Tan Tarn How ()) is a Singaporean playwright and senior research fellow at the Institute of Policy Studies (Singapore). His plays have been staged in Singapore and Hong Kong, and have won numerous awards. In 2011, Epigram Books published a collection of six of his plays. Education and career Tan Tarn How graduated from Peterhouse, Cambridge in 1982 with Bachelor of Arts Honours, Natural Sciences Tripos. He then obtained a Diploma in Education from the Institute of Education, Singapore, in 1984. Tan was also a recipient of a three-month Fulbright Scholarship to Boston University in 1993. Tan Tarn How is currently working for Institute of Policy Studies, Singapore. Prior to this, he worked at The Straits Times, Singapore's main local newspaper, from 1987–1996 and 1999 to 2005. Posts he held at The Straits Times include Science and Technology editor, Sunday Review editor, Life! deputy editor, senior political correspondent and also a foreign correspondent based in Beijing and Hong Kong. From 1997 to 1999, Tan was Head Scriptwriter for Drama, Productions Five at the Singapore Television Corporation (now known as Mediacorp). Tan Tarn How has also been a teacher and television scriptwriter. He is also the part-time Associate Artistic Director of the drama company TheatreWorks, where he has been leading workshops for budding playwrights. He is also a Board Member of the Intercultural Theatre Institute. Personal He is married to a dentist and has two daughters. Others 1997 Attended the Shenandoah International Playwrights Retreat in Virginia, sponsored by the Singapore National Arts Council and Shenanarts 1989-93 Member of the Theatreworks Writers' Laboratory 1989 and 1990 Dramaturge to young playwrights of the Gifted Programme Arts Enrichment Programme Plays In Praise of the Dentist (1993) This short play was staged by ST*RS. The Lady of Soul and Her Ultimate 'S' Machine (1993) Written as part of TheatreWorks' pioneering Writers' Lab, The Lady of Soul and Her Ultimate 'S' Machine enjoyed a first reading in January 1992, directed by Ivan Heng, whom Tan credits for bringing out the "comic possibilities" of the play. Actor Gerald Chew acted in this reading, and in 2001 directed it for TheatreWorks' theatre retrospective, Charging Up Memory Lane. After the reading, The Lady of Soul and Her Ultimate 'S' Machine was submitted to the police's Public Entertainment Licensing Unit for vetting. The script came back from the police - then the body responsible for arts licensing, a task that