M1 Patch! is an international festival of theatre that provides an inclusive space for fearless experimentation, unexpected collisions, fresh insights and high-quality art-making regardless of age, language or genres. It advocates the CULTIVATION of artists and audiences through the spirit of PLAY.
M1 Patch! redefines the boundaries of theatre by WEAVING an eclectic tapestry of quality productions, engaging events and stimulating workshops – all centred around thoughtful play. From mainstream to experimental, family-friendly to mature, local to international, familiar to unexpected, there is something for everyone.
Come discover the world of artful play with us!
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR'S MESSAGE
First conceived in 2018, M1 Patch! A Theatre Festival of Artful Play has become a symbol of The Theatre Practice (Practice)'s commitment to promoting growth that is even more diverse, inclusive and embracing.
Now entering its second year, eagle-eyed audiences might have noticed something a little different. This year, instead of traditional divisions of "main productions" and "fringe activities", we've decided to put all our programmes under one big umbrella, the festival itself!
While this may seem like a small change, this shift undoubtedly marks a clearer reflection of our curiosity as artists and people.
At Practice, we believe in not limiting ourselves in our art-making and advocacy ventures. Rather than constrain ourselves to a particular form or language, we should instead be guided by the desire to tell stories, push boundaries and experiment. Therefore, it is only appropriate that M1 Patch! reflect this spirit – the spirit of play!
Thus, this change recognises that every element represents an equally important piece of the festival patchwork and should be respected as such, regardless of form, language, purpose or audience size.
At the same time, this change not only reflects our enlarged playing field, but also our aim for greater inclusivity. Indeed, the way we curate our festivals has always responded to the needs and desires of our artists and audiences. We not only ask ourselves HOW we want to play, but WHO we want to play with. Even as our diverse set of artists stretch, subvert and reinvent the very limits of play, the variety of our programmes allow us to continue serving different communities and being the voice of the underdog.
With these twin tenants of diversity and inclusivity of play firmly in place, we invite you to open your mind and reawaken your curiosity with the 2019 season of M1 Patch!!
Kuo Jian Hong
Artistic Director
The Theatre Practice
Message from M1 Limited
M1 is thrilled to present the second installation of M1 Patch! A Theatre Festival of Artful Play 2019, with an exciting and captivating collection of local and overseas productions from Singapore, Finland, Germany, Indonesia and Taiwan.
The festival's line-up this year includes the highly-anticipated The wee Question Mark and the Mountain Movers, a family-friendly musical that encourages critical thinking and participation for our younger audiences; PROJECT Utopia that brings together five international and local artists to create and present five redolent short episodes on what utopia means to them; and A Dog's House which takes on intergenerational differences and identities within families.
Adding on to the festival's colossal fun and thoughtful PLAY are activities such as the Patch! Camp and Artist Farm; providing a vast avenue of diverse and engaging activities for audiences of all ages. We hope you have an enjoyable time as you relish and memoralise the elements of innocence through PLAY and gain new perspectives at the M1 Patch! A Theatre Festival of Artful Play 2019.
Ivan Lim
Director, Corporate Communications
M1 Limited
ABOUT M1 PATCH! 2019 ARTWORK
Every year, our Patch! mascot, a tiny human figure riding atop a whale, takes a trip through a different portal and brings audiences into a brand new world.
Each world is brought to life by different artists, whom have been invited to interpret these different dimensions of play.
Journey into this year's world below:
About the Artwork
I started with the phrase "the openness that a curious mind affords us". I was inspired by the ordinary sights I see on my way to work and how these buildings and trees can become fantastical when we use our creativity to see them through different perspectives. For example, in real life these objects are rooted to the ground, but what if they were to grow organically from a body?
A motif that always appears in my work are figures called Angmoteh, which are conjoined humanoid figures with separate consciousnesses. Here, I imagined this Angmoteh to be the physical embodiment of the world of play itself. Play is all about poking at norms and challenging perceptions – while these figures appear normal at first glance, a second look suggests something far more subversive and playful!
The world through my eyes is never static or uniform. For this artwork, I used a blend of different textures and colour gradients, achieved through creating acrylic, spray paint and ink samples and digitally manipulating it after. As these colours dance and melt together, it gives the artwork a strong sense of movement and life, thus reflecting the irrepressible spirit of play.
Teh Xiang Her
Graphic Designer and Illustrator
