Artist Spotlight: Greg Sim
Greg Sim is a Singaporean-born, New York-based performer who is currently acting in Cellunova’s 2023 summer production, The Match Girl, a new play premiering Off-Off-Broadway at the Chain Theatre on 30th July. We speak to Greg about his journey as an actor
from Singapore, how he continued to practice his art through the height of the covid-19 pandemic, and his experience in The Match Girl, a piece focused on human trafficking created by first-generation immigrant artists.
Tell us about how you started as a performer?
I grew up in Singapore where the local theatre industry was, at the time, much smaller than it currently is and honestly was not much part of my life. My dad worked in London quite a bit and would bring back cast recordings of the shows he saw on the West End, that was my earliest touchpoint with theatre that I can remember. I didn’t really pursue theatre seriously until much later and so a lot of my theatrical education and experience happened really quickly in a short amount of time when I moved to the US in 2017 for my undergrad in musical theatre.
Are there any differences in being a performer in NY versus Singapore?
I honestly haven’t had much time and experience working in Singapore professionally. The only time I’ve done so was when I (surprisingly) ended up back home for 2 years due to covid –so I’m not sure of how the industry functions in normal times. But just from the difference in size of industries, I audition constantly in New York, and I don’t think there would be as much to even audition for back home. There is more work here but there is also more competition, but it all contributes to a more vibrant arts scene and it’s so exciting to be a part of it.
I graduated as a musical theatre major from college and most of the work I’ve done in the US has fallen in that commercial American musical category. However, when I was in Singapore, I discovered a love for straight plays and more experimental theatre that I didn’t even think about beforehand. Working on The Match Girl feels somewhat similar to that, which I love. And how awesome to be working on new material!
You mentioned about your time working in Singapore’s theatre industry during the pandemic, how did you navigate being a performer during that period when theaters were closed?
As soon as I realised I would be home for longer than I thought I would be, I decided not to go into my final year of school online and so I withdrew from classes but knew I needed to keep up with my training. I ended up spending a year with a local theatre company’s program called Young & Wild. The acting training was incredible, something I never really got at all in school because we were so focused on the vocal and dance training and a lot of the acting classes were honestly not in depth enough. I got to be a part of a production of Caryl Churchill’s Love & Information while back home, which structurally allows for a lot of devising. It was an incredible experience I am so thankful for, despite the reality of covid.
Tell us a little bit about the process of working on The Match Girl and what excites you about it.
I think most performers will agree that being able to work on original material is a gift. To be able to build a character from scratch but more importantly be in the room with the creators and shape a human being from the pages is really exciting. The story deals with human trafficking and we follow a girl from China who has hopes and dreams of a better future despite the environment that society has been built around her that is holding her down. I rarely get to work on material that deals directly with my culture and ethnicity that is told through a lens like this. Cellunova is made up of a bunch of interdisciplinary artists who are first generation immigrant artists. So, this feels special in that way, a bunch of immigrant artists coming together to tell a universal story that happens to be based in China.
Do you have any advice for other artists from outside the US looking to come to NY to pursue a career in the arts.
Just do it. It’s going to be rough, but it’s also going to be incredibly rewarding. The cool thing, and the surprising part, was I was just looking forward to be in America for my career, to be in this industry. But I’ve gained so much more just having to be an adult living in a foreign country. I’ve grown so much as a human and been exposed to so many things I wouldn’t have been in Singapore. And the art here… as an audience member, I’m spoilt for choice. Once you find your community and get working, you’ll be good. Starting is the hardest part so just dive right in!
What’s next for you?
Who knows? I don’t even know… haha. Just auditioning, doing the thing, trying to make it work!
