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The TTRP was launched in 2000 by the late Kuo Pao Kun and our current
Director, T. Sasitharan, after a period of research, reflection
and preparatory work. The TTRP was inspired by unique experience
Contemporary Theatre in Singapore over the previous 35 years and
in particular by the artistic vision and multicultural practice
of renowned dramatist Kuo Pao Kun.
About Kuo Pao Kun (1939 - 2002)
A prolific bilingual playwright and director, Kuo Pao Kun co-founded
PPAS in 1965 (together with choreographer/dancer Goh Lay Kuan),
after graduating from the National Institute of Dramatic Art, Sydney.
He founded major theatre company The Theatre Practice and remained
its Artistic Director until he passed away in 2002. These institutions
and the artists they fostered were inspired by Pao Kun’s
unique multicultural approach and commitment to developing Singapore
art and artists while drawing from the great traditions and innovations
of other countries.
He also founded The Substation - A
Home for the Arts, Singapore's
first arts centre, in 1990 and remained its Artistic Director until
1995, establishing an open space for artists to explore and develop
as well as to perform and exhibit.
In 2000, he founded the Theatre Training & Research Programme
together with T. Sasitharan, putting into practice a part of his
vision of Open Cultures in this programme that trains actors using
the interaction of systems of training and conceptions of theatre
from different cultures. He remained Co-Director of the TTRP until
2002.
The Singapore Government awarded Kuo the Cultural Medallion in
1989 for his outstanding contributions to Singapore theatre. He
also received the ASEAN Award for the Performing Arts in 1993,
the Chevalier de l'Order des Arts et des Lettres in 1996 and the
Excellence for Singapore Award in 2002.
Kuo's plays, apart from his own Chinese and English versions, have
been translated into Malay, Tamil, Hindi, Japanese, German and
have been performed in many Asian countries as well as in America,
Australia, Europe, Africa and the Middle East. In 2000, the Tokyo
Asian Art Festival organised a special tribute to Kuo, with three
of his plays being directed and performed respectively by companies
from Indonesia (The Coffin Is Too Big For The Hole. directed by
Putu Wijaya and performed by Teater Mandiri), India (Lao Jiu
- The Ninth Born directed by Anuradha Kapur and performed by Dishantar)
and Japan (The Silly Little Girl and the Funny Old Tree, directed
by Makoto Sato and performed by the Black Tent Theater.)
Honorary Positions
Since 1992 Advisor, National Arts Council, Singapore
Since 1995 Advisor, Chinese Newspaper Group, Singapore Press Holdings
Since 1997 Advisor, Drama Project, Chinese University, Hong Kong
Fellowships
1989 Fulbright Professional Exchange Fellowship, USA
1997 Asian Leadership Fellowship Program, Japan
Awards
1989 Cultural Medallion, Singapore Government
1992 Culture Award, JCCI, Singapore
1993 ASEAN Cultural Award (Performing Arts)
1996 Chevalier de l'Order des Arts et des Lettres (Knighthood of
Arts and Letters), French Government
2002 Excellence for Singapore Award, Singapore Totalisator Board
Major
Plays Written
1968 - Hey, Wake Up! (Chinese)
1969 - The Struggle (Chinese)
1971 - The Spark of Youth (Chinese)
1973 - Growing Up (Chinese)
1982 - Ping (Chinese)
1984 - The Coffin Is Too Big for the Hole (English & Chinese)
1986 - No Parking On Odd Days (English & Chinese)
1986 - KopiTiam (The Coffee shop) (Chinese)
1987 - The Silly Little Girl and the Funny Old Tree (Chinese)
1988 - Day I Met the Prince (English & Chinese)
1988 - Mama Looking for Her Cat (Multilingual)
1989 - The Silly Little Girl and the Funny Old Tree (English)
1990 - The Eagle and The Cat (Chinese)
1990 - Lao Jiu (The Ninth Born, Chinese)
1991 - 0Zero01 (English, Chinese, Malay)
1992 - The Evening Climb (Multilingual)
1993 - Lao Jiu (The Ninth Born, English)
1995 - The Evening Climb (English)
1995 - Descendants of the Eunuch Admiral (English & Chinese)
1995 - The Eagle and The Cat (English)
1997 - Geylang People In The Net (Multilingual)
1997 - Grandpa’s meat Bone Tea (Telemovie) (Chinese)
1998 - The Spirits Play (Chinese)
1999 - Sunset Rise (Multilingual)
2001 - One Hundred Years in Waiting (English) (Co-written by Haresh
Sharma & Chong Tze Chien)
Major Plays Translated
1965 - The One Day of the Year (Alan Seymour - Australia, English
to Chinese)
1966 - Caucasian Chalk Circle (Bertolt Brecht - Germany, English to Chinese)
1967 - A Raisin in the Sun (Hansbury - USA, English to Chinese)
1981 - Tile Roof, Atap Roof (Kala Dewata - Malaysia, Malay to Chinese)
1985 - The Island (Fugard - S Africa, English to Chinese)
1987 - The Fire Raisers (Max Frisch - Switzerland, English to Chinese)
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