Michael Chiang (born 27 October 1955 in Muar, Malaysia) is a prolific playwright and screenwriter in Singapore. He is known as "Singapore's most famous and successful playwright".[1]
From 1990 to 2009, Chiang was the editorial director of Mediacorp Publishing, which publishes 8 Days. The playwright of Army Daze (1987) and Beauty World (1988), Chiang had his plays were collected in and published as Private Parts and Other Playthings in 1994 by Landmark Books and Play Things in 2014.
Born in Muar, Malaysia to a schoolteacher and housewife, Chiang came to Singapore at the age of 11 and attended the Anglo-Chinese School, where he was placed in the care of his eldest brother Dr Chiang Hai Ding. He is the youngest of seven siblings, including an adopted younger sister. As a child, he made frequent visits to the cinema, and developed a taste for the Hong Kong classics of the 1960s.
He graduated from the National University of Singapore with majors in English Literature, Chinese Studies and Philosophy.[3] In 1992, Chiang became a Singapore citizen.
Career
Chiang's foray into playwriting began in 1984, when he was an entertainment journalist and editor for The Sunday Times. He was invited to submit a light-hearted play for the Singapore Arts Festival's Bumboat production because he wrote humour columns for the newspaper. The result, Beauty Box, about beauty queens and shopping malls, was savaged by critics but popular with audiences.[1]
Chiang followed this up with Love & Belachan (1985), which starred Lim Kay Tong and Jacintha Abisheganaden, and a book about life in National Service, titled Army Daze. The book was so popular that he was convinced by TheatreWorks to do a stage version of it in 1987. Nine years later, Army Daze was adapted into a movie.
In 1988, singer-songwriter Dick Lee approached Chiang to write a Singapore musical. With Lee's title and opening number, Chiang wrote Beauty World, which toured internationally. Like Army Daze, it has been restaged a number of times, including a made-for-television version in 1998. It will be restaged in November 2015 at the Victoria Theatre, with Lee directing the musical.
As the editorial director of Mediacorp Publishing, Chiang popularised the trend of putting celebrities on magazine covers. At the height of his publishing career, Chiang was running more than 20 magazine titles.[1]
In July 2013, Chiang returned to the stage with his first production in 14 years, High Class, which was staged at the Drama Centre Theatre, followed by a rerun of Army Daze.[4] Chiang also wrote the screenplay for Our Sister Mambo which was released in July 2015 to celebrate Cathay Organisation's 80th anniversary.[5]
In October 2014, Chiang began his stint as editorial director of The A List, the National Arts Council's fortnightly arts magazine.[6]
Army Daze (1985, Times Books International) ISBN9971652250
Michael Chiang's Army Daze: The Play (1987, Landmark Books) ISBN9813002123
The New Army Daze (1992, Times Books International) ISBN981204308X
Private Parts & Other Playthings: A Collection of Popular Singapore Comedies (1994, Landmark Books) ISBN9813002778
Play Things: The Complete Works 1984-2014 (2014, Really Good Books) ISBN978-981-09-2035-7
Anthologies
Gwee Li Sui, ed. Written Country: The History of Singapore through Literature (2016, Landmark Publications) ISBN9789814189668
References
^ abcMartin, Mayo (29 September 2014). "Michael Chiang: From Army Daze to 8 Days". MediaCorp. TODAY. Retrieved 29 September 2014.
^Yusof, Helmi. "The finest plays in 50 years". The Business Times. Singapore Press Holdings. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
^Tan, Corrie (15 July 2013). "Man of Mass Appeal" (PDF). Singapore Press Holdings. The Straits Times. Retrieved 29 September 2014.
^Tan, Corrie (7 May 2013). . Singapore Press Holdings. The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 11 November 2014. Retrieved 26 September 2014.
^Yip, Wai Yee (26 February 2014). . Singapore Press Holdings. The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 5 August 2014. Retrieved 26 September 2014.
^Martin, Mayo (17 October 2014). "New S'pore arts magazine The A List launched". MediaCorp. TODAY. Retrieved 19 October 2014.
Chiang's creative consultancy A Little Imagination
April 29, 2023
michael, chiang, born, october, 1955, muar, malaysia, prolific, playwright, screenwriter, singapore, known, singapore, most, famous, successful, playwright, born27, october, 1955muar, federation, malaya, malaysia, nationalitysingaporeanorganization, mediacorp,. Michael Chiang born 27 October 1955 in Muar Malaysia is a prolific playwright and screenwriter in Singapore He is known as Singapore s most famous and successful playwright 1 Michael ChiangBorn27 October 1955Muar Federation of Malaya now Malaysia NationalitySingaporeanOrganization s Mediacorp TheatreWorksFrom 1990 to 2009 Chiang was the editorial director of Mediacorp Publishing which publishes 8 Days The playwright of Army Daze 1987 and Beauty World 1988 Chiang had his plays were collected in and published as Private Parts and Other Playthings in 1994 by Landmark Books and Play Things in 2014 In 2015 Army Daze was selected by The Business Times as one of the finest plays in 50 years alongside productions by Goh Poh Seng Kuo Pao Kun and Alfian Sa at and others 2 Contents 1 Early life 2 Career 3 Works by Michael Chiang 3 1 Plays 3 2 Screenplays 3 3 Publications 3 4 Anthologies 4 References 5 External linksEarly life EditBorn in Muar Malaysia to a schoolteacher and housewife Chiang came to Singapore at the age of 11 and attended the Anglo Chinese School where he was placed in the care of his eldest brother Dr Chiang Hai Ding He is the youngest of seven siblings including an adopted younger sister As a child he made frequent visits to the cinema and developed a taste for the Hong Kong classics of the 1960s He graduated from the National University of Singapore with majors in English Literature Chinese Studies and Philosophy 3 In 1992 Chiang became a Singapore citizen Career EditChiang s foray into playwriting began in 1984 when he was an entertainment journalist and editor for The Sunday Times He was invited to submit a light hearted play for the Singapore Arts Festival s Bumboat production because he wrote humour columns for the newspaper The result Beauty Box about beauty queens and shopping malls was savaged by critics but popular with audiences 1 Chiang followed this up with Love amp Belachan 1985 which starred Lim Kay Tong and Jacintha Abisheganaden and a book about life in National Service titled Army Daze The book was so popular that he was convinced by TheatreWorks to do a stage version of it in 1987 Nine years later Army Daze was adapted into a movie In 1988 singer songwriter Dick Lee approached Chiang to write a Singapore musical With Lee s title and opening number Chiang wrote Beauty World which toured internationally Like Army Daze it has been restaged a number of times including a made for television version in 1998 It will be restaged in November 2015 at the Victoria Theatre with Lee directing the musical As the editorial director of Mediacorp Publishing Chiang popularised the trend of putting celebrities on magazine covers At the height of his publishing career Chiang was running more than 20 magazine titles 1 In July 2013 Chiang returned to the stage with his first production in 14 years High Class which was staged at the Drama Centre Theatre followed by a rerun of Army Daze 4 Chiang also wrote the screenplay for Our Sister Mambo which was released in July 2015 to celebrate Cathay Organisation s 80th anniversary 5 In October 2014 Chiang began his stint as editorial director of The A List the National Arts Council s fortnightly arts magazine 6 Works by Michael Chiang EditPlays Edit Jun 1984 Beauty Box short Sep 1985 Love amp Belachan short Jun 1987 Army Daze Jun 1988 Beauty World Jun 1989 Mixed Signals Jun 1992 Private Parts Apr 1994 Heaven II Oct 1995 My Art Belongs to Me Nov 1995 Mortal Sins Dec 1999 My Lonely Tarts Jul 2013 High ClassScreenplays Edit Army Daze 1996 Our Sister Mambo 2015 Publications Edit Army Daze 1985 Times Books International ISBN 9971652250 Michael Chiang s Army Daze The Play 1987 Landmark Books ISBN 9813002123 The New Army Daze 1992 Times Books International ISBN 981204308X Private Parts amp Other Playthings A Collection of Popular Singapore Comedies 1994 Landmark Books ISBN 9813002778 Play Things The Complete Works 1984 2014 2014 Really Good Books ISBN 978 981 09 2035 7Anthologies Edit Gwee Li Sui ed Written Country The History of Singapore through Literature 2016 Landmark Publications ISBN 9789814189668References Edit a b c Martin Mayo 29 September 2014 Michael Chiang From Army Daze to 8 Days MediaCorp TODAY Retrieved 29 September 2014 Yusof Helmi The finest plays in 50 years The Business Times Singapore Press Holdings Retrieved 5 January 2015 Tan Corrie 15 July 2013 Man of Mass Appeal PDF Singapore Press Holdings The Straits Times Retrieved 29 September 2014 Tan Corrie 7 May 2013 Michael Chiang returns with a new comedy about taitais High Class Singapore Press Holdings The Straits Times Archived from the original on 11 November 2014 Retrieved 26 September 2014 Yip Wai Yee 26 February 2014 Michelle Chong and Moses Lim to star in new Michael Chiang scripted film Our Sister Mambo Singapore Press Holdings The Straits Times Archived from the original on 5 August 2014 Retrieved 26 September 2014 Martin Mayo 17 October 2014 New S pore arts magazine The A List launched MediaCorp TODAY Retrieved 19 October 2014 External links Edit Michael Chiang Singapore Infopedia 2004 Archived from the original on 2007 07 04 Chiang s creative consultancy A Little Imagination Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Michael Chiang amp oldid 1096664802, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
