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."