Founded by 3 like-minded friends who are passionate about Asian narratives and diverse, inclusive representation, The Young Protagonist is a multi-disciplinary platform that seeks to empower young minds to write and lead their own stories.
Dominique “Niki” Gotangco Boyer
Favourite Protagonist: Pacita Abad
Niki trained and worked as an architect, but her love for story-telling and illustrations has always been a constant. After marriage and giving birth to two rambunctious children, she knew she wanted to do something more than creating buildings; so, she switched careers and pursued her passion as an illustrator instead. Since then, she has created various illustrations and made-to-order posters, and self-published a few books including a colouring book titled “Alpha-Girls” which challenges gender norms by highlighting everyday male-dominated jobs and replacing them with a… you guessed it… female protagonist!
Her multi-cultural background (born in the Philippines, grew up in Singapore, and now married to a Frenchman) has inspired her to create a fun and popular series of city-themed alphabet posters for Paris, London, Singapore and the Philippines. Whenever she has a spare moment, you’ll find her doodling away. Check out her doodles at @niki.onpaper on IG.
She has recently finished illustrating a set of mini-books for a tour company in Singapore and is currently working on her first illustrated story for young readers.
Grace Low
Favourite Protagonist: Lucy from The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
Grace loves storytelling, even more so when the characters of the story are brought to life through performance. She enjoys watching the delight on the faces of children, as they sit enraptured on their booster seats in a theatre. Previously a theatre producer, she has brought to the stage musicals such as The Jungle Book and Pinocchio with the Singapore Repertory Theatre’s The Little Company; Hansel & Gretel: An Eco Adventure and The Friendship of Town Mouse & Country Mouse with Glowsticks, a children’s theatre company.
Above all, Grace loves stories with strong female protagonists. Her proudest achievement was the production of her musical The Great Wall: One Woman’s Journey about Meng Jiang Nü who, aside from possessing the immense capacity to love and feel, had the strength and courage to stand up against the Emperor to choose her own destiny. Besides Meng Jiang Nü, Grace is also inspired by Lucy in C.S. Lewis’s The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Lucy was the one who discovered Narnia! If Lucy had been too scared to venture further, the Wardrobe entrance wouldn’t have been found. Despite being the youngest among the siblings, she displayed the most courage, compassion, curiosity and faith. Grace hopes that one day there will be a musical about Lucy in Singapore.
When she’s not making shows or developing ideas on how to bring the magic of theatre to children, Grace supports the business development of an architecture and interior design studio, and thinks of ways to zhoosh up her favourite food – rice!
Ho Shyn Yee
Favourite Protagonist: Indra Nooyi
Inspired by everything around her, Shyn Yee is constantly making up stories in her head. She grew up a prolific and competitive bi-lingual storyteller and wrote her first mini-book at aged 9 about the time she tried to play truant for a happy meal at the neighbourhood McDonald’s #truestory. Shyn Yee believes in the power of stories and has experienced first-hand how a good story can influence others, change minds and rally people.
In 2015, Shyn Yee showcased some of her personal stories at TheatreWorks’ The Incredible Adventures of the Border Crossers during the Singapore International Festival of Arts and Singapour en France – le Festival in Paris, France. She told the story of her daily travels between Malaysia and Singapore as a teenage student, recited the jingles from the Lo Hei ceremony typical among the Straits Chinese during Chinese New Year and did a little Malay “joget” dance to the rhythm of the kompang.
Shyn Yee is a strong advocate of gender equality in society. When she is not engaged in her profession as a technologist, she is hanging out with her 2 young children, dreaming of faraway lands, making music and creating art with whatever she can find, and penning ideas for her first collection of short stories.