In less than a month, The Singapore Monologue Slam (SMS) 2017 will commence, bringing in 60 participants together for 4 nights of acting, imagination, something, lol.

SMS 2017 would not exist without the contestants themselves. In fact, they are the ones who create a magical night of storytelling, inviting and immersing audiences into the world of the various characters they play. Let’s find out what some of these contestants have to say about SMS 2017! First up, we have Ivanna Ihekwoaba.

I wanted to challenge myself and get out of my comfort zone. I was just browsing through the internet and found the SMS competition.  I’ve never done a monologue slam before. When I did monologues, it was just for auditions and what not. I thought it was an interesting concept, and I checked it out and had 2 to 3 days before the deadline and I submitted my monologue really quickly. I joined because I wanted to challenge myself and see how I could learn and grow from this experience as an actor.

What I love about performing is that I love the freedom on stage. Performing gives me another set of voice I cant really reach on a daily basis when I’m not performing. So, to be able to reach an audience, and be able to affect them with my performance is what I love. It also allows me to interact with people on a different level. Every time I perform, I always leave the space knowing something more about myself.

My challenges would be trying to see how my monologue would affect the audience. I’ve never really done a monologue slam before. My biggest challenge would be how to get the audience to relate to my character and understand who I am within one minute or two. It may seem like an easy thing but I think I’d call that a challenge.

My message to aspiring actors is to keep going. I know everyone says that but what you put into it is what you get. You have to want it so much more than the next person. You have to live and breathe this work as an actor. My saying is never give up anything you cant go a day without thinking about. If that’s you, then you know what to do and you know that anything else that happens, you can deal with it. Keeping moving on and trust yourself as an actor and performer.