StorHub supports Pangdemonium and awarded Friend of the Arts by National Art Council

Whether you’re a Singaporean, born and bred, or an expat who has been in the country for a long time, chances are that you have heard of one of our homegrown theatre companies. It’s none other than Pangdemonium, a renowned non-profit Singaporean theatre company founded by actor and co-artistic director Adrian Pang along with his wife Tracie over a decade ago! If you’re a big fan of awe-inspiring yet relatable stories, then Pangdemonium’s shows would definitely be to your liking.

Pangdemonium’s inventory of furniture and props with designs from different eras

Keen to know more about Pangdemonium? You’re in for a treat! StorHub had the opportunity to find out intriguing and little-known facts about the theatre company firsthand. These range from the reasons why they thought that StorHub storage units are most ideally suited for their wide array of storage items, the specific items that they are storing with us, how their team ensures that the items stay intact when transported from point A to point B, how shifting the items out of their workspace and into a dedicated storage space at StorHub has changed their work environment for the better, their audiences’ all-time favourite show and so forth.

The theatre company currently stores mainly furniture and stage props at StorHub. They own items that are representative of something from every era, you name it they have it. This allows them to choose what aesthetically goes well with an upcoming show when the time comes; from a rustic worn-down stool to a large wing-back armchair, a cosy single-seater to a 3-seater couch, and a modern glass coffee table to a vintage console table, and many more!

Pangdemonium crew in a drive-through storage unit at StorHub facility in Changi

Prior to moving their things into our storage unit, Pangdemonium had a dedicated room within their office for storing their props and costumes. That room doubled as a storage space and workstation for their employees. As their items only keep accumulating with every production, the team makes the point of keeping the items organised and scrupulously sorted into containers and onto racks. The team soon came to the realization that these items stored in the office are causing them to run out of space. Upon discovering a StorHub facility that is conveniently located within a walking distance of their office, and that a ground floor unit that’s easily accessible by vehicles is available, the team decided to move their larger and bulkier items into the storage unit. They can not only unload their heavy props from their lorry and move them directly into our storage unit, but also make good use of the height of our unit along with the shelves they have installed to stack their furniture steadily and safely. With years of experience under their belt, the team is very adept at keeping their items intact by protecting them in cling wrap and in the original packaging during the transport of them.

Since every Pangdemonium production never fails to be a breath of fresh air, you must be wondering if they own any versatile items that have been used in more than one production. As most of their shows happen in a modern setting, the setup on stage naturally has to include elements that can resonate with their audience. For instance, a room with a couch would let the audience know that it is a living room, and the design of the couch would paint a clearer picture of what the featured characters in that show are like. Since the props and furniture play such an important role of getting the gist of each show across, Pangdemonium has made sure to acquire a variety of couches, tables, matching chairs and so on to allow them to mix and match when choosing from that inventory and putting together each unique scenography and incorporate new items if need be.

Actors and co-artistic director Adrian Pang on the set of Falling

On the other hand, Pangdemonium also has items that are exclusive to certain productions which have never been reused again. These items evoke meaningful memories for those who have worked at Pangdemonium for quite some time. To name a few, there are the stunning Chinese Rosewood dining set featured on Chinglish, the grand burgundy leather wing-back armchair on Fun Home, and the vintage projector on RENT.

Finally, the all-time favourite play of Pangdemonium’s audiences is Falling, which is a production that won the Readers’ Choice award for Production Of The Year at the 2016 M1-The Straits Times Life Theatre Awards while the director of the family drama, Tracie Pang, won the Best Director award. This play was streamed online last year as well. The writer of the production, Deanna Jent, wrote from personal experience as a mother of a boy diagnosed with severe autism. The Pangdemonium cast went above and beyond when conducting the character research by getting in touch with families whose loved ones have autism. They even took it up a notch to do an in-depth study of those living with autism. Their efforts paid off eventually when the then novice actor Andrew Marko performed his role as a teenage boy with autism to a tee and reaped the rewards of the production’s success by winning the well-deserved Best Actor award.

StorHub consistently stands by our CSR values of changing the lives of people in our community for the better through helping out our beneficiaries in their meaningful causes. What makes our efforts worthwhile as their enabler is being the stepping stone for thriving communities and for individuals to work towards being the best they can be.

The magnanimity of arts has progressively transcended donations in the form of cash and non-conventional forms like the gift of skills, space and other similar types of giving. Award-winning storage operator, StorHub Self Storage, has received the Patron of the Arts Award 2021 – Friend of the Arts Award by National Art Council for being the provider of storage space to performing arts organisations, Pangdemonium and Players Theatre for a duration of two years. This allows for theatre companies like them who have had to push back some of their shows as a result of the evolving pandemic-related safe management measures to save on the storage costs of their props and inventory.

About Patron of the Arts Awards

Instituted in 1983, the Patron of the Arts Awards celebrate and recognise organisations and individuals who have contributed significantly towards the development of the arts. National Art Council deeply appreciate these contributions that have helped the arts to grow and be accessible to all.