In loving memory of Christina Sergeant – a dearly missed actor, director, drama educator and dear friend, SDEA introduces the Tina Sergeant Professional Development Initiative.
The Tina Sergeant Professional Development Initiative is a fund to support freelance practitioners and drama educators to make professional development a viable part of their lives.
Singapore Drama Educators Association (SDEA) awards selected applicants $500 to attend SDEA training programmes so that they can grow as educators and give back to the community. This allows them to continue to invest in their development especially after experiencing the financial strain of losing work due to COVID-19 in 2020.
“Freelancers who are often paid on an hourly basis, think twice or thrice before they commit to any form of professional development as they not only fork out their own money, but forgo income to attend classes. We hope this initiative not only alleviates financial strain, but remind practitioners and educators that they have to plan ahead to regularly hone their skills.” said Harris Jahim ex-SDEA Committee member who spearheaded this project.
The initiative is named after SDEA founding member Christina (Tina) Sergeant. Tina volunteered much time with SDEA and sat on the committee from the association’s inception in 2002, until she passed away in 2013. She was a strong advocate for the association’s mission to use drama in various sectors of community and to promote professional development. Tina herself regularly attended talks, workshops and masterclasses to enhance her own skills and knowledge despite her experience.
“We named the initiative after her because we wanted to remember a dear friend and colleague, and her practice of constantly learning and giving back to the community she belonged to.” Peggy Ferroa, ex-Vice-President of SDEA.
“The initiative has enabled me to undertake an important course that would help kickstart my journey as a drama educator and inform my practice!” Jeremy Leong, Freelance Performer and Drama Educator, Recipient of TSPDI 2019.
Support professional development and help drama educators level up by donating!
Application Guidelines
Tina Sergeant Professional Development Initiative for Theatre Practitioners and Drama Educators
This initiative is named after Christina Sergeant, one of the founding members of SDEA who made it her practice to constantly learn and give back to the community she belonged to. Each year, selected applicants receive up to SGD$500 each to SDEA events, masterclasses or training programmes. The initiative does not cover other related costs such as extra learning resources, transportation, or meals.
The purpose of this initiative is to encourage theatre practitioners and drama educators to make professional development a regular part of their practice.
Applicants must be:
- current theatre practitioners or drama educators with at least 3 years of practice or teaching experience
- Singaporean citizens, permanent residents, or foreigners
- at least 23 years of age
Selection Criteria
Applicants will be subject to a review by the SDEA Committee, followed by a scheduled interview that will take place before the programme.
Applicants must show:
- proof or an interest in regular professional development
- how event/masterclass/workshop informs their practice
- how skills and knowledge learnt will benefit a larger community
Successful applicants must:
- share with SDEA how they have applied skills and knowledge learnt in their work
Only shortlisted candidates will be interviewed. Successful applicants can only reapply three years after receiving the subsidy.
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Donate to Support Professional Development
If you would like to support the professional development of drama educators, you may donate to our campaign to raise funds for the Tina Sergeant Professional Development Initiative by scanning the QR code or clicking the button below.
For more information about the Initiative or SDEA, please call 63456997 or email to office@sdea.org.sg.