The Brunei Darussalam team received a merit award for their performance titled ‘Alistair In Wonderville’ in the open category of the annual International Science Drama Competition 2023 in Bangkok, Thailand on September 10.
The story revolves around the increasing rate of electronic waste, microplastics and chicken plumping, as well as the unethical experimentation on animals in the beauty and health industries.
Ardan Lee Hao won the Outstanding Male Performer award in the open category.
He said, “One of the highlights of the day was when they announced that there will be best performers from each category and I was incredibly blessed to be one of them. I was in a state of shock, joy and disbelief at that time”.
The competition ended on a high note with a number of exciting performances by participating teams from the Sultanate, Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines and the organiser of this year’s competition, Thailand.
The International Science Drama Competition (ISDC) is an annual science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and performing arts integrated project created by Singapore Science Centre.
Initially a national project, it has now become one of the most anticipated competitions to look forward to every year. The competition comprises of three categories – Open, Junior and Short Film, in which teams will have to perform a seven-minute science drama related to this year’s theme ‘Producing Green, Consuming Clean’, commemorating 2023 as the International Year of Millets by the United Nations.
This year was Seria Energy Lab’s fourth time participating in the competition together with student representatives from various schools across the Sultanate.
Five students out of the 100 who auditioned were selected as the main cast. The students were Ardan Lee Hao from Chung Hwa Middle School Bandar Seri Begawan, Muhammad Isaac bin Abdullah Muhammad Modana Rauf from Chung Hua Middle School Kuala Belait, Jolin Chang Mei Ting from St Angela’s School, Dayangku Nabilah binti Pengiran Behrin and Fatin Adriana binti Hammry from Jerudong International School.
As part of the preparation, the cast attended numerous rehearsals and were exposed to a variety of skills such as science communication, research and development, collaboration and showmanship.
Dayangku Nabilah said, “The system in which we trained for this competition was unique to me as it was a first. From vocal warm-ups, to one-on-one interviews, to understanding the depth of our characters, to improving our acting skills by listening to constructive criticism – looking back, the difference of growth from when we started was astonishing. I am grateful to be able to see us grow as a team and as individuals”.
The ISDC 2023 is one of many competitions created to spark the youth’s interest in STEM education and bring forth performing arts as a new vessel of learning.
