Emily Png, 30, and Stuart Wee, 33, met for the first time in a children's church.
Stuart played the bass guitar while Emily was on the keyboard, and later love blossomed between the two.
Both had very different backgrounds. Emily studied retail marketing and has worked as a Prada intern and fashion retailer.
Stuart now has two degrees in mechanical engineering and audio technology and a bachelor's degree in audio production.
He also worked for Beep Studios as a studio engineer and manager, recording for artists such as The Sam Willows, Nathan Hartono and Charlie Lim.
But a fateful work trip to London changed her life forever – it led to a marriage proposal in Paris and sparked a business idea between the two.
Bring the immersive theater dining experience here
Stuart told of a time when he once received a booking from Geoff Pesche – the mastering engineer for Coldplay and Kylie Minogue's "Can't Get You Out Of My Head" – at the famous Abbey Road Studios in London.
He had asked his then boss Kevin Foo, who is currently General Manager at Sony Music Entertainment for Taipei, if Emily could join because he had planned to propose to her later in Paris.
Emily Png (left) and Stuart Wee (right) / photo credit: AndSoForth
"Emily, the curious and adventurous traveler, began searching online for interesting events and experiences across London and discovered that Gingerline was (but) completely sold out," said Stuart.
When she got to London, she kept checking into Gingerline to see if anyone had given up their seats. Their efforts have paid off and they have managed to get seats for their first impressive theater experience.
The combination of actors, sets, lighting, sound, theater food and cocktails that fit a theme gave us the most fun and unique dining experience we have ever had.
We wanted Singapore to have something like this, but we didn't know how to do it and if anyone ever did. We didn't even know what to call such an experience.
– Stuart Wee, co-founder of AndSoForth
When they returned to Singapore, their research found that a horror restaurant called Igor & # 39; s opened in 2001 but quickly closed about a year later.
“It was successful three to five months after it opened, but then lost business. We found that this was probably due to the fact that there was no reason for customers to come back as the subject is the same, ”said Stuart.
Ah Kong's birthday party / Photo credit: The Singapore Repertory Theater
“The Singapore Repertory Theater also hosted a themed dinner with all the current theater superstars in 1998 called Ah Kong's Birthday Party, launched by Ivan Heng and Dick Lee, but that was it. We couldn't find an impressive theater kitchen in Singapore. "
Since no one was doing this at the time, the couple set out to found their own.
A constant hunt for novelty
They registered their company as AndSoForth in 2014 and made friends from different industries – a chef who interned at NOMA, one of the best restaurants in the world; as well as LASALLE students – to work together on their first show.
Stuart had described the experience as a "disaster" – mainly because so many things went wrong on their first show – but it was a sold out event nonetheless.
AndSoForths event in 2014 / Photo credit: AndSoForth
The couple attributed their success to the novel idea that has never been implemented in Singapore before.
However, to prevent customers from returning from more, they knew they had to constantly develop new immersive theater dining concepts.
Singaporeans tend to “chase novelty; There is seldom loyalty, ”he stated.
"We founded AndSoForth with full awareness that we are in such a market and have persevered ever since."
They actually had no investors and financed the business with whatever they earned from their day jobs at the time.
It wasn't much, Stuart noted, adding that it averaged S $ 2,000 a month.
The novelty of our concepts sold tickets that were paid for production. What it couldn't cover, we had to use our money.
With AndSoForth we only made a profit for up to six years. By the end of our third year we almost said it was over. It's tough business because it's unconventional (and) the investment is constant.
– Stuart Wee, co-founder of AndSoForth
The sets they built would be torn down after two to three months to make way for the next concept.
To date they have created 46 unique concepts / shows and seen a total of over 80,000 visitors.
Prices start at S $ 128
To give perspective to those who have never had a theatrical experience, Stuart simply described it as a "video game".
You could wear a costume, play a character, and escape reality. Just like in the video game, you will eat (and drink) potions that the game developers designed.
AndSoForth's goal is to create a world that transports the audience and separates them from reality. Everyone (including) the bar staff and service team is in character from the entrance (from the start) where we look for tickets and nutritional needs.
– Stuart Wee, co-founder of AndSoForth
Prices at AndSoForth range from S $ 128 to S $ 168, with weekdays usually offering cheaper rates.
Image Credit: AndSoForth
The food and drinks are all curated and designed to fit the theme of the show, he added.
"Everything has to be a little surprise, because as Singaporeans we have high expectations of what is served on the plate."
However, Stuart said it took them a good three years to strike the perfect balance between food and performance.
"Tickets used to be easy to sell because the number of seats for shows was limited and the show run was short."
"Guests expected great food and any element of performance to be just an afterthought, (but) we focused more on the performance and the set."
The couple also realized that the audience is only willing to participate if they are familiar with the subject and began to adapt classical books.
Image Credit: AndSoForth
In particular, the dinner in the Wunderland recorded the largest participation to date with 6,000 participants during a six-month run.
"We had to adjust six different times and then make several children's versions," said Stuart.
COVID-19 forced an online pivot
When COVID-19 hit it took a huge toll on the business as they were forced to shut down.
When the ban came in, we did our best to adapt to our online interactive zoom shows like Late Night Bingo, which featured approximately 1,000 visitors from five show runs.
When the workshops were approved by the government, we turned our comprehensive dining experience into a book analysis workshop. We became educational and educational, taking our guests on a journey through the lens of Phileas Fogg in Around the World in 80 days.
– Stuart Wee, co-founder of AndSoForth
What is different is that their actors have now become intermediaries. They stopped playing characters and instead talked about the character as themselves.
Cocktail workshop / Photo credit: AndSoForth
In the meantime, participants are taken through eight different rooms, each representing the country Fogg visited. Each room has an activity associated with a chapter in the book, such as: B. Cocktail making, rope tying and postcard writing.
“It was a hit. Especially since we can't travel, our participants could travel around the world in 150 minutes, ”said Stuart.
During the breaker phase, AndSoForth also launched another online interactive zoom program called Fairy Tales Live, which allowed kids and parents to meet and interact with their favorite characters through games and storytelling.
"With that we saw how much children's attention spans had shrunk and we had to keep creating content to keep them entertained and occupied."
So they finally decided to found the AndSoForth Academy.
The academy creates programs that involve young children in conversations, express emotions in performance, feel comfortable with the craft, and think confidently and think creatively to enable them to be more sociable in their surroundings.
Singapore will one day be a "hub for immersive experiences"
AndSoForth has expanded into parenting and plans to expand its presence as it has actual production experience and knowledge to deliver enriching, fun and engaging arts and theater programs.
"In the third quarter of 2021 we (also) plan to launch The Wizard of Oz Immersive Dining Experience and look for a new, bigger location."
Image Credit: AndSoForth
Stuart shared his great vision for AndSoForth and said he wanted to get South East Asia to see Singapore as a “hub for immersive experiences”, as well as London and Shanghai.
Imagine a day when tourists would be ready to fly to Singapore to see a show, imagined Stuart.
At the end of the interview he quoted a famous quote from William Shakespeare: "The whole world is a stage and all men and women are just players."
From these words, Stuart developed his own: "Let's be better players to take the world stage."
“The world is a stage full of stories. If you can control your narration, you can control most of your life. "
Selected image source: AndSoForth
