Sim Yan Ying "YY" (she/her) is a theatre artist based in Singapore and New York. She creates as a director, performer, writer, and deviser, and strives to make works that are experimental and accessible, physical in nature, and reflective of a diversity of lived experiences. YY believes in the power of live performance to bridge perspectives within and across communities in an increasingly polarized world, and is primarily guided by curiosity and compassion in her art-making. 

YY’s devised directorial works include Where Are You? (WILD RICE & Mabou Mines), a series of productions about how we experience grief and confront death across cultures and individuals; Who Are You? (Esplanade), a devised performance about migrant-local relationships in Singapore; Who’s There? (New Ohio Theatre), a digital collaboration between artists from Singapore, Malaysia, and the U.S. about the political events and racial unrests of 2020; Bloodlines 血脉 (Fault Line Theatre), a collaboration with artists across the Sinosphere examining the volatility and promise of Chinese-ness; (un)becoming (T:>Works N.O.W. 2021), a digital production about the complex dynamics of mother-daughter relationships in Singapore today; and CRIMSON, a devised dance-theatre production about obsessive unrequited love in women (NYU Tisch). 

Her other directing works include #WomenSupportingWomen by Amanda Chong (T:>Works) and Hold These Truths by Jeanne Sakata (Method Productions & Singapore American School). Written works: I LOVE WHITE MEN (Caveat NYC, Ars Nova & Dixon Place), a one-woman show excavating white worship and postcolonial baggage from an immigrant’s perspective in New York, and Without Reason (ArtsWok Collaborative & Esplanade) about the struggles of an interracial relationship in Singapore.

Selected performance credits: The Optic Trilogy (Alchemical Studios), Strong Women Love Trump - a satire (The Civilians/ Joe’s Pub), Mammelephant (Superhero Clubhouse/ HERE Arts Center), She's A Witch! (The Tank), Mr. Marmalade and Never Swim Alone (Playwrights Downtown).

YY graduated summa cum laude with a BFA in Theatre with Honors from NYU Tisch School of the Arts, Playwrights Horizons Theater School, and a BA in Psychology. She is presently a Director in the Esplanade TRIP programme, an Associate Artist at Fault Line Theatre, and a participant in Emergency Academy. Additional training: Singapore Repertory Theatre's Directing Residency, WILD RICE Directing Residency, The Necessary Stage Devising Platform, SITI Company Summer Intensive, and Williamstown Theatre Festival.