dancing! It was really good and interesting!... I liked the energy of the dancers.”- Audience member

Page 42 of 48

AUDIENCE FEEDBACK

Live Fringe:

Déproduction by Association Sam-Hester | Perrine Valli)

“An organic work about the working process, Déproduction is boldly minimalist: text dominates and the moving body takes a back seat... the piece is a pencil sketch, rather than even a watercolour. It is revealing, engaging and no less whole for its sparseness.”

- Germaine Cheng, Flying Inkpot, 29 January 2013

“Then the text condenses as a nexus around which Valli builds a dense web of meaning and comparison between human beings and places. The stories become completely engaging in their honesty and simplicity, the artists often facing away from the audience, their voices bouncing back oddly through upstage microphones. Fingers, hands and arms map perfect symbols that burned the stories and associations into the viewer’s mind. A line, a circle, a wave, joined index fingers struck by lightning. The dancers walk casually through that map of texts written on the stage – a chart of physical location and the differences that follow in the people and the environment.”

- Chan Sze-Wei, The Muse, 5 February 2013

“... I could have expected that the piece would be conceptual, minimalist and text-heavy... The surprise for me was that Deproduction was all the above but also relevant, unpretentious and heartrendingly beautiful.”

- Chan Sze-Wei, The Muse, 5 February 2013

Photo credit: Nicolas Lelièvre

Sonic Fringe:

Fluid Piano by Kyo Ichinose (Japan) | Piano + Laptop Live by Teruyuki Nobuchika (Japan)

“Kyo [Ichinose] rocks back and forth in concentration as he hits the keys with precision. His compositions were light and romantic, but also framed with deeper keys that made some parts a bit sombre at times – a feature that I appreciate... Teruyuki [Nobuchika] has managed to effectively create an ambient sonic sensation with his deft compositions. His timing was impeccable, and his performance was a unique and refreshing spin compared to other piano performances. There is no doubt that the two talented Japanese musicians certainly embodied the Art and Entertainment theme of the M1 Fringe Festival.”

- Eliza Hamizah, NookMag, 5 February 2013

“It was interesting and stimulating. I found myself unconsciously entranced by the performance... I liked the calming, soothing music and the interesting incorporation of technology into the music.”

- Audience Member

Page 43 of 48

AUDIENCE FEEDBACK

Fringe Gallery:

Brush Strokes of Nature by Fong Qi Wei (Singapore)

“The exhibition gave a new perspective on flowers... I enjoyed being absorbed by his work.”

- Visitor

“Loved the prints! The Exploded Flowers series was particularly impressive.”

- Visitor

“Interesting technique and an alternative way of photographing flowers.”- Visitor

Photo credit: Fong Qi Wei

Fringe Gallery:

A Note of Yasnaya Polyana by Kanako Sasaki (Japan)

Photo credit: Kanako Sasaki

“Very imaginative and powerful images. This is a quiet piece that invites reflection.”

- Visitor

“It is interesting to see the interactions of three groups of people from three seemingly different realities, separated by time and geographical boundaries. Despite our differences, times of hardship seems to at times have the power to bring us together.”

- Visitor

“The soundtrack was hauntingly beautiful.”- Visitor

“Though the disaster is portrayed in a light-hearted manner in the film, it certainly brings across how unreal and fake the consequences must seem to the survivors even till today.”

- Visitor

Page 44 of 48

FRINGE TEAM 2013

Artistic Directors Alvin TanHaresh Sharma

Administrative OfficeFestival Manager Melissa Lim

International Relations Executive Jezamine Tan

Events Executive Irma Suzanna Ruslan

Education & Outreach Executive Safiah Sulaiman

Community Outreach Executive Edlyn Ng Xinhui

Volunteer & Intern Coordinator Nur Amalina binte Mohamad

Production OfficeProduction Coordinators Kimberly Kwa

Amy Wee

Lighting Coordinator Josiah Yoong

Fringe Production Interns Nur Shahidah binte Idris

Nur Elena binte Rostam

Board of Directors Tan Chong Kee

Vincent Lim

Diana Lim-Chong

Haresh Sharma

Alvin Tan

Christopher Tan

Serene Tan

Andy Yeo

The public relations for the M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2013 is managed by Phish Communications Pte Ltd.

Page 45 of 48

M1 SINGAPORE FRINGE FESTIVAL 2014:ART & THE PEOPLE

“A nation's culture resides in the hearts and in the souls of its people.”– Mahatma Gandhi

The late Kuo Pao Kun, the doyen of Singapore Theatre, has always shared that the ultimate purpose of art is life. Whether one distills from life to create art or one is inspired and/or healed by an art work or an artistic process, art for life is what makes Art and the People a provocative, apt and timely focus for the M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2014.

Numerous art works have been the outcome of broken communities finding some form of healing or empowerment against oppressive forces. Augusto Boal’s Forum Theatre, which has helped many communities worldwide comes to mind. Another notable form is Playback Theatre, where, through artistic and creative re-enactment, players and story-tellers affect each other and connect to learn more about themselves and life, demonstrating the common ground we share.

“The strange power of art is sometimes it can show that what people have in common is more urgent than what differentiates them.”

– John Berger

These dynamic exchanges between Art and the People make us reflect on how Community Arts has been looked down upon or seen as the poorer cousin in art circles all around the globe. Should not art be art, and that art for the people be regarded/respected as having its own aesthetic standards and bar of excellence to attain as well? The disdain shown towards Community Arts by some artists exposes a glaring hypocrisy, for isn't art supposed to nurture an environment that is inclusive, where differences can co-exist?

“My audience comprises everybody, not just the bourgeois. But there are people who don't take me seriously and that annoys me.”

– Tracey Emin

The most powerful art pieces are undeniably those that are directly connected to the people, inspired by human frailties, strength, desires and hopes. In times of turbulence and despair, art has always been regarded as a means towards healing, reconciliation and catharsis, as evidenced by the many thought-provoking, heart-wrenching and uplifting works arising from disasters, political upheaval and societal strife. Art can indeed help us examine the obstacles that impede cohesion.

Art and the people cannot be divorced from one another, for how does the former exist if it is not inspired by the latter? Art has always drawn its strength and derived its meaning from the people. It would be impossible to delink art from its audience, who may well serve multiple roles: as inspiration, joint creators, funders, critics, appreciators, and so on. No artist can claim to work in a silo, and by extension, the oft-debated value and meaning of art cannot only be intrinsic to the work, but depends to a large extent on the people that make value and meaning to them. Art that discounts its audience altogether cannot be anything but navel-gazing exercises in futility, for what purpose does art serve if it refuses to communicate with the wider public in any way?

Page 46 of 48

“It never ceases to amaze me when ordinary people get into the spirit of what I'm doing. It's pivotal to my art.”

– Spencer Tunick Yet, community remains a problematic concept because diversity arises with democracy, and with that comes fragmentation and fracture. Marginalised communities have relied on art to assert their identities, to overcome oppressive forces. Art is then employed to uphold differences; giving voice or visibility to the oppressed community. Interestingly, art then celebrates instead of melds these differences. Art is a paradox that can do both.

“There is no surer way of evading the world than by Art; and no surer way of uniting with it than by Art.”

– Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Art also challenges the people and ruptures established perceptions about life, enabling us to critique what has been normalised. Often artists create out of a disturbance. For some transformative art or socially-engaged works, some artists opt for aesthetic strategies that encapsulate these disturbances that provoke, challenge and affect the audience, in order to motivate them towards a re-visioning of certain aspects of life, to hope, and indeed, to create a future from dreams.

“The artist... tells his audience, at the risk of their displeasure, the secrets of their own hearts.”– R. G. Collingwood

Today, in our socially mediated world, art can be a call to arms, where crowd-sourced contributions by the general public becomes the final product, where the processes of collaborating, editing, curating, mediating and critiquing are themselves the artwork. By re-examining the relationship between Art and the People, we open ourselves to new possibilities of the definition of art and creative processes. We embrace the unique voices expressing diversity, that – in coming together – form a new aggregate, a perspective that does not propel any single dominant ideology, but rather, accepts differences and sees them as integral components of an all-encompassing, fluid, and truly democratic whole. Through Art and the People, we seek to celebrate one another, to appreciate irregularity and assymmetry amongst our communities, and to meditate on how our individualities are but extraordinary expressions of ordinary beauty through multiplicity.

“Our creativity comes from without, not from within. We are not self-made. We are dependent on one another, and admitting this to ourselves isn’t an embrace of mediocrity and derivativeness. It’s a liberation from our misconceptions, and it’s an incentive to not expect so much from ourselves and to simply begin.”

– Kirby Ferguson

Join the Fringe as we explore and exult in the different aspects of the relationship between Art and the People. 8 – 19 January 2014.

Get involved.

Page 47 of 48

Page 48 of 48

THE NECESSARY STAGE278 Marine Parade Road

#B1-02 Marine Parade Community Building

Singapore 449282

CONTACT US AT

Tel: (65) 6440 8115

Fax: (65) 6400 9002

Email: [email protected]

www.necessary.org

www.singaporefringe.com

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.singaporefringe.com/

http://www.necessary.org/

Documents

M1SFF13 Sponsors Report