The Boy Inside

	Wang Liansheng in collaboration with Alvin Tan & Low Xu Hao
	Fri 16 & Sat 17 Mar \| 8 pm & 3pm \| UCC Dance Studio
	$16
	Advisory: Strong language used

Inspired by the writer’s personal battles with eczema, The Boy Inside is a dramatized reading featuring live soundscapes in the intimate setting of the Dance Studio. First written in 2007, when Wang Liansheng was serving his National Service, this heartwarming and thought-provoking piece seeks to relook the idea of parenting and challenges us to question the notion of what it means to raise or be the “perfect” child.

This project also brings together the creative talents of director Alvin Tan and sound designer Low Xu Hao, who are collaborating with Wang for the first time. The cast includes Aidli Mosbit, Julius Foo, Karen Tan and Tan Shou Chen.

The Boy Inside won the Third Prize of the 2007 Singapore Young Dramatists Award (Category C), which is part of TheatreWorks Writers’ Laboratory programme.

About the Artist

About Wang Liansheng - Playwright & Co-producer
Liansheng is a Third-Year National University of Singapore student at the Faculty of Law. He first started writing plays at the age of 16, and first presented his work Revelations《是非》 as part of an Annual Performance for his CCA, Chinese Drama Circle, in Raffles Institution. He has since written many more scripts, notably The Devil Inside (Singapore Young Dramatist Award 2006, 2nd Prize) and Be With Me (Short+Sweet Singapore Mandarin Top 10). He has also worked as production crew for The Necessary Stage, The Theatre Practice and STAGES previously. The Boy Inside is his first full-length play presented publicly and won the Third Prize of the 2007 Singapore Young Dramatists Award (Category C), which is part of TheatreWorks Writers' Laboratory programme.

About Alvin Tan - Director
Alvin is the Founder and Artistic Director of The Necessary Stage since 1987. He is also the co-Artistic Director of the annual international M1 Singapore Fringe Festival. One of the leading proponents of devising theatre in Singapore, Alvin has directed more than 60 plays which have been staged locally and at international festivals. He has been awarded a Fulbright Scholarship and served as a member of the curatorial panel for TransLab, an initiative created by the Australian Council for the Arts to promote intercultural theatre and performance. In 2010, Alvin was conferred the Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres by the French Ministry of Culture, in recognition of his significant contribution to the arts. Alvin was most recently awarded Best Director at the 2011 Life! Theatre Awards for Model Citizens by The Necessary Stage.

About Low Xu Hao - Music Designer
Low Xu Hao is a graduate of the University of Miami, Frost School of Music where he obtained his Masters in Choral Conducting under the direction of Dr. Joshua Habermann and was awarded a full graduate assistantship. He has also taken master classes in choral conducting by Vance George, Jonathan Velasco, and Leon Tong Shiu Wai. Xu Hao served as the director of the Frost Chamber Singers, Women’s Chamber, and the Women’s Chorale and also prepared choruses for maestro Eduardo Marturet of the Miami Symphony and assisted in projects such as gala dinners, performing with Jon Secada. Xu Hao is the current choral director for Jurong Junior College, Bendemeer Secondary School, Chung Cheng High School (Main), and Anglo-Chinese Primary School. He has garnered multiple gold with honours and gold awards in the national Singapore Youth Festival choral competition and is active in the international choir scene obtaining numerous achievements. In the International Choral Festival Competition organized by the 21st Century Cultural Arts Development in December 2003, he obtained two gold diplomas as well as the Jury Prize. Xu Hao also obtained four gold awards at the international competition, “A Voyage of Song” held in Pattaya, Thailand 2004.