Part II: The 15-Hour Creative Game (Pre-Symposium Workshop)

Dates: 15-19 September 2026

Venue: 

• LASALLE College of the Arts - UAS (15-19 September 2026)

• Stamford Arts Centre Blackbox Theatre (19 September 2026)

Targeted Participants: Using the Global Science Opera Methodology, college-age participants of any schools or colleges from music, composition, music therapy, and various arts disciplines in Singapore—alongside invited guest poets and storytellers—will co-create and collaborate on this ambitious, challenging, and deeply rewarding project.

Overview: Under the facilitation of Associate Prof Janne Iren Robberstad (Global Science Opera -Norway) and symposium experts such as Associate Professor Tim O’Dwyer (Soundpainting); Dr Indra Selvarajah (Music Therapy), Dr Bhuvaneswari Chandrasekar (Music Therapy, India); Dr Wong Su Sun (Classroom Opera Creation, Vocal, and Improvisation), Ms Belinda Foo, and Professor Jessie Chen (GSO Music Education - Taiwan), participants will embark on an intensive, innovative, and soulful journey. This is also a rare creative opportunity in Asia where leaders, regardless of the different countries, music disciplines and cultural backgrounds, come together to facilitate the young and people in the society to premiere the ‘birth’ of a Singapore lullaby for world peace.

• The Mission: To co-create "mini-lullaby" scenes centered on the themes of caregiving, vulnerability, struggle, well-being, and peace.

• The Global Stage: The audience voted mini-scene will represent Singapore in the November 2026 Global Science Opera Internet Mega-Opera Première, hosted in Norway. This year’s GSO opera theme is titled: PAX – SCIENCE IN MAKING PEACE

Workshop Description: Co-Creative Performative Storytelling 

Pre-symposium 15-Hour Creative Game (Workshops cum Performance Practice Presentation)

Theme: The Science of Making Peace

Facilitator: Assoc. Janne Iren Robberstad

This 15-hour workshop introduces participants to the co-creative process of performative storytelling. Building upon the established Write An Opera methodology, this initiative uniquely integrates scientific inquiry into opera production. Participants will engage in a "circular creative collaboration"—a process that deconstructs traditional narrative structures, allowing collective ideas to iteratively build upon one another until a cohesive story emerges.

The workflow features a dynamic mix of large-group collective brainstorming and smaller breakout sessions. Emphasising a hands-on, "learning-by-doing" approach, the practical exercises are continually contextualised with theoretical framing. Centring on the core concept of "The Science of Making Peace", participants will collaborate to translate this scientific topic into a compelling narrative. The workshop culminates in a live presentation of staged "story songs" during the symposium’s performance practice session, with the ambition of integrating one of these developed pieces into PAX, this year’s Global Science Opera (GSO) production.