LA MARIPOSA BORRACHA

26 Jul - 28 Jul 2019
Gateway Theatre

“…POWERFUL AND BEAUTIFUL…”

-Tilly Wong, Flamenco Sin Fronteras

“BROUGHT ME LAUGHTER AND WARMS MY HEART THAT IT BRINGS AWARENESS ABOUT ILLNESS AND PAIN.”

-Lydia Chiang

“…FUNNY, SAD, THOUGHT-PROVOKING, SOULFUL AND REALLY, REALLY FUN!”

-Toh Hui Ran

ABOUT THE SHOW

Join Patient X as she escapes from the hospital to do her one last spectacular show with her troupe. Expect a roller coaster ride of emotions as X attempts to complete her mission encountering unexpected surprises, multiple failures, ridiculous dancing and one giant party!

A re-imagining of the original 2017 piece, La Mariposa Borracha (2019) features a brand new troupe with individuals from the caregiving community in this artist-led, community based performance.

CREATIVES TEAM AND CAST

Conceived and written by Shanice Stanislaus
Directed by Alvin Chiam
Designed by Aaron Yap, Liu Yong Huay, Jevon Chandra, Ng Yin Shian
Featuring Yazid Jalil, Dennis Sofian, Shanice Stanislaus, Tan Rui Shan as the Troupe
with the Ensemble played by Krish Natarajan, Nicola Kong, Andrea Joy Alingalan, Alvyna Han, Zalifah Ibrahim, Carol Ee, Prema Latha

Alvin Chiam has been actively involved in the Singapore theatre scene for more than 15 years as a performer, director and educator. Play, or Le Jeu, is a philosophy he adopts in his work. Strongly influenced by Philippe Gaulier and the late Kuo Pao Kun, Alvin believes that practising the arts must ultimately be about humanity and that it is a way of life.

Having graduated with distinction from E’cole Philippe Gaulier in 2009 with support from the Arts Professional Development Grant from the National Arts Council Singapore, Alvin subsequently pursued his Masters of Arts in 2013 at the Rose Bruford College of Theatre and Performance as an NAC Arts Scholar.

Shanice Nicole Stanislaus is an artist who strongly believes in making the arts accessible through multi-disciplinary mediums. She believes in the power of arts empowerment for all and uses her role as a performer, creator and producer to create meaningful work for communities around her.

Her artistic practice is strongly influenced by her work with international directors and choreographers including esteemed Flamenco Dance Theatre practitioner, Antonio Vargas (Singapore), Broadway Jazz choreographer, Sue Samuels (New York)  and award-winning dance theatre director and choreographer Alberto Velasco (Spain).

She loves working with communities that have no access to the arts and her work includes developing and training new choreographers and dance instructors in impoverished communities internationally. As a licensed international Zumba instructor, she can be found instructing for Zumba classes from Singapore to Kenya and Cambodia, her work being supported by the Zumba Home Office and recognized by the United Nations.

She is the founder and director of Creatives Inspirit, a creative arts company with the mission to empower and nurture a community of socially responsible thinkers, artists, problem solvers and creative changemakers. With her team of fellow emerging artists and producers, she hopes to continue supporting communities around her, inspiring them that they too have a voice and an opportunity to create their own visions to reality. 

Shanice has a Bachelors of Arts with Honours from Yale-NUS College. She also has trained in dance and theatre in New York at Tisch: school of the arts, Stella Adler Studio for Acting, Broadway Dance Center and La Caldera in Barcelona. 

Her award credits include: Singapore representative for New Prague Dance Festival- Winner of Best Physical Theatre group, Best Folk and Most Popular Group (2013), European Union Short Documentary Award (2016) Guam International Film Festival (2016), Mallorca Film Festival (2017), Yale-NUS Alumni Arts Development Grant for the Performing Arts (2019).

Yazid Jalil (Snider)

 An actor and movement practitioner, Yazid is an alumnus of the Intercultural Theatre Institute and the École Philippe Gaulier (France). Notable theatrical works as a performer include: Displaced Persons' Welcome Dinner (2019, Checkpoint Theatre / SIFA), Underclass (2018, The Necessary Stage/ Dramabox), Four Horse Road (2018, The Theatre Practice), The Malay Man and His Chinese Father (2018, Akulah Bimbo Sakti/ International Theatre Festival of Kerala) It Won’t Be Too Long: The Cemetary (2015, Dramabox/ SIFA) and Charged (2010, Teater Ekamatra).

His works as an actor has earned him two Best Ensemble nominations and a Best Supporting Actor nomination at the Singapore Life! Theatre Awards.

Tan Rui Shan (Tommy Wildfire)

Rui Shan graduated with First Class Honours in the BA (Hons) in Musical Theatre Programme in LASALLE College of the Arts, and was awarded the Future Leader Scholarship during her course of study. Rui Shan’s theatre credits include Forbidden City Musical and Upstairs in the Sky by Singapore Repertory Theatre, Bunny Finds the Right Stuff and The Dragon’s Dentist by Playtime @ Esplanade, 1000 Millennials Crying at the M1 Fringe Festival 2018, Here and Beyond by Toy Factory, and Annie Ting and the Dragon at Pesta Boneka 2018 in Yogyakarta. 

Dennis Sofian (Z)

An actor and musician, Dennis’  theatre credits include Azdak in The Caucasian Chalk Circle, The Laramie Project (both SRT Young Co), Astrov in Uncle Vanya, Casca in Julius Caesar,  The Unlucky Younger Brother, The Comedy of Errors, Her Naked Skin (all RCSSD), Prince Kazbeki in The Caucasian Chalk Circle (Engineer Theatre), Compson Sr./Reverend Shegog in The Sound and the Fury (Pleasance Theatre), And the Deep Blue Sea (Studio Festival). Dennis graduated from the B.A. Acting (Collaborative and Devised Theatre) course at The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama.

Krish Natarajan (Champion Man)

Freelance actor, Krish Natarajan is a co-founder of theatre company @Patchandpunnet and theatrical event company Strawberries Inc. An alumni from YOUNG&W!LD, Krish recently graduated with a first class in BA Acting from LASALLE College of the Arts. His performance credits include Requiem for Change (2018), Henry V (2018),  A New And Better You and The Disappearing Number (2019). Productions by Patch and Punnet since its debut show 2042 (2017) are Stupid Cupid (2018) and The Adventures Of Abhijeet (2019) which premiered at the Fresh Fringe Festival Singapore, which will be staged again at the Arts House from 23rd-25th August 2019.

Andrea Joy Alingalan (Ensemble)  

A versatile performer, Andrea acts for stage, TV and film. She has played major roles in the following theatre productions: Shakespeare’s Henry V, Book of Living and Dying, and musicals Urinetown, Fiddler on the Roof and Aida. Andrea was handpicked to be a storyteller for the International Storytelling STORYFEST Festival Singapore 2018. Her TV credits include Mediacorp’s Zero Calling, Rojak and a telemovie titled Rise. She has also appeared in advertisements for McDonald’s, Ministry of Culture Community & Youth, and Sentosa.

A recent graduate from LASALLE College of the Arts’ BA(Hons) Musical Theatre programme, Andrea is also a recipient of the LASALLE’s  Future Leaders Scholarship.

Nicola Kong (Ensemble)

Identifying herself as a dancer first, Nicola prides herself in being a multifaceted performer, having played roles from Shakespeare to Gorky. She has performed in arts festivals, national parades, and devised community theatre productions. Her latest works include Golde in Fiddler On The Roof, and lead role of Sandra in The Yellow Road, a short sci-fi film for Lenovo Singapore. Recently graduated from LASALLE College of the Arts' Musical Theatre Programme, Nicola is opened to opportunities and intends to explore the world of film and stunt acting. 

Zalifah Ibrahim (Ensemble)

Zalifah is a self-motivated professional who is currently on a short break from reality. She loves and feels so much for children. Since 2015, she initiated a yearly shoebox gift initiative to reach out to the underprivileged children from our local children’s homes with the generosity from like-minded sponsors. She enjoys solo backpacking and advocates that everyone should at least travel solo once in their lifetime. Being a part of La Mariposa Borracha makes her understand that there is a child in each and everyone of us, even if we are no longer a minor in the eye of the law. Life has its ups and downs, but we should not forget to laugh and face life optimistically. She endeavours to be a clown, and spread smiles near and far to those she comes into contact with.

Alvyna Han (Ensemble)

Alvyna Han is a Site and Team Administrator. Having thoroughly enjoyed the Le Jeu workshop conducted for caregivers, she wanted to experience being part of La Mariposa Borracha which is about Shanice’s journey. During the course of the project, Alvyna saw similarities between the story and her own journey – “We escaped, have friends who love and support us no matter what, had times that we wanted to give up but then got back up again as well as deep happiness when we could complete things we wanted and needed to.

This play is so real and dancing is so therapeutic!”

Carol Ee (Ensemble)

Having had so much fun playing at the Le Jeu workshop offered to the Caregivers Alliance Limited (CAL) last year, Carol said ‘yes’ immediately when invited by Shanice to be part of the La Mariposa Borracha project. A single parent of two children, Carol is a full-time working mother as well as a caregiver. Big realization from this experience – “I have lost the simple pleasure in life, which is play!”

Prema Latha (Ensemble)

Prema works in a library, and is a caregiver. Her interest in performance peaked after attending the Le Jeu and dance workshops conducted for CAL by Shanice and her team. Dancing is something she derives a lot of pleasure since childhood, and La Mariposa Borracha offers her this opportunity. The roller-coaster ride of emotions and experiences during rehearsals resonated with her as a caregiver. The characters and situations in the performance for her showed different sides and perspectives - windows for a person who is suffering to find joy in the depths of depression. She feels like there are many people out there who may feel that there is no escape in what they are going through. She would like to share -- "...it is a matter of finding that spark in your passion, and that can be a catalyst for recovery.”

Aaron Yap (Set & Costume Designer/Stylist)

Aaron graduated from LASALLE College of the Artsʼs BA(Hons) Technical Theatre programme in 2011, and has taken on various designer roles for different theatrical genres, ranging from Chinese opera, ballet, dance drama, plays and musicals. His more notable works to date includes: When We Dead Awaken (lighting design: Intercultural Theatre Institute, 2018), FRAGO (set design: Checkpoint Theatre, 2017), Fatimah and Her Magic Socks (costume and props design: The Esplanade Co. Ltd., 2017), Butterflies Awakening (set and lighting design: Sim Siew Tin Hokkien Opera Troupe, 2016), MOSAIC (set design: Take Off Productions, 2015), The Merry Widow (set design: Singapore Lyric Opera, 2014), Lucky Stiff (set and costume design: LASALLE College of the Arts, 2014), A Startling Dream (media design: Singapore Hokkien Huay Kuan Dance Theatre, 2014), and The Nutcracker (set and costume design: Singapore Dance Theatre, 2011).

Liu Yong Huay (Lighting Designer)

Yong Huay received the National Arts Council Arts Scholarship (Postgraduate) 2015 and is a graduate of the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, Master of Fine Arts in Lighting Design (June 2016). Selected theatre and dance-related projects she has designed for include, Fundamentally Happy (co-production by Nine Years Theatre and Esplanade), liTHE 2017-2018 (THE Second Company), It Takes All Kinds (Theatre For Seniors) and Excavations, a site-specific theatre piece at Singapore Art Museum (Ctrl Fre@k). In September 2017, she co-founded 微Wei Collective with Neo Hai Bin. She loves the collaboration of nature, space and art and wants to embark on creative projects that encompass these elements.

Jevon Chandra (Sound Designer)

Jevon Chandra is an artist and a sound designer. As a soloist and collaborator, he has exhibited projects regionally and internationally in Japan, London, Thailand, and India. His recent activities include participations in Esplanade Flipside Festival, NLB Read! Fest, and liTHE 2018 (with T.H.E Second Company), alongside sound design work for animations accompanying exhibitions in National Gallery Singapore. Through considerations in sound, space, and interpersonal relations, his art practice hopes to find better understandings and ways of caring and communicating—and having been in positions of needing care and needing to care, the chance to work on this show has been cathartic and timely.

Ng Yin Shian (Visual Communications Designer)

Shian is an independent illustrator and designer based in Singapore. She has a myriad of influences and interests, ranging from classic Disney animation to Japanese woodblock prints and the Polish school of Posters, resulting in an eclectic mix of styles. She has produced art for Metallica, Weird Al Yankovic, Bojack Horseman and Pizza Hut. 

Jon Tan (Video Cinematographer & Producer, Marketing (Social Media) Designer)

Jon Tan is a Cinematographer, Commercial Director and a Voiceover Artist. His work has hit the front page of Reddit, been featured on the New York Times blog and (almost) helped to send Singapore’s first man into space. He runs the production company, ROTOTORO, where he crafts funny videos that help brands sell products on the internet. You can find him online at www.JonTan.co because someone else bought the .com

Janel Ang (Outreach & Engagement Manager)

A graduate of both pioneering batches of Yale-NUS College and School of the Arts, Janel has worked in Rachel House (Indonesia), a paediatric palliative care organisation, facilitated inclusive programmes through art with Superhero Me, led a painting programme for stroke patients at NUH, and interned at the Peggy Guggenheim Collection (Italy). Her dog Pebbles has taught her love, fun and gratefulness. Her journey with mental health as both caregiver and care recipient has taught her patience, humility, and authenticity. She hopes to cultivate gentle practice, in life, art and relationships.

Michele Lim (Producer)

Michele  is an independent arts management consultant, educator and producer. Producing credits include 《六根不宁》I came at last to the seas (Esplanade Huayi Festival, The Theatre Practice 2018) ; garden•uprooted  (Arts Fission & The Philharmonic Orchestra 2018) ; Flying Dutchman by Richard Wagner (Richard Wagner Association & Opera Viva Ltd, 2016) ; Dark Room (Esplanade Studio Commission, Edith Podesta, 2016) ; Betwixt Festival (2016) ; Returning《回归》 (Singapore International Festival Of The Arts, Mdm Goh Lay Kuan, 2015) ;  Make it New- Celebrating 20 years of Arts Fission (Art Fission, 2014-2015), ;《望远行》MovingHorizon: A Nanyin Journey (Esplanade Huayi Festival Festival, Siong Leng Musical Association, 2014) and Dream Country: A Lost Monologue (Singapore Arts Festival Commission, Marion D'Cruz, 2012). 

Nadya Gerhard (Production/Stage Manager, Ticketing Manager)

Nadya’s interest in the arts began through dance; in particular through her training in classical ballet. She was exposed to technical theatre as she was performing on stage at the  School of the Arts Singapore. Furthering her studies at LASALLE College of the Arts’s Diploma in Technical and Production Management course, Nadya has taken on various roles such as Production Manager, Stage Manager and Lighting Operator. Theatrical productions she has worked on include Emily The Musical (Musical Theatre Limited), Being: Haresh Sharma (The Necessary Stage, in collaboration with Cake Theatrical Productions), FRAGO (Checkpoint Theatre) and Running with Strippers (Cake Theatrical Productions) ; The Jungle Adventure: A Romp on the Wild Side (Artbeatz, in collaboration with Mascots and Puppets Specialists), Dear Zoo, KidsFest! 2019 and Elmer the Patchwork Elephant (ABA Productions). 

Hannah Elizabeth Rodrigues (Technical Manager/Assistant Stage Manager)

Driven by a passion to work in the Music, Arts and Entertainment industry, Hannah started off as a Film student in ITE, where she was recruited into an Alternative Pop/Punk band. Deciding to get a different perspective of the Entertainment industry, she changed her specialization from Filmmaking/Cinematography to Technical and Production Management where she found interest in set building, prop making, lighting, and most recently, stage management. Productions she has been involved in as an Assistant Stage Manager since graduating from LASALLE College of the Arts are《我的 妈妈是 ENY》Super Mommy  (Singapore, May-June 2018) and  Musical TARU (恐龙复活了!)  (Taiwan, November 2018-January 2019). Hannah’s first love and aspiration is to be a vocalist.