Open Call for Writers - Sound Plot: True/South

As part of Singapore Art Week 2024, the Singapore Art Museum and Centre 42 are commissioning and producing a collection of original audio plays written in response to the geographical area of Tanjong Pagar/Pasir Panjang where the museum currently resides. 

This is an invitation for two writers to respond through audio drama to this fascinating area, guided by the curatorial prompt “True/South”. Selected writers will need to be available for an intensive script development phase in November 2023, and will work with a director during the recording and production process in December 2023. Audio production is done in collaboration with Artwave Studio.

From 19 - 28 Jan 2024, the Singapore Art Museum will host these audio plays in their premises. Each play will have an audio spot installation inviting visitors to plug in to a world of audio drama, connecting their physical site to imagined fictions and histories of adjacent sites.

This is a paid opportunity, and commissioned writers will receive $1,000 each.

Application period runs from 16 October (12pm) to 31 October (12pm). Please complete this online form to submit the following:

• Your updated CV. Highlight your experience in writing for / working in the audio medium.
• A writing sample of no more than 10 pages. This should be from an existing stage play, audio play, or screenplay.
• Your proposal for a 15-minute audio play, which must:
  • respond to the curatorial prompt below
  • tell us about the curiosity, fascination, or other impulse that draws you to this work, and how you imagine this play might delve into these ideas
  • describe your ideas for the narrative, characters, and world that the play takes place in
  • be no more than 2 pages.

TRUE/SOUTH

Since antiquity, the southern coastline of Singapore has been known as a major maritime gateway to China and beyond, and locally was a point of entry for many of the migrant flows in the island’s history. 

Today, the area houses one of the world’s busiest ports, a phenomenon that has drastically re-shaped the island’s coastline. Nearly unrecognizable from early maps, the coast nonetheless still buzzes with many of the same energies– entrepot trade, land reclamation, migration, and openness to global flows of capital– that are part of modern Singapore’s DNA.

But so are many of the city’s contemporary problems: income disparities, environmental degradation, and heritage-loss due to relentless urban development. And most obviously, this area connects Singapore to the huge open sea, inviting us to think about how this island is linked to other places. What ports of call- concrete and mythological– are part of this network?

We invite you to write a play that reckons in any way with these ideas... Whether you’re curious about the many layers of history in the area; have a story to tell about the diverse range of people who live, work, and play here; or have a speculative tale about its future, we want to hear your ideas!

The turnaround for these audio plays will be quick and intensive. Selected writers will need to be available for the phases outlined below and commit to the duration of the project. 

16 October - 31 October:

• Open Call for Proposals
• Prepare your documents and apply via this form

3 November:

• Selected writers will be notified

6 November - 19 November:

• Script development intensive 
• Writers will need to be available to turn in drafts of their script, engage in discussions with script dramaturg, director, sound designer and producer

20 November - 10 December:
Audio pre and production phase

• Writers will need to be ready for script edits, rehearsals with voice actors and director, and participate in the recording process

5 January - 17 January:

• Audio post-production phase: reviewing of edits and final publishing
• Installation at Singapore Art Museum

19 January - 28 January:

• Singapore Art Week 2024

From the open call, 2 plays were selected out of the 13 submissions we received! The playwrights selected are:

Their scripts are developed as a collection of 3 audio plays, along with a commissioned play by Joel Tan, with audio production by Artwave Studio and direction by Grace Kalaiselvi, Lim Shien Hian and Cherilyn Woo.

Find out more about the audio plays below!