Selena Tan

Selena Tan
Born 1971 (age 46–47)
Singapore
Residence Singapore
Alma mater National University of Singapore
Occupation Executive producer, director, writer and performer, former lawyer
Nationality Singaporean
Manager(s) Dream Academy (founder)
Associated acts Dim Sum Dollies
Spouse(s)
John Pok (m. 2005)
Children 1
Parents Charles Tan (father)
Daisy Lim (mother)

Selena Tan (born 1971) is a Singaporean executive producer, director, writer and actress. She is best known as one of the cabaret trio, the Dim Sum Dollies.[1][2] In 2000, Tan founded Dream Academy, which produced a variety of performance shows.

Early life

Tan was born in 1971 in Singapore, to army officer Lieutenant Colonel Charles Tan, of the Singapore Armed Forces, and gold broker Daisy Lim. As the eldest of her siblings, she had two brothers and two sisters. Tan studied at Fairfield Methodist Secondary School, Raffles Junior College and graduated with a law degree from National University of Singapore.

She started acting at age 14 and was taught by the late theatre actress and director Christina Sergeant.[3]

Tan also appeared in school productions and community theatre pieces until her undergraduate years. She also acted in plays and performances while working full-time as a general litigation lawyer.[4]

Career

Tan left the legal profession in 1997 to fully immerse herself in the local arts and entertainment scene. She decided to venture full-time into acting and comedy as she loves to make people laugh.[5]

In 1998, Tan staged her own standup with Selena Exposed! [6] Theatre company Action Theatre subsequently restaged Selena Exposed! for its comedy festival in 1999 and reinterpreted her piece as Broadway Baby Kailan. Dr Low Guat Tin, then a teacher-trainer director with the National Institute of Education (NIE), was so impressed with Tan's performance in Broadway Baby Kailan that she invited Tan to stage a show for Teachers' Day – The Other Side of the Teacher's Table. The three-night show enjoyed mild success.[7]

In 2000, Tan utilised her life savings to set up Dream Academy, an independent arts and entertainment company. Dream Academy has since produced the Crazy Christmas series, Happy Ever Laughter, Broadway Beng, Meenah and Cheenah, The Hossan Leong Show, Kumar's standup comedies at the Esplanade and later the Dim Sum Dollies in 2002.[8]

Filmography

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

Film and television

Plays written

  • Dim Sum Dollies
  • Selena Exposed! (1998)
  • Broadway Baby Kailan (1998)
  • The 2nd Broadway Baby Kailan (1999)
  • The Other Side of the Teacher's Table (1999)
  • Maybe Knot
  • Report Cuts
  • PS21+
  • Medicares
  • Wanton Me
  • It Takes Two
  • Cinderellah
  • Aladdin
  • Pillow Talk

References

  1. ↑ A blast from the past for the Dim Sum Dollies
  2. ↑ Model child
  3. ↑ Mayo, M. (2013, February 23). Drama teachers group to hold a memorial for Christina Sergeant. Today Online
  4. ↑ Kwok, Y. (2005, March 28). Laws of attraction. The Straits Times, p. 2. Retrieved from NewspaperSG
  5. ↑ Yong, S. C. (2002, July 30). A flair for transformation. The Straits Times, p. 25, Retrieved from NewspaperSG
  6. ↑ Chia, C. (2006, July 31). Selena exposed. The Straits Times, p. 4. Retrieved from NewspaperSG
  7. ↑ Oon, C. (2000, January 26). The world's now her stage. The Straits Times. Retrieved from Factiva.
  8. ↑ About us. Dream Academy website
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.