About

Huzir Sulaiman is the co-founder and Joint Artistic Director of Checkpoint Theatre.

Huzir Sulaiman is the co-founder and Joint Artistic Director of Checkpoint Theatre. He oversees the company’s development of new work, including plays, audio experiences, video, and comics.
Recent directing includes Session Zero (2021); Vulnerable (2021); Two Songs and A Story (with Joel Lim, 2020); Thick Beats for Good Girls (2018); and FRAGO (2017).

A critically acclaimed and award-winning playwright, his Collected Plays 1998-2012 was published in 2013. Recent plays include Displaced Persons’ Welcome Dinner (2019); and The Last Bull: A Life in Flamenco (2016). His plays have been translated into German, Japanese, Polish, Indonesian and Mandarin.

Huzir has taught playwriting at the National University of Singapore’s University Scholars Programme; at the NUS English Department; the School of the Arts; and other institutions. His essays and commentary pieces have appeared in The Star, The Straits Times, and The Huffington Post.

Huzir was educated at Princeton University, where he won the Bain-Swiggett Poetry Prize, and is a Yale World Fellow.

Huzir is in a class of his own.

TODAY, SG

Few people…deserve to be called “creative genius” as much as Huzir Sulaiman does…

Kakiseni.com, MY

Director Huzir Sulaiman approaches [the] text with the precision of a sculptor and the sensitivity of a poet.

Arts Equator, SG

Claire Wong is the co-founder, Joint Artistic Director, and Producer of Checkpoint Theatre.

Claire Wong is the co-founder, Joint Artistic Director, and Producer of Checkpoint Theatre. Trained in both Asian and Western performing arts, Claire obtained her Master of Fine Arts (MFA, Theatre Arts) from Columbia University. She graduated with a Bachelor of Laws (Hons) from the National University of Singapore and was formerly a litigation and corporate lawyer.

As a theatre director, Claire recently directed Adib Kosnan’s Keluarga Besar En. Karim (The Karims) (with Joel Lim, 2021); Zenda Tan’s Eat Duck (2019); Huzir Sulaiman’s Displaced Persons’ Welcome Dinner (2019), a commission of Singapore International Festival of Arts; Dana Lam’s Still Life (2019); and Faith Ng’s Normal (2017, 2015). As an actress, Claire has performed in landmark Singapore productions and international arts festivals. She co-wrote and performed Recalling Mother which played in Singapore, New York, Brisbane, and Adelaide.

Actress and Director Claire Wong leads the way with excellence.

The Straits Times, SG

Kudos to Wong for drawing out the potential of the text, even down to the smallest details… not only stunning but truly generous.

The Flying Inkpot, SG

…an actress with immense stage presence, charisma and talent…

The Business Times, SG

Faith Ng is a playwright, educator, and Associate Artistic Director of Checkpoint Theatre.

Faith’s plays include A Good Death (part of Esplanade’s The Studios 2018), and Checkpoint Theatre’s Normal (2017, 2015), For Better or for Worse (2013), and wo(men) (2010). She holds a Master of Arts with Distinction in Creative Writing (Scriptwriting) from the University of East Anglia, under the National Arts Council Postgraduate Scholarship.

A Young Artist Award (2018) recipient, she has been the artist-in-residence for Lasalle’s MA Creative Writing programme since 2019 and was the writer-in-residence for the Singapore Creative Writing Residency (2014). Her collection of plays, Faith Ng: Plays Volume 1, was published in 2016. Her play Normal continues to be read in schools.

Izz Sumono is the Senior Production Executive at Checkpoint Theatre.

Izz Sumono has worked primarily in stage management for theatre productions and live events, and is Senior Executive of Production at Checkpoint Theatre. A Victorian College of the Arts graduate, Izz began her career in the industry as a dresser. This sparked her passion to pursue production and backstage work, and she honed her skills under Esplanade’s Stage Management Training Programme. During the pandemic, she has had the opportunity to navigate the art of live-streaming digital works, but her first love will always be live productions. Recent credits with Checkpoint Theatre include Session Zero (2021), Keluarga Besar En. Karim (The Karims) (2021), Eat Duck (2019), and Normal (2017). Izz likes to be challenged, and feels that no show is a ‘simple’ show, no matter how small.

Jayne Lim is the Marketing & Communications Senior Executive at Checkpoint Theatre.

Jayne’s interest in theatre and the arts stems from a keen fascination with how art gives voice to multi-faceted, ever-evolving perspectives, and thus paves the way for discourse, dialogue, and potential change. A graduate of the National University of Singapore (NUS) in Theatre Studies, she has at various times been a performer, director, technical crew member, and educator, and continues to advocate for and be inspired by the immense talent of local artists in Singapore.

Chaney Chia is the Development & Engagement Executive at Checkpoint Theatre.

A graduate of SOTA (Theatre) and LASALLE (BA(Hons) Arts Management), Chaney is an actor and arts manager. He made his professional acting debut with Zenda Tan’s Eat Duck (Checkpoint Theatre, 2019). Deeply fascinated with the arts and an avid believer in its power of reminding us how to live, he deeply values immersing himself in the intersection between its existence and its administration, exploring its myriad of possibilities and practices.

Tricia Tan is the Marketing & Communications Executive at Checkpoint Theatre.

Having grown up with theatre, Tricia’s immense love and respect for the art form is rooted in the belief that it fosters compassion, engagement and healing. A graduate of Goldsmiths, University of London (BA (Hons) Drama & Theatre Arts), she developed a strong interest in arts administration while studying theatre-making during her time there. She hopes to create open, collaborative spaces for artists, audiences, and everyone in between to share their stories.

Adib Kosnan is a theatre practitioner, educator, and Associate Artist with Checkpoint Theatre.

Since his professional debut in 2003, Adib has performed in numerous productions for the English and Malay-language stage. He is also a founding member of Singaporean playwright collective Main Tulis Group. He writes and directs extensively in both languages. His play 28.8 (2017) was nominated for Best Original Script at The Straits Times Life! Theatre Awards 2018.

As an educator, Adib conducts and facilitates Checkpoint Theatre’s NAC-AEP programmes. He especially enjoys the collaborative nature of theatre and sharing what he has discovered from wearing his multiple hats.

ants chua writes, directs, performs, and is an Associate Artist with Checkpoint Theatre.

ants’ upcoming script, Unnamed Lesbian Play, was recently read as part of Checkpoint Theatre’s Works in Development 2021 showcase. Other recent works include writing and performing at least I have words now for Checkpoint Theatre’s Two Songs and a Story (2020), directing Beside Ourselves (2020) by .gif as part of the M1 Singapore Fringe Festival, and collaborating with Salty Xijie Ng on the community art project Buangkok Mall Life Club (2020). ants is currently working on voices in a room (2021) with the support of Feelers, an initiative housed under Potato Productions. 

They are interested in careful critique, disruptive play, and reimagining the social world.

Lucas Ho is a writer, director, educator, and Associate Artist with Checkpoint Theatre.

As a writer, his debut play FRAGO was presented by Checkpoint Theatre in 2017 to critical acclaim. In 2020, his stage play The Heart Comes to Mind premiered as an audio experience. He taught playwriting at the National University of Singapore, and is currently part of the Faculty of Literary Arts at School of the Arts, Singapore.

Aside from playwriting, he was Assistant Director for The Last Bull: A Life in Flamenco, and continues to direct and facilitate Checkpoint Theatre’s NAC-AEP programmes. Lucas has also edited various play anthologies by Checkpoint Theatre, including Joel Tan: Plays Volume 1 and Faith Ng: Plays Volume 1.

Dana Lam is a visual artist, writer, performer, and Associate Artist with Checkpoint Theatre.

Dana’s semi-autobiographical work, Still Life, developed and presented by Checkpoint Theatre (2019), showcased her flair for working across disciplines.

Dana has performed in Jerome Bel’s Gala (TheatreWorks, 2016), Joavien Ng’s Incarnation of the Beast (TheatreWorks, 2015) and Dream Country – a Lost Monologue (Singapore Arts Festival, 2012). Her writing credits include the book Days of Being Wild: GE2006 Walking the Line with the Opposition (Ethos Books, 2006), while her visual art has been shown in the Singapore Art Museum and the Substation Gallery. Her 500-piece installation When Bellies Speak: You are your own work of art was hosted at Hong Lim Park on 8 March 2015.

Outside of performance, Dana has worked as a newspaper reporter and volunteered with the Association of Women for Action and Research (AWARE), serving as its President in 2000-2002 and again in 2009-2011.

Dana is one of 54,548 babies born in 1953 according to the Singapore census.

Faith Ng is a playwright, educator, and Associate Artistic Director of Checkpoint Theatre.

Faith’s plays include A Good Death (part of Esplanade’s The Studios 2018), and Checkpoint Theatre’s Normal (2017, 2015), For Better or for Worse (2013), and wo(men) (2010). She holds a Master of Arts with Distinction in Creative Writing (Scriptwriting) from the University of East Anglia, under the National Arts Council Postgraduate Scholarship.

A Young Artist Award (2018) recipient, she has been the artist-in-residence for Lasalle’s MA Creative Writing programme since 2019 and was the writer-in-residence for the Singapore Creative Writing Residency (2014). Her collection of plays, Faith Ng: Plays Volume 1, was published in 2016. Her play Normal continues to be read in schools.

Oon Shu An is an actor, writer, and Associate Artist with Checkpoint Theatre.

Shu An first worked with Checkpoint Theatre on the ensemble-devised City Night Songs (2012). Her one-woman play #UnicornMoment (2014), which she wrote and performed in, was nominated for Best Original Script at the M1-Theatre Straits Times Life! Theatre Awards 2015. Her work with other theatre companies include This is What Happens to Pretty Girls (2019), Mergers and Accusations (2019), and Chinglish (2015), for which she received a Best Actress nomination.

Shu An has appeared on screen in television series Code of Law and Netflix’s Marco Polo. She recently represented Singapore at the Asian Academy Creative Awards, under the Best Actress category, for her role in HOOQ’s How to Be a Good Girl. Her feature film credits include 4Love, Our Sister Mambo, and Rubbers.

Cheyenne Alexandria Phillips is a writer, performer, educator, and Associate Artist with Checkpoint Theatre.

Cheyenne’s writing revolves around the environment, culture and identity. Her writing and performance credits include Vulnerable (2021), an eight-part podcast, and A Grand Design (2020), an audio experience with Checkpoint Theatre, as well as In The Twine: A Tapestry of Stories (Singapore Writer’s Festival 2018) and For The Record (Centre 42’s Basement Workshop Residency 2017), a three-part documentation project comprising a spoken-word performance, an exhibition, and a manuscript with Charlene Shepherdson. Cheyenne is also a licensed Tourist Guide and has hosted eco-literary walks around MacRitchie Reservoir in collaboration with the Public Utilities Board (PUB) as part of Singapore Water Month 2018. 

Cheyenne is the Editor of singpowrimo.com, an online literary journal by SingLit Station. Her other writings can be found in the Quarterly Literary Review Singapore (QLRS), Contour: A Lyrical Cartography of Singapore (Poetry Festival Singapore, 2019) and Who Are You My Country? Writing about Identity, Past and Present (Landmark Books, 2018).

Luke Somasundram is a writer and Associate Artist with Checkpoint Theatre.

His play Swipe Right (2017), directed by Claire Wong, was commissioned as the graduation production for the final-year BA(Hons) Acting cohort from LASALLE College of the Arts. His comic Rebranding for Sea Monsters (2021), illustrated by Ethan Sim, is published by Checkpoint Theatre. 

Other significant works include The Untitled Funeral Play (2012), published in the Checkpoint Theatre anthology This Is My Family: New Singapore Plays Vol. 2, and A.I. Love K-Drama (2021), a Viddsee Original series he co-created and co-wrote. 

Luke is also an award-winning advertising copywriter, with work recognised internationally by D&AD, One Show, and Webbys.

Zenda Tan is an educator, playwright, and Associate Artist with Checkpoint Theatre.

Zenda wrote Eat Duck (2019, Checkpoint Theatre), Phase (2017, Dark Matter Theatrics), and has two competition-winning short plays published by T:>Works. In 2019, she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in English Literature (Highest Distinction) from the National University of Singapore, where for two years she helmed the Literature journal NUS Margins as its Editor-in-Chief. She is a Teaching Award holder and most recently passed the Postgraduate Diploma in Education Programme at the National Institute of Education with Distinction. During her time there, she was a contributing writer and editor for the Literature publication Enl*ght. As an actor, she has worked on and starred in projects both on stage and screen. 

She believes in the restorative capabilities of Literature and the creative arts, and that they can cultivate empathy and compassion within us, allowing us to take better care of ourselves and our world. This conviction is manifest in both her writing and pedagogy.

Shiv is an Associate Artist with Checkpoint Theatre, Creative Director at The Film Guys, and Founder of Castiko.

Shiv has worked across film, television, and theatre as a writer and director. Shiv wrote and co-directed The Good, the Bad and the Sholay with Checkpoint Theatre for Kalaa Utsavam – Indian Festival of Art 2015. He also co-devised and co-directed #UnicornMoment in 2014.

Besides his work with Checkpoint Theatre, he was co-writer for Google Creative Lab Australia and Griffin Theatre Company’s transmedia experiment, The Next Stage (2014). Other credits include Club Desire (Actor), Normal (Assistant Director), and Mind Games (Director and Choreographer). More recently, Shiv’s play A Fistful of Rupees came second in the international Sultan Padamsee Playwriting Awards, and was featured at the Tata Literature Live! The Mumbai LitFest 2018.

Myle Yan Tay is an Associate Artist at Checkpoint Theatre.

Yan is an actor, playwright, and director. He graduated from Yale-NUS College, majoring in Global Affairs. His works include Master Race (2018), Overtime: An Original Musical (2017) co-created with Nathaniel Mah, and Lemmings (The Second Breakfast Company, 2017). He played Lucas in Zenda Tan’s Eat Duck (Checkpoint Theatre, 2019), was the Assistant Director for Lucas Ho’s FRAGO (Checkpoint Theatre, 2017) and was a Citizen’s Reviewer for Centre 42 (2017-2019).

He is a recent recipient of the New Artist Fellowship from The School of the Art Institute Chicago, where he is currently pursuing a Masters in Creative Writing. Yan’s first stand-alone comic, Putu Piring, and first comic book series, Through the Longkang, are published by Checkpoint Theatre.

weish is a composer, musician, writer, and Associate Artist with Checkpoint Theatre.

A versatile artist whose work spans diverse genres and disciplines, her compositions have taken her around the globe – from Sundance Film Festival to the Golden Melody Awards.

With electronic duo .gif and experimental group sub:shaman, weish has performed across Europe, Australia and Asia. International collaborations also saw her building sound art installations in London, and working with DJs in Tokyo.

weish played musical director to Checkpoint Theatre’s Displaced Persons’ Welcome Dinner (2019), wrote and performed Beside Ourselves (2020) by .gif for the M1 Singapore Fringe Festival, as well as Be Here, With Me as part of Checkpoint’s first online video series, Two Songs and a Story (2020).