SDEA Spotlight: Janice Chan

SDEA Spotlight is a series of short interviews with SDEA members that peel back the curtain behind their practice, their beliefs about arts and drama education and their influences.

Janice Chan has been a member of SDEA since 2012. She has been a drama educator since 2004 and has written, trained and directed students in numerous workshops, plays & musical productions in schools and theatre venues. Janice also had the opportunity to work with various homes and inmates in prison to use drama as a developmental tool to encourage change for rehabilitation purposes.

1. What are you working on at the moment?

Since March this year, I’ve decided to take a break from teaching (after almost 13 years) to go back to the industry and experience how things have developed outside the education world. I’m currently working as a Production Manager at Resorts World Sentosa.

2. What’s the direction of your work? Has it changed over the years?

My work largely centers around arts education and working with the youth. While that remains the core of what I do, I’m still trying out different means to achieve the desired results, adjusting and fine tuning the methods as part of my learning process.

3. What is a dream project that you hope to do?

It has always been my desire to be able to start an arts group for youths to come and learn, discover and create together. Most drama students tend to “graduate” from performing as they graduate from school. Without a school’s structure and support, most of them tend to stop honing their performing skills all together. Wouldn’t it be great if we can gather these passionate youths, including the less privileged or those who have a desire but never had the chance to pursue the arts, to come together and be empowered through the arts?

4. How did you start out doing what you do?

To be honest, I started out pretty late in this field… I've been mostly a musician in my school days and never in my wildest dream would I thought that I would venture into theatre. There was this one time when I was asked to help out in a skit in church, I actually broke down and cried during rehearsal when I was supposed to say my line! After my A levels, I didn’t do so well. While thinking about what my next step should be, I actually decided to enroll myself in NAFA to pursue a Diploma in Theatre Studies! I don’t know what gave me the courage (after what happened) but I’m really glad I took that step.

Upon graduation, I started teaching drama and to my surprise, the satisfaction is really something else and I’ve not looked back since.

5. How do you keep your work fresh?

Watch, listen, observe, interact and continue to learn from others.

6. What do you think makes a perfect drama educator?

I don’t think a perfect drama educator really exists… but we can’t go wrong if we truly have a passion for the arts, a desire to inspire the next generation and the willingness to pass on our knowledge without reservation.

7. Why is drama important? Why should it be taught in schools?

Drama is important not just because it’s an art form but more importantly because of the process that one goes through. Drama teaches, not just skills alone but it teaches values, perspectives, confidence, empathy, tolerance and so much more… It teaches about life. Drama has this amazing ability to bring forth transformation in one’s life and I’ve experienced it first hand in my own personal life.

8. Who was the drama educator that has the most impact on you?

That has to be my mentor who has mentored me since my early years of teaching. A lot of what I believe in and what I do are largely influenced by him – Danny Jow. His passion about drama education has inspired me to be a better educator. In 2015, I attended a teachers workshop – “Back to the Source” at American Conservatory Theatre (ACT) in San Francisco where I met Sarah Crowell – Executive Director of Destiny Arts Centre, Artistic Director of Destiny Arts Youth Performing Company (DAYPC) and I was very inspired by what DAYPC believes in. What they do resonates very much with what I believe arts education is about. You can read more about them at https://www.destinyarts.org/pages/performance-companies/

9. What is your most memorable moment in the classroom/on stage?

It's a little hard to pinpoint one moment… The best moments though, are those when I see a student transformed as a result of drama. The ones who used to be quiet and shy performing their best on stage. The ones who used to dislike drama expressing how they are glad to have stayed on. The ones who may not be the most talented but their passion motivates them to keep improving. The ones who witnessed their own transformation in their personal life because of what we do.

10. Share a drama activity that you love to do.

Invaders! It’s a theatre game where everyone sits on a chair all well spaced out in the game area. But there will be an empty chair in the midst which the invader (I usually start off as the invader and eventually chooses one of the students to take over after a couple of rounds) has to try to occupy while the other players try to prevent that from happening. The rules are simple.

1. The chairs can’t be moved
2. A player can only occupy one chair at a time
3. No physical contact to prevent the invader from sitting down
4. The invader is not allowed to run

How they play the game is up to them as long as they don’t break any rules

It’s a great game that works for all ages and introduces the players to teamwork, communication and thinking outside the box – a great introduction to what is vital in theatre.

11. What do you hope to see in Singapore's drama/theatre landscape in future?

The theatre scene has definitely grown over the years and the arts is becoming more accessible to the masses thus providing more opportunities for theatre practitioners. But my desire is to see drama taken more seriously in schools, to be a core subject in most schools even. Sadly, more often than not, drama tend to be one of the first to be cut off should there be a cut in budget but I truly believe this shouldn’t be the case.

12. In one word, sum up your drama education journey.

Transformation