The Dare Festival is an annual performance which started during the pandemic. Through song, dance and storytelling, it brings together performers with and without disabilities. It is led by Lim Lee Lee, the Festival Producer. Lee Lee is a visually impaired performer herself.
This year, once again, I was invited by Lee Lee to attend this annual event organised by her. This was the second time she had extended the invitation to me. Similar to last year, she put in so much to make it inclusive for me. I am very appreciative of all she did for me. She engaged a speech-to-text interpreter, Minjie, from Equal Dreams. Minjie typed out information, descriptions of what was happening during the show, on a Google Doc, as the show progressed, so that I could read and follow what was happening.
Before the event, Lee Lee also prepared some pre-show notes containing the event flow and the scripts which would be used by the performers during the show, for me to read ahead of the show. Furthermore, for the Chinese lyrics, there were Han Yu Pin Yin followed by the English meanings. There were also two Malay songs with the English translations.
During the show, Minjie filled in even more details! Minjie did such an incredible job in providing rich information and well-written descriptions. Beyond the dialogues, she also typed out what was shown on slides and in videos into the Google Doc. For every performance, Minjie would provide details on the type of instruments, the feel of the music and singing, what the performers were doing, and their costumes. Minjie was also using the same pre-show notes that Lee Lee provided, to copy and paste the details into this Google Doc during the show, where relevant. Even after the show was over, for another few weeks, she continued to amend this document for errors and gaps in information. The document which resulted was 84 pages long, filled with details that painted a vivid picture of the performance through words. I am really appreciative to Minjie for all the hard work, especially all the time she spent after the event to continue to work on the document, which she did not have to, but she did.
Lee Lee also arranged for Minjie and me to be seated at the gallery with tables so we could watch the show in comfort. We were at one corner of the gallery while the team managing the sound system was at the other corner. We were able to put our laptops and devices on the table, making it easier for us to type and read.
Aside from speech-to-text interpretation, for low vision and blind audience, there was an audio describer, Roger Jenkins. For the Deaf, captions were projected and there were Singapore sign language interpreters on stage providing sign language and for supporting and communicating with the Deaf performers. For the music, I could feel the vibrations through the floor. This was not by chance, as musical arrangements with a strong beat were chosen so that the Deaf and hard of hearing can also experience the music.
This year's Dare Festival was so enjoyable. It featured more than just songs and dances. There were many skits peppered throughout the show. Performers included persons with and without disabilities and even Mediacorp artistes. The host was Stanley Leong and for some parts, Hossan Leong also appeared onscreen. Hossan and Stanley are a pair of brothers and they are both local presenters on radio and television.
The dialogues and performances provided such enjoyment. The lines were funny and witty through the use of puns. For instance, "rap" and "wrap" where the actress was asked if she could rap and instead she was wrapping her iPad with wrapping paper then asking for scotch tape. For another, in one of the skits with Hossan Leong, there was this scene where he talked about how he was eating You Tiao, these are fried dough sticks, with cream then later going for wine tasting. "Dare to cream, dare to wine."
There was also so much Singapore flavour added to the show, no doubt because of SG60. In the audience participation segment, everyone was singing along to the popular tunes of "Di Tanjong Katong" and "Chan Mali Chan", performance of "Count on Me, Singapore". A hilarious skit which took the form of a game show and contestants were tested on their knowledge of some National Day songs.
I was able to enjoy this event even though I couldn’t see and hear, because the event organiser took into considerations my access needs and was willing to provide them. They also provided access to other audience with various disabilities, thus making the show inclusive for everyone. I hope more shows can be as inclusive as this one.
Do you want to learn how to make your events more inclusive and accessible? Check out these resources:
Tan Siew Ling is fully Deafblind, having lost both her sight and hearing to a neurological condition, Neurofibromatosis type 2 (NF2). She carries a screen reader with a Braille display, which she fondly names it as “Bear Bear”, everywhere she goes. Her humour, wordplay, and love of puns keep friends on their toes. She enjoys reading books in her free time and loves to pen down her thoughts, often on a whim, which can be entertaining at times, on her social media. When she is not writing or reading, she can be seen doing insanely 72kg leg presses or swinging a 20kg kettlebell to and fro. You can find out more about Siew Ling and her journey here.