Kok Heng Leun

{"thumbnail":"{\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/c42-archive-prod-files-acl.s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com\\\/public\\\/2022-01\\\/Kok%20Heng%20Leun.png?VersionId=3Qpelgh9jONbkQzEUWV_7JkmUpSmXogo\",\"alt\":\"A black and white headshot of Kok Heng Leun, in glasses, smiling into the camera.\",\"backgroundColor\":null}","body":"[{\"type\":\"long-text\",\"content\":\"\\u003Cp\\u003EKok Heng Leun is a Nominated Member of Parliament as well as the Artistic Director of Singaporean theatre company Drama Box, and a prominent figure in both the English- and Chinese-language theatres in Singapore. Thus far, he has directed over 60 plays, including Kuo Pao Kun\\u0027s\\u0026nbsp;\\u003Cem\\u003ESpirit Play\\u003C\\\/em\\u003E; the Forum Theatre work\\u0026nbsp;\\u003Cem\\u003E\\u003Ca href=\\u0022http:\\\/\\\/dramabox.org\\\/eng\\\/productions-forumtricktreat.html\\u0022\\u003ETrick or Threat!\\u003C\\\/a\\u003E\\u003C\\\/em\\u003E;\\u0026nbsp;\\u003Cem\\u003E\\u003Ca href=\\u0022http:\\\/\\\/dramabox.org\\\/eng\\\/productions-herstory.html\\u0022\\u003EHERstory\\u003C\\\/a\\u003E\\u003C\\\/em\\u003E\\u0026nbsp;(2011, Singapore Arts Festival); and\\u0026nbsp;\\u003Cem\\u003E\\u003Ca href=\\u0022http:\\\/\\\/dramabox.org\\\/eng\\\/productions-drift-08.html\\u0022\\u003EDrift\\u003C\\\/a\\u003E\\u003C\\\/em\\u003E\\u0026nbsp;(2008, Singapore Season).\\u003C\\\/p\\u003E\\r\\n\\r\\n\\u003Cp\\u003EHeng Leun strongly believes in engaging the community in his works to promote critical dialogues about the world we live in. He is one of the most important theatre practitioners in Singapore advocating applied and engaged arts. Known to be one of the most respectable Forum Theatre practitioners in Asia, he has also ventured into multi-disciplinary applied and engaged arts projects such as\\u0026nbsp;\\u003Cem\\u003E\\u003Ca href=\\u0022http:\\\/\\\/dramabox.org\\\/eng\\\/productions-pmsus.html\\u0022\\u003EProject Mending Sky\\u003C\\\/a\\u003E\\u0026nbsp;\\u003C\\\/em\\u003Ewhich deals with environmental issues, and\\u0026nbsp;\\u003Cem\\u003E\\u003Ca href=\\u0022http:\\\/\\\/dramabox.org\\\/eng\\\/productions-ipsprism.html\\u0022\\u003EPRISM\\u003C\\\/a\\u003E\\u003C\\\/em\\u003E\\u0026nbsp;which looks at issues of governance in Singapore.\\u003C\\\/p\\u003E\\r\\n\\r\\n\\u003Cp\\u003EIn recent years, Heng Leun has been actively advocating cultural exchanges and dialogues among artists and cultural workers in the region as well as internationally. He has also taken up teaching, curatorial and dramaturgical roles in many projects.\\u003C\\\/p\\u003E\\r\\n\\r\\n\\u003Cp\\u003EHeng Leun also strongly believes in the importance of research and documentation of theatre and performance. In recent years, he has initiated various projects to document and research on Chinese language theatre in Singapore, including\\u0026nbsp;\\u003Cem\\u003E\\u003Ca href=\\u0022http:\\\/\\\/dramabox.org\\\/eng\\\/productions-thesymposium.html\\u0022\\u003ESCENES \\u2013 Singapore\\u0027s Chinese Language Theatre\\u003C\\\/a\\u003E\\u003C\\\/em\\u003E, a curated festival programme of theatre and exhibitions, a published\\u0026nbsp;\\u003Ca href=\\u0022http:\\\/\\\/dramabox.org\\\/eng\\\/book-scenes_contemporary_mandarin_plays_anthology_p1.html\\u0022\\u003Eanthology of contemporary Singapore Chinese language plays\\u003C\\\/a\\u003E, and currently a publication on the history of Singapore\\u0027s Chinese language theatre.\\u003C\\\/p\\u003E\\r\\n\\r\\n\\u003Cp\\u003EHe received the Young Artist Award from the National Arts Council of Singapore in 2000 and the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry Culture Award in 2003. In 2006, he was presented the Outstanding Young Person (Culture) award in recognition of his contribution to the local arts scene.\\u003C\\\/p\\u003E\\r\\n\"}]"}