- Interdisciplinary courses intersecting theatre and anthropology
- Singapore theatre, theatre and social identities, playwriting and dramaturgy
- Arts-based and experiential learning
Believing in the transformative power of community, Associate Professor Loon creates secure, open learning environments where students develop disciplinary knowledge, empathy, confidence, and critical self-awareness. This underpins Theatre and Community Engagement (GEN2001), an interdisciplinary course he co-designed, where students work with community leaders, take part in immersive theatre workshops, and develop project proposals.
He extends this pedagogy to his Interdisciplinary Course on Representing Lives, intersecting Theatre Studies with Anthropology to represent interlocutors' experiences through theatre, cultivating student disposition through relational engagement with communities.
This community-centred ethos also shapes his mentoring of educators and NUS teaching policy. As a founding member of CAFÉ (Career Advancement for FASS Educators), former Chair of the FASS FPEC, and Director (Teaching and Learning) at the Centre for Teaching, Learning and Technology, he co-created a peer support network that inspired similar circles in other faculties, and mentored several successfully promoted colleagues.
- Co-authored Singapore Chronicles: Theatre (Institute of Policy Studies and Straits Times Press, 2016), an authoritative volume documenting the history and development of Singapore theatre.
- Authored and co-authored publications on Singapore theatre, performance, arts education and pedagogy, alongside numerous original plays, adaptations, and dramaturgical works.
- Conceptualised and co-directed Past Present and Future (2026), a documentary series commissioned by the Singapore International Festival of Arts.
- Keynote speaker, “Augmenting Learning with Technology,” at City University of Hong Kong's Empowering University Education with e-Learning Technologies Symposium (2023).
- External Academic Advisor for City University of Hong Kong's General Education Programme (2023).
- Invited speaker at the University of Hong Kong's Showcasing Excellence in Teaching and Learning Symposium (2018).
- Co-founded Centre 42, a non-profit championing the creation and documentation of Singapore stories for the global stage (since 2014).
- NUS Annual Teaching Excellence Honour Roll (2011–2015, 2022–2026)
- Co-Chair, CHS Interdisciplinary Joint Committee (2022–2025)
- Member, NUS General Education Committee (2019–2023)
- First member of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences to be placed on the FASS Inspiring Mentor Honour Roll (2023)
I am an educator who believes in the power of community: community building, community engagement and community-led learning. I achieve this by co-creating an engaging, secure and open environment in which to facilitate reflection and the learning process.
- PhD (Royal Holloway, University of London)
- MA, BA, BA (Hons) (National University of Singapore)