Sim Yan Ying “YY” (she/her) is a theatre director and creator based in Singapore and New York. She is inspired by the interdisciplinary possibilities between theatre, dance, and other mediums, and believes in the power of live performance to bridge perspectives within and across communities in a polarised world.

Her original works include: Where Are You? (Wild Rice/Mabou Mines), a series of productions on how we experience grief and confront death; pass·ages (Esplanade), a devised production confronting the realities and anxieties of growing old(er) as a woman; Who Are You? (Esplanade), a devised performance about migrant-local relationships in Singapore; 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 (Esplanade), about the struggles of an interracial relationship in Singapore.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, YY adapted to the challenges of lockdown by harnessing digital platforms to sustain meaningful connections across borders. Her digital works include Who’s There? (New Ohio Theatre), an international collaboration about the socio-political and racial unrests in 2020, (un)becoming (T:>Works), exploring the complex dynamics of mother-daughter relationships in modern-day Singapore; and Bloodlines 血脉 (Fault Line Theatre), a work-in-progress with artists across the Sinosphere examining the volatility and promise of Chinese-ness.

YY's directing credits for scripted works include Dive (Wild Rice), No Particular Order (Esplanade), #WomenSupportingWomen (T:>Works), G*d Is A Woman (Wild Rice; Associate), and Three Little Pigs (Singapore Repertory Theatre; Associate). In 2025, she will direct No Man’s Land (The Necessary Stage), deconstructing masculinity and patriarchy, and The Serangoon Gardens Techno Party of 1993 (Wild Rice), a mind-bending adventure into the rebellious undercurrents of 1990s Singapore.

YY graduated summa cum laude with a BFA in Theatre with Honors and a BA in Psychology from New York University, and trained in the Esplanade TRIP programme, Singapore Repertory Theatre Directing Residency, Wild Rice Directing Residency, SITI Company Summer Intensive, Williamstown Theatre Festival, and The Necessary Stage’s Devising Platform. She is currently an Associate Artist at Fault Line Theatre and a dancer in the 2023–2025 T.H.E Dance Company Training Initiative. Beyond her artistic work, she is the Executive Assistant to General Manager at T.H.E and supports the d/Deaf community as a speech-to-text interpreter with Equal Dreams.