Singapore Tamil Youth Conference 2018 Toolkit Toolkit 2018 Final | Page 41

○
Productions by polytechnics and tertiary
institutions (e.g. Sangae Muzhangu and
Uthraa) are theatre productions which
feature students keen in showcasing their
artistic talents such as acting or dancing,
thus mainly attracting those who have
had previous exposure to the Tamil Arts.
○ These productions provide good training
grounds for emerging talents and they
have been added to the Tamil Theatre
talent pool
External Theatre Platforms
• There are several Tamil theatre groups
that recruit youth actors by holding
auditions and then eventually training
them to develop their acting skills
o E.g. 2Tango Dazzle, Avant,
Athipathi, AKT Creations etc.
• The crossover of television actors to
theatre is common and theatre
productions are more widely received
by audience when they see their
favourite television actors being a part
of them.
In recent years, theatre companies have also
begun organizing competitions for youth to
motivate more youth to participate in theatre-
related activities
○
●
●
●
In March 2018, 2Tango Dazzle
organized Artathon, an Inter-
Tertiary Tamil Theatre Competition
produced by youths for youths
○ The competition sought to increase the
growth of Tamil through theatre and hone
the youth community’s theatrical skills.
○ The competition, which is the first of its
kind, was organized for tertiary students
from Polytechnics, Institutes of Technical
Education, Junior Colleges, Pre-University
institutions and Universities including
private universities
○ Participants also got the chance to learn
through free theatre workshops under the
guidance of professional practitioners.
Alternatively, youth talent spotted at school
theatre productions are also given
opportunities by local theatre companies.
Schools need to take the lead in exposing
youth to theatre since these institutions have
the resources to nurture aspiring theatre
practitioners and inspire a love for the arts in
them.
More local professional theatre practitioners
also need to attempt recruiting youth talent
from educational institutions by increasing
their reach.
Encouraging Youth Participation in Tamil Theatre
Youth have played a very important role in
the development of the local Tamil theatre
scene
In 1988, Ravindran Drama Group (RDG)
was the first theatre group in Singapore
that was established by young people.
It was formed by secondary school
students who grew to be passionate
about Tamil Theatre as a result of being
influenced
by
theatre-related
programmes that used to be broadcasted
both on television and radio (e.g. Siruvar
Medai, Ilaiyar Arangam)
38
“Although Oli 96.8 continues to present Tamil
plays, it is not at a level to meet the demands of
its listeners” - Dr. Uma Rajan
o Radio plays used to have a huge influence on
youth who wanted to enter the Tamil Theatre
scene in the olden days → low rates of Youth
participation in theatre could be correlated to
the decline in the number of radio plays
o Local media platforms such as Oli 96.8 FM
could also help to sustain theatre interest by
featuring radio plays as part of their slate of
on-air programmes. Issue lies in preserving