RADIO AND TELEVISION SINGAPORE (Selection of articles and artistes)

Encik Mansor Haji Sukaimi asked the Minister for Culture and Science and Technology how Radio and Television Singapore select (i) the articles for its drama and comedy programmes, and (ii) the artistes and participants in its children's programmes.

The Minister for Culture and Science and Technology (Mr Jek Yeun Thong): Mr Speaker, Sir, artistes and participants for RTS drama, comedy and children's programmes are drawn from a pool of artistes built up over the years. Selection of artistes for specific programmes is determined by such factors as the nature of the programme, suitability of artistes for certain roles, their experience and the standard of their performance. Artistes who do not keep up with their standard of performance are phased out or not used.

The pool of artistes is constantly enlarged by: -

(1) mass auditions which are normally conducted to find talent for a new series of programme;

(2) the holding of contests, such as Talentime;

(3) Periodic auditions which are held to ascertain the suitability of persons who write in indicating an interest in taking part in TV or Radio programmes;

(4) talents who come to the notice of our staff through their performance at shows, dramas staged by cultural organisations.

The Malay and Chinese services of Radio Singapore also each run a children's workshop which yearly recruits new members for training in acting, singing and compering. These children are then used in programmes produced by the services. The Indian service holds auditions twice a year for students to spot those with ability in music or drama.

Artistes who take part in TV programmes in particular are required to spend a great deal of time in rehearsals and recordings. Some find the monetary returns from RTS not attractive enough and they either stop or take up more paying assignments elsewhere. This does lead sometimes to a dependence on a smaller group of artistes than is desirable. Although fresh or new talents are discovered through auditions or contests, they need time to gain experience in order to take on more demanding roles in, say, a drama.