Pitch to...

It starts off with a dramatised opera sequence in the background, queuing the sequence of unfortunate events that had befallen upon the arts scene as COVID happened. We see a standee of Adrian Pang being kept and Monty! I was really looking forward to that one.

The opera sequence reaches a climax with cheers pouring during a puppetry performance, but it is abruptly disrupted. Just as how it had happened. We see Ivan Heng visibly bummed.

Pic 1: The Pitch Promo

I'm watching The Pitch, a short film by Ken Kwek and co-produced by three well known theatre companies in our local scene - Pangdemonium, Singapore Repertory Theatre & WILD RICE.

The film is a realistic depiction of the aftermath of what COVID hs done to us. Closed theatres, wasted brochures, no gigs. We see the trio being frightful of what is to come, tense - and also hopeful when the Lou Foundation presents an opportunity.

I purchased multiple tickets for upcoming productions in the year 2020, and I was disappointed to find out that most of them would be cancelled. The thought that came to my mind was - how would these art groups cope during the pandemic? Are we, going to go head to head with online content curators to fight in the already saturated sphere? Be 'innovative, fresh and have blockbuster headlines?' As Gaurav puts it, think about the blockbuster headline of the three theatre companies coming together. Wouldn't it be amazing?

But how are we going to square the circles? Logistically, the arts scene in Singapore has always been called to adapt, squaring circles since the beginning. It is, a biological survival instinct for arts groups to constantly square circles regardless.

But why? Because 'theatre does not have the same reach as television?' or Straits Times pulls up an article about how artists are the number one group of people who are non-essential? (Oh yes, we see great dismay on Adrian's face.)

Sustainability in the arts will not be possible without audiences, or support. Maybe funding from the government. Maybe from an arts-loving tycoon? Let's talk about government funding first. COVID proves as a treacherous foe, and no amount of survival instinct or being smart about managing resources is going to solve the problem of no shows = no money.

In an article by Hoe (2020), she shares that while there are indeed grants in place to provide support, a more effective way would be to have 'an emergency relief funding package for the small-to-medium arts organisations identified by the National Arts Council as the “major companies that represent excellence in their core mission” in Singapore.'

The requirements to meet certain funds such as the Digitalisation fund altogether goes against the nature of theatre shows to present to live audiences, and they might not carry the production capacity for it. I think, it is really quite sad that there is this implicit nuance of grouping 'performing arts and entertainment' collectively, and expecting for content to be churned out online easily.

This is because digitalisation is not their core expertise and line of work, and they will hence lack the in-house resources and capabilities to digitalise their own content. This means they will need to channel a significant amount of any funding to outsource assistance from media and video production companies - Hoe Su Fern (Hoe, 2020)

Moving on from that, how will the impact of COVID forever change the way we view content? Do we do blockbuster moves to compete with the already saturated digital sphere? Talking about support from the audiences, there is an increasing trend in how we pick our shows. Singapore audiences are looking for 'value for money' options (Wong,2000) looking for more exploratory, stylised, entertaining content. Having to transpose theatrical works and downsizing them to consumable digital content could affect the way we perceive the value of live performances after this period. Do we really need to ride the hype? Will audiences still pay for theatre performances after it resumes?

Another group I thought about - we might lack support from the media. When Lion King is in Singapore, it becomes a spectacle, it becomes iconic. It's a must-see. It's a Limited Edition! That's all thanks to the media and their headlines.

Well, granted. Some shows were not necessarily made for a commercial or a bigger audience. It was made for intimacy. But overall, I find that our media does not seem to be proud of our local arts industry. In fact, most full-length articles and widespread pages are about cultural medallions, awards, all that. They are most inspiring, but I think we need more content about the content. (no pun intended)

What if the arts had been more exposed to the public from the start? It wouldn't have fallen into the shadows or at the back of our minds when COVID hit.

A major factor in the lack of audience education is that there is too little coverage of the arts in the local mass media. Not only is there insufficient quality critical discussion and debate, there is simply a lack of information about the latest creative and theoretical developments in theatre around the world. - Audrey Wong (Wong,2000)

References

Hoe, S. (2020, April 23). Helping the Singapore arts sector survive the Covid-19 crisis. Retrieved November 29, 2020, from https://www.todayonline.com/commentary/helping-singapore-arts-sector-survive-covid-19-crisis

Wong, A. (2000). Companies and audiences: developments in recent Singapore theatre. In K. Singh (Ed.). Interlogue: Studies in Singapore Literature Volume 3: Drama (pp. 19 – 36). Singapore: Ethos Books