Page 32 - Creative O 2020

Directors' message

What are stories? We tell stories everyday, to reminisce, to imagine, to learn, to reprimand
ourselves, to comfort ourselves.

I love stories, and it is wonderful working with the children of Mango Tree, to have the
chance to hear the children’s stories, to experience their limitless imagination, to be able to
listen to their questions, their worries and their concerns.
As they share their stories, their stories grow in me too. Much like how air and water and
food feed and nourish us, stories feed us, too. And every story that we share grow more
stories. I am grateful for the many stories the children shared with me-- these are precious
gifts, and now we are ready to share them with our audiences.
Thank you Yang laoshi 杨老师 and Teacher Chew Ying. I witness your love for the children
and how both of you cared for them, taught them, and nurtured them into responsible and
self-aware children, ready for their next phase of life.
Thank you Julius and Hui Bin. Both of you have been of so much help. And to the children
of Mango Tree Class, I have learned so much from all of you. Thank you, and I look forward
to see you fly further!
Neo Hai Bin 梁海彬

This is my first time working with the children. It has been a great pleasure and learning
experience for me. What I love most about them is their sense of wonder and their ability to
express themselves. Hope you enjoy the performance and may it rekindle the child within us all.
Ang Hui Bin

Year 2020
A year of confusion. A year in anticipation. A year for reflection.
I am sure we each have our own interesting stories to tell about 2020.
Stories have been told since even before humans learned to read and write.
We engage with others through stories, and storytelling is a lot more than just a recitation of
facts and events.
Telling stories is one of the ways we connect to others. They are central to human cognition
and communication.
With the current situation, everyone is eagerly looking for new ways to stay connected.
So to have the children share their stories, created through their imagination, fed by what
they have heard and seen, seemed like a natural choice for this year’s concert.
I sincerely hope that these stories from the children will find a connection with you as you
enter their world of wonderment.
Finding an alternative way to bring this concert to you has been both challenging as well
as satisfying. Technology is able to bridge physical distances - for the first time, family
members from overseas, are able to part take in the graduation ceremony of loved ones.
However, even if this may seem like a ‘triumph’ over the situation, in overcoming the
challenges by negotiating technology to bring this concert to you, I would do anything for
all of us meet to person, in a shared communal space.
Until that happens, we will do what we can to stay connected.
Thank you,
Julius