Singapore Arts Festival 2010 — Festival Chats at Public Libraries!

*Please click to enlarge the image*

The Singapore Arts Festival is right around the corner again! This year, the National Arts Council and NLB Public Libraries are working together to bring you a series of Festival Chats, where you can learn more about the shows that will be featuring in Singapore Arts Festival 2010.

So join us for this series of informative chats and previews of the upcoming Singapore Arts Festival programmes. Come and hear the artists’ journey in art making.

The schedule:

[i]
Date: Sat 27 Mar
Time: 3.00 - 4.30pm
Topic: Artists Reflections - Revisiting Local Creations
A panel of local artists will share their creation process. Guest speakers include Haresh Sharma, Resident Playwright, The Necessary Stage and

剧本演读现场 SCENES: The Dramatised readings

剧本演读现场
SCENES: The Dramatised readings

从战前到现在， 新加坡的剧作家创作了无数的剧本， 这次的演读， 让你看到更多这次无法上演的剧本片段。由谢燊杰与许婉婧联合策划， 我们将从众多出色的剧本中， 选择某些精彩片断， 让你看到新加坡华语剧场这些年来的发展与成绩。每一次演读之后， 都会有讨论会，通过交流的方式， 对我们的文化景观有更进一步的认识。

(华语演出)

华艺节2010《戏聚现场》节目之一

Get a taste of plays written from the pre-war era to the present time. Featuring read excerpts from seminal local Chinese language plays from the decades, SCENES: The Dramatised Readings, curated by Nelson Chia and Koh Wan Ching, give a sense of how Singapore’s Chinese Language Theatre has developed over the years. Each dramatized reading will be followed by a discussion that will enable all to consider the rich history of our cultural landscape with fresh eyes.

(Performed in Mandarin)

Presented as part of SCENES, a

Are there other animated anti-war films like Waltz with Bashir?

If you caught Waltz with Bashir at Animation Nation 09 and were moved by the film, you might find some of these other animated anti-war films to your interest too. The movie titles that follow can all be found for lending at library@esplanade.

If you intend to check the availability of any title before visiting library@esplanade, you may do so via the online catalogue at: http://catalogue.nlb.gov.sg

[i]
Title: Sukai Kurora = The Sky Crawlers
By: Mamoru Oshii
Call No.: Other 791.4372 SUK
Format: DVD

Catalogue summary: The sky crawlers are young fighter pilots that have been genetically designed to live

What was the animation style used in Waltz with Bashir?

Waltz with Bashir. Dir: Ari Folman 2008.
Source: Sharmill Films. All rights reserved.

The animated film, Waltz with Bashir, “uses a unique animation style invented by Yoni Goodman at the Bridgit Folman Film Gang studio in Israel. The technique takes real video, and maps it out so it can be converted into hand drawings and then into traditional animation.

The film was first shot in a sound studio as a 90-minute video and then transferred to a storyboard. From there 2,300 original illustrations were

How do I appreciate a ballet performance?

Company in “Variations Serieuses” by Choo San Goh / The Washington Ballet / Photo credit: © Donald Becker 1981-2009 - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

As is always the case for aesthetics stuff, this is very much up to the individual. There is no one clear-cut way of appreciating ballet, but perhaps getting acquainted with the brief history of ballet, some famous works, and the techniques involved may help. Also, a knowledge in the story of the dance piece — most ballet pieces are based on stories —

How are colours used in Peking Opera masks?

According to academic Colin Mackerras, the colours used in Peking Opera facial make-ups “were originally intended to enhance the natural complexion of the character, [but] they gradually came to represent the temperament of the characters” (47).

In their book, ‘Fascinating Stage Arts’, Bao Chengjie and Cao Juan elaborates on this: “This concept of different colours representing different temperaments was inherited from Chinese folk art, and thus struck a cord with the audiences right from the start” (89).

Xu Chengbei further