TheatreStrays
Founded in 2008 as a Contemporary cross-disciplinary Performance Research (Training) Group and a further extension of Elizabeth de Roza's artistic research on embodied practices as an Associate Artist of The Substation (2001 to 2011).
The group emphasised on physicality and the site of the body, both performers’ and audiences’, as a possible place of transformation. The group strived to present thought-provoking works that are rooted in a contemporary Asian identity and connect and resonate deeply with their audience. This is done by drawing on the ritualistic philosophies of Asian Traditional theatre, where the shared experience of community in the same place and time constitute a crucial aspect of the atmosphere. Exploring approaches that are collaborative and cross disciplinary – researching for a poetics that communicates.
Founding member: Sharda Harrison, Oon Shu An, Xavier Kang, Mathew Heys, Lim Jun Jie Jey, Ian Loy, Audrey Wong, Shelly Quick and Elizabeth de Roza.
Currently the group has dissolved and Elizabeth de Roza continues to develop cross-disciplinary projects as an independent artist.
Past Productions
A site-responsive performance presented at Little India, Singapore by TheatreStrays.
June 2010
Director: Elizabeth De Roza, Shelly Quick
Performed by: Oon Shu An, Sharda Harrison, Matthew Heys, Lim Jun Jie
Design: Elizabeth De Roza, Shelly Quick
Multimedia: Koo Chia Meng
Sound: wyxmm
Director/Dramaturge: Shelly Quick
Director/ Performer: Elizabeth de Roza
Performer: Oon Shu An
Sound Designer/Technical Manager: Terence Lau
Lighting Designer: Adrian Tan
Technical Advisor: Bill Fisher
Production Co-ordinator/Stage Manger: Petrine Dawn Tan
Video Works: Koo Chia Meng & Lin Weeding
Part of the Esplanade Studio Series
Paper Boat is an attempt to create theatre in which true human connection can transpire. It is a journey of collective excavation, an invitation to listen and be listened to.
Inspired by the childhood game of making paper boats and floating them down canals and drains, both artist and audience will anonymously make and write “confessions” on paper boats, sharing their hopes, dreams, desires, shames and secrets. Each person’s ‘confession’/’gift’ will transform into a part of the performance and physical space.
Re:Gina is Dead
Performers: Elizabeth De Roza, Melissa Quek, Eva They, Samantha Lau, Charmaine Ho, Angel LeeCreative team: Brian O’Reilly, Koo Chia Meng, wyxmm, Elizabeth De Roza, Melissa Quek
This production looks at the changing landscape of Singapore. With a city that is rapidly changing and reproducing itself, many individuals begin to realize the fluidity of their identities. But this results in a sense of being lost. In relooking at this work, we are proposing that we propose that we first look at our personal history, even as it is being made, tear it apart reject it and form a new history. This then provides us with the freedom to redefine a new centre.
This work will be like CSI meets a fun house, where the audience moves from room to room. They are set to play a game for the duration of the performance. The objectives of this game are Observing listening and questioning.
RE:Looking at RE:Gina is about interacting with the space and uniting with the audience to create a performance experience. The combination of the diverse disciplines works to decentralise and discombobulate the audience.
Devised and performed by: Elizabeth de Roza (Singapore), Eugenia Cano Puga (Mexico) & Itzel Rodriguez Macias (Mexico)
Production design: Tolis Papazoglou, Terence Lau, Koo Chia Meng, Lin Weidong, Alberta Wileo & Elizabeth de Roza
Music: Itzel Rodriguez Macias
A Singapore and Mexico performance collaboration.
Inspired by the character of Sita from the Hindu epic of the Ramayana, Re-inventing Sita presents facets of the experiences of women in society from Mexico to Singapore. Traditionally, Sita is seen to represent an ideal woman and ideal wife – however, there is also ambiguity, contrasts, and hidden conflicts in her story, which provide the starting point for this performance.
Presented in the atmospheric venue of Sculpture Square, the production incorporates physical action, text, music, and multimedia to present a vision that emerged through exchanges between artists from two cultures that might not be so very different after all.
Re-inventing Sita was first presented at the 2011 Cervantino Festival in Mexico. The collaborative process was initiated by Elizabeth de Roza from Singapore and Eugenia Cano Puga from Mexico, who first met in 2008 at a theatre festival in Cuba and discovered a sympathy with each other in their approach to theatre-making, inspired by the traditional performing arts of India. One had trained in kathakali, the other in the ancient martial arts of kalaripayattu.
Director/Performer: Elizabeth De Roza
Director/Dramaturg: Shelly Quick
Performers: Noor Effendy Ibrahim, Oon Shu An
Inspired by Ionesco’s absurdist classic The Chairs, this interactive performance aims to explore the continuance of a life wherein everything is hinged on nothing, and “nothing”, is defined by everyone.
A man and a woman have a message for humanity, for all their invited guests. But it’s in Morse code. And only one dog knows it. To crack the code, one must play the game. The conditions, rules and method of playing are unknown, but one must think big to win big; take the Risk. But can we afford to take the Risk when the rules are defined only in the playing? Can we trust the players? Will the dog speak? Is it better to leave the message untold?
What The Dog Knows is presented by The Substation under its Associate Artists programme.
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