19850412 The Straits Times

12/4/1985 | The Straits Times | pg02

Tribute to Seeeee

A CLAN association will pay tribute to an ill-fated local talent in a performance entitled April Assembly this weekend. The evening of drama, music and dance organised by the Nanyang Fang Shee Association will feature a poem by See Chong Hui, better known as cartoonist Seeeee. The talented undergraduate died a year ago at 23.



12/4/1985 | The Straits Times | pg11 (Bilingual)

Tribute to late artist
clan association remembers cartoonist Seeeee by highlighting his poem in a variety show

By CHONG WING HONG

A CLAN association will pay tribute to an ill-fated Singapore artist by performing one of his poems.
The artist, See CHong Hui, died at 23. He is missed by those who loved his cartoons published under the name of Seeeee or Cao Xie (straw sandals) in Chinese newspapers.
See was a quiet honours undergraduate in the National University of Singapore. He was found dead in his aunt's bungalow in Apirl last year.
The Straits Times uded to publish his cartoons which satirised Singapore life.
But more and more of See's talent has been discovered posthumously. One of his plays, The Run-Track, won the top prize at a competition organized by the Ministry of Culture last year.
Now, he is also found to have been an able poet.
His poem, The Sun Searcher, will be featured in April Assembly, a variety show organized by the Nanyang Fang Shee Association this weekend.
"The item serves as a timely remembrance of the author as the first day of the performance falls on the first anniversary of his death," said Mr Fang Bai-cheng, who planned the show.
"I find the poem a reflection of the writer's disappointment in his search for truth in life."
Members of the Singapore I-Lien Dramatic Society, one of the seven cultural groups performing in April Assembly, will recite the poem dressed in stylish costumes.
The Fang Shee Association's young players will stage a half-an-hour play called The Old Woman and the Cat.
"Our play is barely two years old and we are engaging recruits from last year for the play," said actor and director, Chen Zhaojin.
"The play, adopted from a radio drama, is touching."
"It is about an old woman who mourns over the death of her pet cat but her grief is not understood by the people around her."
Mr Chen said that illusions, a new stage technique, would be employed to give special effects.
"It will be a bold, experiental attempt. I was encouraged after I saw the effects used by the Repertory Theatre in Hongkong," he said.
There will also be doses of comedy to balance the night's programme.
Mr Chen and Hua Liang, who appeared together in the Second Assembly last year, will be back in another round of rib-tickling Kyogen, a form of Japanese comedy.
There will also be xiang-sheng (a talk show) as well as music and dances.
THe participating troupes include the Oriental, Phoenix and Min Tsu Dance Groups and a Chinese orchestra from the Chin Kang Clan Association.
April Assembly will be on at Victoria Theatre on Saturday and Sunday at 8pm.
Tickets at $3 and $5 are available from the Central Box Office, Vanguard Book Room at Golden Mile Tower and Youth Book Company at Bras Basah Complex.


草鞋诗才照耀四月集锦

庄永康

本地一位才华崭露、英年早逝的艺术工作者，将在明后晚一个宗乡会演出节目上得到人们的景仰。
这位年轻人就是薛宗辉，他曾分别以“草鞋”和“Seeeee”的笔名，在中英文报章上发表妙趣横生的漫画。他利用轻挞式的讽刺、富有哲理的眼光，来看新加坡的生活面貌。
可是，这位国立大学准荣誉生，却在一九八四年四月十三日自寻短见，在黑色的星期五结束了才二十三年的一生。
然而，薛宗辉的才华却在死后不断被人发现。去年，他的剧本《跑道》赢得了文化部主办的创作比赛首奖。
而在这回的演出中，他们将会发现他从未显露过的诗才。
他的诗《寻日者》，将是南阳方氏总会第三度《四月集锦》晚会上所呈现的节目之一。
“这个节目将是我们对作者的纪念，因为演出首日是作者逝世一周年忌辰。”策划演出的方百成先生说。
“以一个读者的观点看来，《寻日者》反映了作者对追寻真理途上所感到的失望。”
诗中描写了一位爱斯基摩青年为了追寻自己理想的真神——永不落山、充满温暖与爱、没有仇恨的神——离开了自己的故乡。
他历尽千山万水，登上了一座火山，最终使自己明白了所要找的真神。但，这时，火山爆发了。
诗句将以造型朗诵年初，主演者为艺联剧团，是当晚七个表演单位之一。
……
《四月集锦》在星期六、日两晚八时在维多利亚剧院演出。三元和五元门票在售票中心、黄金前卫书局和百胜楼青年书局发售。