Taking your child to their first live theater show/upcoming shows in SG

Posted on April 11, 2013 by Expat Bostonians

I’m a HUGE fan of live theater. I can’t wait until the day that I can take Ellie and Rhi to their first (or tenth) Broadway show. But I know that before they’re ready for the Great White Way (as Broadway is nicknamed), I need to lay a lot of groundwork, both in terms of teaching proper audience behavior, taking them to shows, and introducing Broadway music.

Today I’m going to talk about how we’ve laid the groundwork in terms of teaching audience behavior and taking them to shows.  We’re really lucky that Singapore has an amazing kids theater scene.  There’s the branch of the Singapore Repertory Theater (The Little Company) that does children’s productions, there’s touring productions, and even a children’s theater festival every year.

Screen Shot 2013-04-11 at 11.42.42 AM

Ellie’s first experience with live theater was “Sesame Street Live” just before she turned two.  You may roll your eyes and say “that’s not theater”-but it is.  A story unfolds onstage and it’s a long production to sit still through.  Ellie was enraptured, sitting still with her mouth open in awe for most of it.

Not every theater experience since has been that positive.  Some shows have enraptured her (“Fantastic Mr Fox”), others less so (“The Gruffalo”). We’ve had to spend a few whispering in her ear that whatever behavior she was engaging in that we deemed inappropriate (playing with the seat booster is a big one, but also necessary given how small she is).

Before each show starts, we ask her several questions

1-What does a good audience member look like (sitting properly)

2-Can you talk during the show? (No, only if the people on stage ask me to)–this is another one she breaks, but it’s worth trying to teach it to her anyways.

3-How do we show appreciation? (we clap)

These days we also ad a reminder that if she needs to go to the bathroom she needs to tell us so we can take her.

The good thing about Children’s theater is that it often does require audience participation, which lets the little ones get some of that energy out.  Shows are also between 45 and 90 minutes, so it’s not the time investment of a Broadway Show (usually clocking in between 2.5 and 3 hours).  Tickets are inexpensive (relatively speaking) so if it doesn’t work out, it’s a 30 dollar investment, not a 100+ dollar investment (well, the touring stuff like Disney and Elmo are expensive, but the SRT productions are very affordable).

The key to getting your child into theater is not to reach too far too fast.

  • Don’t take them to something that they’re not ready for (example-Annie came through Singapore, and Charlotte’s web is coming soon–neither are age appropriate/attention span appropriate for E.  I had to accept that she just wasn’t ready yet and not take her.)
  • Accept that you may not always be as interested as they are, and their engagement is what counts. (These days, we usually only buy two tickets to a show, and there are times when we do rock/paper/scissors or scissors/paper/stone as it’s called locally to decide who gets to stay home).
  • Use age recommendations as a guideline.  For any given production your child may or may not be a good fit for a wide variety of reasons.  A lot of children’s theater is based on children’s books–did your child like that book?
  • Try it once and see how it goes-don’t buy tickets to everything and then get disappointed if your child just isn’t ready yet.
  • I’d say two/two and half is the youngest you should expect that a child may be ready for the occasional show.  Apart from Sesame Street Live, we did one or two other shows between 2 and 3.  We did more last year (maybe 5 or 6), and this year we’ve been doing almost every production she’s ready for that has fit into our schedule.

Screen Shot 2013-04-11 at 11.58.47 AM

What’s coming soon in Singapore? (links are to sistic)

Filed under: Singapore, Sponsored Posts, Theater/Shows/Events, With Kids | 2 Comments »

Disney Princesses on Ice

Posted on April 1, 2013 by Expat Bostonians

During the very short interval between my hospital stays, I was able to take Ellie to Disney Princesses on Ice.  I’d bought the tickets long before I was hospitalized, but it was a well timed reward. Ellie and I are very close.  My absence had been really rough on her; after I got home she looked at me and said “It broke my heart when you were in the hospital,” which almost made me break down crying.  Spending an afternoon where it was just the two of us, especially as I’d be re-hospitalized a few days later, made it a really special day.

IMG_8014Mickey and Minnie greeting the crowd to start the show

IMG_8052Ariel as a mermaid, at the end of “Under the Sea”

IMG_8063Eric and Human Ariel skating together after defeating Ursula

That Ariel was the featured princess was a big part of why I knew Elanor would love it.  Ariel is her favorite princess.  Ariel was my favorite princess until I saw the movie roughly 74,329 times in the past two years.

IMG_8108I was really happy to see Tiana. That there are so few princesses of color, and that they aren’t featured nearly as often as the white princesses is definitely something I find a bit troubling.

IMG_8185The Sleeping Beauty number was pretty awesome. Here you see Malificent in her dragon form breathing fire, and a pattern of flame ignited on the ice.

IMG_8199Cinderella made her entrance in a carriage

IMG_8295This is the only picture Ellie let me take of her.  Sigh.  Adorably, she was dressed as Ariel and the little girl next to her was also dressed as Ariel!

It was really cool to meet one of my readers, D when we were at the show.

I bought too much merchandise, of course (mostly for E, but some guilt “sorry I didn’t take you too” gifts for Rhi, even though she could care less), but we had such a lovely afternoon.

Filed under: Pictures, Singapore, Theater/Shows/Events, With Kids | 2 Comments »

Fantastic Mr. Fox — Play review

Posted on November 8, 2012 by Expat Bostonians

On her birthday, Ravi and I took Ellie to see Fantastic Mr. Fox at the DBS Arts Centre.  We went with some friends who were transiting through Singapore on their way to Europe and their 3 year old daughter.

Fantastic Mr Fox was a favorite childhood book of both Ravi and I, so we were excited to take her to a show based on it, and we were not disappointed.

For those unfamiliar with the story…

In the tradition of The Adventures of Peter Rabbit, this is a “garden tale” of farmer versus vermin, or vice versa. The farmers in this case are a vaguely criminal team of three stooges: “Boggis and Bunce and Bean / One fat, one short, one lean. / These horrible crooks / So different in looks / Were nonetheless equally mean.” Whatever their prowess as poultry farmers, within these pages their sole objective is the extermination of our hero–the noble, the clever, the Fantastic Mr. Fox. Our loyalties are defined from the start; after all, how could you cheer for a man named Bunce who eats his doughnuts stuffed with mashed goose livers? As one might expect, the farmers in this story come out smelling like … well, what farmers occasionally do smell like.

This early Roald Dahl adventure is great for reading aloud to three- to seven-year-olds, who will be delighted to hear that Mr. Fox keeps his family one step ahead of the obsessed farmers. When they try to dig him out, he digs faster; when they lay siege to his den, he tunnels to where the farmers least expect him–their own larders! In the end, Mr. Fox not only survives, but also helps the whole community of burrowing creatures live happily ever after. With his usual flourish, Dahl evokes a magical animal world that, as children, we always knew existed, had we only known where or how to look for it.

Largely performed as a musical (using poetry from the story), the numbers help move along the plot.  Even things like the digging are set to music.  The tunes are catchy (Ellie is still singing the digging song and the farmer song almost a week later).

The actors are truly wonderful–Badger is a great emotive narrator whose enthusiasm for the tale and storytelling style grabs the children’s attention.  The foxes are wonderful–Mr Fox is brash, Mrs Fox nurturing and the 3 kids are the 3 kids (and are for the purposes of this story basically interchangeable minor characters).  The farmers are delightfully disgusting and mean–played by two men and a woman they use a mixture of slapstick physical comedy and gross-out humor.  You are absolutely rooting against them (as you are supposed to).

The staging is quite clever.  Badger acts as the narrator, joining into the action during the final part of the second act.  There is clever use of puppetry, shadow puppetry, scenery and special effects to move between the world of the foxes and that of the humans and show action.  At several points the actors break the fourth wall and do come out into the audience, talking to the audience as if they are fellow burrowing creatures living in the same hill as the Foxes (the animals) and interacting with them in character (the Farmers).

The story is paced well and engaging–at no point did I feel like it dragged on, and was genuinely surprised when we hit the interval and the end–it seemed like it had not been the full 90 minutes (although of course it was).  There are minor changes, but no lover of the story will find it bad interpretation.  We’ve taken Ellie to a lot of children’s theater and she’s never sat as still as did during this show–she was fully engaged.

The show is recommended for ages 4 and up.  However, I would strongly encourage you to reread the book and to know your child’s tolerance for scary subject matter.  It may not be appropriate for every 4 year old or 7 year old.

Anyone who remembers the story or is familiar with Roald Dahl will know that he doesn’t shy away from dark or scary subject matters.  In this adaptation as in the book Mr Fox does have his tail shot off, the farmers are clear that they want to kill the foxes and there are moments where the safety of the foxes is in question, and they are starving.  There is also a scene where a tree falls on one of the farmers during a strobe lit effect that was quite scary for Ellie’s friend.

I wholeheartedly encourage you to go see the show–it is one of the best children’s productions we’ve seen in Singapore (and we go to a lot of children’s theater–all in service of my long-term goal–I want to have my daughters enjoy seeing Broadway shows).  However, I would definitely encourage you to do a quick reread of the story yourself and to read it to your children in advance so that they are prepared for the scarier parts.

Purchase tickets from Sistic here.  Fantastic Mr Fox is showing through mid-December.

Filed under: Singapore, Theater/Shows/Events, With Kids | Leave a Comment »

National Museum of Singapore-The Wedding Dress Traveling Exhibit

Posted on September 28, 2012 by Expat Bostonians

On Wednesday, I had the pleasure of visiting the National Museum of Singapore for the first time.

I feel a bit guilty that my first trip was not to see the permanent exhibits, but rather a traveling exhibit from the Albert and Victoria in London.

The Wedding Dress will be a visiting exhibition through Oct 31, 10-6 daily, $11SGD admission (includes general admission)

I don’t want to spoil the exhibit, so I’ll just a few of my favorite photos here, and talk about the exhibit a bit.

From the main entrance (on the first floor), you take an escalator down to the Basement.  Moms with strollers-I was not given a choice other than the escalator, although I assume there MUST be a way to get down there without one?  Also worth noting-the entrance to the exhibit was barely wide enough to slip my stroller through-I’m unclear on how a person in a wheelchair or a bigger stroller would enter.

Edited to add—thank you to Esther, who in comments shared the following information

There is a visitor accessible lift to the basement level, it’s a bit tucked away, on your right facing the giant LED screen. A helpful guard should usually be on hand to point the way.

Also the temporary galleries have wheelchair access on request.

Outside the special exhibit halls is an exhibit done by the NMS about places people get married here in Singapore, one on the evolution of wedding photography locally, and finally a display of Singaporean wedding gowns.

The traveling exhibit is effectively a two room exhibit with dresses dating from the 1800′s to the 2000′s.  I was lucky enough to trip over a docent led tour, which made the exhibit far more enjoyable.  On my own, when in fashion, I tend to just stare at the pretty dresses and focus on details and not much else.  Given that there were corsets, I was even more distracted, so I was very happy to have a docent there to broaden my focus.  I appreciated several dresses far more because of the women who created/wore them, when I might have otherwise passed them by.

A few of my personal highlights…

I don’t know if I spent too much time reading A Little Princess, or exactly what sparked my interest, but I have a deep abiding passion for boots like this.  I love, love, LOVE these.

This is not a wedding dress that I would’ve found particularly compelling on its own.  But as the docent told the story of its creation, I developed an appreciation for it and a fondness for the kind of woman who would design it.

During the WW2 era, specialty fabrics, like those used in the creation of wedding dresses, were rationed.  When a woman wanted to get married, the entire town/village would donate ration coupons to help a bride buy the fabric.  In return the dresses were passed around, taken apart, re-purposed and re-used in a variety of ways.  We don’t have many dresses from that era for that reason.

The woman who designed this dress was extremely clever.  While specialty fabrics were rationed, others were not.  This wedding gown is made from an inexpensive upholstery fabric that was NOT being rationed.

Detail on a gown.

The second room of the exhibit has a number of gowns from 1930′s-2000′s on display with a breathtaking gown (with a scandalous owner) in the center.  The detailing on the central gown in quite spectacular and I have several closer pictures of it in my flickr set.

This corset belongs to Dita Von Teese (link contains NSFW images).  They also have her stunning inspired by Scarlett O’Hara  wedding gown on display next to it.  I love Dita Von Teese’s 40′s glam pinup style.

See my full set of photos here on flickr.

Filed under: Pictures, Singapore, Theater/Shows/Events | 7 Comments »

Children’s Theater on sale now–

Posted on September 25, 2012 by Expat Bostonians

I was browsing the sistic website, and got very excited about some upcoming/ongoing children’s theater.  All shows are on sale now and had tickets available as of last night.  Keep in mind these reflect my interests and do not represent every show available that every kid might possibly like.
If an event crosses months, it’s listed in the month in which it begins.

September…

October…

November…

December…

January 2013…

 

 

Filed under: Holidays, Singapore, Theater/Shows/Events, With Kids | 2 Comments »

Our brush with F1

Posted on September 24, 2012 by Expat Bostonians

Singapore has an annual F1 race, the Singapore Grand Prix.  I’m told it’s a unique grand prix race as it’s the only one at night.  This was the fifth annual SGGP (Singapore Grand Prix), and it has just been renewed for another five years, so it will continue to be mid-late September through 2017.

I wrote this entry about the event in 2010.  Last year, I was more or less on bed rest, so I was pretty unaffected by F1 as they weren’t racing in my apartment.

After our experiences in 2010, our strategy with F1 has been to avoid the area they race in/have road closures in as much as possible.  Cabs have a reasonable amount of access to the area outside of race times, so prior to this year if we absolutely had to go into that area (Ellie’s gymnastics school is in the middle of the course, more or less), we just took a cab.

In general, having a car makes most things easier for me in Singapore.  But this year it meant I had to keep up with road closures (which were well publicized), and we needed a special sticker/access pass to drive to Marina Square (where E and Rhi have gymnastics).

Sorry–bad cell phone picture

I fumbled a bit with the route I had to take to Marina Square, but we added in extra time (and still ended up getting there a few minutes late).  It was weird to get waved onto a deserted lane of traffic , and to see that part of Singapore devoid of traffic.
We entered the parking lot by a hotel on the opposite side of the road from our usual entrance to the parking garage (the carpark for Marina Square shares space with two hotels), and had to stop for a police inspection.  They gave us a cursory glance (I guess the two kids in car seats in the back marked us as not threatening) and gave us a slip of paper to put in the dashboard.

another cell phone pic

Marina Square isn’t usually jam packed on a Saturday afternoon, but there are usually a reasonable number of cars.  It was strange to see the lot practically barren.  Well, barren except for a large number of sports cars that I assume had something to do with F1 as they were behind tape, had people guarding them, and plenty of people were taking photos of them.    For us it was great as we got a parking spot right by the elevators closest to The Little Gym.

cell phone pic.  I purposefully set up the image so that you could see the normal cars and the F1 cars together

After class we got back in the car, and followed a series of confusing signs to the exit.  It was a bit frustrating as at times you were supposed to follow the actual car park’s exit signs and at others there were special exit signs.  But once we finally found the one open exit, we headed out and away from the F1 area.

For all that F1 can be a bit of a hassle, there is an a major benefit–if you’re willing to stay away from the designated area, dinner reservations are absurdly easy to get.  We went to the Dempsey Hill area and had no trouble parking, nor were the restaurants very busy (which is not my impression of what that area is like on a regular Saturday night).

Filed under: Attractions, cars/driving, Singapore, Theater/Shows/Events, Uniquely Singapore | 2 Comments »

Pink Dot 2012

Posted on July 2, 2012 by Expat Bostonians

Sadly we missed out on Pink Dot 2012, due to family illness.

But you can read about it at the Pink Dot Site It was bigger and better than ever–15000 people came!

My friend Notabilia also attended, and you can read about it at her blog here.

 

photo stream http://www.flickr.com/photos/pinkdot/

 

Sorry we missed it.  With luck everyone will be healthy next year!

 

I’d love to hear if anyone else wants to share a blog post about pink dot 2012 or the American 4th of July Celebration at SAS which also happened on June 30

Filed under: Identity, politics, Singapore, Theater/Shows/Events, Uniquely Singapore, With Kids | 2 Comments »

Celebrate an American 4th of July in Singapore

Posted on June 19, 2012 by Expat Bostonians

This year’s American Celebration of the 4th of July will happen on June 30th (the Saturday prior) at the Singapore American School.  Details here.

 

This will be our third 4th of July in Singapore.  Read about our first here, and our second here.  This is the first time they’ve held it at SAS instead of the Terror Club, so I don’t know how/if that will change the experience.

 

Unfortunately you won’t be able to read about our experience at this event, as it conflicts with Pink Dot 2012.  Pink Dot is far more important to our family, so we will be skipping the  4th of July celebration.

 

A very small part of me is sad, as the 4th is one of my favorite annual events we’ve done in Singapore.  However, when I think about which event I’d regret missing more, without a doubt it’s Pink Dot.  My daughters can connect to their cultural heritage in a thousand different ways every day of the year, but Pink Dot and a public event supporting the LGBT community in Singapore happens only once a year.  I think it’s more important that we be there.  I hope to see some of you there with us!

Filed under: Holidays (Not Singaporean), politics, Singapore, Theater/Shows/Events, With Kids | Leave a Comment »

Pink Dot–the countdown is on!

Posted on June 2, 2012 by Expat Bostonians

This weekend marks the start of the Pride festivities in Boston (full calendar of events here), a week long series of events to celebrate the LGBT community.  While I am sad to miss it, our household is counting down the days until Pink Dot 2012.

Pink Dot 2012

Hong Lim Park, Singapore

Saturday, June 30th, 6pm.

To learn more about Pink Dot, go here.

FAQ for foreigners (aka anyone who is not a Singaporean citizen or PR), go here.

To read the entry about last year’s Pink Dot, go here.

If you are LGBT, or an ally who supports love and equality for all, please do attend.

Filed under: Singapore, Theater/Shows/Events, Uniquely Singapore, With Kids | 2 Comments »

Lady Gaga Born This Way Ball (show review)

Posted on May 29, 2012 by Expat Bostonians

I should start off by admitting that I’m not really a rock concert kind of person.  I see rock shows every so often as a change of pace, or because I really like an artist, but in general I dislike them because it’s too loud, the music is distorted, you end up standing for the whole thing, and you can’t even see the person you’re there to see.  Worst of all is when the singer isn’t really all that impressive without all the technical help added in the studio.  I much prefer Broadway musicals–beautiful music, I get to sit, I can understand the lyrics, high quality (usually) voices, and narrative (which, as a storyteller myself, I am incredibly fond of, unsurprisingly).

So, now that I’ve gotten that off my curmudgeonly chest…

OH MY GOD YOU GUYS, LADY GAGA IS EVEN MORE AWESOME IN PERSON THAN ON HER CD’S/MUSIC VIDEOS.

I will admit that I’ve been a “Little Monster” (the popular nickname for Lady Gaga fans for those not into pop/current music) for a few years.  I first liked the catchy pop music.  Then I caught a video (Paparazzi, I think) on youtube and I’ve been hooked ever since.  Most of the time there’s so many elements happening in her music videos that you can just enjoy them as a story, or you can go for a swim in symbolism (which I will admit to doing–I love deconstructing stuff, and Gaga’s work is ripe for it).  I’m a little obsessed with the “Judas” video at the moment for that reason (I could sit around and analyze/talk about that for AGES)  Obviously her strong stance on gay rights is right up my alley.

 

 

Judas Video

So when I heard she was going to bring her Born This Way Ball to Singapore, I made a point of trying to buy a ticket as soon as they went on sale.  20 minutes after they did, I was able to get through on the website, at which point only single seats were available.  I promptly bought one and texted Ravi something along the lines of “Thank you for the Lady Gaga concert ticket.  What a great Mother’s Day gift.”  His response was something back to the effect of “Glad I don’t have to figure that out.”

I knew I was likely going to miss the opening act because I had to get the girls home from Ellie’s pre-school pick up, get ready, breastfeed, and then drive to the Indoor stadium.  However, I didn’t think I’d be more than 15 minutes late—with traffic I was almost an hour late, and trying not to freak out.  Luckily I got to my seat about five minutes before Lady Gaga took the stage.

me and 11,000 of my closest friends waiting for the show to start

It was a show unlike any other I’d seen  The dancing was spectacular, her voice was even better live (if anything, she downplays what an amazing singer she in on her albums), the costumes were everything you’d expect, and there was even a vague narrative (taking over a country).  I think what blew me away was how little (if at all) the show was toned down.  She opened with “Government Hooker,” for one.  There was rhetoric like “I am not an instrument of your government.”

 

She performed “Judas,” which was banned here in Singapore from radio play.  Possibly because I”m a former Catholic and anything that pisses them off tends to cheer me up (particularly in a literary, musical, or art related form), or possibly just because it’s a damn good song (and video–see above) it’s a current favorite of mine.  However, it crossed a line here (and in many other nearby countries–it was also banned in Indonesia and Malaysia).  It was the cause of protests during her concerts in the Philippines.  Threats from Islamic Extremists caused her to cancel her Jakarta concert (which in a predictable yet amusing twist has only boosted her popularity there.)

screen shot from a radio station explaining that “Judas” is banned from radio play in SG

Clip of her playing Judas in concert.  Sorry for the distortion-shot on my camera phone and the bass distorted both sound and picture

There was a ton of homoerotic dancing.  It was, quite possibly, the most gay friendly night of my time here in Singapore. I felt free to be myself–including the part of me that is open about my bisexuality.  I know that 337(a) isn’t often enforced, but it *is* still on the books, and Pink Dot (while awesome) is a far cry from a Pride Parade/Festival.  We are very far from even discussing marriage equality here.  While I’m not trying to impose my vision of equality on Singapore/Asia, one of the things I struggle with most in Singapore is how open/vocal I can be without risking Ravi’s employment pass/my dependent pass.  Foreigners, after all, aren’t allowed to be “political,” and it’s hard to know what that means.  I have a feeling that my full uncensored view about all things LGBT would likely fall into that category, so I mostly keep my mouth shut and support Pink Dot and the few opportunities I have.

I absolutely loved every second of it.  After the first 20-30 minutes, I put the cameras away so I could just enjoy the show.  I’m kind of sad that my camera died before one part where she was sitting and chatting with the audience when someone tossed her a doll.  She then made it dance on the stage and sang a bit of “Born this Way.”  She then said “if you ever wonder what I’m like when I’m at home in my room…I do a lot of silly stuff like that.”  But enjoy the rest of my photos and videos.

Obviously one of the keys to Gaga’s success is her insistence that you love yourself, that you are special. (It was even the center of a recent Simpsons episode “Lisa goes Gaga”–thanks to my friend Jim for pointing me at it earlier today).  No matter what horrible things someone is saying about you or doing to you (she shared a story about being tossed in the dumpster by some boys in front of classmates), that you are worthwhile.  People respond to that, and obviously it’s something that isn’t getting said enough.

Early on, she did Born This Way, of course (shot on my dslr, so the pic/sound is a bit better)

Bad Romance was one of her “older” songs that we were happy to hear.

I loved her motorcycle/keyboard

Paws up.  Incidentally, when she shared the story of the creation of the Monster Paw, she was inspired to create it in Boston.

It’s hard to escape being a mom, though.  The two people sitting in front of me were a mom and her tweenage daughter.  It made me all mushy to think of sharing a concert or event like this with my daughters one day.  Earlier this week, Ellie and I (and Rhi in my arms) had danced around to Lady Gaga, and Ellie is a fan of her songs.  So after the show, I made a point of stopping by the merchandise tent.  I couldn’t resist getting Ellie a light up hair bow, and the smallest shirt I could get for her…which is currently a nightgown on her.

the next generation of Little Monster

Obviously, I think that if you get the chance, you need to catch the Born This Way Ball.  It’s next in Australia and New Zeleand, then Europe and eventually the US.  Keep an ear out for when tickets go on sale in your area.

Filed under: Culture Shock, Pictures, politics, Random Stuff, Singapore, Theater/Shows/Events, Video | 9 Comments »

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