Dr Jeffery Tan

Jeffery’s arts management and theatre skills were honed during his tenure as Resident Director of The Necessary Stage. As a key member of this major arts company, he was directly involved in various aspects of arts management, including devising creative strategies in programming, marketing, publicity, audience development and fund-raising. He programmed and managed a quarterly platform for cutting-edge performing arts and a series of forums on cultural issues that ran for eleven instalments. Over the course of running this programme, Jeffery had the privilege of collaborating with many acclaimed artists such as Amanda Heng, Heman Chong and Susie Lingham.

As a theatre practitioner, Jeffery is often described as the enfant terrible of Singapore theatre. Under the moniker “Jeff Chen”, he has directed numerous productions that have generated enthusiastic discussion in the theatre industry since 1998. His latest projects include LIFT: Love is Flower The (2013) which was a recipient of the National Arts Council’s Art Creation Fund and presented by Theatreworks. In 2015, at the invitation of Esplanade - Theatres on the Bay, Jeffery directed a restaging of Kuo Pao Kun’s Descendants of the Eunuch Admiral to critical acclaim.

In addition to his roles as arts manager and theatre director, Jeffery is a committed educator. He has developed syllabi and taught arts management, arts policy, theatre, film and cultural studies at National University of Singapore, Nanyang Technological University, National Institute of Education, Ngee Ann Polytechnic and various secondary schools. He has also been invited to deliver guest lectures and keynote speeches at University of Northern Colorado, Hong Kong Baptist University and Burapha University.

As a past beneficiary of study grants from Lee Foundation, University of Cambridge and British Council, Jeffery believes that it is his duty to nurture the next generation of arts managers and theatre practitioners.