'Plays for Youth' has launched!

Photo credits: SDEA

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The life of a play is a transient one, a dramatic venture that fades into memory when the lights go out. The plays written for youths are even more short-lived and are witnessed by lesser crowds, losing visibility despite the weight of their themes and relevance. My fervent belief that school plays should continue to live on was the driving force behind this project.  

'Plays for Youth' was launched in March 2025 at the National Library. Published by Epigram Books and written by members of the Singapore Drama Educators Association (SDEA), this collection of school plays is a resourceful tool in the drama classroom, especially for those looking for ensemble work, local narratives and contemporary themes. This entire process has been a shared labour of love, having first conceived the idea back in 2023, assembling a dedicated team from SDEA (shout out to Jeffrey Tan, Isabella Lim, Adeeb Fazah, Cathy Kee), overseeing administrative matters as Project Lead and working tirelessly towards its final production. As I have shared in my opening speech during the launch, I do not agree with the general view that plays are meant to be produced and not published. Not every child has access to watching a play, and this opinion stems from a personal place given that my first and multiple encounters with plays were through my schools, and not my parents who never consumed theatre. Ultimately, publishing plays and bringing them into the classroom allows for more students to access theatre. This is why I am deeply indebted to our publisher, Edmund Wee, for believing in this project and offering his full support. Thank you so much for solidifying and preserving the quiet contributions of drama educators! I am also grateful to Yuka, our incredible editor, for her meticulous eye, expertise and thoughtful guidance, seeing us through each stage of the publishing process. 

The launch featured a live reading by a talented group from Buds Youth Theatre who performed excerpts from all six plays. This includes my play, @iamelodie, which was devised in part with the Tanjong Katong Girls' School drama club and originally conceptualised and directed by Sahirrah Safit. Thank you to all the talented playwrights (Verena Tay, Lewin Bernard, Othman M. Yusof, Regina Chua) and panellists (including our guest, Jean Tay, and moderator Jeffrey Tan) for your insights during our discussion, especially on the rewards and challenges of working with youths. 

As a playwright-educator, I am always in awe at how much students grow by the end of the playwriting modules that I teach. Students who have never written a play emerge at the end with pages of subtext and stagecraft wielded so expertly at such a young age! Recently my students were asking if they can perform their pieces even though their showcase is in the following year. This goes to show just how much the craft ignites their imagination. I am glad I can share the power of theatre and playwriting with the next generation.  

It is my hope that more students can be exposed to theatre and playwriting- not just those in specialised courses. If you're an educator, I hope you can give this book a chance and share it with your students. If you're a young person curious to learn about playwriting and theatre, I hope these plays will inspire you to go on your own theatrical adventures. 

Order a copy here.

The face of an overzealous published playwright! :)