Stage sisters, real siblings

Stage sisters, real siblings

For 10 days in July, sisters Sabrina and Samantha Lee will become the Von Trapp sisters.

When 11-year-old Sabrina auditioned for a role in the musical The Sound Of Music, she never expected to get a role as Louisa, one of the seven children in the Von Trapp family.

A bigger surprise in store for her and her family was that her younger sister Samantha, nine, was also picked for the musical to play Marta.

Their mother, Mrs Lee Yida, says: "I did not expect both girls to get selected because there were many elements to be considered in the casting."

The sisters are two of 18 locally based children picked from more than 400 applicants, who auditioned to play six out of seven children in the Von Trapp family. The selected child performers will take turns appearing in the show, which opens at the MasterCard Theatres in Marina Bay Sands on July 11.

The original 1959 Broadway production of the musical won six Tony Awards, including Best Musical. The 1965 movie starring Julie Andrews as Maria, a governess who changes the lives of the Von Trapp family, won five Oscars, including Best Picture.

The Lee sisters have stage experience.

Sabrina performed in the musical Annie in 2012 in an ensemble role and was also cast in the 2011 Wild Rice Christmas pantomime Aladdin. Samantha has taken part in the same company's year-end show for the past three years.

The family, who are Singapore permanent residents, like to engage with the arts. Shanghai-born Mrs Lee, 44, who works at a multinational IT company, and her husband, Australia-born banker Andrew Lee, 44, take their daughters to museums, art exhibitions and theatre shows.

Sabrina takes dance, piano and singing lessons and plays netball, while Samantha takes piano lessons, plays netball and swims. They are students at St Joseph's Institution International.

Although Sabrina admits it is hard to balance her busy schedule on top of her schoolwork, she says she is not being pushed by her parents to take these lessons.

She says: "I have dance lessons three times a week, so that's the one that makes it really hard. But I really enjoy dance and singing lessons."

Are the performing arts just a hobby or are you considering it as a career in the future?

Sabrina: Currently it's a hobby. But right now, I'm really confused. I don't know what I want to be when I'm older.

I've been thinking of going to the School of the Arts to study theatre or voice. I'm going to audition and if I get in, it's going to be a long decision-making process because there's so much to consider.

I don't like settling into new schools and I've got a lot of close friends in this school.

Samantha: I want to be an author and an architect because I like playing Minecraft.

Mr Lee: My wife and I support them in what they want to do. What's more important to us is for them to grow up as expressive people.

Mrs Lee: We believe that finding a passion is very important. In a stereotypical Asian family, parents want their children to study hard and get a degree. But when you look back, it's not something you really wanted to do.

What's the relationship like between the sisters?

Samantha: We fight a lot.

Mrs Lee: They fought over toys when they were younger. Now they fight over electronic devices. They don't pull each other's hair, thank goodness.

Sabrina: I think we're closer than average siblings. We go to movies and stage shows together, and a lot of our activities are similar as well.

Sometimes, it feels like I want her to go away. But other times you think if you didn't have her, what would you do?

If you girls had a problem, which parent would you go to?

Sabrina: Mum spends a lot more time at home, but I feel like I can tell dad more stuff. He's more easygoing. When I asked if I can have Instagram or Snapchat accounts, he was like, "Maybe". But mum was like, no, you cannot have social media.

Samantha: I think daddy is not as strict.

Mrs Lee: I think they're too young to use social media. It's not so much about what they see, but maybe they're not sure what to actually post.

Sabrina: Mum is the more hands-on parent. She's the one who sits with me every two weeks for two hours to do my mathematics. She helps me with that and Chinese revision.

Mrs Lee:It's only when they have a problem with schoolwork that I tell them that they have to come to me and tell me what it is about. It's not like I'm checking on them.

Do you believe in caning?

Mr Lee: Definitely no. I will not allow the school to do that as well. I think it sends a very bad message to the children - that the cane is the reason you shouldn't do something.

I don't think they are mischievous. They are quite good-natured. I also encourage them to be a little bit unconventional, a little bit expressive. So we tolerate a bit more than what normal Asian families do.

Are you good in your studies?

Sabrina: My weakest subject is Chinese.

Samantha: Yes. But my weakest subject is also Chinese because sometimes I can't understand what the teacher is saying.

Mr Lee: We should speak a lot more Mandarin than we actually do. We're trying our best.

It's also difficult because they go to an international school and the cohort is mainly foreign students.Mrs Lee: Since they were born, we thought about speaking Mandarin. But for some reason, my husband didn't speak that much Mandarin.

By the time I realised it and started to speak Mandarin to them, there was a gap between their commands of English and Chinese.

If the parent-child roles were reversed, what would you do differently?

Mr Lee: I would use much more of my wife's Chinese background to learn more Chinese and to understand more of the mother's side of the family.

Sabrina: When I try to talk to daddy, he's like stone-faced. I shout "Daddy", and he's still expressionless. And then he says, "I'm thinking, I'm thinking". You don't listen when I talk to you.

If I were my mother, I would be less protective. I can't hang out with my friends after school and I can't have social media.

Mrs Lee: If I were them, I would be more self-disciplined. I think that's what every parent wants.

Quite often, I have to ask them, "Have you done your homework? Have you done this and that?" and the answer's no.Samantha: If I were mummy, I wouldn't be so strict. She shouts a lot.

If I were daddy, I would pay more attention to my kids' lives. Once, he forgot how old I was.

BOOK IT
What: The Sound Of Music
Where: MasterCard Theatres at Marina Bay Sands
When: July 11 to 27, 8pm (Tuesday to Friday), 2 and 8pm (Saturday), noon and 6pm (Sunday)
Admission: $65 to $195, $540 (for four box seats), $780 (VIP box for four seats)
Info: Tickets from Marina Bay Sands Box Offices (call 6688-8826) and Sistic (call 6348-5555 or go to www.sistic.com.sg)

This article was published on May 4 in The Straits Times.

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