Stories in the Dark 2022

Anna A - Kaitlin

Tomas A - Edgar

Anna B - Palchhin

Tomas B - Pasquale

Townsperson 1 & 2 - Annika

Fisherman / Station Guard - Georgia

Farmer Jones / Miller - Vedansh

King / Ogre - Aksharra

Peter / Sardine Man - Anushka    

Serge / Ferryman - Jaime

Musician 1 / Lazy Gus 1 - Levi

Musician 2 / Lazy Gus 2 - Rudelle

Flute/Lute - Chaarvi

Mrs Brown / Doctor - Francesca

Neighbour / Miller's wife - Yuki

Nasty King / Man in the Jacket  - Ruixi

Princess /Townswoman  - Mythili

Ogre's Grandmother /Woman 3 - Deeta

Woman 1 &  2 - Jasmine

Cheerful Man / Boy - Walter

Anna C  - Urveeka

Tomas C - Ashwin

Anna D  - Grace

Tomas D  - Aadi

Woman in Water Queue - Spencer

Blackmarket Woman - Koel

Katerina - Balquisse   

Station Guard /Hunter - Guanchen

Nick - Joshua

    Woman in water queue - Siyona

Anoushka - Beatrice

Hunter’s wife - Prisha

Woman in coat - Ananya

Ivan - Kiara

Station Guard - Aarshiya

Neighbour 1 & 2 - Chloe

Potato Head Boy - Tanay

Directors - Luisina Yannicelli & Anthony Kelly

Production Manager - Manuel Garrido

Lighting Design - Manuel Garrido

Lighting Operator - Abdul Alim

Sound Design/Operator - Geoff Tsang

Costume Design - Theresa Chan

Costume Assistants - Nur Amalina & Noor'Ain Afiqah

Stage Manager - Sanya

Properties - Allister Towndrow, Abdul Alim & Luisina Yannicelli 

Prop Sourcing - Yesenia Bruckschen, Nadiah Yusof

Set Design - TK Hay

Set Construction - Allister Towndrow & Abdul Alim

Scenic Consultant - Marc Andre Therrien

Scenic Artist - Nathalie Chung Therrien

Puppet Designer & Maker - Carina Hales

Makeup & Hair - Parents Association

Publicity Design - Grace Hong

Programme Design - Nadiah Yusof

Photography - Paul Chapman of Noodle Photography

Rehearsal Photography - Ong Shi Han

Website - Ong Shi Han

UWCSEA East Drama Department, 

UWCSEA East Facilities Department, 

UWCSEA East Communications Department 

Watch this collage video to check out the process of how the 2022 Middle School Production - Stories in the Dark - came to fruition through the efforts of the various cast and crew!

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"I enjoyed being able to get this opportunity and being able to work with others. I [also] learned different ways to implement my skills in drama and also how to put myself into character."

Edgar (as Tomas A - Act 1 Scene 1-3)

"I most enjoyed just having fun being someone else and acting. What I think I anticipate most from here is performing in front of a real audience for the first time in a long time. I think I have learned more about myself and what I can do, and I also learned how to have a bit of fun and games sometimes, and when to be serious. As this is only the second time I've ever gotten a main part, I found it really fun to have had to memorise many more lines, and experience what it's really like to do things like this. I think that it has also been just a great experience to do before I go to high school next year."

Pasquale (as Tomas B - Act 1 Scene 4-7)

"Connecting with people from outside my Friendship Circle and in different grades, and using acting as a way to bond and learn a lot of new and different techniques to help me engage with my character and perform to my greatest capability. The thing I would say I most enjoyed would be the cast and the community of the drama production working with all of these people and our mentors and using characters to portray different people and not only did this teach me things about our world and things that happened in the play which is quite a learning experience but I also learnt many things about myself throughout the process of this production. 

Throughout this whole process I feel like I have learnt so many new things such as new ways to understand the characters such as the Stanislavski method if I'm talking about practically learning new things but also I learned new things about different people about the cast and the new things about myself and I think being in the drama production is such a great experience to be a part of throughout my middle school journey and is such a good way to end 8th grade for me."

Urveeka (as Anna C - Act 2 Scene 1-5)

"I really enjoyed working with new people, working with others in an unfamiliar setting doing new activities is something that really helped me with my collaboration skills. Not only that, but doing activities and rehearsing scenes with people I didn't really know at first was really enjoyable for me, as being able to get to know people who share a common interest is always really fun.

I gained a lot of new skills that help with performing and drama in general. I learned a lot about expressive skills and I learned about the many ways I can develop my character, which is something I had little to no experience with before. Even doing things like learning my lines could be a challenge at times but it really helped with my self management and it is something that will be easier for me in the future. I also gained a lot of valuable experiences during the process of working with others, I was able to rehearse, build my character, and do activities with new people."

Ashwin (as Tomas C - Act 2 Scene 1-5)

"I have absolutely loved being part of the MS Production this year! The production has given me the chance to work with people who share the same passion of drama with me which is amazing because we all get along so well!  I have also really enjoyed the creative process of the production because we were able to share our ideas and have an input in choosing how scenes will go. Something that I have learned from being part of this production is how important collaboration is. All of the cast work so well together which means that we not only create an amazing performance, but we also value and support each other in the process. I have also learned so many acting techniques and tips from Ms. Yannicelli, Mr. Kelly and teachers outside of school that have come in.”

Grace (as Anna D - Act 2 Scene 5-7)

"[I have enjoyed] getting to know the cast and interacting with the set. [And I have learnt] how do adapt to a set and change your movements."

Aadi (as Tomas D - Act 2 Scene 5-7)

"I was able to step outside of my comfort zone and strengthen my social skills during the production. And I have learned a lot of drama skills from being in production."

Joshua (as Nick)

"Being in a group and collaborating and doing drama [is what I enjoyed the most being involved in this production]. [I also learnt] new types of ways to do drama and new skills and collaboration and teamwork through this process." 

Kiara (as Ivan)

"[What I have enjoyed the most out of being involved in this production is] making friends, having more experience in productions and drama, and just the process of making the show. [I learnt] life lessons such as self management for myself and my learning, new experiences." 

Balquisse (as Katerina)

"[I enjoyed] all the group work the most. And I have learnt how to work together with more people." 

Francesca (as Ms Brown/Doctor)

"I have enjoyed being able to develop my acting abilities and interact with new people I have never met before, especially as a new student to the school. I have enjoyed being able to grow with others but I also think it has helped me develop my responsibility as I have to remember my lines, blocking and queues. I feel that I have learned a lot from watching others and trying to take part in group activities within the production."

Georgia (as Station Guard / Fisherman)

"I have enjoyed how our cast are like a family and how we seen and helped each other grow as an actor and as a person, we seem to bond over something special and different, we shared laughter, embarrassment, stressfulness, and most importantly happiness. I enjoyed running our lines together, creating new moves for different scenes, playing drama games and overall just staying together as a little community. I would like to thank my teachers and my fellow actors for making it such a great experience for me. 

I learnt about commitment and teamwork, because if I don't show up to rehearsal or I don't know my lines, then that will affect the whole team of actors."

Guanchen (as Station Guard/Hunter)

"[What I enjoyed the most is] just the fact that we were a really supportive community and we are able to express ourselves. I learned how to be a supporting character, and how all of them have different stories that contribute to the play."

Prisha as Hunter's wife)

"I like how we are able to modify some parts of the play even after the script has been done. Eg. when we rehearse and see something that could be enhanced, we can add our own inputs and change the script a little. [What I've got out of this production] is meeting and interacting with new people." 

Ananya (as Woman in coat)

"I loved how I would get to talk to so many different people with the same interests as me and I really enjoyed exploring the sets and trying on the costumes because they transport me to the world of Stories in the Dark which is super cool! I have learnt to enhance my acting for example now I can make my voice more expressive and I also learned how to showcase the setting better for example in the she-wolf story we created a forest and showed her journey." 

Siyona (as Woman in water queue)

"Being part of the production helped me find out who I was. The opportunity to explore my identity in a different context, while working with so many talented and committed people helped me understand what I wanted to do and helped me become a better person. I think that being part of the production helped me refine my communication skills. But beyond that, the best part was making so many new friends and having the opportunity to work with so many professionals in the field."

Tanay (as Potato-Head Boy)

"[I have enjoyed] being able to see the props and set and I feel like I've learned a bit about the process of performing a play."

Jaime (as Ferryman/Serge)

"I enjoyed working with new people and how we would go into groups and make our own version of the scene. I learnt a lot in this process. I have learnt to make a scene effective for the audience and how a production comes together."

Chaarvi (as Flute/Lute/Cheerful man)

"Something I have most enjoyed about being involved in this production is the opportunity to better understand drama. Throughout I have not only enhanced my drama skills by learning from others around me but also learning from feedback given to me by peers or teachers. I feel like the new concepts and people that have been introduced to me was a wonderful experience all by itself, and that I hope I will get more opportunities like this in the future. 

During this whole journey I have learnt many different things. For example, how to showcase one simple thing and make it more elaborate just by changing the way you speak for example. I feel like I have also learned from other peoples mistakes on stage. This is because I am then able to make sure I don't make the same mistakes when it comes to me. Overall I have learnt many things and improved over time but there is also room to learn more and more and that's why I am very thankful to be part of this production."

Aksharra (as Ogre/Blind King)

"I think that this was an amazing opportunity to have. I loved learning all these new different skills and being different people in drama. It was really fun to just let yourself go and be someone new/ different for the moment. I would definitely do it again next year. I learnt lots of different new skills in drama such as learning how to be/control puppets. I never really got to experience them before and now I can move around a puppet efficiently. Another thing is that drama teaches you some stuff that could be really useful in life. For example, it can help you not be so stage fright because if you do it at a young age then you get used to it and won't be stage fright if you have to do public speaking. Or another thing is that it can help you act certain ways at times like when you might have to be serious in this conversation although it might be really funny to you then it can help teach you to hold that in and be serious." 

Jasmine (as Woman 1 and 2)

"I most enjoyed acting out my role in a dramatic way. I learnt from this production I have got a lot more confidence in my speaking and I learnt new ways to represent things using gestures such as the water and other strategies to intrigue the audience."

Vedansh (as Miller/Farmer Jones)

"[What I enjoyed the most is] practicing with other people from the production. [I have also learnt] how to be confident."

Yuki (as Miller's wife/Neighbourhood woman)

"I enjoyed working with everyone and seeing how we put the production from bits and pieces like we had at the beginning, to what we have now is a complete and organised production, it gives me the sense of accomplishment as being a part of the group. After I participated in the production, I became more brave to do actions and learnt how to take initiative when trying to accomplish something." 

Chloe (as Neighbour 1 and 2)

"I have really enjoyed working with everyone involved in the production. We got to work collaboratively with people from different grades and classes that we usually didn't get to interact with. I loved blocking the scenes and working with the props and set pieces, and throughout the process, everyone felt involved. Since this is one of my first productions, working in groups to create scenes was one of the best experiences. We were dedicated to the production and were engaged throughout the rehearsal process. Even as ensemble members we were part of every scene and we were able to contribute our own ideas to the performance. 

I learnt a lot about different techniques we used on stage, especially stage fighting and puppetry, which I didn't have a lot of experience in. I thought using puppets and miniatures was a really creative way to show the scenes. We used many techniques that I hadn't used before, such as different ways to use the ensemble in scenes that otherwise would have just been the leads talking on stage. Although we have learnt a little bit of this in drama class, it was interesting to see it applied to full production. Using different skills, such as using the ensemble, and the props, made the production more interesting in ways that I hadn't considered." 

Ruixi (as Nasty King / Man in Jacket)

"I have enjoyed the entire process of the play and it was so nice to see it all come together at the end. My takeaway from this production is that trying new things is really worth it."

Mythili (as Princess/Townswoman)

"It was fun and I made some new friends. I feel like I am now more comfortable in going out of my comfort zone."

Annika (as Townsperson)

"I really like the people involved with the production and I love the set. And I have learned to be part of an ensemble."

Levi (as Musician 1)

"I really enjoyed working with other adolescents, and genders. I liked how we were involved with most of the process as well, and the teachers always sought to get our opinion(s) on the product, especially if it concerned our role. I have learned multiple drama skills which makes me more curious about theatre. I have also developed my collaboration skills, which is important for various circumstances. I learned how to act naturally, and really portray a role." 

Rudelle (as Lazy Gus 2 / Musician 2)