Jo Tan

How to handle pressing the “bus stop” bell too early? Playwright and actress Jo Tan has got you covered on Small Spaces! Catch Makan Culture every weekend from now till the end May! Grab your tickets here: https://cp.bookmyshow.sg/en/events/SIFA2608 [𝐖𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐝𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐦𝐚 𝐚𝐬𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐒𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐒𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐬? 𝐓𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐮𝐬 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐢𝐧 𝐛𝐢𝐨! 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐰𝐤𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫.]

It has been crazy busy working on Makan Culture but always glad to take some time out for a cause I believe in. @proudspacescentre is 2! And in the past two years alone, they have been establishing themselves as a space where LGBTQ+ folk can build networks, find support and safety, and make positive changes in their lives. It was a privilege to be part of this fundraiser as part of the fabulous @dimsumdollies alongside the legendary @mrjulian.official , to help Proud Spaces keep making a difference. No chance to do any drag king numbers this time, but I did get to be a Samsui woman doing a lot of pushups and sing the parts for both Aladdin and Jasmine in a Whole New World. Makeup and hair by the wonderful @bobbieng and @ashleylim64 respectively! If you'd like to support Proud Spaces, do check out their socials with details on how to donate!

It's two weeks to Makan Culture, and it's been a trip with this genuinely fantastic bunch, taking a good hard look at our own lives creating culture for consumption. We have an artistic director of a theatre company, an ex-artistic-director, an actor who trained in London and another who dropped out of biomed in Poly, and one clown school graduate who does corporate training... All led by a director who does just about everything. And all of us come up against the struggle of - What is good enough? According to who? And when we're good enough, then what? If you've ever asked yourself the same questions, come join us. These people are hysterical and vulnerable and warm and wonderful; and I know that they'll make the audience laugh and think and feel as valued as they have me. The poster is up everywhere, the Straits Times article is out, and we have several shows in the first week already sold out (if you're worried, there are still unsold-out shows in the second half of the month). Come and makan with us-  every $20 Culturepass-claimable ticket includes a Halal bento with rojak, kaya bread, dry laksa and a drink. Tickets at the link in bio!

“Stigmatized” has been selected for the Ethos Film Awards in Los Angeles:) Appreciate being included in a stellar lineup of purpose-driven films. And I appreciate even more the hard work of the crew that made this happen:))) “Stigmatized” Written and directed by @clovisong , @iktong_ Produced by @desmondwooo Executive Producer: @bensiow Starring: @melballthemeatball , @jodecro Featuring: @stefanie.arianne Singapore Unit DP: @tshyan 1St AC: @daryl_nah 2nd AC: @zolynnphua Gaffer: @ghufranjasni , @huathuathuatt Art: @charshimi_ Art Assist: @filmkiah Production Sound: @dontwhisper HMU: @jongmakeup Storyboard Artist: Seraphina Lum Japan Unit Line Producer: @iktong_ AD: Maho Hamada DP: @tomwcarey.dp 1st AC: @ichikawakun__ 2nd AC: Keina Production Sound: Hibiki Omachi HMU: @naoki_imajo Post Production Head of Post: @owenpostfx Post Supervisors: @afrinariffin , Deborah Chia Offline Editor: @caraworktea Online Artist: @ashleypostfx Character Design and Animation: @layting.gfx Character Artist: Syed Hassan bin zainelabdin Alhadad Colorist: @khien.grade Sound Design & Mix: @xandertoh Japanese Audio Recording: Eion-Kukan Japanese Narration: @tkballa Japanese Dialogue Support: @ryokachii Music by @f_v_s_e Music Line Producer: Luqman Faidzan Music Lead Creative: Joseph Chua Composer: @lianne0312 Post Support: @abundantsg_

Last three days for $16 tix and these people want to ask if you buy already? Britney @yuyangellisontan is a cultural connoisseur slash critic who will also be in attendance. She would love to hear your cosmopolitan thoughts as to whether Makan Culture actually counts as dinner theatre. Vik @fahimbawe is the stage manager of Makan Culture. He would just like for people to not spill things and the performers to chill. Wilfred @densofian is the independent artist who has somehow got funding to do a community show next to the Raffles statue. He hopes you will be there to support because he is suddenly realising that comes with Expectations. Rahilah @mastyy is a cook who has wandered over from one of the festival village booths to see what you are snacking on, and why didn't you just go eat at her stall instead? The Assessor @jodecro is the grant executive from a stat board who must make sure what Wilfred promised in his grant application is actually delivered. Being consultative, she may ask you for whether Makan Culture fulfils cultural requirements. The early-bird sale ($16 for a show and snacks!) is on for three more days till 13 April at the link in bio. Show runs 15-30 May at the custom- built sheltered area on Empress Lawn. Hope to see you there! Photography by @crispiphotos Design and illustrations by @artleinad Makeup by @benolim Directed by @krishyyy7 !

Waited till midnight to post this because it sounds like an April Fools Joke: Get your tickets to a dinner theatre experience at $16. Well, a supper theatre experience? There's no four-course meal, but Makan Culture is a 50-min interactive show set in an instagrammably designed sheltered area on Empress Lawn (behind the Victoria Theatre that you see in this picture!), where you'll get to eat selected SG hawker foods at cute colourful kopitiam tables while being part of a performance - yes, you probably will be asked to talk, and what you say will be part of the show. This show was inspired by a question that @artleinad has so adorably illustrated in the poster: What kind of ''culture'' - whether art, or intangible heritage culture like our kopitiam foods - is properly palatable? Not too ''cheem'', not too 'cheap', not too weird, not too predictable. And whose tastes are we catering to anyway? Come to the show and we'll ask you about yours! Be part of this story about who we try to be, told over the one thing that unites all us neurotic Singaporeans - food. Tickets are $16 only till 13 April (less than 2 weeks), after which they go back to a still very affordable $20 which is UNTHINKABLE for food and a show. Also, I have exhausted my Culturepass Credits, but if you haven't, Makan Culture is Culturepass eligible!  Runs 15-30 May, 6pm, 8pm and 10pm. Tickets at link in bio. Photography by @crispiphotos

Thanks very much @artshousegroup for having me as one of the hosts for the @sifa_sg launch...along with the director for my show Makan Culture. Presenting...Krish Natarajan! I've been a fan of Krish for a few years now - He's the Renaissance fler I want to grow up to be. But we've never gotten to work that closely together until this SIFA, starting with the launch where tzechien tasked us to put together a musical number celebrating the amazing past Singapore works in the festival! Here is a video of what came of it, taken by the lovely @philotheal . Thanks @elainechanmusic , Sandra @calebygoh and @xuanniiex for sharing your memories about SIFA musicals past for my research! I'm super excited for Krish to bring his fun and pure uninhibited madness to Makan Culture - tickets at link in bio, $20 including SG hawker snacks as part of the show, and 20 percent off that price until 13 April when early bird ends! Speaking of which, I also got to co-host the launch with another dream collaborator - the very lovely and legendary Danny Yeo - who is directing the festival's opening show, Salesman, written by SG's own Jeremy Tiang about when Arthur Miller accepted an invitation to direct his play Death of a Salesman with an all-Chinese cast in Beijing, despite not speaking a word of Mandarin. Lots of work investigating identity, and I love that the co-hosts were talking about all the inventive works while standing at the back of the Raffles statue - it's a great time to move beyond colonial legacies of art and explore our own stories. Salesman is almost sold out so you should grab your tix for that now too! Finally, shout out to Leong who refreshed my hair and made me event-ready as usual. He's one of my favourite local artists for sure. PS: as usual, event outfit #thrifted (except for accessories (earrings from craft market in Morigny, necklace from craft market in Bali) #emcee

Some really hot takes here 👀🌶 When a community performance meant to tick nation‑building boxes gets disrupted by a critic, things get spicy as a lively debate about what elevates food and art ensues! Step into Makan Culture, a riotous experience where audiences and performers come together to explore the question: “What makes us worthy?” through a lively sharing of local eats, stories and performance. 🍽 🎫 Get your tickets now at sifa.sg! Link in bio. #SIFA2026 #LetsPlay #oursgarts #sgartists #sgfood

The embargo! It has been lifted!! And we can share that we'll be presenting an interactive show at this year's Singapore International Festival of Arts, called Makan Culture! Literally about how we consume culture, the show is a stripped-down Singaporean take on the dinner theatre experience. Audience members will get to munch on selected hawker food at a sheltered area on Empress Green and picnic with us at kopitiam tables as a ''community performance'' is disrupted by a critic. Expect to make your voice heard as the characters crowdsource your voices and your stories in a debate about what gives meaning to food and art. So happy to be working with an amazing team including these photogenic folk, in this poster shot by the wonderful Crispian Chan and designed by the ever-patient Daniel Choong who illustrated all the monuments, with makeup by the master that is Beno Lim! Thanks for the image that has already found its way onto a bunch of press...thank you @channelnewsasia , @timeoutsg , @businesstimessg for the highlight of our visuals and show! And as usual, thank you always to my incredible mentor @tzechien for commissioning me to do this=) More details about our dream producing and creative team coming up. In the meantime, Makan Culture runs from 15-30 May at Empress Lawn. $20 Culturepass-eligible tix available at #linkinbio now!

So ends our week-long work/smalliday in Bangkok. If you want to talk about work-life balance, this is probably the dream, except that in this case life was mostly sleeping, eating, and exercise. Feeling a bunch of exhaustion with the world and it was good to hide away for awhile. Tried to eat healthy, but when you order a "fried gourami fish and mango salad" thinking oh a salad dish sounds healthy and it comes out like the last picture, that sets the tone for the rest of the trip. #bangkok #corporatetraining Ps oh yes all outfits #thrifted

A very smol February summary! Chinese New Year, annual Elves Exchange tradition (exchanging items in good condition that we don't use with friends who will), wearing Elves Exchange items for Chinese New Year (@metadragon 's twisty necklace), visiting @darrenjeecw 's beautiful @lume_sg café with friends i haven't seen in too long. Also, using my interest in gender performance and @choyedward 's training experience in executive presence to design and deliver a workshop on Executive Presence for Women in Male- Dominated fields. It's not the first workshop we've worked on for women in like industries and would love to keep doing more! Random casting photo thrown in there. Now more work travel to start the new month!

You wrecked me, you taught me, and ultimately you forgot me. I saw it in that last online gathering of Asian students celebrating the Chinese translation of your new book. You were already weaker than I remembered, but still said hello to each of the students on the call. I tried to remind you of how you called me a boring Singaporean whose ancestors the Japanese should have bombed in WWII, and you smiled and said "Ah, ya". But I could see you didn't remember. Why would you? You've had thousands of students. But I won't forget you. I wrote my first play Forked about my time with you. I have some light trauma both from your teaching as well as some schoolyard behavior people justified by their cult worship of you. I have very few photos of our time together, many where I am visible only by the borrowed light of my classmates that have since become stars. I may never claim the same, but there are things I retain from that year plus in your small suburban French school. More than anyone, you taught me to embrace my weird, but also to believe, I can be wonderful. It took me some time to write this, but if you remember me at all, you recall I've always been slow to get there. What I mean to say is. Thank you so much, Phillippe, and goodbye.