Haresh Sharma (Singapore)

Haresh is Resident Playwright of The Necessary Stage and co-Artistic Director of the annual M1 Singapore Fringe Festival. To date, he has written more than 90 plays. His play, Off Centre, was selected by the Ministry of Education as a Literature text for N and O Levels, and republished by The Necessary Stage in 2006. In 2008, Ethos Books published Interlogue: Studies in Singapore Literature, Vol.6, written by Prof David Birch and edited by A/P Kirpal Singh, which presented an extensive investigation of Haresh's work over the past 20 years. In 2011, Haresh was also awarded the Goldberg Master Playwright by New York University's Tisch School of the Arts.

A collection of Haresh's plays have been translated into Mandarin and published by Global Publishing with the title 哈里斯·沙玛剧作选. Haresh was awarded Best Original Script for Fundamentally Happy, Good People and Gemuk Girls during the 2007, 2008 and 2009 Life! Theatre Awards respectively.

In 2010, the abovementioned plays have also been published by The Necessary Stage in the collection entitled Trilogy. Most recently in 2011, two collections of short plays by Haresh entitled Shorts 1 and Shorts 2 have been published as well.

Read our Exclusive Q&A with Haresh Sharma!

SHOWCASE: DRAMATISED READING & DISCUSSION
Alvin Tan and Haresh Sharma (Singapore)

1 June 2012, Fri, 1.30pm (reading 75mins, discussion 45mins)
Esplanade Theatre Studio

Model Citizens (Unplugged)
This "unplugged" dramatised reading of Model Citizens, written by Haresh Sharma, distills and brings into sharper focus the essence of how different cultures found in Singapore interact with one another. Characters and relationships, a very fundamental tenet of realism, are of prime importance in the issue-based, character-driven intercultural works of The Necessary Stage. It is hoped that the dramatised reading prepares the audience for the subsequent discussion as well as those who are taking part in the workshop, Playing with Characters.

Intercultural Theatre – Is It Urgent?
Following the reading is a discussion with Alvin Tan and Haresh Sharma of The Necessary Stage. Interculturalism, unlike multiculturalism, is the interaction of difference. There are differences in ethnicity, nationality, class, geography, and history. How does theatre deal with these differences in co-existence? We have been a global village for some time now and things are not well. This era has seen a rise in intolerance, discrimination and racial hatred. We have weak mechanisms to manage difference as our focus has been on the capitalistic economy. The world has arrived at all our doorsteps, and national boundaries and identities are melting away. The nation is the world.  And intercultural theatre is urgently relevant.  It is the canvas upon which we can begin the much needed conversations we have yet to have.

MASTERCLASS

Playing with Characters
by Alvin Tan and Haresh Sharma
1 Jun 2012, Fri, 4pm (60mins)
Esplanade Bay Room

Alvin Tan and Haresh Sharma of The Necessary Stage share their creative process with participants, which involves the creation of characters from a series of card game exercises, followed by the development of story, plot and themes in their composition process.

Playing with Characters is their approach of involving actors as primary creators of the characters the actors themselves are going to shape and eventually perform on stage. What are the possible ways for the playwright, director and actors to work on a horizontal plane, rely on chance occurrence and intuitive creative inputs, to forge a creative collaborative mode guided by a collective ethos? Is it sustainable? Join Alvin and Haresh in this exploratory workshop to find out.