TNS Associate Artists 2023/2024
"My personal artistic philosophy is to make meaningful art. And as a Singaporean artist, I interpret that to mean creating works that not just reflect Singaporean issues, but also challenge Singaporean mindsets. I am an advocate for including more minority voices in mainstream English-language theatre – this means creating works about and for typically underrepresented or misrepresented communities. In that respect, I feel like my values are very much aligned with TNS’s."
Sindhura Kalidas is a theatre practitioner and educator. Over the years, she has diversified her largely performance-based portfolio to include writing and dramaturgy through her training and work with companies such as The Necessary Stage (TNS) and The Finger Players (TFP).
Sindhu’s recent performance credits include Deonn Yang’s Why Be Good When You Can Be The Best? (2023)presented as part of the M1 Fringe Festival, SRT’s The Coronalogues (2020), and TNS’s Off Centre (2019).
Her recent dramaturgical credits include TFP’s Puppet Origin Stories and Jun and the Octopus (2022),as well as TNS’s Acting Mad (2022).
Sindhu is a recipient of the NAC Postgraduate Arts Scholarship and holds an MA(Distinction) in Dramaturgy and Writing for Performance from Goldsmiths, University of London. She is developing a dramaturgical practice focused on care and empathy, specifically when working with traditionally under represented and misrepresented communities.
She is deeply grateful to be learning from and growing with TNS.
"I think the works created by TNS thus far has always been honest, truthful and sincere, balanced with humour, wit and vulnerability. This is also something I strive for in the works I create. I am interested in creating socially engaged works that gives a voice to the everyday people. I think there is a lot of beauty and magic in these stories that may often get overlooked or sidelined. So I do feel like a complementary fit to the company and I look forward to sharing in our common vision and expanding my horizons in my time as an Associate Artist of TNS."
Deonn is an actor, theatre-maker and teacher. She graduated from LASALLE College of Arts in 2016 with a Bachelors of Arts (First Class Hons) in Acting.
As an actor, Deonn has been a part of Esplanade’s PLAYtime! and Huayi Chinese Festival of Arts, M1 Singapore Fringe Festival, and SIFA. Her notable theatre credits include Tanah•Air 水•土. by Drama Box, and Straight Acting produced by Wild Rice, which earned her a Best Actress nomination at The Straits Times Life Theatre Awards 2022.
Deonn recently made her professional debut as a playwright-director at the M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2023 with Why Be Good When You Can Be the Best?. She is a core member of Playwrights’ Commune, an independent playwriting collective, and also a playwright of Playwrights’ Cove2022, mentored by Haresh Sharma.
Deonn has collaborated with The Necessary Stage (TNS) and Haresh Sharma since 2017and was most recently Assistant Director to Haresh for Acting Mad (2022). Deonn is grateful and excited for the opportunity to bean Associate Artist of TNS for 2023/2024, and looks forward to growing, learning and developing further as an artist. She is interested in people and their stories, and always having a good laugh.