PROFILE /
SINGAPORE'S MOST GLAMOROUS ACADEMIC ATHENA FOO |
30.9.2011
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Credit: Athena Foo
Seet Khiam Keong was highly amused when he found out that he was being interviewed for yet another school article.
“I’ve been interviewed so many times for this communications and new media thingy they must be really tired!” the theatre studies professor better known as “K.K Seet” said.
Proving his experience in handling interviews, Seet, who looked younger than his estimated early fifties, skilfully replied the sensitive question about his exact age, “I keep it a secret. But I’ll reveal just before I leave [the university]!”
While the ambassador for the Speak Good English and Hua Yu Cool campaigns is often asked about his thoughts on the standard of English in Singapore, this interview is one of the few where he was asked to share more about his retirement plans.
“I want to live in different parts of the world during different times of the year,” he said, “Spring and summer in London, the cool season in Thailand, and the rest of the time in Singapore.”
“Migrating with the seasons … that’s a wonderful way to live.”
Even then, he knows that he has to settle down somewhere eventually, “I know I can’t do this nomadic wandering forever.”
As multicultural as his diverse dressing is, he hopes to enjoy the “east-west dialectic”, opting for a Permanent Residence in the United Kingdom while keeping his Singapore citizenship as well.
Affectionately known as ‘Singapore’s Most Glamorous Academic’ for his impeccable dress sense, Seet established the Theatre Studies programme in the National University of Singapore in 1992. The head of the English Language Department then, Associate Professor Ban Kah Choon, felt that the time was right.
With his background in drama, Seet was entrusted with the responsibility of structuring a TS programme. This resulted in a rigid curriculum due to the “very streamlined and comprehensive” syllabus he drew up.
Back then, students who were interested in being part of the TS programme had to undergo aptitude interviews. This was unlike the present Centralized Online Registration System, where students simply bid for the module.
It was the department’s way of ensuring that the selected students were competent and passionate about the course, “at least in the first seven or eight batches,” Seet explained. “They were all drawn from people who were genuinely interested in theatre.”
The programme was also much more rigorous than it is today. Then, it was compulsory to take classes on both Western and Asian Theatre, whereas CORS provided a wider scope of other classes and students were no longer obliged to take both modules.
Since then, TS has seen many of its students leading prolific careers in many areas – from the academic world to the local theatre scene and even in television. Famous alumni include Jeanette Aw, Michelle Chong, Nelson Chia, Christie Chua and Lim Eng-Beng.
It was also not difficult to see the pride and joy Seet had in his job, as he shared animatedly about how the programme evolved over the last 19 years and recounted stories of how his ex-students who used to complain about his rigorous classes are now thanking him.
“I still remember Nelson Chia writing me a postcard saying that he was so grateful I rammed all those theories down their throats because it was so easy for him when he did his Masters,” he recounted fondly. “The rigor does pay off.”
Similarly, his current students appreciate his unmatched dedication to their education too.
“He does not hesitate to share his experiences working with theatre practitioners in the Singapore scene, and even provides opportunities for students to work with these big names in the industries,” Timothy Wan, a third-year TS major, said.
“This is all immensely helpful to a student … because that really prepares him for what it's like to be going out there and working in the theatre industry after he graduates,” he added. “I don't think there are other professors like him out there who are so ready and willing to propel students to doing better in and out of school.”
Christopher Fok, another third-year TS major, also said, “If you ask him for help, he'll most readily give it to you.”
This could be attributed to Seet’s emphasis on the importance of not just being a “bookworm”.
Advocating the need for students to excel “extramurally” outside their studies, Seet recalled his own undergraduate days when he was heavily involved in projects outside school.
“In my undergrad days I was very much a maverick … I was involved in theatre projects … stringing part time for the press, for The Straits Times. I had a lot of gigs outside, I was never your typical student,” he said while laughing.
Now that the TS programme is approaching its 20th mark next year, how does he feel about the programme thus far?
“It’s hard for me to comment because obviously it has taken a life of its own,” he said.
“I think like every parent that delivers a child, you’ve got to at some point let the child grow up and determine its own direction.”
“I’ve been interviewed so many times for this communications and new media thingy they must be really tired!” the theatre studies professor better known as “K.K Seet” said.
Proving his experience in handling interviews, Seet, who looked younger than his estimated early fifties, skilfully replied the sensitive question about his exact age, “I keep it a secret. But I’ll reveal just before I leave [the university]!”
While the ambassador for the Speak Good English and Hua Yu Cool campaigns is often asked about his thoughts on the standard of English in Singapore, this interview is one of the few where he was asked to share more about his retirement plans.
“I want to live in different parts of the world during different times of the year,” he said, “Spring and summer in London, the cool season in Thailand, and the rest of the time in Singapore.”
“Migrating with the seasons … that’s a wonderful way to live.”
Even then, he knows that he has to settle down somewhere eventually, “I know I can’t do this nomadic wandering forever.”
As multicultural as his diverse dressing is, he hopes to enjoy the “east-west dialectic”, opting for a Permanent Residence in the United Kingdom while keeping his Singapore citizenship as well.
Affectionately known as ‘Singapore’s Most Glamorous Academic’ for his impeccable dress sense, Seet established the Theatre Studies programme in the National University of Singapore in 1992. The head of the English Language Department then, Associate Professor Ban Kah Choon, felt that the time was right.
With his background in drama, Seet was entrusted with the responsibility of structuring a TS programme. This resulted in a rigid curriculum due to the “very streamlined and comprehensive” syllabus he drew up.
Back then, students who were interested in being part of the TS programme had to undergo aptitude interviews. This was unlike the present Centralized Online Registration System, where students simply bid for the module.
It was the department’s way of ensuring that the selected students were competent and passionate about the course, “at least in the first seven or eight batches,” Seet explained. “They were all drawn from people who were genuinely interested in theatre.”
The programme was also much more rigorous than it is today. Then, it was compulsory to take classes on both Western and Asian Theatre, whereas CORS provided a wider scope of other classes and students were no longer obliged to take both modules.
Since then, TS has seen many of its students leading prolific careers in many areas – from the academic world to the local theatre scene and even in television. Famous alumni include Jeanette Aw, Michelle Chong, Nelson Chia, Christie Chua and Lim Eng-Beng.
It was also not difficult to see the pride and joy Seet had in his job, as he shared animatedly about how the programme evolved over the last 19 years and recounted stories of how his ex-students who used to complain about his rigorous classes are now thanking him.
“I still remember Nelson Chia writing me a postcard saying that he was so grateful I rammed all those theories down their throats because it was so easy for him when he did his Masters,” he recounted fondly. “The rigor does pay off.”
Similarly, his current students appreciate his unmatched dedication to their education too.
“He does not hesitate to share his experiences working with theatre practitioners in the Singapore scene, and even provides opportunities for students to work with these big names in the industries,” Timothy Wan, a third-year TS major, said.
“This is all immensely helpful to a student … because that really prepares him for what it's like to be going out there and working in the theatre industry after he graduates,” he added. “I don't think there are other professors like him out there who are so ready and willing to propel students to doing better in and out of school.”
Christopher Fok, another third-year TS major, also said, “If you ask him for help, he'll most readily give it to you.”
This could be attributed to Seet’s emphasis on the importance of not just being a “bookworm”.
Advocating the need for students to excel “extramurally” outside their studies, Seet recalled his own undergraduate days when he was heavily involved in projects outside school.
“In my undergrad days I was very much a maverick … I was involved in theatre projects … stringing part time for the press, for The Straits Times. I had a lot of gigs outside, I was never your typical student,” he said while laughing.
Now that the TS programme is approaching its 20th mark next year, how does he feel about the programme thus far?
“It’s hard for me to comment because obviously it has taken a life of its own,” he said.
“I think like every parent that delivers a child, you’ve got to at some point let the child grow up and determine its own direction.”