The Unconventionals

As more are opting to leave traditional full-time work in favour of more flexible arrangements, freelancing is no longer the refuge of the unemployed trying to make ends meet between jobs. Four individuals share more about their decision to eschew the established path.

- Joie Goh

FOR THIS MULTIFACETED performer, playwright and leather crafter, who, at 31 years old, will soon be adding “stuntman” to his list of hustles, the decision to work as a freelancer was a no-brainer. The first male Singaporean to graduate with honours from Lasalle College of the Arts’ acting degree programme, Erwin Shah Ismail’s closest experience to a conventional full-time office job was a 2006 stint as an intern conducting training lessons for Microsoft Outlook to clients at their respective workplaces.

The gig convinced Erwin that full-time employment was not for him, but it also unlocked his passion for public speaking and performance. Despite being labelled primarily as an actor, he notes that acting in itself is a multiple hustle: apart from acting on stage and screen, Erwin’s roles also include voiceovers, singing and hosting — often in multiple languages like Mandarin Chinese and Malay.

“As soon as I graduated I started living the freelance life, living pay cheque to pay cheque,” he says. “There isn’t a repertory theatre environment where a theatre company hires an actor full-time on monthly wages.”

Besides, he adds, he didn’t want to be bound to one company, preferring the liberty to do more screen work, perform onstage in different genres and have free time as and when he desires.

Leather crafting, on the other hand, was something he fell into quite by chance three years ago. “I had some free time and decided to pick up a new hobby with the intention to make it a continuous couple activity with my then girlfriend (now fiancée) Tiffany Tallon,” he says. “We both started on a leather crafting workshop to make our own passport holders.”