Anderson Theatre Circle
Discover how Anderson Theatre Circle uses performing arts to build character and raise social awareness, earning a Certificate of Distinction at SYF 2021.
We endeavour to develop all members’ appreciation of the arts and their character as well as to use performing arts to raise awareness of social issues. Through this, we also aim to develop the students’ social emotional learning.
The highlight of this year is our participation in the Singapore Youth Festival (SYF) Drama Arts Presentation 2021 where we clinched the Certificate of Distinction. What makes this year’s SYF remarkable are the various adherence to Safe Management Measures (SMM) during rehearsals as well as adjustments to use of stage. The entire process, though challenging, made us re-evaluate how we could use our space creatively and also learn various ways to bring across meaning to audience with them not being able to see our expressions. Owing to SMM restrictions, we also could not rehearse with the light and sound console at the actual performance venue. To overcome these difficulties, we created a mock-up of the light and sound consoles so that the crew could practise with them during our rehearsals. These additional challenges, on top of all other challenges that we faced, made the Certificate of Distinction that we achieved particularly rewarding.
The resilience, dedication, commitment and heart-work were observable in the our rehearsals, which was reflected in the wonderful comments given by the adjudicators. Noting that the performance was ‘believable’ and that we performed with ‘conviction and clarity’ with ‘smooth and swift transitions’, the audience on performance day truly enjoyed the entire show and personally came up to the actors to share that it was the best show they had watched the entire SYF!
The outstanding achievement would not have been possible without the director’s creative focus, the teachers’ unyielding commitment, the students’ great dedication, and the school leaders’ unwavering support.