GLEN GOEI – DIRECTOR (FAMILY OUTING)

Glen's body of work embraces a wide range of the performing arts ranging from film, theatre, musicals, parades, large scale shows and World Expos over a twenty two year period. This started with his Olivier Award-nominated performance in the title role of M. Butterfly opposite Anthony Hopkins in London's West End. It grew through his multi-award winning tenure as Artistic Director of Mu-Lan Arts with productions like Porcelain (Best Play and Best Production 1993) and The Magic Fundoshi (Best Comedy 1993) which garnered acclaim in London, Singapore and worldwide. It reached another level with the development of his film career with his self-written, directed and produced picture Forever Fever (aka That's The Way I Like It) – the first Singapore film to have achieved a worldwide commercial film release. His second feature, The Blue Mansion, has just completed a worldwide tour of film festivals, including Pusan, Tokyo, Hawaii and Berlin (Asian Hot Shots Opening Film).

Underpinning this has been his constant and substantial contribution to the theatre, principally as Associate Artistic Director of W!LD RICE. Here his productions have included hits such as Boeing Boeing, The Magic Fundoshi, Blithe Spirit and his internationally lauded 2009 interpretation of The Importance Of Being Earnest and for Dream Academy, The Revenge Of The Dim Sum Dollies®, The History Of Singapore and The Little Shop Of Horrors.

IVAN HENG – DIRECTOR (COOLING OFF DAY)

Ivan Heng is one of Singapore’s most prominent and dynamic creative personalities, and the founder and artistic director of W!LD RICE, Singapore’s leading professional theatre company.

In a pioneering career spanning more than 2 decades, Ivan has directed and acted in many landmark Singapore theatre productions, which have been performed in more than 20 cities throughout Europe, Asia, America, Australia, New Zealand and Russia.

In 2000, Ivan founded W!LD RICE. Under his leadership, the company is today at the vanguard of creating theatre with a distinctive Singaporean voice and point of view. In 2006, he founded the Singapore Theatre Festival, a new writing festival, which was appraised as “the main event in the world of the arts” (SPH The Straits Times 2006), and the “Blockbuster Event of the Year” (Today, 2008).

Ivan was the Creative Director of the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the inaugural Youth Olympic Games, Singapore 2010. For its creativity, ambition and technical perfection, it was ranked among the ranked as one of the top three Opening Ceremonies since 1968 by President Jacques Rogge of the International Olympic Committee.

A law graduate from the National University of Singapore, Ivan trained at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama.

KOH HUI LING – DIRECTOR (THIS IS HOME?)

As a young child, Hui Ling was trained in Speech & Drama at the Singapore Hokkien Huay Kuan Arts & Cultural Troupe from 1988, before venturing into professional theatre in 2001. One of Singapore’s most versatile mandarin theatre actresses, Hui Ling has explored a wide range of theatre genres to critical acclaim.

Besides acting, Hui Ling has been a Speech & Drama teacher since 1999. Co-founding NeNeMas in 2004 and ARTivate in 2007, she is currently the Artistic Director of NeNeMas – the education arm of Drama Box and ARTivate – the youth wing of Drama Box, developing the training programme for the youths. Hui Ling is also overseeing the curriculum development of NeNeMas and has developed a set of Drama-in-Education and Theatre-in-Education programmes and pedagogies through her years of teaching and working with participants of diverse backgrounds and age groups.

Hui Ling has attended international conferences and workshops on theatre/drama education in London, Greece and Hong Kong. She recently returned with an MA in Applied Drama (Distinction, 2010) from the University of Exeter, UK. With many years of teaching and facilitating experience in educational institutions, Hui Ling continues to believe in the humanistic value of education and aspires to touch people with her work.

ZIZI AZAH ABDUL MAJID – DIRECTOR (CHARGED & NADIRAH)

Zizi Azah is the Artistic Director of Teater Ekamatra. A graduate of the National University of Singapore in Philosophy and Sociology, Zizi Azah is effectively bilingual in English and Malay and is both playwright and theatre director. She has helmed numerous theatre productions performed in English, Malay and Peranakan.

A leading figure in a new generation of theatre professionals, her plays have been nominated for Best Script, Best Actress and Best Sound Design awards at numerous Singapore Life! Theatre Awards. Aside from her work as a theatre artist, Zizi also lectures at the Lasalle College of The Arts. She is also a published author of Fatimah and Her Magic Socks, a children’s book illustrated by her husband, Izmir Ickbal.

As an artist, she is interested in creating work that is emotionally resonant. She is in constant search for the universal truth. Her plays are known for being both imaginative and unexpected, with settings that are often non-naturalistic and border more along the styles of magical-realism and absurdism. Her plays frequently deal with social-political issues - issues she has written about include the plight of lower middle-class Singaporeans; the Israeli-Palestinian conflict; gender inequality as well as consumerism and the rat race.