Led by artistic director Nelson Chia, NYT Ensemble is an attempt to build a company of ensemble actors who train regularly, in a systematic way, and create together over an extended period of time. Its main activities are divided into: regular training, creation and performance. For regular training, the ensemble uses the Suzuki Method of Actor Training (SMAT) and Viewpoints as its core systems to develop the art of the actor. Other trainings include Voice, Speech and Dramaturgy, etc.. The creation process draws on the synergy that emerges from these trainings over time. The ultimate aim of the ensemble is to develop a sustainable group of company actors that accumulates its strengths through the ensemble environment to create works that are consistent, grounded and integral.
Mia is an actor, producer and theatre educator. She started performing at 9 years old when she joined Rediffusion Singapore's children group and eventually graduated with a BA in Theatre Studies and Chinese Language from the National University of Singapore. In addition to that, she studied Viewpoints with SITI Company (New York) and Suzuki Method of Actor Training with SITI and Suzuki Company of Toga (Japan). Recent works include Dear Elena, First Fleet, FAUST/US, Lear Is Dead, Pissed Julie, Cut Kafka!, Art Studio, Red Sky, Red Demon, The Lower Depths, Tartuffe, An Enemy of the People, The Bride Always Knocks Twice and Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (Macau Arts Festival 2013).
Qian Chou first worked with Nine Years Theatre on Twelve Angry Men and subsequently became a Founding and Core Member of the NYT Ensemble. Since then, he has appeared in most of NYT’s productions, including Dear Elena, First Fleet, FAUST/US, Lear Is Dead, Pissed Julie, Cut Kafka!, No Parking on Odd Days (Cantonese), Art Studio, Red Sky, Red Demon, The Lower Depths, Tartuffe and An Enemy of the People. He graduated from NUS Theatre Studies and the pioneer cohort of W!LD Rice's actors' training programme young & W!LD. He also attended summer workshops at Anne Bogart’s SITI Company (Saratoga Springs, US), Ecole Philippe Gaulier (Paris, France) and David Diamond's Theatre for Living (Vancouver, Canada). He is also a nine-time Best Ensemble nominee at The Straits Times Life! Theatre Awards, winning it five times.
Over the years, he experienced the theatre’s power to develop social awareness and empower communities. He started off as a member of "ARTivate", the youth wing of Drama Box. Now a freelance theatre practitioner, he undergoes long-term, regular and systematic training at Nine Years Theatre. He attended Suzuki Company of Toga summer workshop 2014 (Japan) and deepened his understanding of “Suzuki Method of Actor Training”. He attended the SITI Company Summer Workshop 2018 (USA), to further his practice of “Viewpoints”. He is part of "微Wei Collective". He keeps a blog at: http://thethoughtspavilion.wordpress.com.
Timothy is an actor, and musician. He graduated from the theatre studies programme in the National University of Singapore. Since then, he has been actively involved in both the local English and Mandarin theatre scene. He has undergone training programs with SITI Company in Saratoga Springs, as well as with the Suzuki Company of Toga, in Toga, Japan. Stage credits include: Army Daze, Glass Anatomy, High Class, Red Riding Hood, Firecrackers & Bombshells, Romeo & Juliet: The Musical, Hansel & Gretel, The Nightingale (in both English & Mandarin), Junior Claus, Titoudao, The Tempest, December Rains, White Soliloquy, Beauty World, Red Demon, Kumarajiva, Red Sky, Fundamentally Happy, Girl in the White Sandbox, Art Studio, Cut Kafka!, Sometime Moon, Pissed Julie, FAUST/US, First Fleet and Dear Elena.
