And Then I Am Light by Rebekah Sangeetha Dorai
Told with grace, precision, and powerful vocals, Sangeetha's story is one of overcoming the messy remnants of self-doubt and childhood trauma, to find healing, acceptance, and new possibilities of love.
An Interview With:
Rebekah Sangeetha Dorai
What inspired you to write And Then I Am Light?
I had initially written about my struggles with anxiety for another project, and I had a monologue and song for that. When we began, that served as a jumping off point for a little while, until it evolved into a new trajectory where I explored my relationship with myself and others.
What was it like interweaving prose, lyrics, and song together? How did you go about it?
I really enjoyed it. I have been writing songs since I was 9 years old, but a few years ago I had let songwriting take a backseat when I got busy with theatre. It has been a while since I took the time to write from the heart and for my heart. Taking time to sit with the material and form it into art was incredibly therapeutic for me. The beginning of the process always involved words on a page; words that sprung out the moment I put pen to paper, so to speak. From there, it went on to organically deciding which words formed into song; and which words needed to be spoken as text.
A large part of the development process happened during the Circuit Breaker. What were the challenges working on the material by yourself, and also, with the Checkpoint team?
My family is very noisy! I’ve got two dogs, five people, two crazy kids and traffic - all of it at any one point of time. The noise was the hardest to deal with, especially when recording or creating. Besides that, nobody is a stranger to the inevitable drops in connection and internet lag time.
Tell us a bit about the filming of Two Songs and A Story. What was unique about the process?
Masks, for one thing. I remember sitting on the interview chair, half-blinded by the spotlight, and looking up only to see a chorus of faces surfacing through the light - and all eerily half-covered. It was really a sight to behold, I wish I had snapped a photo! Huzir was incredibly kind and supportive through the entire process. It was a difficult piece to perform and go through, and I don’t think I would have been able to perform it to my best without his guidance and patience.
What do you hope the audience will take away from your piece?
If I could touch just one person with my story - it would mean the world to me. Hang on. Hold on. Even at the end of the darkest tunnel, there is always a way out. Our fears, anxieties and insecurities often build up within us and tell us lies about who we are. We need go further than that, to know who we are and who we really can be.
Share with us two songs and a story you think everyone should check out.
How to Be an Antiracist is my current read. It’s an excellent book that should be on everyone’s shelf and in every reader’s collection.
Two songs I would recommend are: “I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free” by Nina Simone and “Put The Blame On Mame” by Rita Hayworth.
CREDITS
Written, Composed, and Performed by
ants chua, Inch Chua, Jo Tan, Rebekah Sangeetha Dorai, and weish
Directed by Huzir Sulaiman and Joel Lim
Created and Dramaturged by Huzir Sulaiman
Produced by Huzir Sulaiman and Claire Wong
Directors of Photography: Joel Lim and Jimmy Fok
Sound Recording and Mixing Engineer: Shah Tahir
Edited by Joel Lim
Unit Production Manager: Izz Sumono
1st Assistant Director: Isabella Goh
Script Supervisor: Wong Kar Mun Nicole
Camera Operators: Sheryl Soh, Antonio Lam, and Ian Yeow
Anime Illustrations by Althea Duncombe
A production of Checkpoint Theatre with the support of Calibre Pictures
FOR CHECKPOINT THEATRE:
Engagement: Faith Ng and Myle Yan Tay
Marketing and Publicity: Lum E-Sean and Wong Kar Mun Nicole
Intern: Adeline Loh
FOR CALIBRE PICTURES:
Producer: Ken Zhang
Copyright ©2020 Checkpoint Theatre Limited
ABOUT THE CREATIVE & PRODUCTION TEAM
Writer, Composer, Performer | at least I have words now
ants chua writes, directs, and performs. They most recently directed Beside Ourselves (2020) by .gif as part of the M1 Singapore Fringe Festival, and worked as an Assistant Director and Musician on Checkpoint Theatre's Displaced Persons' Welcome Dinner (2019) and Thick Beats for Good Girls (2018). ants also co-wrote, co-directed, and performed in Flamingos (2018), an original creative work which explored vulnerability and intimacy. They are interested in careful critique, disruptive play, and reimagining the social world.
Writer, Composer, Performer | Super Q
Inch Chua is an international recording and performing artist born in Singapore, educated in fine arts, and inducted into the music industry in Los Angeles. Her passion for the arts, wild places, and technology has led her to play at numerous festivals around the world and to experiment in a variety of art forms. An appreciator of good gin, random animal factoids, and dense film essays, Inch was a recipient of the National Youth Award in 2018 for her contributions in the arts and was recently awarded Best Sound at The Straits Times Life Theatre Awards 2020 for her multisensory theatrical music production 'Til The End Of The World, We'll Meet In No Man's Land (2019). She is currently based in Singapore with her two cats and nursery of plants.
Writer, Composer, Performer | A Bit
Jo Tan is an actress, singer, and host who trained in Paris, and has performed internationally to audiences in New York, London, Beijing, and Yeosu. In Singapore, she won Best Actress at The Straits Times Life Theatre Awards 2020 for her one-woman show Forked (2019), and was nominated for Best Supporting Actress in 2018 for her performance in Checkpoint Theatre's FRAGO (2017). Additional television and film credits include Mediacorp Channel 5's 20 Days (2018), Scrum Tigers (2019), Channel 8’s Jalan Jalan (2018), Ho Tzu Nyen's Cannes official selection film, Here (2009), and Tiong Bahru Social Club (upcoming). Jo has also starred in various online productions including Daniel Yam's The Helper, and her self-penned King, featured in the T:>Works NOW Festival 2020.
Writer, Composer, Performer | And Then I Am Light
Rebekah Sangeetha Dorai is an actor, singer, and voiceover artist. Recent selected theatre credits include her critically acclaimed solo show, Building A Character (Wild Rice’s Singapore Theatre Festival 2018), Discord of Discourse (UK, 2018), The Art of Strangers’ Miss British (Esplanade’s The Studios 2019), Eloquence (in collaboration with Santiago, Chile, 2019), and Three Fat Virgins Unassembled (T:>Works, 2019), for which she was nominated for Best Supporting Actress at The Straits Times Life Theatre Awards 2020. Sangeetha has also written songs for the stage - in early 2019, she debuted her solo jazz concert Sangeetha Sings Sinatra: Live at the Esplanade. Her next concert, Sangeetha & Simone, is slated for 2020/21. Follow her quirky dogs and music @ms.dorai or msdorai.com.
Writer, Composer, Performer | Be Here, With Me
weish is a versatile artist whose work spans genres and disciplines. Her compositions have taken her around the globe –– from the Sundance Film Festival (US) to the Golden Melody Awards (Taiwan) –– and she has toured across Europe, Australia, and Asia as part of electronic duo .gif and experimental group sub:shaman. Other international collaborations include her construction of sound art installations in London and her work with DJs in Tokyo. As a theatre-maker, weish was the Musical Director for Checkpoint Theatre’s Displaced Persons’ Welcome Dinner (2019) and writer-performer in Beside Ourselves (2020), a form-bending production presented by .gif for the M1 Singapore Fringe Festival. In Two Songs and a Story, weish presents her most difficult work to date, laying bare a part of herself she never thought she could show anyone. More about her at wweishh.com.
Creator, Dramaturg, Co-Director, and Co-Producer
Huzir Sulaiman is the co-founder and Joint Artistic Director of Checkpoint Theatre. A critically acclaimed and award winning playwright, his Collected Plays 1998-2012 was published in 2013. His most recent play, Displaced Persons’ Welcome Dinner, was a commission of the 2019 Singapore International Festival of Arts. Recent directing credits include Thick Beats for Good Girls (2018), FRAGO (2017), The Good, the Bad and the Sholay (2015). Currently an Adjunct Associate Professor with the National University of Singapore’s University Scholars Programme, Huzir has taught playwriting at many other institutions. Huzir was educated at Princeton University, where he won the Bain-Swiggett Poetry Prize, and is a Yale World Fellow.
Co-Director, Co-Director of Photography, and Editor
Joel Lim is a fashion and celebrity photographer who has been translating his eye from one frame to many, dedicating his time and passion for unique compositions to the moving image. Photographing stills for the past decade and directing commercial advertising for the past three years, his latest project with Checkpoint Theatre allows him to capture his love of performance for the screen.
1st Assistant Director
Isabella Goh is a filmmaker and theatre production coordinator who is interested in creating work that is immersive, poignant, and thought-provoking. She recently graduated from the University of Reading, UK with a BA in Film and Theatre.
Her most recent project with Checkpoint Theatre involved the planned filming of Lucas Ho’s play, The Heart Comes to Mind (2020). She was also the Assistant Production Coordinator for Eat Duck (2019) and FRAGO (2017). Isabella has worked on multiple short films in the UK. She directed, produced and co-wrote Chasing Clementine (2020) and ALTER (2019). The former received considerable notice and was shortlisted by Stardust Fantasy Film Festival.
She would like to thank Claire and Huzir for the trust and opportunities they've given to her over the years.
Sound Designer
Shah Tahir is a Sound Designer and Engineer who has been involved in various aspects of the audio and music industry for over 20 years. He has also arranged and composed for Mediacorp Channel 8 television series. Shah currently serves as the Audio Consultant and Sound Designer for the National Day Parade (2009-2020), corporate events and ‘live’ television broadcasts. His passion has led him to work on numerous theatrical productions with theatre companies such as Checkpoint Theatre, Dream Academy, Toy Factory, and Wild Rice.
Unit Production Manager
Izz Sumono is the Production (Senior Executive) at Checkpoint Theatre. She started out in the industry as a dresser, which later sparked her passion in the performing arts, leading to a role in production. Izz has worked on various stage productions and major events. She enjoys engaging in productions of different art forms and being part of the collaborative creative process.
Co-Producer
Claire Wong is the co-founder, Joint Artistic Director, and Producer of Checkpoint Theatre. She is trained in both Asian and Western performing arts, obtaining her Master of Fine Arts from Columbia University.
As a theatre director, Claire recently directed Lucas Ho's The Heart Comes to Mind (2020), Zenda Tan’s Eat Duck (2019), Huzir Sulaiman’s Displaced Persons’ Welcome Dinner (2019), commissioned by the Singapore International Festival of Arts, and Dana Lam’s Still Life (2019). As an actress, she has performed in landmark Singapore productions and in international arts festivals. She co-wrote and performed Recalling Mother (2009, 2016, 2017), which played in Singapore, New York, Brisbane and Adelaide.
ABOUT CHECKPOINT THEATRE
Checkpoint Theatre is a company of multi-disciplinary storytellers. We focus on creating and presenting original Singapore content with strong writing, performance and direction, across different media, disciplines and platforms.
With honesty and humour, head and heart, we produce and develop vibrant and important contemporary Asian stories that connect with, challenge, and inspire both local and international audiences. We are the home of new Singapore playwriting and we nurture the next generation of Singapore theatre-makers and creatives.
STAY IN TOUCH
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