Draft:Gracia Tay
Gracia Tay-Chee (2 June 1923 – 2011?) was a Singaporean actress and the president of the National Council of Women in Singapore. Also known as Grace Tay?
Early life and education
[edit]Tay was born on 2 June 1932.[1] She was the daughter of businessman and legislative councillor Tay Lian Teck and social work pioneer Grace Tan Chew Neo. She was the sister of musician Phyllis Tay.[2] Tay was a student of Raffles Girls' School.[3] She began studying art at Raffles College in 1940.[4] Tay and fellow student Helen Khong were described as "two of the best sportswomen at the college during the present session" by the Morning Tribune in October of that year.[5]
Tay evacuated with her mother and sister before the Japanese Occupation of Singapore, where the remained for the rest of the war. However, her father was killed the day before the invasion when the Japanese bombed the vessel he was on.[2] They were initially unaware of his fate. While in Australia, Tay worked at an office in Perth.[6] After the war, Tay left for London to study at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama.[7] She remained there for several years.[8] She was among the first Singaporeans to study drama in the United Kingdom.[9]
Career
[edit]In April 1948, Tay was cast in a leading role for Rope,[10] the first radio play by the newly-formed Radio Repertory Company. In a review of the play, The Straits Times called her a "find", praising her "delightful, caressing voice which admirably suits the microphone." While in London, she acted in stage productions and played bit parts in films.[8] She appeared on BBC Light Programme in April 1952.[11] In 1954, Tay was cast in a production of The Teahouse of the August Moon staged at the Her Majesty's Theatre. On the day of the audtion, Tay wore multiple layers of thick clothing as she had fallen ill. As a result, director Robert Lewis initially planned on giving her the role of the Japanese woman. After realising that she was slimmer than she had appeared to be, he gave her another role in the play.[12] She also served as the understudy to actress Chin Yu, the play's lead.[13][14] Earlier that year, she had appeared in the comedy film Up to His Neck.[15] Her mother was initially disapproving of her decision to perform as she had been sent to the United Kingdom to study.[16] However, her mother changed her mind after watching Tay perform.[17] In January 1957, she auditioned for a role in the film Windom's Way.[18] She also portrayed a Chinese nurse in the war film Yangtse Incident: The Story of H.M.S. Amethyst.[19] Tay returned to Singapore in August and opened a theatre workshop in the month after.[8][20] It was reportedly the only such workshop in Malaya.[17]
Appeared in On the Spot?
In October 1959, she chaired the commitee for the local premiere of The Bridal Path, the proceeds of which were donated to the Singapore Red Cross Society.[21] From 1959 to 1973, she lectured in Speech & Drama at the Teachers' Training College.[7] She served as the secretary of the Chinese Ladies Association, which was renamed the Chinese Women's Association in November 1960.[22] In the following year, Tay founded the Theatre World Association and became its president.[9][23] She made her debut on the Singapore stage in the association's production of The Good Person of Szechwan in February 1963.[24] She staged The Teahouse of the August Moon at the Victoria Theatre in October 1965.[25] From 1967 to 1974, she served as a drama critic at The Straits Times.[7] In June 1971, she became a member of the committee of the first Asia Arts Grand Festival, held in South Korea.[26] By July 1972, she had been made the president of the Singapore branch of the Pan-Pacific Women's Association.[27] She had served as the association's representative to the Third Regional Conference of Ministers of Education in the previous year.[28]
She published a "scathing memoir" of her mother in 2003.[31]
Personal life and death
[edit]Tay married Chee Keng Long, then a student at the London School of Economics, at the St. John's Church in Kensington on 23 July 1955.[14] By June 1958 she had given birth to their first child.[32] She also wrote short stories in her free time.[17] Tay lived on Balmoral Road.[7]
References
[edit]- ^ https://www.google.com.sg/books/edition/The_Who_s_who_in_Malaysia/Y6cCAAAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=%22Gracia+Tay%22&dq=%22Gracia+Tay%22&printsec=frontcover
- ^ a b "Members of a leading Straits Chinese family, Mr. Tay Lian Teck, and her daughters, Phyllis (left) and Gracia who plan to erect a Singapore memorial soon to Mr. Tay Lian Teck. He was distinguished Municipal Commissioner and Legislative Councillor. Japanese bombing killed him on the vessel Kuala when he was due to leave Singapore on the day before the city fell to the Japanese. Mrs. Tay and her daughters spent the war years in Australia. Phyllis is a musician and Gracia a psychologist". The Straits Budget. Singapore. 5 February 1948. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
- ^ https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/morningtribune19390804-1.2.118
- ^ https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/singfreepressb19400621-1.2.78
- ^ https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/morningtribune19401021-1.2.49
- ^ https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/78795518?searchTerm=%22Gracia%20Tay%22
- ^ a b c d https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofinte0014unkn/page/138/mode/2up?q=%22Gracia+Tay%22
- ^ a b c Acfress Gracia Is Back After Six Years (28 August 1957)
- ^ a b https://archive.org/details/singaporeencyclo0000unse/page/182/mode/2up?q=%22Gracia+Tay%22
- ^ https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/morningtribune19480421-1.2.63
- ^ https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/singstandard19520418-1.2.33
- ^ https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/straitstimes19570908-1.2.51
- ^ https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/straitstimes19540620-1.2.27
- ^ a b "Actress weds". Kensington and Chelsea News. 29 July 1955. p. 3. Retrieved 17 September 2024.
- ^ https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/straitstimes19540411-1.2.68
- ^ https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/straitstimes19540904-1.2.66
- ^ a b c https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/straitstimes19580914-1.2.52
- ^ https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/straitstimes19570123-1.2.60
- ^ https://www.google.com.sg/books/edition/An_Actor_Guide_to_the_Talkies/rZNmAAAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=%22Chinese+Nurse%22+%22Gracia+Tay%22&dq=%22Chinese+Nurse%22+%22Gracia+Tay%22&printsec=frontcover
- ^ GRACIA OPENS A 'THEATRE WORKSHOP' FOR COLONY 8 September 1957)
- ^ https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/page/freepress19591008-1.1.5
- ^ https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/page/freepress19601124-1.1.5
- ^ https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/freepress19611130-1.2.121
- ^ https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/straitstimes19630208-1.2.42
- ^ https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/straitstimes19651003-1.2.70
- ^ https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/newnation19710617-1.2.18
- ^ https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/newnation19720701-1.2.48.10
- ^ https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/newnation19710531-1.2.36
- ^ https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/beritaharian19750513-1.2.20.2
- ^ https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/beritaharian19760108-1.2.15.10
- ^ https://www.academia.edu/55143942/Great_Peranakans_Fifty_Remarkable_Lives (pg. 141)
- ^ Gracia, now a mother (2 June 1958)
- ^ Untitled (25 June 2011)