Written by: Filza Alisha and Semran Rai
Recently, I had the privilege of watching “Hotel,” a riveting play presented by one of Singapore’s leading theatre companies, ‘W!ld Rice.’ I was so enthralled by the performance that the five-hour duration managed to fly by unnoticed. That’s right, ‘Hotel’ was a 5-hour long play divided into 2 parts. The play’s plot commences in 1915 and features a diverse range of guests from all walks of life checking into an unnamed hotel. These guests all live out defining moments in their lives within the very same hotel room across 100 years, creating a multi-generational epic. “Hotel” thus took audiences on a journey through Singapore’s history over the past century.
Being a theatre enthusiast, it is not rare that I find myself losing all sense of time while being engrossed in a good show. It is a testament to the fact that theatre is a medium that is so compelling and inspiring. This prompted me to explore how theatre shows inspire and enrich the soul. For this purpose, I interviewed members of Temasek Polytechnic’s theatre club, ‘Teatro,’ to gain their insights.
Gain Different Perspectives
Firstly, theatre serves as a powerful medium for offering diverse perspectives and viewpoints through the actions and words of various characters.
“Characters in theatre are meant to mimic people in real life, or they have character traits that take influence from human nature, whereby they have their own wants, needs, intentions and perspectives,” says Ashton Ho, the current training head of Teatro.
“Sometimes, you’ll find characters you can relate to as their perspectives match yours. At the same time, you’ll find other characters who have completely different views from yours. It’s the actor’s job to show you why they think the way they do, through what they say and how they act. It’s in these interactions between characters that you start to grasp how these different perspectives come about and why people might see things so differently,” explains the 18-year-old actor. “It’s like getting a glimpse into the minds of diverse people and understanding what makes them tick.”
As Ashton, a Year 2 student from the Diploma in Early Childhood Development and Education, points out, gaining insightful perspectives from diverse characters enables us to build our emotional skills. By immersing ourselves in these interactions between characters, we develop empathy and understanding, essential skills applicable to real-life situations, particularly when engaging with people who hold contrasting opinions.
Improve Critical Thinking
Fatin Nadhrah, Teatro’s art director, believes that theatre may also improve our critical thinking skills as it forces us to think about why certain people behave a certain way, after analysing facts and circumstances. She recounts her experience from Teatro’s most recent production ‘ALICE,’ a play that challenged her beliefs and improved her critical thinking skills by portraying the character “Red Queen.”
The 19-year-old says, “It was challenging to understand exactly why the Red Queen behaved the way that she did because her fundamental beliefs and perspectives were the polar opposite of my own. For example, she was very strict and straightforward, and I couldn’t understand why she expressed herself in that way. Hence, I researched her family background and certain experiences she went through to make her express herself in such a manner. This way, I was able to fully immerse myself in the role as I could understand the tiny nuances that made her character unique.”
This process taught Fatin to refrain from making hasty judgments about others based on superficial knowledge of their lives. Such cultivated critical thinking skills enable us to forge deeper connections with those around us by understanding the influences that drive their decisions and actions.
Inspires Creativity and Self-Expression
Theatre shows inspire creativity and self-expression in individuals. 19-year-old Amanda Chandran, vice-president of Teatro, strongly embodies this belief.
“I think theatre is similar to every art form, where everyone interprets it differently. As an actor, putting myself in a character’s shoes encourages versatility and self-expression as I get to embody different personalities, with my style of acting being different from my co-actors. In an audience’s perspective, your interpretation of a character or a show, in general, is unique from other interpretations.” she says.
The actress adds that watching shows in her free time inspires her in her creative pursuits as well.
“Watching theatre shows inspires me a lot from a design perspective. As a design student, I often wonder how I can mimic high-quality props seen in bigger and professional productions, and make them more affordable for our CCA to utilise,” says Amanda.
“I also think theatre shows can develop creative skills in the sense of inspiring people with stories. The plots of these shows can help inspire many people creatively with their story-telling and writing.”
Theatre is a transformative platform, nurturing budding artists and enriching lives in countless ways. Some may find theatre to be a gateway to broadening their horizons and understanding diverse perspectives. For others, it becomes a means to sharpen critical thinking skills and be inspired by the artistic choices made. Regardless of the reasons, one thing remains clear: Theatre has something profound to offer everyone. If you want to experience the magic of theatre for yourself, do check out Teatro’s Instagram page, @tpteatro, to get exciting updates about their upcoming self-devised production happening this October.
