Creative Capital: The actor who's also a photographer and creative director
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Creative Capital: The actor who's besides a lensman and artistic director
Crispian Chan, a familiar name in the local theatre scene, also has his own photography business in which he captures other actors' headshots with flair.
(Art: Chern Ling)
13 Sep 2022 06:15AM (Updated: 02 Feb 2022 12:02PM)
Crispian Chan, "Crispy" to his friends, is incredibly unassuming. Simply behind his sly smile and humble demeanour is a passionate artistic who has contributed in multiple ways to keeping the local performing arts scene vibrant.
Through Crispi, his photography business organization, Crispian has supplied perfectly rendered headshots for a veritable who's who in our local film and theatre scene. He's likewise recognised every bit one of the all-time in the business at capturing live theatre and dance through photography – a talent that is informed partly through his own work as a performer.
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Crispy is, to steal a theatre term, a triple threat: Lensman, performer and creative managing director. As a performer, he has worked with the Black Swan Theatre Visitor, Barking Gecko Theatre Company, Wild Rice, Pangdemonium and Teater Ekamatra; and has appeared in a number of festivals such equally Perth International Arts Festival, Singapore Arts Festival, Brisbane Arts Festival and Kunstenfestivaldesarts in Kingdom of belgium. Finally, he's the in-business firm Creative Director for local and beloved theatre company Pangdemonium, founded by honor-winning manager Tracie Pang and her equally talented married man Adrian.
WHAT BROUGHT YOU TO SINGAPORE?
Born and raised in Australia, I worked in Perth as a freelance actor after completing a theatre and film caste in university. At the time I felt the roles given to me in film and Television were limited and often played to my ethnicity rather than power. Colourblind casting and multifariousness wasn't really role of the conversation in the industry at the time. I needed some new perspective. In 2003, I heard about the launch of a new BA (Hons) Acting programme at LASALLE College of the Arts. I saw it as an opportunity to practise some formal actor grooming, spend some time in Asia and gain some work experience in Singapore's theatre and film manufacture.
AND WHAT HAS KEPT Yous HERE ALL THIS Fourth dimension?
I've found an arts customs and family that I really love. As an actor, lensman and creative manager, I've had the privilege of experiencing a broad cross-department of works in theatre, trip the light fantastic, music and visual arts. Nosotros work hard and with middle. The work is nuanced with layers; it's contemporary but information technology doesn't forget its roots, either. At that place's also a diverseness of Singaporean and international performances that you can access. For example, at the Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay, I tin can watch a ballet from Germany, see a new Singaporean work in the studios and listen to a traditional Gamelan orchestra operation in the outdoor theatre. I just can't get enough of that.
Y'all'RE KNOWN As A Photographer, Role player AND CREATIVE Director. WHICH OF THESE PASSIONS AND PURSUITS DID YOU GET INVOLVED WITH Kickoff?
It was definitely being an actor first. That was my first honey from my high school days: Telling stories on the stage to a live audience; to have that immediate connection and response.
Photography comes in a close second. It allows me to be role player and manager with the photographic camera at the aforementioned time. Photography connects me to people, which I dearest deeply.
Every bit the artistic managing director for Pangdemonium, I try to bring together my experiences as an player and lensman, and aqueduct that into marketing their productions. We're not marketing an inanimate product – we're telling a story that we desire people to come up and connect with.
TELL ME ABOUT YOUR PHOTOGRAPHY Business organization.
I mostly shoot stage photography and actors' headshots. I honey shooting phase photography exist it theatre, trip the light fantastic toe or concerts because every show is different. The lighting design, sets, costumes, choreography and the performers themselves – every chore is so unlike! Live performance is too temporal in nature – you rehearse it, phase information technology for the audience and and then the curtain comes down. Stage photography is a way of preserving the operation that otherwise would only exist in our memories after watching it.
With headshots, equally an actor, I know what it feels similar to walk out of a session with crappy photos. I try to brand certain every actor who shoots with me walks out with an authentic and natural gear up of images of themselves. We talk most how an actor has 'presence' or an 'X factor' – a headshot session tin tell you very chop-chop if someone has it. Information technology'south in the optics.
A MUTUAL FRIEND HAS RAVED Virtually WORKING WITH You lot. WHAT DO Yous Practice TO Brand SUBJECTS COMFORTABLE?
I'g lucky that most of my clients are from the aforementioned industry as I so we have a lot that we can talk about together and that ways we can build the rapport much faster.
With headshots, some clients are surprised or relieved when I tell them they don't need to grinning. I don't look for a grin. I feel that will come in once they're comfortable with how the session is going and conversation starts flowing. For me, eye contact is the most important part of someone'southward expression. You immediately know if they're listening and engaged with you. Information technology's a shared conversation through the lens. I call back that puts nigh people at ease straight abroad knowing they're non trying to touch or impress me or whoever is looking at the photo. We're just listening to each other and I shoot those moments in-between.
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DID Y'all E'er CONSIDER GOING Really COMMERCIAL AND TAKING ON Fashion OR Advertizement GIGS?
No, not really. I never really wanted to be a commercial photographer. I need a personal or emotional connection in my photography work, which I don't find in commercial photography. I shoot stage because I connect with the operation or story, and I frame my shots accordingly. With headshots, I press the shutter when I feel I'thousand capturing something authentic in the expression of my customer in my viewfinder.
Having said that, I accept worked with local fashion label GINLEE Studio, whose designs I absolutely adore, a number of times. They're very supportive of the arts and they have used dancers and actors to model their gorgeous outfits, which I take shot. I enjoyed that procedure considering it was capturing performers in their chemical element as much as it was the about the clothes.
WHAT WAS THE CRAZIEST AND MOST FUN SHOOT Y'all Accept EVER ORCHESTRATED?
I think my craziest and well-nigh fun shoots have always involved one or more than of the classic elements – wind, h2o, world, burn – as an effect or prop. I did a publicity shoot for a theatre product called Oresteia, which is a trilogy of Greek tragedies. We created a triptych of posters based on characters from the plays. One character was covered in blood, another in thick black oil and the last in ashes. It was messy, wet, mucilaginous and dusty all at the same time, but the results were horrifyingly beautiful!
Practice You lot Think Being A PERFORMER YOURSELF HAS MADE YOU ABLE TO CAPTURE PERFORMANCE?
Admittedly. I recall understanding stagecraft and beingness able to interpret what the director and artistic team take staged is of import in knowing how to capture performance. I think as a performer it allows me to conceptualize certain moments of a scene and that allows me to reply accordingly when shooting.
TELL ME Virtually YOUR WORK ON Phase. WHAT PERFORMANCE HAS BEEN THE HIGHLIGHT OF YOUR CAREER And then FAR?
Oh this is hard considering I have unlike highlights for dissimilar reasons! I think in recent retentivity, Wild Rice'southward The Importance of Being Hostage has been a sentimental highlight for me equally information technology was my beginning main stage role in 2009. We staged it again in 2022 in Singapore before taking information technology to Macau in the same year; after that, we took information technology to the Brisbane Festival in 2015; and and then at the beginning of this year nosotros re-staged it in Wild Rice's new Ngee Ann Kongsi Theatre, which also happened to be my concluding stage operation before COVID-xix close down the theatres.
WHAT'S YOUR DREAM Part?
I don't really accept a specific dream role but my hope is that I get a chance to work in an Australian theatre visitor again and hopefully on new works involving Australian-Asian artists or stories.
YOU RECENTLY HELPED Movie THE PITCH. TELL ME More than Nearly THIS Production.
The Pitch is a 20-minute brusque film collaboration involving Pangdemonium, Singapore Repertory Theatre (SRT) and Wild Rice, and directed by Ken Kwek. Starring their respective artistic directors Adrian Pang, Gaurav Kripalani and Ivan Heng as their heightened selves in the film, we follow their struggles equally they endeavor to create fine art during this uncertain fourth dimension and keep their egos intact in the procedure.
Information technology was a mammoth undertaking putting the film together. A script was written within ii weeks I call back. Then we shot it over four days earlier we spent some other two weeks or so editing and marketing the picture. It was all produced in less than half dozen weeks with the production, marketing and fundraising teams from all three companies analogous together in consultation with the creative directors and Ken.
YOU WERE PART OF A Iii-PERSON CAMERA CREW. WHAT LIMITATIONS AND CHALLENGES DID YOU FACE IN CAPTURING THIS STORY Because OF SOCIAL DISTANCING AND OTHER SAFETY MEASURES?
This film took me dorsum to my student motion-picture show days at university! Not merely were nosotros a three-person camera coiffure, but half the film crew was made up of staff from the theatre visitor offices. Nosotros couldn't afford to use professional film coiffure for all the roles. So some had to be given on-site preparation. We also had to combine various roles together. One of our coiffure was not just the camera banana and grip but too the movie editor!
Budget constraints meant manpower was low simply that really probably helped us maintain the social distancing measures. We were basically a skeleton coiffure.
WHY SHOULD SOMEONE DONATE TO THREE ALREADY ESTABLISHED THEATRE COMPANIES?
I think in that location is a common misconception in the public that ticket sales comprehend the price of the show and the running of the companies. That's not really true. The bulk of ticket revenues cover the costs of the testify itself only. Nosotros rely on funding, sponsorship and donations to cover the staffing and remaining overheads for running a theatre company. Pangdemonium, SRT and Wild Rice may be established but that comes at a cost. For example, all three accept much higher staff headcounts than smaller companies. In the case of SRT and Wild Rice, they besides have their ain functioning venues to upkeep. These established companies too provide regular work for the hundreds of freelancers who are involved as actors, designers, crew, front end-of-house and in other roles. Donations are urgently needed to help these companies ride through this downturn.
WHAT ARE Y'all WORKING ON Side by side?
With Pangdemonium, we're working on our get-go digital play written specifically for an online audience. We will be announcing information technology presently so stay tuned for that! Photography-wise, work has been trickling back in once again with headshots only I'm hoping we'll exist back in theatres sooner than afterwards.
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