Ryan Singh Enterprises stories are informed by a rich tapestry of experiences. Being of mixed heritage from Guyana, Ryan Singh has always been interested in stories that reflected the world around him. His identity is nestled in black, Indo, Amerindian and Dutch heritages. As a child he buried his head in books, ferociously learning about stories from far away lands such as Africa, India, North America, Europe and Asia. He watched Indian and Chinese movies at nearby theatres mixed with Hollywood stories and followed the 'pan-men' down the streets, tossing coins into their hats or baskets passed around for collection.
At school, Ryan volunteered to play the pastor, imam, shaman, priest and any available character. His father, who was of African heritage and a local playwright, would bring Ryan on stage to enjoy the spits of drumbeats and African dancing as he entertained the town folks at the local town hall.
It was on one of these occasions that Ryan remembers standing on stage as a six-year-old reciting poetry. His father migrated to Canada soon after that while Ryan continued to perform on stage and worked his way to quickly becoming a lead actor in the local theatre troupe. Ryan would recieve copies of videos from his father of his plays reflecting a diversity of cast members telling the history of Guyana’s slave rebellion. It was on these occasions Ryan imagined himself moving to “foreign” and telling these stories.
Migrating to Canada, Ryan dreamt of more opportunities. Ryan studied media at school. After school, he got involved in local community stage productions. That early exposure to diverse storytelling continued to burn and so he began producing and directing theatre since he wanted to work and not wait for opportunities to happen. He created diverse inclusive roles that reflected his community for the stage.
Over the years, Ryan navigated between directing, producing and acting.
Ryan also loved traveling and any opportunity he could have to accompany someone or a group of people to a destination he would invite himself. This habit allowed him to spend time in New York, Sept 9-11, almost finding himself at ground Zero, Chicago when Barack Obama got elected, Ottawa during its ice storm and bus strike in the winter of 2009, Washington for Obama's Inauguration, spending countless hours in the cold for an opportunity to capture a snippet of America's historic Presidential election, Jamaica to shoot short films, LA where he spent 3.5 months living the life of an actor and as a paparazzi capturing photographs of celebrities walking the red carpet of Oscars 2009, wishing that one day he will see himself there. He went to Montreal and performed in a short film - Mr. Crab. South Africa, Sri Lanka and Costa Rica followed each with its own stories.
Ryan's filmic and photographic work are richly informed by his vast experiences traveling the world and learning from diverse people. Each frame of story is packed with a sense of history, purpose and importance.
