The West Australian theatre industry is witnessing a surging demand for diverse voices and stories. During this time of change, how can we best nurture and cultivate these stories, weaving the vibrant tapestry of diverse communities into our narratives? What support systems must be forged to ensure these artists receive not just the attention and opportunity but resources to go with it?
Join Encounter and Contemporary Asian Australian Performance at The Blue Room Theatre for an invigorating artist-led discussion, that delves deep into the significance of robust support systems and the art of intercultural storytelling. Come along to assess the essential components, available resources, and further development required to ensure the sector’s future resilience with us.
The conversation will feature panelists Laura Liu, Min Zhu, Sukhjit Kaur Khalsa and Jay Emmanuel.
Join us afterwards, for drinks and nibbles in true Longhouse style!
Date: 28 November Time: 6pm Location: The Blue Room Theatre
We are thrilled to finally announce our Artistic Director, Tessa Leong's debut work at the helm of the company!
Joining forces once again with the astounding artist and musician, Rainbow Chan陳雋然, CAAP and Performance Space proudly present The Bridal Lament – a reimagining of the Weitou ritual that brings forth a dynamic world of projection, movement, and colour.
Drawing on her Weitou ancestry (first settlers of Hong Kong), the work reimagines a Weitou ritual known as the bridal lament, a public performance of grief in which a bride wept and sang in front of her family and friends. In this liminal space, brides expressed bitterness towards their arranged marriages and the prevailing patriarchal rule.
Conceived and structured as a song cycle, the work brings to life intergenerational and cross-cultural perspectives on diasporic experiences and the complex history of Hong Kong in an emotionally resonant and sumptuous audiovisual experience. Featuring a suite of new songs from Chan, The Bridal Lament pays homage to the Weitou ritual, bringing to life a dynamic world of projection, movement and colour.
Key Creatives
Lead Artist and Performer: Rainbow Director: Tessa Leong Choreographic Consultants: Amrita Hepi & Victoria Hunt Video Design: Rel Pham Set Design: Al Joel & Emily Borghi Costume Design: Al Joel Lighting Concept: Govin Ruben Lighting Realiser: Susie Henderson
Co-commissioned by Performance Space and OzAsia, and presented by Performance Space and Contemporary Asian Australian Performance.
Supported by the Australian Government through Creative Australia, its principal arts investment and advisory body, City of Melbourne through Arts House, the Besen Foundation, Playking Foundation, the National Foundation for Australia-China Relations, and West Kowloon Cultural District and with commissioning support from Carriageworks.
Generously supported by George Paramananthan and ParamCo.
Tickets and Performances
LIVEWORKS Thu19 Oct, 8:30pm Fri 20 Oct, 8:30pm Sat 21 Oct, 8:30pm Sun 22 Oct, 6:30pm Bay 20, Carriageworks TICKETS
OzAsia Festival Wed 1 Nov, 7pm Thu 2 Nov, 7pm Space Theatre, Adelaide Festival Centre Theatre
Contemporary Asian Australian Performance’s annual Works In Progress showcase returns to Carriageworks on Thu 23 Nov, featuring fresh and original works in development by Asian Australian artists. This year’s featured artists will present a range of ideas spanning gig theatre, musical comedy, K-pop dance and sound installations.
Audience members are invited to participate in a facilitated feedback session during the event and stay for light refreshments with the wider CAAP community.
PROGRAM
Dog Meat/Thịt Chó by Andrew Dang A supernatural coming of age story centred around a first-generation Vietnamese-Australian. This play explores themes of disconnection from culture and self-actualisation. Can you stay with your family if you have to kill a part of yourself to do it? And how do you reconcile where you come from with who you are becoming?
I Used to Think Wu-Tang Clan were Asian by Cheng Tang It’s part performance lecture, part musical, and part spoken word that explores intergenerational expectations, colourism, racism, the myth of the model minority and cultural appropriation through the journey of a fictional Chinese Australian hip hop group pitching to a record label.
Fishing Songs by Jasmin Wing-Yin Leung Fishing Songs draws upon two parallel handheld knowledges, finding the possibilities of resonance, touch, and second-hand memory within these one-to-one practices: 1. The virtuosity of Séuiseuhngyàn (水上人) handline fishing. Water currents and fish behaviour is transduced by the fingertip in contact with a single fishing line, feeling and knowing when the fish has fully swallowed the hook. and 2. The virtuosity of playing the Erhu in rational intonation. Air vibrations and the sensations of tone are transduced by the fingertip in contact with a single string, feeling and knowing when you have precisely found a frequency to the hundredth of a semitone.
My Dad Never Saw The Beatles by Jules Orcullo My Dad Never Saw the Beatles is a mythic retelling of an untrue event set in the Philippines in 1966, told by a daughter desperate to fulfil her Dad’s dreams. The 10 minute extract will be told by one person in the form fabulated and fabricated gig theatre with original music by Jules Orcullo.
STANs (A K-Pop Play)by Natasha Pontoh-Supit STANs is set in the internet-verse and a place where 50% will get you through mostly everything, University. This piece showcases how pop culture shapes and impacts the identities of young people and delves into the politics of internal gatekeeping inside fan culture. Whilst also exploring the beginnings and pressures of adulthood.
Contemporary Asian Australian Performance and OzAsia Festival are back with their exciting professional development program led by South Australian performance maker Valerie Berry.
Connecting Asian Australian artists in South Australia, the CAAP Artist Lab is an unprecedented collaboration with leading SA companies. This program is a unique opportunity to meet fellow artists, and industry professionals that will not only enrich each participant’s artistic journey but also contribute to the creative community in South Australia.
Nine Asian Australian artists will gather for five days aimed at fostering learning, experimentation, skills development, and collaborative growth. Through this comprehensive week-long intensive, participants will engage in masterclasses, workshops, and seminars guided by accomplished industry experts from our partner organisations. To enrich the experience, each artist will be paired with a partner company, facilitating a deeper relationship with one particular organisation.
The Artist Lab program aims to align with the creative aspirations of each participant, equipping them with valuable tools and resources for their ongoing artistic endeavors. This opportunity not only encourages personal development but also cultivates connections that can extend well beyond the program itself.
An honorarium will be paid to each of the successful participants at the conclusion of the program.
KEY DATES
Participants will need to be available for the following:
Mid-October (2 x Online Introduction Sessions, dates TBC)
Monday 23 October to Friday 27 October (Intensive Week)
Mid-October to early-Nov (3 x one-on-one coffee catchups with paired partner company)
If you have any questions about the program or the application process, you can contact the CAAP team at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
