Patience is a virtue. So while it may have taken quite a few years, a number of tweaks and lots of feedback, freelance writer Dora Tan can breathe a sigh of relief. A play that she first wrote way back in 2008 is finally ready for the stage.

The 51-year-old’s A Wedding, A Funeral & Lucky, The Fish is a comedy piece about a wedding between a Singaporean and her ang moh boyfriend. It is one of three works that will kick off the Singapore Repertory Theatre’s (SRT) brand new Made In Singapore series. It will feature in next week’s double-bill alongside young playwright Michelle Tan’s Stand Behind The Yellow Line — Garisan Kuning, which is about a homeless lady who befriends a young girl as the former waits for her son’s release from jail.

And at the end of the month, there is the World War II-themed Rising Son, by musical theatre stalwart Dick Lee. It’s his first stab at writing a drama and the first in his ambitious Family Trilogy, which is inspired by his family’s stories.

Presented under the SRT’s Singapore-focused Stage Two wing, these works, particularly those in the double-bill, are the result of what artistic director Gaurav Kripalani deemed an “experiment” by the company.

INCUBATE IT

“Normally in Singapore — and the SRT has been guilty of this too — theatre companies slate new work into their seasons and there’s an obligation to stage it. We commission playwrights, they write a play, we go into workshops, go into rehearsals, then stage it. There’s no development time at all,” admitted Kripalani. “For us, it has produced work that’s not reached its full potential. So to me, it was very important that we try to fix this. We won’t put something into our season until we’ve spent enough time developing it.”

The SRT’s Stage Two has long been developing home-grown content, but only on an ad hoc basis. This new series hopefully makes things more stringent, thanks to the playwright incubator programme it introduced a couple of years ago.

It’s a move that reflects the general consensus in the arts scene that it needs to develop new writing talent for the stage. Programmes instituted by other players include Watch This Space, an incubation programme spearheaded by playwright Chong Tze Chien; and Checkpoint Theatre’s very public support for student playwrights. And there’s Centre 42, the National Arts Council’s (NAC) new arts space dedicated to writing for Singapore theatre that is slated to open by April.

Not surprisingly, the SRT is in discussions with Centre 42 on how to synergise their efforts, but its own programme has already been a boon for the likes of Michelle and Dora. The two were among the eight playwrights who attended a week-long workshop with acclaimed playwright David Henry Hwang (of M Butterfly fame) back in 2011. The drafts of their plays were critiqued by Hwang as well as their peers, and read out by actors.

It didn’t end there: More monthly meetings were held to iron out kinks and do more rewrites until finally, there was a staged public reading and the opportunity to get advice from dramaturg Jack Bradley of Britain’s National Theatre.

BIG OPPORTUNITY

It has all been very satisfying for Michelle, who was looking for such an opportunity after coming back from Brown University in 2011.

“I didn’t know anybody and I was sending CVs to all these people. I remember sending an email to Tze Chien asking him if he would be my writing mentor,” she said.

She eventually became part of Cake Theatrical Productions’ In A Decade training programme, where she ended up co-directing a piece. She has also written smaller pieces, including one for Ageless Theatre, but this SRT production is her biggest to date.

“I think I’m coming in at a time when all these opportunities are happening in small pockets and also the new writing centre,” she said, adding how pleasantly surprised she was at the openness of the theatre practitioners.

Meanwhile, Dora has been regularly writing not just plays but short fiction and poetry (bagging the Golden Point Award too). The mother of three, who previously worked in advertising, was a late bloomer — but her small plays have been occasionally staged since 2006 by the likes of Action Theatre, as well as for festivals like Short And Sweet or W!ld Rice’s Singapore Theatre Festival.

Her experience with the SRT was followed last year by a wonderful bit of news: An NAC grant to the prestigious La Mama Playwrights Retreat. The play she wrote there was given an airing in New York City early this year.

Despite all these, Dora knows how hard it is to break through. “It was really difficult (at first). There are few theatre companies willing to take chances on new playwrights. It’s still very hard. People say there aren’t that many of us, but actually, there are a lot of other people we don’t hear of,” she said.

The big pay-off to have someone taking chances and taking their time to develop a play is pretty obvious; because even when the production ends, the play stays.

Director Samantha Scott-Blackhall, who is helming both Dora and Michelle’s plays, said: “I feel with new plays and more so with new writers, this process of incubating work over a longer period of time is imperative. Scripts have to withstand the test of time. Unlike watching a staging, people will read the script thereafter for years to come.”

Which is why Kripalani is keeping the “fate” of the six remaining plays from the workshop open-ended. “We’re exploring what to do next and we’re happy to carry on with them and provide resources to continue to develop them. We’re also in the process of looking for another group of playwrights as well.”

DICK LEE’S TRILOGY

The other production in Made In Singapore is Dick Lee’s Rising Son. Even if it may seem odd for someone of his standing to be lumped in with the two, the 2005 Cultural Medallion recipient and SRT Associate Artistic Director is nonetheless stepping out of his cushy comfort zone.

Lee is celebrating his 40th year in showbiz this year with a full plate: He is directing his first film, Sunshine Girls; reviving his musical, Hotpants; helming the National Day Parade; and opening his shop The Modern Outfitters in Tiong Bahru; Later on, he’s working on the music for one of the Lee Kuan Yew musicals slated for next year as well as a new SRT production.

But his new Family Trilogy is an entirely different proposition. Rising Son was inspired by his father’s stories about growing up during World War II — in particular, one about a Japanese soldier who lived next door.

“He made friends with this soldier who was very kind to his family and he never really talked about it because you could be seen as a sympathiser,” said Lee, who interviewed his father about his experiences two years ago. “I’m so glad I did because he just had a mild stroke and now he can’t remember anything.”

His next two productions will be staged in the coming years: Dancing Girl is inspired by his mother’s childhood experience growing-up around a cabaret; while Wonder Boy will be about Lee’s growing up years and the story of how he became a songwriter in the “wild west” of ’70s Singapore. All three are rather “serious” in demeanour — something that Lee had to adjust to.

“Music is my main thing, so musicals have always been the first approach for me. And when you do musicals, you tend to do comedy, and the only other plays I’ve written are comedies. I didn’t know how to start (with Rising Son) and not put gags or jokes.

“It’s quite a big step,” he admitted.

When it came to honing his dramatic writing skills, Lee was more than willing to learn from his director, the Obie-winning, Eric Ting of Long Wharf Theatre in New Haven. “I learned a lot from workshopping Rising Son with Eric. He’s brilliant and helped so much,” he said. “The biggest thing I learnt from him is that I didn’t need so many words. Silence can say a lot. He actually reshaped it and streamlined the story.”

It seems like when it comes to writing plays, everyone can do with a helping hand — whether you’re a newbie or Dick Lee.

A Wedding, A Funeral & Lucky, The Fish and Stand Behind The Yellow Line — Garisan Kuning run from March 7 to 9, 8pm, DBS Arts Centre — Home Of SRT. With 4pm weekend matinees and a 3.30pm matinee on Friday. Tickets from S$25 to S$50 at Sistic.

Rising Son runs from March 27 to April 12, 8pm, DBS Arts Centre — Home Of SRT. With 4pm matinees on weekends and Fridays. Tickets from S$30 to S$55 from Sistic.