STATE OF THE ARTS (Dec 5 to 11) The theatre world was stunned by the tragic news of the untimely death of RJ Rosales at the age of 37. The Filipino-Australian actor-singer was a familiar figure in the local stage, first appearing in Chang & Eng, and this year for Into The Woods and I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change. Elsewhere, actress Janice Koh emerged as the sole arts NMP candidate, and two overseas blockbuster shows came to town in the musical Wicked and the Shanghai Expo exhibition success A Moving Masterpiece. Iconic French actress Catherine Deneuve and American playwright David Henry Hwang also dropped by, while Taiwan’s hotshot film-maker Tsai Ming-liang “dropped out” of next year’s Huayi Festival after his play Only You was scrapped because of a smoking scene. To round up, 30 finalists of the Sovereign Asian Art Prize 2011 were announced, and among them are six artists from Singapore.