Help Fund Seaweed~
Hello! Cheryl Ho here!
I am the Writer & Performer of I Am Seaweed and co-creator of MASHH.
As some of you might know, the journey to making I Am Seaweed has been quite a long one, with lots of rejections and personal investment.
So here is my attempt at throwing my nets out into the ocean, hoping to harvest some seaweed in the form of kaching from supporters so that this production can be as well nourished as possible!
This show has a special place in my heart because it is such a personal story, but also because it’s my first time staging a one-woman theatre show in Singapore!
TAKE MY MONEY!
We are looking to raise at least another 5k to cover some of production cost and Artist Fees.
For our Singapore staging, we have received support from M1 Fringe and a small tech grant from NAC to cover most of our production costs, however we still have a long way to go before we are able to compensate all our artist’s fairly. (All our box office goes to M1 for them to cover their cost.) So here’s how you can help! If you have means, please do support in whatever capacity you are able to, no number is too small :)!
IF YOU’RE CURIOUS ABOUT THE SHOW AND HAVEN’T GOT YOUR TICKETS,
Screenshot and Open from "My Photos" in PayNow or PayLah
Note “IAS” in the comments so we know you’re supporting I Am Seaweed:)
If you’re supporting from Australia:
PayID: cherylhohuiee@hotmail.com
Bank Details:
Cheryl Hui Ee Ho
BSB 313 140
ACCT 12356468
"It’s a thrill but with a lot to say about mental health and personal reflection and why people with the biggest grins might hide the biggest sadness.”
The Story of Seaweed
2021 Coogee, NSW. My friend was boiling Miso Soup and put some dried Seaweed in it. They then said “ It’s amazing how big they get.” referring to the Seaweed expanding in the soup. I then looked them straight in the eye and said : “Some things, when put under pressure, expand.” And thus I Am Seaweed was born!
Seaweed has seen numerous drafts, an acl surgery, relocation from Aus to Sg, C42 Headline acts, dramaturgical support, therapy, Melbourne Fringe etc. But overall we pushed through because we really believe that many people would resonate with the message of the show.
The show follows Sheryl with an ‘S’ on her quest to become as resilient and as versatile as Seaweed. A Judges’ Picks and Nominated for Best in Theatre at Melbourne Fringe 2023, I Am Seaweed is a multimedia theatrical show that creates space for respite in an overwhelming world.
“I Am Seaweed" resonates with anyone who has ever felt overwhelmed or persistently pressured to keep striving for more, for better. It's an entertaining and good-humoured show that asks us to look inside ourselves and question why we do everything we do and if it's actually making us happy.”
Why I wrote Seaweed
The impulse for writing this play is from the pressure I feel and have witnessed peers feel, about the need to be ‘resilient’ under tough circumstances which sometimes can happen at the expense of a person’s sense of self and self worth. There is a constant pressure to be adaptable and ‘future proof’, if not, you are not ‘enough’. I wrote this for the overthinkers, cryers, sensitive people and Self Sabotagers. I wrote it for my past self who shaped herself in painful ways just to feel like she was able to be fit in society.
Some segments and the ending has shift to reflect where I am at in my life
Each show has open captioned with a post-show talk facilitated by a Drama Therapist
The foyer will have resource boards for audiences to engage deeper with the themes of the show and also links to resource that might help them to develop tools for cultivating resilience and self-compassion in their own lives
The performance on the 17th of Jan will be interested by a Deaf Interpreter with Speech to Text interpretation for the post-show dialogue
The set is also more dressed up from our Melbourne Run to make it more cosy and homey
How is the Singapore Season different?
ABOUT THE TEAM
MM! AND SOMETHING HAPPENS HERE (MASHH) MASHH (Mm and Something Happens Here) is a collective created by award-winning Theatre Makers Cheryl Ho and Rachel Lee. MASHH blends design, text, and live performance with a style that is quirky, humorous, playful and sincere. They explore new ideas, creative techniques and create original works. The creators hope to grow the collective, utilizing their roots in both Australia and Singapore to bring their work to a wider audience both locally and internationally.
PERFORMER, WRITER & CO-CREATOR OF MASHH – CHERYL HO Cheryl Ho is an award-winning Actor, Writer, and Facilitator focused on Care, Creativity, and Inclusion. Her works tend to involve humour, drama and a healthy dose of Introspection. Cheryl is currently an Artist in Residence for the Resonates with Residency at National Gallery Singapore. More at cherylhohuiee.com.
LIGHTING, PRODUCTION DESIGNER & CO-CREATOR OF MASHH – RACHEL Rachel is a lighting designer and artist based in Naarm. Rachel designs across several companies and festivals including Melbourne Theatre Company, Malthouse Theatre, Red Stitch Actors’ Theatre, GWB Entertainment, Darebin Speakeasy, APHIDS, Stephanie Lake Company, Lucy Guerin Inc, Major Festivals across Australia and various installation works across Flash Forward (City of Melbourne). She has been awarded the Green Room Award for Best Production.
DIRECTOR – TAN HUI ER Tan Hui Er is a director for both the stage and screen. She finds cause in exploring the intersections between forms of storytelling, and believes that stories hold the power to compel change.
SOUND DESIGNER – VICK LOW Vick is a sound designer / artist based in Singapore. He graduated from Lasalle College of the Arts in 2015, specialising in Music Technology. In 2019, he was nominated for Best Sound Design at The Straits Times Life Theatre Awards for The Watching (Toy Factory Productions). Some of his recent works include I Am Seaweed (MASHH), Immortal Variables (Nine Years Theatre) and Do Rhinos Feel Their Horns (Gangguan! Theatre), which was presented at Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2023.
MULTIMEDIA ASSISTANT – RYAN CHOO Ryan is a multidisciplinary creative passionate in branding, campaigns and the visual arts. A graduate from Singapore Polytechnic’s Media, Arts and Design School and IMDA Gold Medallist, Ryan continues to explore fresh and exciting ways of image making and storytelling. He is currently an undergraduate at Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information, Nanyang Technological University.
SET ASSISTANT – CHEOW JIONG LING Jiong is a theatre practitioner, she has previously worked as a props assistant for Pangdemonium’s Dear Evan Hansen and as a stage manager for BURP for Esplanade’s PLAYtime!. She enjoys drawing and tattooing in her free time.
CREATIVE CAPTIONER – SHAI THE CAPTIONER
15 years on, Shai still enjoys surtitling and captioning. Ask her anything about it.
PRODUCTION MANAGER – MARILYN CHEW
Marilyn is a freelance stage and production manager for theatre. She is passionate about merging her know-how in psychology into her practice. She always orders seaweed when eating Yong Tao Foo. Marilyn has had the privilege of watching Cheryl grow since their first day of junior college together. She is so proud of Cheryl’s journey thus far and thankful that she can be a part of presenting this work to you. Follow her adventures on IG: @marilynchewky
PRODUCER – CORDELIA YEO Growing up, Cordelia could never decide on one thing she would make a career out of. So she carved out her own detour through a one-track world: as a sportswoman, an economist, a cook, a content producer, as well as a media strategist. In that order; sometimes all at once.
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