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Singapore child actors in Annie: ‘The stage makes me feel alive’

SINGAPORE — When Jaime Chew was just three years old, she would, on a nightly basis, recreate her favourite scene from 1965 film The Sound Of Music.

SINGAPORE — When Jaime Chew was just three years old, she would, on a nightly basis, recreate her favourite scene from 1965 film The Sound Of Music.

“There are videos of her singing (the youngest character) Gretl’s song, going up the stairs and insisting that I carry her off to bed at the end (like in the film),” freelance musician and music teacher Lu-min Chew, Jaime’s mother, told TODAY.

Now aged 10, Jaime has already had the opportunity to play that beloved character on stage, having been cast in the West End production of The Sound of Music here in 2014 — just one of many impressive achievements on her rapidly growing resume.

“It was a really cool experience because I got to see what happened behind the scenes,” the Primary 5 pupil at Damai Primary School recalled. “I’d always thought things just magically appeared and moved around the stage ... I was really very fascinated.”

Jaime is one of two Singaporean children — there are six Singapore-based children in total — playing the ragtag group of orphans in the musical Annie, which opened at Marina Bay Sands last Wednesday.

The other is 10-year-old Chloe Choo, a Primary 4 pupil at CHIJ Our Lady of the Nativity, who had also played the role of Gretl in the same production that Jaime had appeared in. She also played the youngest orphan, Molly, in the 2012 showing of Annie here.

Aside from stage acting, Jaime, whose busy extracurricular schedule includes musical theatre, jazz dancing and piano lessons, has tried her hand at television. She plays Princess Ling Ling in the second season of Netflix drama Marco Polo, which stars established actresses such as Michelle Yeoh and Joan Chen.

Though she admits not being familiar with both actresses before filming, the gregarious lass, who will next appear as a child reporter on Channel 5 variety show OK Chope! in October, jumped at the chance to learn from them.

She explained: “I noticed that, in each take, Joan would do the same line differently, which I hadn’t really seen before. Now, when I film, I try to (do the same thing to) give the director something different.”

As for Chloe, who has been preparing for her role in Annie by watching the film adaptations of the musical and learning some of its songs via YouTube, the theatre is where her heart lies — for now at least.

“Unlike movies or commercials, where you get so many takes and you get to re-do (scenes) until you satisfy the director ... you have one shot and that’s it. It’s very challenging and you have to be focused,” mused the self-professed “Little Professional”, who will also appear in local production house Wild Rice’s production of Chinese fantasy classic Monkey Goes West later this year.

She added thoughtfully: “Once I’m on stage, I’m a whole different person. I just focus on my role and don’t even think about anything but the character I’m playing.”

Asked if she suffers from stage fright, Chloe answers like a consummate showman: “At first, I do get nervous, but once I’ve finished singing and dancing, I just feel alive!” VICTORIA BARKER

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