trainingzones
4 April, 4.30pm – 5.30pm
340a (340a Joo Chiat Rd, Singapore 427592)
$25
trainingzones is a dialogue with Ranice Tay, a theatre practitioner, founder of WUSHIREN Theatre, Fei Mu Best Actress Award recipient (Pingyao International Film Festival, 2025), and world medallist in Chen-Style Taijiquan. Along with WUSHIREN artists Julian Low and Beatrice Low, we delve in her experience and perspectives on performer training, pedagogy, and education.
Taking Ranice's practice as a departure point, we will discuss WUSHIREN Theatre's philosophy of performer research and training, the process of translating intuition to presentation, our shared longing for faith and ritual, the importance of safety in performer training, as well as the work of sensitizing the performer for the unknown — to meet the self there and be okay with whatever might happen.
The less we know how to hold our ground independently, the more dangerous life feels. How can performer training prepare us to engage with the uncapturable unknown?
What areas are strongly nurtured in our current systems, and which aspects of the performer’s work requires greater attention and cultivation? How does one navigate between the market pressures of presenting and performing alongside the spiritual, creative need to cultivate deeper self-understanding and capabilities?
artists
WUSHIREN Theatre
WUSHIREN Theatre (吾是人) is an independent theatre collective and living laboratory for embodied performance. We create evocative, visceral physical theatre grounded in deep investigations of Taiji – as both form and philosophy. Our name translates to “I am human,” a simple declaration that returns us to the essential questions:Where do we come from? Who are we?
We explore the body's deeper potentials as a site for transformation and renewal. Developed through long periods of rigorous play, our works balance tradition and experimentation, subtlety and boldness, the visceral and the evocative. At the heart of all we do lies a search for homecoming: a reconnection with the self, with one another, and with the world beyond.
Ranice Tay
Ranice Tay is a theatre practitioner and founder of WUSHIREN Theatre, an experimental company exploring embodiment, intuition, and the deeper potentials of performance. Her work sits at the intersection of Taiji and theatre, investigating how the body can become an instrument for encountering moments of presence, mystery, and the numinous.
Her practice has been shaped by embodied performance, including an artist residency with U-Theatre (Taiwan) and performing the titular role in The Silly Little Girl and the Funny Old Tree. This inquiry informed her directorial debut, I Am Finally in Love with the World. Ranice is a Fei Mu Best Actress Award recipient (Pingyao International Film Festival, 2025) and a world medallist in Chen-Style Taijiquan.
Julian Low
Julian co-founded WUSHIREN to explore the inherent intelligence of the body through theatre and to reclaim a deeper sense of human presence. He is a national athlete with Singapore’s Traditional Wushu Elite Team, regularly teaching Taiji and representing the country in international competitions.
Currently completing a Master’s in Arts Pedagogy and Practice at the University of the Arts Singapore, Julian’s path also includes experiences as a medical student, video-maker and entrepreneur. His artistic inquiry asks: what prevents us from expressing ourselves fully and freely, and how might we overcome conditioned habits to live more deeply in the present moment?
Beatrice Low
Beatrice Low is a multidisciplinary artist driven by curiosity about what the arts can reveal about life and the human experience. Working across mediums including drawing, painting, pottery, sculpture, and spatial design, her practice explores the relationship between form, space, and presence.
She began her artistic training at the School of the Arts, Singapore (SOTA), before studying Architecture at the University of Nottingham (UK), where she developed a spatial approach to artistic thinking. After graduating, she returned to the arts through set design for WUSHIREN Theatre. She now continues collaborating with the company, expanding her practice to include acting, singing, and movement.
