In Conversation: Food and Art as Sustenance

Jaha Koo (he/him) is a South Korean theatre/performance maker, music composer and videographer. His artistic practice oscillates between multimedia and performance, encompassing his own music, video, text, and robotic objects.  

His Hamartia Trilogy includes Lolling and Rolling (2015), Cuckoo (2017), and The History of Korean Western Theatre (2020). The trilogy represents a long-term exploration of the political landscape, colonial history and cultural identity of East Asia. Thematically, it focuses on structural issues in Korean society and how the inescapable past tragically affects our lives today. His newest creation Haribo Kimchi premiered in June 2024. 

Koo majored in Theatre Studies (BFA, 2011) at Korea National University of Arts and earned a master's degree (MA, 2016) at DAS Theatre in Amsterdam.  

Claire Wong is the co-founder, Joint Artistic Director and Producer of Checkpoint Theatre. Trained in both Asian and Western performing arts, Claire obtained her Master of Fine Arts (MFA, Theatre Arts) from Columbia University. She graduated with a Bachelor of Laws (Hons) from the National University of Singapore and was formerly a litigation and corporate lawyer.  

Claire’s recent directing credits include Statement Piece (2025), Hard Mode (2024), Playing With Fire (2024); Recalling Mother: Her Lines, My Lines (2022), which she co-directed and also co-wrote and performed in; Faith Ng’s The Fourth Trimester (2022); Occupation as part of Chamber Readings: Plays by Huzir Sulaiman (2022); Adib Kosnan's Keluarga Besar En. Karim (The Karims) (with Joel Lim, 2021); Lucas Ho’s The Heart Comes To Mind (2020); Zenda Tan's Eat Duck (2019); Huzir Sulaiman’s Displaced Persons’ Welcome Dinner (2019), a commission of Singapore International Festival of Arts; Dana Lam’s Still Life (2019) and Faith Ng’s Normal (2017, 2015). As an actress, Claire has performed in landmark Singapore productions and international arts festivals.  

fezhah maznan (Singapore/Los Angeles) is a creative producer and performance dramaturg. She is interested in democratising access to resources and opportunities for artists who are in the margins, and finding solutions to issues that get in the way of sustaining and growing a creative practice. In supporting the artists’ pursuit of new artistic languages and audiences, she takes on a gotong-royong approach (a Malay term referring to the spirit of collective effort), as art making is incomplete without community. fezhah’s belief in the importance of community stretches across borders. She cultivates deep and lasting relationships with local artists, and her networks span across the Asia Pacific, the Middle East, Europe, and The Americas. Her portfolio is diverse and international, including transnational and intercultural works across formats and forms. She has also produced and consulted for leading arts centres and festivals in Singapore, United States and Argentina.