Siti Khalijah has a surprise up her sleeve
Actress-comedienne Siti Khalijah Zainal has a surprise up her sleeve as the host of The New Paper New Face 2016 finals
Local actress Siti Khalijah Zainal will return to the stage after a three-week break to host The New Paper New Face 2016 finals on Friday at 7.30pm at Marina Square.
The break started after her one-woman play Rosnah ended on Aug 7, and in the interim it was all about family and food.
The 30-year-old told The New Paper: "I have been catching up with my family, especially my nieces.
"Both of them just turned one. I didn't see them for quite some time because I was busy working and really missed them."
And she has been eating her fill, her recent obsession being durians.
"The shows I did required me to sing, so I had to take note of what I ate.
"Now, I eat it at least once per week.
"My favourite durian is from a 100-year-old tree (which was introduced by a friend). It's sweet, slightly bitter and really creamy, but not too much."
But Siti's voice will return to full power on Friday because on top of hosting the New Face 2016 finals, she will also be performing a stand-up comedy segment.
She has yet to meet the finalists, but she is sure all of them are beautiful.
"They will definitely not look like me for sure," she said with a laugh, adding that she will have a surprise for the audience at the finals itself.
"When I heard about the hosting opportunity, I thought it was a formal event where I would have to wear an evening gown. But (it'll be) interesting and fun."
The New Paper New Face is one of Singapore's top modelling competitions and it's in its 24th year.
And Siti will get busy again right after her New Face gig.
COMEDY SHOW
Next month, this year's Best Actress winner at the Straits Times Life! Theatre Awards will be preparing for her performance in Happy Ever Laughter, a stand-up comedy show which is back for its third go-round.
Siti said: "Every instalment is different because we have different people in it. This year, we also have a theme - laughter is the best medicine - that each of us (comedians) will be incorporating into our own scripts."
For the first time, Hossan Leong will be directing the show, which will run from Oct 26 to Nov 6 at Esplanade Theatre and feature 11 comedians such as Suhaimi Yusof, Patricia Mok, Kumar, Sebastian Tan and Dee Kosh.
Tickets are priced from $58 and are available from Sistic (www.sistic.com.sg or 6348-5555).
For more details, visit https://www.facebook.com/DreamAcademyProductions.
Vote for Miss Popularity
Voting for The New Paper New Face 2016 Miss Popularity is still on.
The first weekend of online voting garnered over 5,000 votes and the current top eight finalists in alphabetical order are Annika, Ashley S, Faustina, Jolene, Nicole, Shwetaa, Sohee and Zahra.
Visit www.tnp.sg/misspopularity2016 to vote for your favourites. Closing date is Sept 2 at 12pm.
The winner of this subsidiary title pockets $1,000.
And at the finals on Sept 2 at 7.30pm at Marina Square, if you correctly guess who wins Miss Popularity, you'll have a chance to win a one-night stay at Marina Mandarin worth $800.
The New Paper New Face 2016 is presented by Subaru MotorImage, with official fashion mall Marina Square and official make-up Cosmoprof Academy.
Get The New Paper on your phone with the free TNP app. Download from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store now
