If artist Eng Kai Er sells out all four shows of her upcoming production Blunt Knife, she will just cover rental costs for creating and performing the dance-plus-theatrical performance inspired by her teen years as an ice skater.

Being seen is her main goal, so "I didn't want to make the tickets too expensive", says the 35-year-old, who expects an audience of about 20 at a time for Blunt Knife. It runs from June 6 to 9 at the P7:1SMA studio at Stamford Arts Centre.

She adds: "I'm not sure about my long-term strategy for sustained contribution to the arts, but for the short-term, this works for me."

Blunt Knife is one of three productions this month and next that were created for intimate audiences of 20 to 120 at a time and are entirely funded by the creators themselves.

This week, independent company Split Theatrical Productions presents its fourth play, Colours, from Friday to Sunday, at the 80-seat Centre 42 Black Box. Colours is inspired by T.S. Eliot's meditative poems known as the Four Quartets. The work is written and directed by Darryl Lim, 29, founder of Split and a full-time teacher who funds one production a year with his savings.

Next month, artist Sharul Channa directs Papa, a series of sketches inspired by relationships with fathers and fatherhood, based on real stories derived from her experience and that of the cast. It runs from June 14 to 16 at the 120-seat Black Box at the Drama Centre.

Channa, 32, is well known for her stand-up comedy and is gaining recognition for her theatrical monologues such as Crazy Poor Sita, a black comedy about poverty in Singapore, which was staged in March at the Drama Centre Black Box.

Papa is part of her growing interest in Hindi theatre - a relatively new but growing part of the home-grown scene here. Singapore has long hosted Hindi theatre imported from India instead. The play is in Hindi and English, with English surtitles.

Both Lim and Channa estimate that their works racked up at least $10,000 in production costs.

Channa says: "I do my corporate shows so I can do this work, otherwise, I might go mad. It's a selfish reason - I'm developing my skills as a creator and director."

All three artists say that when it comes to intimate projects close to their hearts, they prefer to go solo rather than work with established theatre companies or ask for funding as they do not want any external influence.

Lim says: "I don't want to write under someone else's voice. If I work for an established theatre company, it would be easier, but I might have to imitate its voice."

He does ask established theatremakers to give feedback on his work, but he is committed to developing his own style and voice.

Similarly, Channa has taken playwrighting and directing masterclasses from local theatremakers, but does not want her work in Hindi theatre to be influenced by the styles and "rigour" of more established companies. "The Hindi theatre scene is too new. The rawness of the theatre that's coming up might get lost."

She adds: "I'm open to learning, but I don't want to curb my vision. The day I say, 'This is my work, please produce it for me,' others have a say in it. If it doesn't fall in line with their vision, I don't want to argue and defend my point of view."

The production costs are worth it, say all three. Dancer-choreographer Eng has been producing her own indie shows since 2009, when she was in Sweden doing her doctorate in infection biology.

"Nobody wanted to work with me. They didn't take me seriously because I didn't go to dance school," says the former research scientist, who gave up that part of her life to focus on the arts.

"My advice to others is, 'Don't audition and ask people to select you. Select yourself and do your own stuff.'"

Lim adds: "People save up to go for vacation, I save up to do productions. Vacations are experiences and productions, the devising process, are a life-changing experience for myself and everyone involved. Isn't that better?"