志异 Draft by Drama box december 2013 (english) | Page 5

Dear Readers, Memory is one of those things, you know, that is as ephemerally fickle as it is ostensibly concrete. It permeates our being — it is as much about our past as it is about our present and our future. As we live through each moment, our memories extend through time and space, making sense of our reality and dreams. We can perhaps even say that because of memory, we become omnipresent — not unlike the gods. In this issue, we bring to you a series of meditative musings on memory. In Feature, actor-writer Neo Hai Bin traverses the different dimensions of memory, prosing the dialectics as well as the poetics. In Guest Columns, museum employee Iskander Mydin maps the topography of memory by situating it in socio-political landscapes, as veteran historian Han Tan Juan recounts his fascinating life experience of living through six different political regimes. In Theatre A-B-C, educator Chang Mei Yee traces the process of two Reminiscence Theatre projects and the ways in which memories are recollected, molded and performed. In a special segment, film director Royston Tan’s short No Admittance makes an Encore appearance. Last but definitely not the least in Open Call, our reader Yeh Yue Hann looks into the past with her old family photographs — quite literally! We look forward to submissions from you — our readers — drop us an email at [email protected]! Oh, and did we mention how happy we are to feature the blisteringly beautiful photographs taken by our dear friend Rebecca Toh, and the exceptionally delicate design by the ingenious Yong Yi? We hope you enjoy this ramble as much as we enjoyed working on it. Here’s to us remembering and forgetting. Yours, Wang Fang, Kate Co-editor