Joanne Poon was first introduced to the magical world of theatre when she was six, stuck in the lighting booth of Victoria Theatre while watching her mum bustle about on stage with students, working on their annual drama festival. Naturally, she progressed to being a part of theatre herself, as a student acting in school plays and musicals, and studying theatre as a GCE A-Level subject at Victoria Junior College (VJC). She went on to major in theatre at the Nanyang Technological University, obtaining her master’s degree in Creative Arts (Theatre) at the University of Melbourne, Australia.
Upon graduation, Joanne taught GCE A-Level Theatre Studies and Drama at VJC for eight years, and was part of the committee that revamped the GCE A-Level Theatre syllabus.
Over the next eight years, Joanne was a theatre consultant at St Anthony’s Convent Secondary, where she helped train the teachers for the GCE O-Level drama syllabus, taught script analysis at LASALLE College of the Arts (Technical Theatre Department), lectured at National Institute of Education (Theatre Department) and taught International Baccalaureate Drama at Anglo-Chinese School (Independent). She also conducted an array of script-writing and drama courses at various schools.
Besides teaching theatre, Joanne is also passionate about using theatre for social good. She believes in marrying her twin loves of theatre and cancer advocacy work, and has produced a variety of shows – the most memorable being Brave Maeve – The Musical in 2013, which raised a significant sum of money for the Children’s Cancer Foundation and Viva Foundation for Children with Cancer. Besides being an active fundraiser and volunteer, Joanne is also the author of Brave Maeve, a children’s book about cancer, which has been translated and distributed to more than 13 different countries.