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[title]If you haven't heard of Split Theatre, it's time to get acquainted. The local theatrical production house focuses on developing stories from the personal experiences of its actors, with an emphasis on creating original, process-driven and ensemble-focused works. Split Theatre was founded in 2016 by former educator Darryl Lim, who now serves as Artistic Director. In the beginning, it started with more scripted productions – but something always felt amiss. As Darryl puts it: "There's always this idea of doing productions after productions, but for what?"
“There must be something more than theatre, and if theatre is considered non-essential, why do a lot of people feel so much for theatre and why theatre through history has persisted so far. We’ve been trying to work towards how human connections can be made between people," Darryl Lim, artistic director of Split Theatre.
Making a difference with theatre
There's something very distinctive about Split Theatre. When we visited them at Sigma Collective Space for a preview of their latest showcase, there's a definite sense of camaraderie amongst the ensemble members – and rightly so. After all, the theatre aims to train actors, through improvisation, to construct and express their personal truths – resulting in a very specific form of storytelling that is not merely re-enactment or representation but spotlighting real stories with very specific memories.
The ensemble's Work On the Self programme offers a unique safe space for participants to explore healing through theatre – by blending actor training and theatre-making with personal development coaching.
Joash Zheng, the newest member of the ensemble, eloquently shares: "The concept of work on yourself is through remembering were very timely because I was at this point of wondering about why people were so fixated on things ending. Like we like to think about life in phases, like 'oh this is done' and we move on to something new."
"But then there’s this moment where I was thinking about Darryl saying something about remembering, reconstituting of yourself as a whole rather than trying to chase this not so ideal, ideal self," they add.
A safe space
"Safe space" were two words that were echoed by each actor. But what exactly is it – and what role does it have in Split Theatre's Work On The Self programme?
The programme blends actor training with personal development coaching. Programme participants are guided to create their own theatrical “scores” – a mix of drama, song and movement – based on their personal memories, enabling them to tackle past obstacles. It strongly features principles inspired by the work of renowned theatre directors Konstantin Stanislavsky and Jerzy Grotowski, in which participants engage in various solo, partner and group exercises informed through years of academic and practical research undertaken by Darryl.
Joash shares further on their experience: "In the process of working on yourself, I took these phases and unboxed them. Darryl created this safe space and I guess that’s why we’re drawn to him like a moth. He leaks this culture of making a space safe and creating an environment where we can be vulnerable in ourselves."
"We like to throw that around like a buzzword. We talk about authenticity, being vulnerable, connecting the people. But Darryl genuinely exudes this ability to change a space. In looking at these past phases I realised that there was more to be found and more to piece back together rather than cut away the parts that I was ashamed of." – Joash Zheng
Their fellow batchmate, Lim Ci Xuan, shares a similar sentiment:
“A safe space is distance and time given to yourself to ponder about certain things that are shameful to you. That you wouldn’t have a place to talk about. Sometimes you need to process things yourself – and I connect with my body quite a lot. Split has been a space to rethink about certain things in life.”
A programme for everyone
Work On The Self ran its first official pilot from July 24 to September 25 this year. The pilot batch has since become permanent artistes of Split Theatre and served as facilitators for the inaugural intake of participants. And no, you don't need acting experience to join.
The programme will be held at Sigma Collective Space, 10 Raeburn Park and participants from all backgrounds can sign up at a price of $350 (or $625 per pair).
Want to suss it out before diving in? The pilot batch will be performing Don't Cancer Me Can, a culmination of Split Theatre’s inaugural programme – so check it out if you're intrigued. The shows are running from December 18 to 21 at The Arts House and tickets are on sale for $35.