In an interview with The Straits Times, SMU School of Social Sciences Associate Professor of Theatre/Performance Studies (Practice) and stage actress Margaret Chan noted it helps to be a "famous actor" when asking people to collaborate on a theatre project. As a drama instructor at SMU, she is constantly looking for fresh ways to challenge her students. Last August, she mooted an experimental student theatre project to three Institute of Technical Education (ITE) College Central lecturers and five Republic Polytechnic (RP) faculty members. It would be a seminal collaboration across three educational levels - ITE, polytechnic and university, where RP students designed the set, costumes, soundscapes, and handled marketing. SMU students directed, produced, acted and marketed. They also crewed under ITE stage managers, who train in professional performance production. At the end of this month, SMU-ITE-RP will stage Chong Tze Chien's play, Charged (2010), in four productions.