We are a Mandarin theatre performing arts company for the young, by the young

Young People’s Performing Arts Ensemble (YPPAE) is a Mandarin theatre performing arts company for the young, by the young. We are dedicated to research, develop and practise Mandarin theatre performing arts and arts education with the young. We believe that theatre performing arts is a holistic platform for the young to stimulate creativity, critical and independent thinking.

Led by our Artistic Director – Ms. Ma Gyap Sen, YPPAE produces “box office hits” Mandarin children theatre productions – ranging from plays and cross-talk shows to choral concerts and musicals – every year.

YPPAE seeks not only to provide theatre works of profound aesthetic and educational value through our performances, but also to achieve our educational objectives of enhancing every child’s confidence and developing his or her sense of identity through creative drama.

Under the guidance of Mr Tang Chia-Yu, YPPAE has established our very own Theatre Performing Arts Training framework – an integration of Confucian philosophy and Western theories in creative drama – to nurture our children into artistes.

History of YPPAE

YPPAE is registered as non-profit status as an Institution of Public Character (IPC)

Originally established in 1973 by the former Singapore Broadcasting Corporation (SBC), YPPAE has its roots in producing Mandarin radio broadcasting programmes for children. We have also produced supplementary resources for the Curriculum Planning Division of the Ministry of Education.

YPPAE was housed under Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA) from 1992, and had since expanded our scope to encompass performing arts. With the support of former NAFA principal, Mr. Ho Kar Leong, YPPAE became independent and registered as our present-day non-profit status as an Institution of Public Character (IPC) in 1999.

Our Vision

To become a world-class Chinese cultural youth theatre arts company, iconic in inculcating virtues of truth, goodness, and beauty in the young through the Arts

Truth: The genuine nature of things reflected without artificiality.
Goodness: The conscience of the artwork which exhibits and pursues greater goodwill.
Beauty: The purity of the artwork reflected by the creator’s strive for perfection and harmony.

Our Mission

From Life; More than life

YPPAE aims to foster deep-rooted enthusiasm and appreciation of Chinese Culture and performing arts in the young through our original Chinese artistic creations.

To date, YPPAE has delivered over 40 quality Chinese productions of diverse genres such as Drama, Musicals, Choral performances, Cross talk shows etc. These original full-length productions performed by dedicated YPPAE Artistes, have reached out to more than 160,000 audiences, of which 75% are the young. YPPAE’s productions want to keep the young in touch with Chinese culture and values, we also want to touch the lives of the young through our original artistic creations.

YPPAE also aims to provide the young with a platform that leads them to explore and gain a more holistic insight of themselves, of their social behaviour and of the world, through Confucian-fused Theatre Performing Arts Education and Training (Confucian values and Western philosophies and theories of creative drama), seeking greater spiritual and artistic fulfillment.

Our Belief