Method Productions is presenting Jeanne Sakata’s award-winning solo play, Hold These Truths, helmed by Sim Yan Ying ‘YY’ and starring Hansel Tan at HCAC Skylight studio, 89A Desker Road Singapore, Singapore 209611 on April 16 and 17 at 8pm. Tickets are SGD 15.00 and can be purchased here. Seats are at limited capacity due to COVID guidelines.
During World War II, Gordon Hirabayashi, a student at University of Washington in Seattle, fights the US government’s orders to forcibly remove and mass incarcerate all people of Japanese ancestry on the West Coast. As he struggles to reconcile his country’s betrayal with his passionate belief in the US Constitution, Gordon begins a 50-year journey toward a greater understanding of America’s triumphs—and a confrontation with its failures. This fight for freedom celebrates the human spirit as it chronicles Hirabayashi’s journey from college in Seattle all the way to the Supreme Court, and eventually to a Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Hold These Truths feature Lighting Design (for SAS) by Elizabeth May, Sound Design by Ryan Ng and Costume Design by Johanna Pan.
Hansel Tan is an actor and educator based in New York City, and has enjoyed a 15-year international stage career on stage and onscreen. He got his star in Singapore, performing locally with companies such as Singapore Repertory Theatre, and Wild Rice, before pursuing his training in the USA. Since then, Hansel has performed in venues such as Lincoln Center Avery Fisher Hall, The Public Theater, Playwrights Horizons, Symphony Space, Signature Theatre, The New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF), and more. On screen, you might have seen him in Complete Unknown (Amazon), In Game: The Webseries (Manpowered Films), The Blacklist: Redemption (NBC) and Madame Secretary (CBS). An an educator, Hansel has taught audition masterclasses in Brazil, and on-camera technique at Yale-NUS.
He is a recipient of the Singapore NAC Overseas Bursary, The Wesleyan Lipsky Choral Prize, “Best Actor” Winner at Theatre Now New York’s Inaugural “Sound Bytes” Festival, “Best Principle Male Actor” Finalist for the 2017 Theatre Bay Area Awards, and “Best Actor” Finalist for the 2017 Broadwayworld Regional Awards.
Jeanne Sakata’s Hold These Truths (Drama Desk Nomination, Outstanding Solo Performance; San Diego Critics’ Circle Award, Outstanding Solo Performance; Theatre Bay Area Awards, Outstanding Production, Direction, and Lead Performance), has won rave reviews in over twenty productions across North America, most recently at People’s Light, San Diego Repertory, Cultch Historic Theatre in Vancouver, Barrington Stage Company, TheatreWorks Silicon Valley, Arena Stage, Hang A Tale Productions, Lyric Stage Company, Pasadena Playhouse, Portland Center Stage, the Guthrie Theater, Perseverance Theatre, ACT Seattle, PlayMakers Repertory Company, Honolulu Theatre for Youth (co-produced with Daniel Dae Kim), and Epic Theatre Ensemble. Originally premiering with Los Angeles’ East West Players, the play was first commissioned by Chay Yew, former director of CTG’s Asian Theatre Workshop.
Called a “local treasure” by the Los Angeles Times, Jeanne has enjoyed guest star/recurring roles onscreen in Jennifer Phang’s internationally acclaimed indie film, Advantageous, and on the TV series High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, Station 19, NCIS Los Angeles, Big Hero 6, Dr. Ken, Bravo’s True Fiction, Tyler Perry’s Meet the Browns, Desperate Housewives, Presidio Med, ER, Threat Matrix, Line of Fire, American Family, John Ridley’s I Got You, Hiroshima, and Sex and Marriage, a Justin Lin YOMYOMF YouTube webseries. Onstage, Jeanne has performed with the Vineyard Theatre, Public Theater, Lincoln Center Theater, Kennedy Center, Mark Taper Forum, Geffen Playhouse, South Coast Rep, La Jolla Playhouse, American Conservatory Theater, Northlight Theatre, Intiman Theatre, Berkeley Rep, A Contemporary Theatre, Portland Center Stage, People’s Light, Sundance Theatre Institute, Syracuse Stage and the Arizona Theatre Company.
Special honors: Theatre LA Ovation Award for Outstanding Lead Actress, Chay Yew’s Red, East West Players; 2019 Trailblazer Award for Outstanding Artistic Achievement, East West Players; 2016 Lee Melville Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Los Angeles Theatre Community, Playwrights’ Arena; Outstanding Artist Award, Los Angeles’ Pacific American Friends of Theatre. www.jeannesakata.com, www.holdthesetruths.info
Established in 2014, Method Productions (MP) is a presenting production company for all mediums of performing arts. Method Productions shares its home with their sister company, Haque Centre of Acting and Creativity (HCAC).
Our essence: We seek out artistic products to showcase or to partner with. The productions may be work of the students and alumni of HCAC or from an external company.
We provide the venue, talent network and take an active involvement in the project by providing artistic direction and support. Our success lies in the ability to provide a high-quality and diverse arts programme via our open door policy to a large number of promising projects. Simultaneously, we maintain our specific artistic standards through direct artistic involvement in each project.
To date, Method Productions has staged monologue slams, improv comedy showcases, intimate theatre, one-person shows, personal essay showcases, film screenings, dramatized readings, spoken word performances, full-length plays by theatre collectives and workshop-productions.
Backstage Pass with Lia Chang 