Speech at the PRUDENTIAL CHILDREN FIRST Theatre Festival....
-5 March 2001, University Cultural Centre, Kent Ridge, Singapore
Mr David Lim, Minister of State for the Arts, Friends & Associates of ACT 3 and PRUDENTIAL, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls....
It is hard for me to speak about ACT 3 without getting a little sentimental as well as upset: I know Ruby and Chandran will forgive me for what I am going to say but it is important that we all realize just what has been going on and what has been done by this wonderful theatre company called ACT 3 which everyone knows about, knows of but which many still do not regard as playing a vital role in the cultural and theatrical life of Singapore.
ACT 3, its founders (Ruby, Chandran and Yasmin) and I have grown old, so have some of those who first participated and enjoyed the many performances which ACT 3 put on in those early years. My first contact with ACT 3 was when they performed at a birthday party -in those days all 3 of them -Ruby, Chandran and Yasmin -used to act and one could practically order them to act whatever one wanted. So if I wanted them to perform The Shoemaker of the Highest Mountain, they would, or if my friend wanted them to act out the curious legend of The Elephant and the Mouse, they would. Why? Because they wanted to perform, they were committed to entertaining young people, especially children below the age of 16 and whenever and however the opportunities for doing this came up they would happily seize them.
Over the years, things have changed as we have all changed. With graying beards and hair - I must make an exception for Ruby, I have never quite figured out how she keeps eternally young! - come new frontiers and new challenges. ACT 3 has gone from strength to strength and today we are being treated to its latest achievement: this wonderful offering in connection with their latest key-event: the Children's Theatre Festival.
It has not been easy; indeed it has not been easy at all. But we are not here to lament and recriminate but to celebrate. But real celebration can only come about if we all, yes all, not only enjoy what we are seeing but do our best to contribute to its success. From government ministers to our civil servants to our arts administrators, to our school principals and teachers, we must ALL give ACT 3 our total and unending support.
This Company was formed nearly 20 years ago and I can say without prejudice that for it to have survived so long, often in unfriendly (and sometimes even hostile) circumstances the founders key-players have had to have not only thick-skins but also a passion for Children's Theatre, a passion which can never be replaced with or by those who do not have a genuine feel for the delightful and painful years we call childhood.
A society which does not fully acknowledge its artists, everyone knows, is NOT a mature society. We in Singapore have tended to reward mainly the adult practitioners, forgetting that it is in childhood that the real love for the arts is nurtured and nourished. As far as I know, only ACT 3 has all-along held faithfully to this belief and valued Children's' Theatre for its own sake, frequently forgoing profits for real contact and experience. Of course, in more recent years, others have come into the arena, and their entry is to be welcomed for the more children's events and activities we have the better.
ACT 3, with its very humble start is today truly recognized as a most important theatre group by those who know the arena well: this is true not just of us in Singapore but of many around the region and beyond. The fact that in this coming week we will be feted by such a variety of artists from so many different parts of the world testifies to ACT 3's international credibility. Let us, together, help give these wonderful people the muscle they need to become a permanent and vital part of our Singaporean experience. You have come along way, dear fellows, there is still a very long way to go. Thank you.
-Kirpal Singh
Director, Centre for Cross-Cultural Studies,
Singapore Management University