Claire Wong

A major contributor to this article appears to have a close connection with its subject. It may require cleanup to comply with Wikipedia's content policies, particularly neutral point of view. Please discuss further on the talk page. (May 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

Claire Wong
Born	Malaysia
Alma mater	National University of Singapore Columbia University
Occupation	Joint Artistic Director, Actor, Producer, Director, Filmmaker
Spouse(s)	Huzir Sulaiman ​ (m. 2004)​

Claire Wong is a Singapore-Malaysian actor, director, producer, and filmmaker. She is the co-founder and Joint Artistic Director and Producer of . Wong writes, directs, produces, and acts for the stage and for the camera. She has received training in both Asian and Western performing arts and obtained her post-graduate degree, a Master of Fine Arts (MFA), from Columbia University. Wong's recent producing and directing credits include: Huzir Sulaiman's The Last Bull: A Life in Flamenco (Singapore Arts Festival, now Singapore Festival of Arts (SIFA) Commission, 2016), Occupation (2012) and The Weight of Silk on Skin (2011); Faith Ng's Normal (2017, 2015), For Better or for Worse (2013) and wo(men) (2010); Joel Tan's The Way We Go (2014). Her play Recalling Mother which was co-written and co-directed with Noorlinah Mohamed, recently played at Esplanade's The Studios (Singapore, 2016) and at the Brisbane and OzAsia Festivals (Australia, 2016 and 2017).

Wong holds a law degree from the National University of Singapore, and practised litigation and corporate law. She is also the co-founder and Senior Consultant of Studio Wong Huzir, a creative consultancy.

Early life[]

Born in Malaysia, she is a resident of Singapore. In high school, she represented Selangor state in badminton competitions and was appointed the president of the literary, drama and debate society. Upon her graduation, she attended National Junior College and studied the sciences, and took part in school plays to further her interest in drama.^[1]

A lawyer, she graduated from the National University of Singapore and obtained her Master of Fine Arts in theatre at Columbia University in New York. She practised law first as a litigation associate and later as a corporate partner. Her corporate practice covered both Singapore and the region. She worked at the law firms Allen & Gledhill and Helen Yeo & Partners in Singapore and Freehills in Sydney.^{[citation needed]}

Professional background[]

During the 1990s she performed in leading roles in Ong Keng Sen's post-modern Flowers of Destiny, Madame Mao's Memories, and Desdemona.^[2][3] More recently, she has acted in Huzir Sulaiman's Atomic Jaya, Cogito,^[4] and Occupation. Her performance Atomic Jaya garnered her nominations for Best Actress and Best Ensemble Performance in both the Singapore Life! Theatre Awards and the Malaysian Cameronian Arts Awards respectively. She was also nominated for the Best Actress award for Occupation. Wong is a co-founder of creative consultancy Studio Wong Huzir and serves as its Senior Consultant. She was also the Head of Corporate Communications for Rodyk & Davidson, Singapore's first and oldest law firm, where she also oversees the firm's in-house training programme, and is a Joint Artistic Director of Checkpoint Theatre. She left Rodyk & Davidson at the end of November 2014 to spend more time with her elderly parents and focus on theatre.^[5]

As a director, she was nominated for Best Director in the Singapore's Life! Theatre Awards for the landmark production of the trilogy of plays by Eleanor Wong, Invitation To Treat (2003). Wong co-directed the Singapore Arts Festival commission Occupation (2002). She received the Life! Theatre Award nomination for Best Director. Her other theatre directing credits include Up North Down South (2002) and Election Day (2004). For the 2006 International Festival of Women in Contemporary Theatre, she co-created and performed in the piece Recalling Mother.^[6]

Her screen directing began in 2005, when she wrote and directed a television film, Project Peter, for Singapore's Arts Central channel. She wrote and directed a short film in Malaysia, Instant Noodles and Hot Chocolate, and was the script consultant and performer in That Historical Feeling, a Malaysian short film, which won a Bronze award at the Malaysian Video Awards. Wong has taught at the National University of Singapore, at both the Faculty of Law and in the Theatre Studies department.^[7]

Selected filmography and theatre[]

Actor[]

Director[]

References[]

External links[]

• Interview at assuntaalumni.com