ROSEMARIE SOMAIAH
Photo by Tan Ngiap Heng
Rosemarie Somaiah runs Asian Storytelling Network. Since 2000 she has created original content, performed and conducted workshops in schools, theatres, museums, concert halls and community spaces.
Rosemarie has been featured at festivals such as the Singapore Writers Festival, the Asian Festival of Children’s Content and the Singapore International Storytelling Festival. She has collaborated with artists performing in various Asian, Western classical and contemporary music genres for performances with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Asian Contemporary Ensemble, Project Infinitude, the English Language Institute of Singapore, Ministry of Education and many other organisations.
As a recognised National Arts Council (NAC) artist, Rosemarie has been Artist/Writer-in-School for several years and has trained preschool teachers in storytelling under the ECDA Innovation Guidance Project.
As a storyteller, writer and teaching artist, she has been featured at many international storytelling festivals and educational conferences. A sampling includes the World Congress of the International Reading Association, the Scottish International Storytelling Festival, the International Workshop on the Story Heritages of Asia and ‘Paju Book Sori’ in South Korea, the Thailand International Storytelling Festival, the Sydney International Storytelling Conference, the 1st IBBY Asia-Oceania Regional Congress in Bali, the IBBY World Congress in Auckland, the Man Hong Kong Literary Festival, ‘Bookaroo’ in India and Malaysia, ‘Spotlight Singapore’ in South Africa, and the Hyderabad Literary Festival in India.
Rosemarie’s writing for adults has been published in several anthologies. Her books include The Never Mind Girl and other stories (Ethos Books), Indian Children’s Favourite Stories (Tuttle Publishing), A Giving Heart, Colours of Love and Colours of Harmony (Inter-Religious Harmony Circle), Gateway to Singapore Culture (Asiapac Books), Cannot Forget – Recollections by Singapore Storytellers (Asian Storytelling Network) and a comic book for the Singapore History Museum.
Rosemarie has led The Storytellers’ Circle of The Society for Reading and Literacy (SRL) for more than ten years. She is a member of the Singapore Drama Educators Association (SDEA), a founding member of the Storytelling Association (Singapore) and was a steering committee member of the National Library Board’s ‘READ! Singapore’.
In her work with Asian Storytelling Network, she offers:
- Storytelling performances and workshops for students of all ages;
- Workshops for teachers on storytelling in the classroom context;
- Workshops for corporate managers and leaders on the use of storytelling in organisations;
- Customised performances and workshops for adults and community organisations.
- Story consultancy and collaborations.
How to Contact Rosemarie:
Tel: (65) 63522009
Email: rosemarie@asianstorytellingnetwork.com / admin@asianstorytellingnetwork.com