Making life better is first rule of Tan's

Actor Tan Shou Chen usually performs on stage, but the theatre practitioner has scored a major TV role on MediaCorp Channel 5's latest sitcom Rules Of Tham, about a group of young people who live in a flat under the watchful eye of one Professor Tham.

His co-stars are rising stars Kimberly Chia and Edwin Goh, Singapore Idol finalist Joakim Gomez and actress Erin Lim. Janice Koh stars as the professor.

He plays Joshua Tan, a student and an entrepreneur wannabe who is awkward with girls.

"I think I share a bit of his awkwardness," says Tan, who is in a relationship, with a laugh.

"I never saw myself as someone smooth, and Joshua doesn't know that he is not smooth. I think that's what I would say our similarities are.

"Part of being an actor is also about bringing your own life experiences to the character."

Despite a decade of experience in theatre acting, the 32-year-old says the opportunity to work with his younger co-stars was a learning experience for him.

He says: "When it came to TV, I have to admit, Kimberly, Edwin, Joakim and Erin are more experienced in this medium than I was. It was a wonderful learning process for me.

"As an actor, it's about working with new people, finding new ways to collaborate and to expand my own crafts. So it was a great opportunity to learn to use this form of performance."

Tan, who used to work in public relations before he began full-time freelance acting two years ago, kickstarted his professional acting career with Wild Rice's Landmarks: Asian Boys Vol. 2 in 2004, acting as a gay son.

He has since acted in productions such as the Singapore Repertory Theatre's Twelfth Night (2012), Wild Rice's Cinderellah (2010 and 2011) and The Necessary Stage's Off Centre (2007), among other productions.

He was picked by The Straits Times in 2008 as one of the 30 Under 30 list of talents to look out for.

He had also guest-starred in Channel 5's Code Of Law, and appeared in Channel 8's Love and Other Bad Habits. Adding to the list, he was a DJ/producer-presenter for English music radio station Hot FM91.3, where he co-hosted a regular evening show and produced current affair segments.

Next month, he will perform in Cultural Medallion recipient Dick Lee's first serious dramatic work Rising Son, inspired by the war experience of Lee's father.

Tan says he would want to act in more TV roles if there are opportunities to do so, but cannot say whether he prefers stage or screen.

"It boils down to whether I am able to create and deliver," he says.

"I would love to venture into movies. I think that's a challenge I would love to try. I've done one or two movies, but they were as supporting roles. I would very much like to have the opportunity to see a character through the journey of a film."

1 Was it easy to transit from theatre acting to acting for television?

The basics of acting don't change. You need to know your character, how to work in a scene with your fellow actors, and then you need to know where your audiences are. For me, I had the fundamentals already.

When I moved into TV, the challenge for me was understanding that 'Okay, you cannot talk so loud because you'll just blow the mike', 'your actions cannot be so big because it will be amplified by the camera' or 'you have to angle yourself this way because the camera is not going to follow you'.

As an actor on stage, you have a captive audience and you are "live". But on TV, the framing is the most important thing, like how do you make sure what you want to communicate in your character is captured by the camera.

2 Is there any pressure in performing as Dick Lee's father in Rising Son?

Yes, there is that pressure. It is part of reclaiming Singapore's history because it's technically a period piece. The way Peranakan men in the 1940s and 1950s spoke was very different from the way I'm speaking with you right now, as well as the way they hold themselves, their values, the way they dress. So there is a certain difference between a modern Singaporean and someone from the 1940s and 1950s. If we say that we are all the same, then we are not acknowledging the richness of our history.

The pressure comes from actually bringing someone who is still alive onto the stage and to make the role my own.

3 How did you go about recapturing the way they spoke in the past? Are you of Peranakan heritage?

I am not a linguist but in my research, I observed that there is a distinct way someone of that time, status, education and ethnic group would speak.

My research for the character comes from the audio-visual resources offered by the National Archives of Singapore, existing documentaries and observing people. I think Rising Son offers us a fresh opportunity to examine our cultural and linguistic heritage.

While I am Teochew and not Peranakan, my linguistic heritage is certainly influenced by the milieu of languages that was more diverse then than now.

4 Do you identify with the narrative of a proverbial struggling actor?

I have to say yes because I had the help of mentors and people who believed in what I could do. I had a wonderful employer previously and I'm extremely grateful to her. She allowed me to work full-time and take no-pay-leave to do shows to pursue this artistic side of me. She knew where my passion was and she saw what I could do. While nurturing my PR career, she also made sure I could do this artistic thing.

I do identify with that because it's not a stereotype, it's a reality.

It took me this long to make the full-time jump because, frankly, I was scared that I would end up as a leech off my family, unable to pay for my medical bills or unable to contribute when there is a need.

Even after so many years and so many gigs, and while jobs and money seem to always come just when I really have a need, I admit I still worry. I try to abate that worry through financial planning and good old faith.

The next step of growth for the industry should not be solely from the expansion of the industry, but the fortification of the profession. This means building on systems that ensure the cast and crew who dedicate their lives to Singapore's culture have access to fair work and pay practices, legal protection and a financial future. These people are not commodities.

5 Would you take up only roles that you like or any role that comes along so that you can support yourself?

These days, I look at who I am to collaborate with more than anything. An actor is only as good as the team he works with. A problematic team can ruin a career even if the show offers a juicy role with even juicier pay.

Of course, one can be nasty and simply take what one wants from the transaction, but where is the joy then? There are easier and faster ways to earn money, and more too.

All that being said, in this profession, even my most careful planning may not always be successful and the result won't manifest until the end. There are too many factors creating too many possibilities. So I have come to believe that I am meant to be part of every show that I end up in, good or bad. The fact of the matter is, life, like acting, is most exciting when there are possibilities, so I embrace it.

6 What is your dream project?

I would love to have a chance to work with Yeo Yann Yann. I never got the chance when she was doing theatre, so maybe now I'll get the opportunity when I do film or TV. I have great respect for her craft. She worked really hard to be where she is.

7 What do you feel about acting and producing theatre for children?

It's very important that children are exposed to art early in their lives. It's not cheap for parents to do so. But there are many free places for art exposure. It's about appreciation for what art can bring to a human character.

So, it's extremely important that children's theatre continues to be produced, young kids are still being brought in and schools are continuing to get sponsorships to take their students to watch theatre. I'm always very happy to be part of a children's production.

8 How would you like to be remembered?

My driving force in whatever I do has been to leave the world as a better place. I hope that after I die, at least the impact of what I have done is significant. As I become mature as an artist, I realise that is subjective. But I still believe in making things better than before I joined it, and that weaves into how I see family and other things as well.

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