SATURDAY, 24 AUGUST 2019, 10.00AM Centre 42

42 Waterloo Street, Singapore 187951

2018-2019 ANNUAL REPORT PERIOD UNDER REVIEW

1 APRIL 2018 - 31 MARCH 2019

17TH ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

CONtents of annual report

1. President’s Message................................................................................3

2. Overview of SDEA......................................................................................4 a) Brief Introduction b) Vision, Mission, and Values c) The People of SDEA d) Major Achievements in the Past 16 Years e) Organisational Changes to SDEA i) SDEA’s Undertaking ii) Engagement of Consultancy

3. Report on Membership.............................................................................9 a) Membership Numbers for 2018/2019 b) New Membership Initiatives i) Interest Groups ii) Honorary Lifetime Membership Award ii) Exclusive Facebook Group for SDEA Members

4. Report on SDEA Activities and Events.................................................11 a) Summary of Schedule and Attendance of Activities and Events b) Write-Up of Key Activities and Events i) SDEA-ETLA’03 Faculty Review ii) 3rd Membership Engagement: SDEA Let’s Connect – Members Welcome iii) SDEA-ETLA’03 Graduation Day iv) Celebrate Drama 2018: Exploring Crossroads ‘10 in a Bag’ v) Focus Group Discussion with Primary School Teachers vi) SDEA 16th Annual General Meeting vii) Professional Development Workshop: Autopoetics viii) 4th Membership Engagement: SDEA Let’s Connect: Interweave ix) Connections 2019 (In Partnership with The Finger Players) x) CET: Essential Teaching and Learning Approaches 04 (ETLA’04)

5. Upcoming activities and events...........................................................19

6. Financial Report.....................................................................................21

President’s Message

August ‘18 to ‘19 has been a significant year for SDEA. We have gone through a rigorous peri-od of review, re-adjustment, and renewal. We cannot pretend that it has been easy. However, together with a brand new secretariat working with us, the Committee of 2017-2019 has pulled together in shared belief of SDEA’s value to the community and what SDEA stands for. As we prepare to handover our duties, we are happy to be able to share with you what has been achieved in this critical year.

The main highlight this year has to be Connections 2019, a unique initiative shaped and pas-sionately driven by two members in partnership with The Finger Players. SDEA designed a programme that would seek to unpack key issues on special needs education in Singapore, drawing in a wide range of stakeholders. Many of the participants such as the representatives of the Psychological Services Branch, Special Educational Needs who were completely new to SDEA were engaged in both the discussions and drama activities.

Connections 2019 also provided a meaningful platform that allowed many SDEA members to be involved in areas of support, planning, and facilitation. The event was well documented and we hope that the finalised report of the workgroup can and will be presented to relevant policy makers to possibly spur a deeper analysis and reflection of the needs and demands of Special Needs Education.

SDEA is also fortunate to be granted funding under the National Arts Council Major Company Scheme for one more year. These applications and submissions are always arduous and we are very thankful to have a secretariat to help us with the groundwork. In addition, SDEA has successfully submitted an application for Charity Status to the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth. SDEA will in principle be granted Charity Status pending the necessary amend-ments to our Constitution based on membership approval. When these changes are made, SDEA will be eligible for the Cultural Matching Fund and that would be a truly good reason to celebrate!

In the midst of all our efforts in engaging with stakeholders as well as trying to establish a healthy financial future and good compliance and governance for SDEA, we have also been mindful that SDEA needs a connected and active membership. Since last August, SDEA has welcomed an additional 40 members, providing various opportunities for members to reach out and connect with each other. In the last 9 months, we have shared SDEA’s strategic planning with members individually, in focus group meetings, during our festive gathering in December ‘18, and once more at Let’s Connect in February ‘19, which brought together both current and prospective members. These sessions gave us all the chance to collectively revisit SDEA’s mission and vision as well as time and space to reflect on how we each view our own position, purpose and relationship with SDEA.

During Let’s Connect, we proposed the idea of self-driven Interest Groups supported by the secretariat, which members enthusiastically welcomed. One group is up and active while a few others are in stages of planning. In line with our values, we should continue to grow these ground-up initiatives, to encourage a sense of ownership, and help members to develop their own creative leadership.

In the spirit of growing informed, curious, and creative leaders, we have opened committee meetings to several interested members since early 2019. These members have observed the committee at work, actively participating in discussions. Subsequently, 4 of these members have decided to run for office and the others are keen to participate in programming other events such as Connections 2020 and the Theatre Arts Conference.

As we end our term in office, on behalf of the Committee, I would like to register our thanks to the membership. Thank you for electing us and for giving us the chance to serve and steer SDEA. We do hope you will stay actively engaged with SDEA and that if you are called upon as we were, you too - if you have not yet already done so - will step up to serve!

Elvira HolmbergPresidentSDEA (Term 2017-2019)

Overview of sdeabrief introductionThe Singapore Drama Educators Association (SDEA) was registered as a society in 2002. The organisation was established to represent the interests of a growing community of loosely connected, independent drama educators and teaching artists in Singapore.

Over the past 16 years, SDEA has played an integral role in advancing the understanding and practice of drama/theatre and applied drama/theatre in Singapore. The organisation has facilitated dialogues and collaborations between various stakeholders in the arts and education sectors, including artists, applied drama/theatre practitioners, teachers, academics, and government agencies. SDEA’s signature events and outreach efforts have encouraged the wider public to experience drama/theatre and applied drama/theatre processes first hand, and have provided an audience for practitioners to demonstrate and showcase their work.

In recent years, SDEA’s priority has been to set a baseline standard for professional practices in Singapore through its continuing education and training programmes, and to advocate for and support the study and research of drama education through the sharing of research and resources with members and partners. In recognition of its advocacy and professional development efforts, SDEA continues to be supported by the National Arts Council’s Major Company Scheme.

Vision• Internationally recognised as the organisation for connecting

stakeholders in theatre and drama education in Singapore to inspire change.

mission• To advance the profession of the drama/theatre educator. • To advocate for the practice and value of drama and theatre in

performance, education and community.

values• Care, Integrity, Teamwork, and Empowerment.

Elvira Holmberg . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PresidentAhmad Musta’ain Bin Khamis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Vice-President, 2017-2018Elaine Ng Eng Ngee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . TreasurerMuhamad Khairulnizam Bin Hamid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SecretaryChoy Wai Wan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Member Peggy Ferroa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Member Shahdon M. Jamil. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Member Tan Chia Wei. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Member Tan Poh Huat Nicholas. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Member

Banupriya Ponnarasu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Admin & Finance Manager Joined September 2018

Mark Benedict Cheong . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Communications Executive Joined December 2018

Lala Gwen Thomas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CET Project Executive Joined December 2018

Tan Zi Yang . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Membership Executive Joined April 2019

Pearlyn Cai . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Business Development Joined May 2019

The Secretariat

The Elected Committee of SDEA (Term 2017-2019)

2004• SDEA launched its Institutional Membership

MAJOR ACHIEVEMENTS IN THE PAST 16 YEARS

2002• SDEA was registered as a society• SDEA held its inaugural Swopshop - a networking and sharing session of drama activities and approaches • SDEA collaborated with NAC and NIE

(VPA) to organise the NAC-AEP workshop

2007• SDEA held a commissioned workshop by

MOE: ‘An Introduction to Incorporating Drama activities and Theatre Games into the Classroom’, facilitated by Christina Sergeant

• SDEA was invited by WDA to participate in setting the competency standards for arts educators in the creative industries

2008• SDEA took part in a ‘Teach Less, Learn More’

project using drama pedagogy in mathematics

2013• SDEA first received the NAC Major Company Scheme Grant• The SDEA Secretariat was first established• A Code of Professional Practice was

adopted by all SDEA members

2014• SDEA was invited to the Asia-Pacific Drama

Education Conference 2014 co-organised by UNESCO-RLCCE and IDEA

2005• The SDEA Outreach Fund was established,

and funded by creative communities in Singapore for the years of 2005-2007

• The first issue of Dramatise, SDEA’s in-house journal, was launched

• SDEA held its inaugural drama festival: Celebrate Drama! - a community outreach event

2006• Connections: ‘Artist in School’ was held

at the Asian Civilisations Museum. Connections is a platform for the exchange and discussion of ideas and practices between educators, drama educators and artists

2010• SDEA was invited to write resource packs for

teachers for four shows at the Singapore Arts Festival: ‘Cool’, ‘Gatz’, ‘Emily of Emerald Hill’ and ‘Those Who Can’t Teach’

2011• SDEA first received the NAC Seed Grant/

Consultancy and Start Up Grant• SDEA first received the NAC Arts

Housing Scheme Grant• SDEA began to offer certified professional

development training• SDEA held its inaugural SDEA Theatre

Arts Conference at LASALLE College of the Arts, featuring over 60 presentations and workshops from local and international practitioners and academics

2015• SDEA started the Tina Sergeant Professional

Development Initiative for Theatre Practitioners and Drama Educators

• SDEA was selected as one of the beneficiaries of the Singapore Gold Cup by ToteBoard and Singapore Turf Club

2016• SDEA launched the pilot of the ETLA

Course

2017• SDEA attended the IDEA General Council

Meeting in Portugal

2018• SDEA underwent a restructuring of the

organisation and the secretariat• SDEA announced the waiver of its

membership fees

2019• A change in the Constitution was proposed• SDEA attended the IDEA Conference in China• SDEA held Connections 2019: The

(R)Evolution of Inclusivity in Education in partnership with The Finger Players

Organisational Changes to SDEAi. SDEA’S UNDERTAKING

This undertaking was developed through a ‘reflections and needs’ analysis done by the elected committee (2017-2019). This analysis was done in conjunction with the organisation’s restructuring efforts to ensure that SDEA was keeping up with the changing times of the land-scape. Through this analysis, SDEA identified the following areas of focus:

i. Developing and Nurturing Leaders: Members are to come forward to lead, to serve, and cultivate an environment allowing them to nurture themselves into leaders.

ii. Organisations Outside of SDEA: SDEA believes in adopting good practices from established organisations outside of SDEA to better inform the needs of the organisation.

iii. Partners: SDEA seeks to inculcate an in-depth understanding of the ecosystem as well as develop systematic, evidenced ways to know, identify, and address the needs and gaps on the ground, allowing the organisation to develop meaningful relationships with stakeholders.

ii. Engagement of Consultancy:

As part of the ‘reflections and needs’ analysis, SDEA engaged Michele Lim as a consultant to: i. Review SDEA’s strategic plan ii. Provide leadership training for elected committee members iii. Oversee the onboarding of new secretariat and newly elected committee members iv. Conduct an induction programme for the newly elected committee of 2019 to 2021

Report on MembershipMembership Numbers for 2018/2019

From the time SDEA waived its membership fees at the last AGM in 2018, 40 new membershave joined SDEA, bringing our numbers to 116 as of 24th August 2019.

new membership initiatives

One of SDEA’s strategic plans is to realign our approach to membership engagement to encourage and empower our members to be able to actively participate in all areas of SDEA:

i. Professional Development for Members Matching opportunities with skills. ii. Membership Volunteerism Providing simple, yet meaningful ways to get involved, and recognise all volunteer contributions. iii. Membership Aspirations for SDEA Linking our work back to our mission and vision

With this approach, SDEA has formulated the following initiatives for its membership:

i. Interest GroupsSDEA kickstarted a ground up initiative for the members to explore their own areas of interest. This is an experimental space for drama/theatre practitioners to put their theories and ideologies into practice. Through this initiative, SDEA wants to cultivate leaders in the industry one at a time, a community at a time, and hone our efforts in advocacy.

ii. Honorary Lifetime Membership Award The Honorary Lifetime Membership Award (HLMA) was conceptualised to honour individuals who have made significant contributions to the drama/theatre industry in Singapore. The first batch of HLMA recipients are the founding members and past presidents of the association. In addition, the association believes in establishing a community of individuals who specialise in various fields of practice in the drama/theatre industry. SDEA will be inaugurating this award during the Professional Development Month in November 2019, which aims to recognise the profession of the drama/theatre educator.

iii. Exclusive Facebook Group for SDEA MembersSDEA will be creating an exclusive Facebook group to provide members with a platform to connect and share information with each other. This will also serve as a personal medium for members to raise issues in a more effective and efficient manner, and for the secretariat to stay closely connected to our members.

REPORTS ON SDEA ACTIVITIES & EVENTS

No. Event Date Venue Participants

1 SDEA-ETLA’03 Faculty Review 12 April 2018 Goodman Arts

Centre 3

2

3rd Membership Engagement: SDEA

Let’s Connect – Members Welcome

3 May 2018 Goodman Arts Centre 10

3 SDEA-ETLA’03 Graduation Day 11 May 2018 Goodman Arts

Centre 14

4

Celebrate Drama 2018: Exploring

Crossroads ‘10 in a Bag’

25 May 2018Nanyang

Girls’ High School

145

5

Focus Group Discussion with Primary School

Teachers

13 July 2018 Goodman Arts Centre 10

6 SDEA 16th Annual General Meeting 27 August 2018 The Malayan

Council 29

7

Professional Development

Workshop: Autopoetics

17 November 2018Nanyang

Academy of Fine Arts

15

8Connections 2019 (In Partnership with The

Finger Players)

16 February to 19 March 2019

Outreach & Marketing

Video(Facebook)

1074 engagements

16 February 2019

Panel Discussion(The Pod, National Library

Building)

61

5-17 March 2019

Post-Show Dialogue

(Gateway Theatre)

1594

19 March 2019

Workgroup Session

(Gateway Theatre)

39

9

4th Membership Engagement: SDEA

Let’s Connect: Interweave

17 February 2019KawKawSG, Aliwal Arts

Centre35

10

CET: Essential Teaching and

Learning Approaches 04 (ETLA’04)

18 February to 23 March 2019

Goodman Arts Centre 6

Summary of Schedule and Attendance of Activities and Events

Key activities & eventsSDEA-ETLA’03 Faculty Review

SDEA conducted a post-CET review on 12th April 2018 with ETLA (3rd intake) facilitators to review the programme structure as well as the students’ learning and feedback. The facilitators shared their individual class experiences and recommendations.

One of the key recommendations is to review the profile of participants before enrolment, especially if the participant has no drama knowledge and work experience. A 6-hour prerequisite module ‘Introduction to Drama’ was proposed for those who do not have drama knowledge and work experiences, before they embark on ETLA.

3rd Membership Engagement: SDEA Let’s Connect – Members Welcome

SDEA welcomed 10 new members during our 3rd instalment of ‘Let’s Connect’ on 3rd May 2018, held at the SDEA Office in Goodman Arts Centre. ‘Let’s Connect’ is an informal gathering for new SDEA members, as well as existing members and committee members, to network and mingle with fellow practitioners. On top of a sharing by the SDEA Secretary about SDEA and its Vision, Mission, and plans for the year, members had the opportunity to share their experiences and interests in drama.

Looking forward, ‘Let’s Connect’ will continue to be conducted on a quarterly basis. The model of Membership Engagement events was reviewed in order to include more outreach platforms to prospective members.

SDEA-ETLA’03 Graduation Day

SDEA conducted its 3rd intake of the pedagogy certification course for teaching artists, from 15th January 2018 to 3rd March 2018. An informal graduation ceremony was held on 11 May 2018, 7pm at the SDEA office where graduands shared their personal reflections and how the course has enhanced their professional knowledge and skills. Elvira Holmberg, President of SDEA, shared about the association’s vision and mission and spoke about the benefits and value of joining the association as members.

Celebrate Drama 2018: Exploring Crossroads ‘10 in a Bag’

SDEA’s Celebrate Drama! programming committee continued its effort from the previous FY with the performance showcase from participating schools, hosted at Nanyang Girls’ High School on 25th May 2018. A reflection session for the teams from the Creative Collaboration Camp (C3) was also conducted to help them examine and reflect on the different process each school used to create their pieces.

This Celebrate Drama! forged friendships and encouraged sharing across the different schools, embodying two thrusts of SDEA’s mission in advocating for the practice and value of drama and theatre by building the knowledge and the skills of the students, and allowing the SDEA CET alumni to have a platform to demonstrate and share their teaching practice. It also advanced the profession of drama and theatre educators by giving educators a platform of praxis into the scope of work in drama and theatre education.

Focus Group Discussion with Primary School Teachers

On 13 July 2018, SDEA conducted a Focus Group Discussion (FGD) at the SDEA office with 10 Drama Educators and in-service MOE Teachers from the Primary School sector to understand more about the needs, preferences, and gaps that SDEA can address. The FGD was centered on how to increase the level of engagement and participation of drama education at the Primary School level, especially in schools where drama is not currently present in curricular or co-curricular domains.

The session has reaffirmed SDEA’s Vision to be recognised as an organisation who connects stakeholders in drama education within Singapore. The FGD allowed SDEA to understand some immediate gaps and the authentic needs on the ground. It also reiterated that more engagement is needed for new drama educators in the Primary School sector. As an organisation, we identified that there are some gaps in the advancement of our practitioners at the Primary School level. From the FGD we were also able to engage with new practitioners who were seeking for networking opportunities and teaching resources to allow them to incor-porate drama in their respective schools.

SDEA 16th Annual General Meeting

The 16th Annual General Meeting took place on 27th August 2018 at The Malayan Council. 29 members attended the meeting where the Financial Report and Annual Report were adopted. The members also heard about the programmes and events that happened in 2017 and the upcoming events in the next few months shared by the respective committee members. A few key changes and initiatives were also announced, which included the reduction of SDEA Membership subscription fee to $0, SDEA’s application for Charity status, and looking inward for members to offer expertise and skills in developing workshops and master classes for the wider arts community. This year was not an election year for the association. The executive committee and the committee members will continue to serve out duties up to the next election in 2019.

Professional Development Workshop: Autopoetics

This workshop led by Autopoetics — Chelsea Crothers (SDEA Member), Laura Hayes (SDEA Member), and Maiya Murphy - focused on exploring and devising performance through movement techniques. It was designed for drama/theatre educators who are already teaching theatre in schools, held on 17th November 2018, at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts.

The 15 participants included educators from the Ministry of Education, School of the Arts and International schools offering the IB Programme. Participants were enthusiastic to employ the new techniques they had learnt with their own students. It was worth noting that one educational institution invested in enrolling 4 of its drama teachers and one external drama trainer to this event.

4th Membership Engagement: SDEA Let’s Connect: Interweave

SDEA hosted 35 attendees during our 4th installment of ‘Let’s Connect’ on 17th February 2019, held at KawKaw SG, located at Aliwal Arts Centre. Moving forward from the Membership Engagement review, ‘Let’s Connect’ provides an informal gathering and platform of potential new SDEA members, as well as existing members, to network with fellow practitioners in the field. This 4th edition of ‘Let’s Connect’ was themed ‘Interweave’, which signifies the beginning of the blending of potential and new members with current active members during the session. SDEA also took the opportunity to launch various membership-centric initiatives, which include new membership policies and ground-up interest groups. These initiatives are part of SDEA’s focus on keeping its members actively connected. SDEA also officially announced the waiving of its biennial membership fees with the switch to a one-time registration fee of $40.00.

Of the 35 attendees present, 12 (35%) were non-members prior to the event. During the event, 7 of the 12 non-members registered to become new members of SDEA, which was a significant portion (7 out of 16, or 44%) of new sign-ups in the months of January and February 2019. In reviewing these figures, we believe that this edition of ‘Let’s Connect’ was successful in reaching out to potential new members and expanding our membership base.

This edition of ‘Let’s Connect’ was also collaboratively conceived with students from Republic Polytechnic’s Diploma in Arts and Theatre Management programme. The students were part of the creative process in the planning and conceptualising of the event, providing a noteworthy platform for them to gain practical experience in the field of marketing and project management within the arts industry.

Connections 2019 (In Partnership with The Finger Players)

From 16th February to 19th March 2019, SDEA held Connections 2019 (in partnership with The Finger Players) to raise awareness and create experiential and action-based platforms for discussion surrounding the topic of inclusivity in education. Connections is SDEA’s non-partisan platform for connecting stakeholders in the education sector through open dialogues on current challenges, issues, and developments with the aim to inspire change. This iteration of Connections included panel discussions, workgroup sessions, and post-show dialogue facilitations.

Through the initiation of SDEA member and Artistic Director of The Finger Players (TFP), Tan Beng Tian, this Connections was presented in partnership with TFP’s upcoming production, Not In My Lifetime? (NIML?), which focuses on the stories of Special Education (SpEd) teachers. Helmed by SDEA committee member Tan Chia Wei, with programmes designed by SDEA member Michael Cheng, Connections 2019 built upon the expansion of the Compulsory Education Act (CEA), which now includes children with moderate to severe special needs from 2019, and looked at inclusivity within Singapore’s mainstream and special education landscape. The 5 main components of Connections were/are: Outreach and Marketing Video (launched February 2019) Panel Discussion at The Pod, National Library Board Building (16th February 2019) Post-show Dialogue Facilitations for NIML? at Gateway Theatre (5-17th March 2019) Workgroup Session at Gateway Theatre (19th March 2019) Review of Programme and Report of Workgroup Findings (ongoing)

Through the video and the panel discussion, the audience were able to start thinking and building a foundation of the topic on hand, prior to attending the performance of NIML?.

CET: Essential Teaching and Learning Approaches 04 (ETLA’04)

SDEA ran its fourth installment of its Drama Pedagogy: Essential Teaching and Learning Approaches (ETLA04) from the 18th of February till the 23rd of March 2019. This 40-hour certification course was conducted on weekday nights and Saturdays.

The key difference for this ETLA intake was that the ETLA03 Module ‘Career Planning and Development for Drama Educators’ was renamed ‘Professional Code of Practice for Drama and Theatre Educators (PCOP)’ to include theatre educators (in addition to Drama educators). This was done so as to advance and advocate for the practice and value of drama and theatre in performance, education, and community. With six participants in this intake, all the participants and lecturers agreed that they were able to have a more personalised and in-depth sharing/ discussion in class.

Upcoming ACTIVITIES & EVENTS

1. Let’s Connect (september 2019)

2. Professional Development Month (November 2019)

3. Connections 2020 (February 2020)

4. SDEA-etla’05 (February 2020)

5. Theatre arts conference (fy 2020/2021)

Financial Report (Period: 1 April 2018 to 31 March 2019)

As of 31 March 2019, the association has: • A surplus (after tax): $107,082.00• Members’ fund (net worth of the association): $419,466.00

[Please refer to the inserted audited accounts report (for the year ended 31 March 2019) prepared by SH Ong LLP – ANNEX A]

2019 2018Income $291,802.00 $353,600.00Expenditure $20,173.00 $102,007.00Administration $154,887.00 $206,647.00Surplus (Before Tax) $116,742.00 $44,946.00Surplus (After Tax) $107,082.00 $41,452.00