Chatroom - Programme

Director’s Message Every Saturday since July 2021, a group of seven young theatremakers have been gathering at Stamford Arts Centre, working toward a production for Pangdemonium’s Very Youthful Company (VYC). VYC is the new youth wing of Pangdemonium, comprising young adults aged fifteen to nineteen.

While they are all actors and stage managers, they also form a mini company unto themselves.

Under our guidance, they have taken the lead in marketing and costuming for this show. They have evolved to truly make this production of Chatroom their own.

Coming into rehearsals every week with these young folk has been nothing short of a joy; I am honoured to have watched them grow, learn, and create through this process.

Despite the challenges we’ve had to face with the consistent threat of COVID, they have taken each moment in their stride and, I believe, have come out of the process better theatremakers and more resilient artists.

Although set almost twenty years ago, in an internet not known to our young performers, I chose this play because its story about social isolation, teenage depression, and the search for meaning online still rings true today.

My thanks to Adrian and Tracie for their vision in establishing VYC, and entrusting me with this very first project. I am also indebted to the Pangdemonium staff for their support.

Thank you very much for coming to watch these young artists today. We are so excited to share our work with you. _

Though we’ve moved from anonymous IRCs to TikTok and Instagram, the struggle for wired connectivity remains depressingly contemporary: the medium of internet communication has changed, but its essence is similar.

Timothy Koh Director of VYC

A Note From Pangdemonium Dear Friends, Family and Supporters, Welcome to the very first production presented by Pangdemonium’s Very Youthful Company.

We started Pangdemonium 11 years ago with the mission to tell stories on the stage which are challenging, inspiring, relevant, accessible, and above all, of the highest artistic, entertainment and productions values.

As we celebrated our 10th anniversary we felt that it was time to create a safe space that would enable and develop young talents and give them a rare opportunity to perform in a professional setting, whilst being guided through an allrounded experience in theatre making.

We are so excited to present our very first production created by VYC and we hope that you will enjoy the fruits of their hard work and passion.

Adrian & Tracie Pang Artistic Directors

Company Of Chatroom

Dia Hakim K. Cecilia Ann Wong Actress Cecilia (@ceciliaanneee) is that friend who just listens.

To your stories, rants, ups and downs. Like Laura.

A 17 year old who is passionate about theatre, music and the arts, Cecilia has performed in several musical productions presented by Vocal Associates. These musicals include Hansel & Gretel, The Little Prince (as The Water) and Eloise. She enjoys singing and is currently working towards her Grade 7 Singing examination under the tutelage of Khor Ai Ming.

On public transport, Cecilia can be easily identified by her friends as the Girl who Crochets. In her free time, Cecilia also enjoys sewing gowns for her younger sister.

Actress Dia Hakim (b. 2002) is a performer, playwright, and dramatist. Their training credits include a Diploma in Theatre (NAFA, English Drama) and Singapore Repertory Theatre’s Young Company ensemble. Some notable roles include Vladimir in Waiting For Godot, Portia in The Merchant Of Venice, Iago in Othello, and Krogstad in A Doll’s House.

Most recently, they’ve worked alongside Teater Ekamatra in (I)solate, starring as Juna. They write and develop plays alongside Playwrights Commune. In their free time, they enjoy petting black cats and online window shopping.

They can be contacted via email at diakcontact@ gmail.com and/or Instagram (@diahckim).

Sabeen Golandaz Actress Sabeen Golandaz is currently a secondary school student at Dulwich College Singapore. She is a dancer and actor.

Throughout many years, since the age of 6, Sabeen has performed at The World Championships in Glasgow and The Dubai opera for dance. As well as that, she has taken part in musicals and plays such as Lord of the Flies, The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui, Twelfth Night and Hairspray.

She loves to meet and work with new people that share the same passion as her for the Performing Arts and is always keen on learning new things.

She also is obsessed with shopping! She can be contacted via Instagram (@sabeengolandazz).

Seth Arri Azhar Actor Seth Arri Azhar (@seetth04), currently studying Applied Drama and Psychology in Singapore Polytechnic, is excited to be part of VYC’s inaugural batch.

When he’s not seen around his computer, he’s actively pursuing his true passion — Theatre. Seth loves to write, direct and act, and has been in multiple school productions as well as WildRice’s Schooled, Bitesize Theatre Productions’ Monster in the Mirror, and most recently, Theatre Compass’ adaptation of Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime.

Seth looks forward to fulfilling his dream of becoming a drama educator and sharing his love for the artform.

Isaac Ong Actor

Chloe Choo Actress Prior to this show Chloe (@choowy.chloxx._) has done a few local and international musical productions, one being Pangdemonium’s Fun Home in 2017, and she has also taken part in the two most recent Triple Threats Workshops.

Chloe is thrilled to present her role as Eva in Chatroom. When she’s not playing the role of an angsty, cold-hearted bitch, Chloe can be found drinking her green tea latte with soy milk. During her pre and post green tea drinking, she can be found dancing around different studios or scrolling through random science facts on Instagram.

If none of these apply, she definitely has her earphones in, picking out 1 out of her 21 distinct spotify playlists that reflects her mood for the day, and shuffling her songs until the one she actually wanted to listen to comes up.

Isaac (@isskc) is currently schooling in Junior College where — in his Theatre Studies and Drama classes — the nagging impulse to do something on a stage hit him like a “speeding Ford Mondeo”.

Being his first ever production, Isaac has learnt much with his budding castmates. Of course, his foray into theatre has only begun, and he’ll branch out to different opportunities, starting with Singapore Repertory Theatre’s Young Company next year. He enjoys nice, warm mugs of masala chai, because honestly, those spices really hit different on rainy days!

Other than that, he’s a self-professed potterhead that can recite (verbatim!) the entirety of the magical chess scene from the Philosopher’s Stone movie.

Alvan Tan Stage Manager Alvan (@tan.alvan) is currently a Year 3 Theatre student at the School Of The Arts, Singapore.

He is an aspiring Stage Manager and has previously been a part of Singapore’s Hokkien Huay Kuan Animals Jamboree and several other smallerscale shows. Alvan’s interests have moved towards the backstage aspects of production in recent years, evidenced by his continual contributions in being an SM for multiple internal showcases within SOTA. He often interacts with other like-minded individuals within the theatre industry, taking those opportunities to share his experiences and learn more from others.

He also has a particular interest in lighting design and he hopes to gain wide and valuable insight into the theatre industry in the future.

Chatroom Production Team Timothy Koh Director Timothy Koh is the Director of Pangdemonium’s Very Youthful Company and has most recently Assisted Directed on Pangdemonium’s production of The Mother.

In New York City, he has Assistant Directed at Lincoln Center Theater, held a Fellowship at Playwrights Horizons, as well as directed and developed thesis plays at New York University’s Graduate Department of Dramatic Writing.

Other US experience includes work with Scott Rudin Productions, the Lucille Lortel Awards, Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival, and Stay Awake! Theatre.

Training: New York University (BFA Theatre, BA English and American Literature).

Tai Zi Feng Lighting Designer Tai Zi Feng graduated with BA Hons in Theatre Arts from the University of Essex, East 15. His work ranges from dance, musicals to theatre.

As a Lighting Designer, he was always drawn to the connection between light and other mediums in our daily life. He believes that light can help invoke emotions and accentuate moments.

He also occasionally works as a Scenographer (Scenic & Lighting Design) where he materialises his vision on stage.

As a passionate theatre practitioner, he enjoys approaching complex projects with a holistic approach to have an intuitive understanding of the artistic direction & concept, and spearhead the project from there.

Some of his recent work are: Master of Comedy II and Redhill Market by Toy Factory Productions, and The Five Elements by Musa_SG.

Daniel Wong Sound Designer Daniel Wong graduated from Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music with a B.Mus(Hons) in Recording Arts & Science, and is a sound designer, composer and music producer.

Sound design credits include The Sound Inside (SRT), Tuesdays with Morrie (SRT), Cafe (W!LD RICE), When the Cold Wind Blows (W!LD RICE) and G.F.E (W!LD RICE). Associate sound design credits include The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (SRT), Fantastic Mr. Fox in Mandarin (SRT), Dragonflies (Pangdemonium) and Falling (Pangdemonium).

Composition credits include Smartypants and the Swordfish (Gateway Theatre) and Perfecting Pratas (Sight Lines Entertainment).

Pangdemonium Team Tracie Pang Artistic Director

Adrian Pang Artistic Director

Kimberly Wong Company Manager

Crispian Chan Creative Director/IT

Kristal Zhou Marketing Manager

Jasper Lim Creative Designer

Leah Sim

Kusum Sandhu

Sales & Ticketing Manager

Guillaume Vautrin Accounting Manager

Guineviere Low Company Administrator

Gladys Soo

Production Apprentice

Izzah Khairina

Sales & Ticketing Assistant

James Tan Associate Artist

Production Manager

Sunitha Nayar Production Manager

Cat Andrade

Company Stage Manager

_ The videotaping or making of electronic or other audio and/or visual recordings or streams of this production is strictly prohibited, a violation of United Kingdom Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 and an actionable offense.

Special thanks to DBS, The Diana Koh Foundation, and The Grace, Shua and Jacob Ballas II Charitable Trust for their generous support of Pangdemonium’s Education initiatives.

“They’re expressing important issues in creative ways.”

Chatroom is a chilling, dark comedy that begs the audience to consider many things - do we underestimate our youth?

Why do teenagers act out, and how should we deal with all these emotions... while slowly learning to deal with the real world?

How do we cope with growing up, finding a purpose, and finding solutions to the many pressing problems society continues to shove at us?

Enda Walsh poses these questions through the five “bloody opinionated” teenagers who struggle to find belonging and meaning in a tiny, dark corner of the Internet.

@veryyouthfulcompany

Pangdemonium Theatre Company Ltd is a registered charity with IPC status.

Registration number: 201229915M Pangdemonium Theatre Company Ltd is a recipient of support from the National Arts Council’s Major Company Scheme for the period 1 April 2020 to 31 March 2023