Now, Mr Baey Yam Keng is moving the spotlight to the political arena. [Yam Keng is a ICAAS life member and was on ICAAS EXCO in mid 90s. --- added by Limsoon]
As the founding president of local theatre group The ETCeteras, Mr Baey used his plays - which he admitted had a limited effect, to reach out to audiences of between 2,000 and 3,000 people.
Entering the political stage now, the 35-year old hopes to make a bigger difference to Singaporeans' lives.
Calling the decision to enter politics "an easy one", Mr Baey said: "This is a very good opportunity for me to have a real sense of the ground to enable me to influence the majority of Singaporeans' lives, either in terms of policies or mundane issues."
"Ultimately, I want to make a difference as a Member of Parliament."
A father of two daughters and a son, Mr Baey is the second former civil servant among the 18 new People's Action Party (PAP) candidates introduced thus far.
He was director (Creative Industries Singapore) at the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts, and concurrently second director (Planning) at the National Arts Council before he resigned from the civil service on Thursday.
Mr Baey also held various positions in industry development and planning during his eight-year stint from 1995 to 2003 - at the Economic Development Board.
Currently understudying Mr Chay Wai Chuen in the Tanjong Pagar GRC, Mr Baey is willing to put aside his passion for theatre to serve Singapore better.
He said: "As an MP, I can also contribute to arts in a different capacity and not just as a practitioner."
"As a backbencher, I can also speak up as someone with experience in the area of the arts to help in the formulation of policies."