Alys Hill is a teaching artist based in Christchurch, New Zealand, who specialises in physical theatre. She has trained in The Suzuki Method of Actor Training, The Viewpoints and Butoh dance theatre all over the world, primarily with Zen Zen Zo, SITI company and Dairakudakan. Alys now tutors for the Bachelor of Musical Theatre program for NASDA at Ara polytechnic, at the Court Theatre in Christchurch and teaches dance and dance theatre in high schools and theatre companies in Aotearoa and internationally. Her passion is in facilitating wellbeing for participants through body awareness and release, ensemble connection and the power of telling honest, relatable stories. 

RED LEAP THEATRE is a women-led theatre company that is bold, visual, and ignites the imagination. They are a professional and dedicated group of individuals who are passionate about creating innovative and unforgettable theatre, focusing on original devised work. Based in Aotearoa New Zealand, Red Leap crosses the forms of physical theatre, imagery and storytelling and believes in playful discovery, the power of the imagination, and building a strong ensemble of performers. 

The Red Leap Online Engagement Plan is a three stage plan consisting of brainstorming and generating, developing, and refining. Students from Grades 9 and 11 had the chance to experience this heightened process of working to create original theatre with the support of a professional devising company. 

In Stage One, the students explored theatrical styles and collaborative devising practices that define their approach to visual theatre. The student used a series of provocations with specific tools and exercises. Then, in Stage Two, the students responded to the explorations, and developed original work based on regular feedback through video feedback on live performance. Stage Three focused on refinement of the material created and aided students in rehearsing and shaping their final performance piece.

The final Grade 11 performances showed excellent use of motif, chorus, gesture and physicality to convey meaning and intention to their audience. 

Currently, Grade 9 has just started on their Red Leap journey and will be completing their work in December.

"Working with Red Leap this year was a valuable experience, although it was unique to previous artists-in-residence, the workshops acted as a rich foundation for our Collaborative Projects. Through constant and personal feedback we were able to foster a real connection between ourselves and the teachers at RL, I found the gesture exercises particularly helpful in forming my performance and character."  

     - Keaan 

Matthew Godfrey is an Actor, Director, and Performing Arts Educator. That being said, he is in fact, most famously known as the Red Nose Clown. He previously studied at the National Theatre School of Canada and the Moscow Art Theatre and his area of expertise includes that of dance, improvisation, mask work, street performing, television, and film. To impart his vast knowledge and experience in the field of performing arts, Matthew Godfrey has travelled across the globe since 2016 to conduct Artist-in-Residence workshops with students. Besides United World College of Southeast Asia (East), some of the other schools he has visited are Notre Dame High School, Singapore American School, and Frankfurt International School. Since 2015, Matthew Godfrey has also been associated with Joy Theatre as its Director.  

JOY THEATRE is located in the Los Angeles. The primary focus of the company is to conduct comedy classes with an emphasis on all things comedy and improvisation, be it short or long form. The classes are also largely based on Matthew Godfrey's specialisation and what he studied back in school: music, sketch, stand-up, mask work, character, and of course, incorporating elements of Matthew Godfrey's Red Nose Clown.

Carina Hales is an Artistic Director, Director, Playwright, and Content Creator at Players Theatre and Players Workshop. Her team specialises in Puppet design, building, directing, and performing all things puppetry. 

PLAYERS THEATRE and PLAYERS WORKSHOP started back in 2003 as a non-profit Children's Theatre with the mission to "Touch Hearts and Build Lives". Carina Hales and her team at Players Theatre and Players Workshop are passionate individuals with lots of experience to boot and an abundance of love to give. They established Players Theatre and Players Workshop in hopes of educating, developing, and providing enjoyment for children through the use of theatre. With a holistic approach, Carina Hales and her team work tirelessly to continue producing works that inspire and teach the new generations to come. 

Claire Glenn is a Theatre Maker, Director, and Youth Arts Practitioner. She has won many significant awards for her work and achievements in the Theatre for Young People Sector. Notable awards include the prestigious Arts South Australia Ruby Award back in 2015, 2017, and 2019, as well as the Curtain Call Award in 2016. A glimpse into the various awards she has under her belt as well as the work that she has done and continues to do, we can see her heart and dedication towards promoting theatre and grooming the younger generation. 

CONUNDRUM THEATRE was started by husband and wife, Anthony Kelly and Claire Glenn. Its mission is to use direct involvement with theatre-making and performance to enhance, engage, and embolden the lives of children and youths. Conundrum conducts various theatre-making workshops and is very dedicated in bringing a positive impact to the lives of children and young people of all ages and from all walks of life through the arts. The couple was greatly involved in many arts-related projects back in Australia. Now, in Singapore, they have held on to their vision of creating "exceptional, exhilarating, and explosive theatre works with, by, and for children and young people" through the establishing of Conundrum back in January 2021. 

Anyone who is in the mime industry or even has a tinge of interest in it would have surely heard of the name Bill Bowers for he is indisputably the greatest mime of his generation. Bill Bowers' love for the art of mime stems from his childhood and personal experiences. He finds the silent art of expression - miming - to be greatly rewarding and a tool to convey thoughts and emotions that are hard to express using conventional methods, i.e through words. Having performed in all 50 United States and Puerto Rico and appearing on the stages of Broadway, The White House, the New York International Fringe Festival and many more, it is no exaggeration to say that he has a wealth of experience and a great deal of knowledge to impart when it comes to performing.  

As a dedicated and intelligent educator, Bill Bowers uses his expertise and years of experience to give back to the arts community and educate students of all ages throughout the world. Till today, he performs and teaches the art of physical storytelling to a global audience. 

Kathakali is a form of classical Indian dance that hails from the Malayalam-speaking southwestern region of Kerala, India. It is a "story play" genre of performance art which is characterised by elaborate make-up and costumes. Like other Indian classical dance forms, a Kathakali performance brings together music, vocal performers, percussionists, choreography as well as hand gestures and facial expressions to express an idea. The themes usually centre around Hindu epics like Ramayana and Mahabharatha, folk mythologies and the Puranas. Traditionally performed by men, the art now has many women practitioners.

Bhaskar’s Arts Academy is a Singapore-based Indian classical dance, music and theatre company. The Academy steadfastly believes in contributing to the vibrant arts scene in Singapore, and performs three to four seasons annually. With history dating back to 1952, when the late Mr KP Bhaskar first stepped foot on the shores of Singapore, Bhaskar’s Arts Academy indeed has a long and rich tradition of teaching and performing. Now under the artistic direction of his wife Mrs Santha Bhaskar, the Academy humbly prides itself at being at the forefront of the Indian performing arts scene in Singapore. Along with its teaching wing Nrityalaya Aesthetics Society, the Academy continues its mission to create, produce, present and promote traditional Indian classical dance, music and theatre. 

Aside from creating Bharatanatyam works, the Academy has also played a pivotal role in introducing and promoting the ancient art forms of Kathakali and Therukkoothu in Singapore. Formed in 2002, the Academy’s Kathakali Troupe vision was to produce innovative, cross-cultural works to expand the traditional repertoire and appeal to new audiences in a cosmopolitan age. The Academy also has a strong music department led by Music Director Dr Ghanavenothan Retnam.

The Academy has numerous accolades to its name. Some of the most precious ones include the Cultural Medallion award conferred to Artistic Director Santha Bhaskar in 1990, the highest honour accorded to Arts practitioners in Singapore. In 2016 she was also awarded the Bintang Bakti Masyarakat (Public Service Star) for her continued dedication. In 2021, she was inducted into the Singapore Women's Hall of Fame and was also awarded the Pingat Jasa Gemilang (Meritorious Service Medal).

Uli Fadli is the founder of Inspire to Greatness - an organisation that seeks to inspire people who are facing hardship and difficulties so that they are able to move forward and push themselves through challenging times. He also works with the Singapore community and various schools by teaching Silat.

Uli taught the students Silat – a fusion of art culture consisting of traditional art and music  from the Nusantara and surrounding areas of Southeast Asia. The students learned movements which are created and designed based on self-defence but made softer using precision and repetition. They learned the subtleties of this martial art, the stylised movements and performed in small groups, wielding the Keris – a traditional blade distinctive to Silat. 

The students thoroughly enjoyed themselves and below are some of their reflections:

"I felt most powerful when we did the Silat’s poses together. The idea that many people together are synchronised and present makes the experience much more impactful for both by-stander and the student." 

                                                                                -  Keitlin 

"My main takeaway for this is perhaps the way it opens my eyes about the “art” section of martial arts. The beauty of flow and structure and routines, and how much detail actually contributes into the final piece of art that you’re creating – which simply emphasises the importance of paying attention and being purposeful in every single thing that you do when you’re performing."  

                                                                                                         - Medina Ayasha

Through practicing Silat moves, they further understood that martial art forms are much more complex than they appear, yet also link intrinsically to historical and cultural traditions much like the theatre practices that have evolved from around Asia. This connected strongly to their Grade 11 world theatre explorations and consequently their Grade 12 research presentation.

Ang is best known locally for the title role in the Chinese version of Silly Little Girl and

the Funny Old Tree (1987) and being the artistic director (1995-1998) of Theatre OX.

She began her theatre apprenticeship with Practice Theatre Ensemble in 1986 (now

The Theatre Practice). She was a member of the Workcenter of Jerzy Grotowski and

Thomas Richards, Italy (1994/1998-2006), performing lead roles and touring

internationally with the company’s Project The Bridge: developing theatre arts: One

breath left (UBU Special Award, Italy) (1998-2002) and Dies Irae: My Preposterous

Theatrum Interioris Show (2003-2006).

Ang has initiated Sourcing Within since 2006, comprising of international work sessions

for theatre practitioners and students, as well as cross-disciplinary researches in

embodied practice, performing arts, anthropology and beyond. She has taught at

University of Kent (UK), Wesleyan University (USA), LASALLE College of the Arts,

Intercultural Theatre Institute, The School of the Arts and NAFA in Singapore. Her

embodied practice and research are featured in scholarly journals, books of

intercultural theatre and anthropology. Since 2018, Ang has established an essential

collaboration with Ranice Tay in terms of practice-research methodology on

performance, physical and vocal practice. Both have created performances such as

Dreamtalk (2020), and recently That Day That Book That Fell (2021).

A recipient of theatre awards granted by the Singapore National Arts Council (1999),

Ang holds a Bachelor of Arts (Distinction) from the University of Hawaii-Manoa (1992)

and a PhD: Drama by Practice-as-Research from the University of Kent (2017). Her

directing debuts include: The Peculiar Tra La (Intercultural Theatre Institute, 2019),

The Silly Little Girl and the Funny Old Tree (Young People’s Performing Arts Ensemble,

2019), and Antigone (LASALLE College of the Arts, 2019).