Ariel Chua, 19, Student

I joined the Singapore Monologue Slam because it's the first ever competition ever, and I just want to grow myself as an actor.

What I love about performing is that I'm able to put myself in other people's shoes. It increases my empathy towards people, actually, when I do characters and stuff like that.

What do I think of SMS? I think that it is a really good initiative to start off somewhere. It gives a platform for actors or people who just want to showcase something.

I think my challenge of the monologue competition is that definitely there's going to be a lot of great people out there. And I guess you just have to put your best foot forward but after all, it's really just about having fun and you know, trying it out, so why not!
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My advice for other people out there who are aspiring to be actors or currently acting is, continue doing what you love, and don't ever stop just because the theatre industry is so small. You can be the one who makes the theatre industry big in Singapore. 

Daisy Zhao, 26, Actress

"Why am I coming for this Singapore Monologue Slam? Because it's a big challenge for me, it's my first ever acting competition. And I think want to fight my stage nervousness also, I want to practice my monologues, and it is a good opportunity to meet so many good friends and lovely people here. And the most important reason: I love HCAC!

What I love about performing is that I can live so many different kinds of lives, and I can make an influence on the audience, at least I can make a little bit of difference, I can bring along all the useful, important, valuable information to them.

What I think about SMS: it's a very open space. You can be truthful to everyone, you can trust them, and it's only thirty dollars of registration fee.

I think my challenges in this monologue slam will be it's my first monologue performance on stage, so stage nervousness. And [I need to] try to communicate to the audience because they are right in front of you, and also to practice my speech, the pronunciation, and also the acting skills.

My advice for actors: to be truthful to yourself, to be truthful to the role that you're playing. And believe the role you're playing, so that people will believe it's true, it's honest, and they will get whatever information you want to tell them, and that would be awesome."

Htoo Pyae Pyae Aung, 17, Student
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"I joined SMS because ever since I was young, I’ve always been interested in acting. My first movie was The Lion King and as a kid I would pretend that I was Simba, and my friends and I would use the sofa was Pride Rock, we would roar really loudly. At a young age I have always been interested in being another person, but I was never exposed to these types of competitions until this year when SMS came to my school, so I decided to join SMS.

What I love about performing is that I can be a totally different person. Like I said, I really enjoy being another character. It sounds weird, but I would usually people-watch and observe their mannerisms, what they do, and sometimes try to copy them. It's just a creepy interest of mine. Performing allows me to use this interest not in a creepy way, but a more productive and useful manner.

I think SMS is a good opportunity for fledgling actors who want to gain exposure. I think it's a good platform for meeting new friends, like today during the Master Class surprisingly I got to meet people from all different age groups, and I asked them about how's adult life, do I need to worry about my financial status, these kind of things. I guess SMS will be good for people who have interest in acting and need exposure.
 
My challenge would be stage fright. When I practice at home, I would do pretty okay, but when I see the room filled with people, I might suddenly just blank out, and I think that's something that I have to work on."

Ivanna Ihekwoaba, 22, Canadian exchange student

"I wanted to challenge myself and get out of my comfort zone. I was just browsing through the internet and found the SMS competition.  I’ve never done a monologue slam before. When I did monologues, it was just for auditions and what not. I thought it was an interesting concept, and I checked it out and had 2 to 3 days before the deadline and I submitted my monologue really quickly. I joined because I wanted to challenge myself and see how I could learn and grow from this experience as an actor.

What I love about performing is that I love the freedom on stage. Performing gives me another set of voice I can’t really reach on a daily basis when I’m not performing. So, to be able to reach an audience, and be able to affect them with my performance is what I love. It also allows me to interact with people on a different level. Every time I perform, I always leave the space knowing something more about myself.

My challenges would be trying to see how my monologue would affect the audience. I’ve never really done a monologue slam before. My biggest challenge would be how to get the audience to relate to my character and understand who I am within one minute or two. It may seem like an easy thing but I think I’d call that a challenge.

My message to aspiring actors is to keep going. I know everyone says that but what you put into it is what you get. You have to want it so much more than the next person. You have to live and breathe this work as an actor. My saying is never give up anything you can’t go a day without thinking about. If that’s you, then you know what to do and you know that anything else that happens, you can deal with it. Keeping moving on and trust yourself as an actor and performer."

Kat Ng, 24, Teacher

"I joined SMS because I like competition and I like acting, so this is a competition which judges our acting skills, I think it’s perfect.

I love performing because I love being in the centre of attention, and it gives me an adrenaline rush.

I think my challenges would definitely be the other young and talented competitors in the Monologue Slam.

My advice for actors would be not to give up. Grow a thick skin and be shameless, go and put yourself out there."

Nadirah Friday, 24, Speech and Drama Teacher

"The reason why I wanted to join SMS is because I actually wanted to join for the prize money, to fund a refugee project I was going to start. But as I go along I realised that there was a lot of learning taking place, and I embrace the learning and the people as well. It’s kind of like, I did it on a whim, but I'm glad I did it.

What I love about performing is really stepping out of my comfort zone, and the fact that I'm actually clad in a head scarf, and pushing myself to put on the hat of a character who is not associated with my identity as a Muslim woman, so I think that's what I really love about performing. And if I'm directing and reading out my own piece, I think I have the creative ability to do that.

What do I think of SMS? It's great! It's really great. I'm really thankful that there’s something called the Monologue Slam, because if you audition it's always a 5-minutes monologue. I already knew what a monologue was when I was in secondary school, when I was auditioning for a school play, and I actually did an entire script on my own as different characters. So that was a learning experience altogether, I wish I knew about this competition before I went for that audition (but nonetheless I got that parts okay, haha).

What would my challenges be? I think it's my confidence level, because I usually do directing instead of acting, so it's so much easier for me to say 'You have to do this', but the nerves are real when you get on stage. As the director you are doing back-work, but when you're on stage with the audience you don't feel that sense of nervousness. So I guess in this sense this whole learning process will make me understand my actors a lot more. If I were to do more directing in the future, I will be like, 'Look, I understand, I empathise with your situation.' And I can more or less help them from a better perspective. So like I said, I joined this competition for the learning and people as well."

Jaisilan Sathisilan, 30, Doctor

"I joined Singapore Monologue Slam because monologues have always fascinated me. I was inspired when I watched last year's edition, and especially the orignal piece. It's really interesting to tell the story of a character in that one-minute or two-minute span that you're actually telling.

What I love about performing, it's about doing justice to the character, it's about be it whether the character is angry, or the character is dealing with a break up, or maybe the character is just diagnosed with cancer, but it's just telling someone's story, and I love and enjoy story telling.

What do I think about the Singapore Monologue Slam? I think it's a fantastic way, because I've seen people from all walks of life, they've basically come to join Singapore Monologue Slam. You have got people who have done monologues before and are experienced and then you have newbies. It's always so exciting to see fresh blood in and see what they can actually offer, and it's also good hopes that maybe you can develop a career on after this.
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I think one of the biggest challenge I feel for Singapore Monologue Slam is for myself, i think personally, is to keep within the time limit, because sometimes you get a bit excited or carried away when you're telling the monologue, or when you're preparing it. I think that's one fear I have. I guess another point is although it's still a competition, but I guess, enjoying the process [is also important]."