How often have you heard the phrase, “Boys will be boys”?
We have different expectations for boys and girls, men and women. These expectations have pervasive consequences, affecting our relationships with one another, extending into spheres such as the workplace and the home.
Boys Will be Boys is a Theatre-in-Education programe presented in partnership with the We Can! Campaign, Singapore. Scripted in the often overlooked male perspective, BWBB portrays commonly seen gender stereotypes and the various types of impact—including violence against women—in the local community. It is designed to explore the role of males in violence against women, empowering them to be more responsible for their thoughts and actions.

Remember the mini-production I mentioned previously? This was it.

I was hesitant to participate as an actor when my friend called out for help as I did not have any sort of prior theatre experience. It was only after much contemplation did I decide to put myself up for the challenge. It was an opportunity to learn new skills and make new friends after all. I'm down for that!

The first segment: "Dev & Emily", where I played the role of Caius, Dev's pal.

The second segment: "Runaway Sam", where I played the role of Stephen, Sam's hot-tempered father.

The third segment: "What Does It Mean To Be A Man?", where I played the role of Zack, Amir's party-goer pal.

The play was divided into 3 segments: "Dev & Emily", "Runaway Sam" and "What Does It Mean To Be A Man?" where I played the role of Caius, Dev's quiet pal; Stephen, Sam's ill-tempered father; and Zack, Amir's party-goer best friend; respectively.

Needless to say, I struggled with the portrayal of my characters. This was especially so with Stephen, a chauvinistic middle-aged father with a violent temper—the polar opposite of me. It was a problem that dragged on for quite awhile with little progress until a fellow actress worked with me to create and act out a backstory for the character. With much practice and inspiration I drew from similar characters on TV series that I follow, I was able to solidify and understand Stephen better, stepping into character and acting him out more convincingly.

For the second segment of the play where I'm playing Stephen, Shoes Theatre decided to introduce the audience (and me, that's for sure) to something called "Forum Theatre"—the audience members can stop a performance whereby a character is being oppressed in one way or another (Stephen's son, Sam) and suggest different actions for the actors (in our case, the audience member him/herself as Sam) to carry out on-stage in an attempt to change the outcome of what they are viewing.

This process definitely put my improvisational skills to the test… And because it was only implemented a week before our performance, I had to try and cramp all the possible scenarios that the audience member could dish on me to prepare for a suitable reaction. I got pretty lucky during the forum theatre as most of the participating audience members acted out expected scenarios, to which I had rough mental models to guide my improvisation. I was completely thrown off on 2 occasions though, by this one kid who wrapped apron around me in the midst of my lecture (Stephen was disgusted at Sam wearing a pink apron) and a lady who calmly justified her career choice despite my constant aggressive tone (Sam aspires to become a social worker, which Stephen obviously disapproves of). Both times I broke out in laughter… How professional, uh? Haha!

A wefie with the team after our performance.

I felt so accomplished (pretty sure all of my Shoes Theatre friends are as well) that the performance was so well-received by the audience. Those Monday evenings spend rehearsing with them were indeed draining and at times frustrating, but definitely full of laughter and enriching experiences. I am so thankful for all the acting skills and tips I picked up from my fellow actors and all the fun that we had bringing this production to life. Here's to more such opportunities!

Visit Shoes Theatre's website here for booking, enquires and/or feedbacks.