Longhouse Works In Progress returns in 2024 to Carriageworks, celebrating the vibrant creativity of Asian-Australian artists. Contemporary Asian Australian Performance invites you to experience this annual showcase of daring new works in development, featuring diasporic voices and performances across disciplines. It’s an opportunity for performance makers to test their creations in front of an audience and receive peer feedback. After the show, in true Longhouse style, you are invited to share a plate of food and engage in community chats. Don’t miss this exhilarating night with community as we celebrate Asian-Australian creativity.

TICKETS AND PERFORMANCES

Wed 27 Nov
Bay 20, Carriageworks 
Tickets on sale soon

EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST ARE NOW OPEN

If you have a work in development—whether it’s in the early stages or further along—we invite you to test it in front of a supportive audience.

We encourage submissions from both emerging and experienced artists. This is an opportunity to refine your ideas, gather valuable feedback, and push your project to the next level.

We’re looking for performances under 10 minutes that require minimal tech support. These could be excerpts from a work in development, a reading of an unpublished script, a movement or dance piece, an improvisation, a musical number, or a reduced presentation of a larger-scale production you are working on.

If you’ve got something different in mind, we’re eager to see new work from artists across disciplines.

Resources will be available to help you present your work, and we’ll discuss how best to support your presentation. A small honorarium will be provided to the lead artist

While we welcome applications from artists across Australia, please note that you must be in Sydney to present your work in-person and be able to cover your own travel expenses.

Submit your EOIs here by 10am, Monday 23 September.

EOI FORM

If you have any queries about your EOI, please contact us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.u 

Successful applicants will be notified via email the first week of October.

IMPORTANT DATES

EoI Open: Friday Friday 6 September
Submission deadline: 10am, Monday 23 September
Successful applicants will be notified: week of 1 October
Longhouse WIP: Wednesday 27 Nov 

FAQs 

1. I'm not from Gadigal, can I still apply? 

Yes, we accept applications from Asian Australian artists from around the country. Please note, however, that you will need to cover your own travel and accommodation expenses. 

2. Will selected artists get paid? 
CAAP will provide a small honorarium for each piece. This will be a flat fee for each group regardless of the number of artists and creatives involved. 

3. I have an idea for a show and in the very early stages, should I submit? 

We are looking for works that are further along the development process (i.e. have done a few development sessions through a grant program, work has been featured in a similar WIP showing, etc.). If you're not sure, please feel free to get in touch and let us know about what you have in mind. The CAAP WIP Longhouse is a great opportunity to present your work in front of a live audience to gain feedback about your project or a particular concept that you're testing. 

4.  How much time will we be given to present? 

We are offering 10 minute slots to the selected artists. Based on our previous events, we know that aiming for 8 minutes worth of content is ideal. 

5. When will we know if we've been selected? 

Our EOI's will remain open until Mon 25 Sep and we aim to inform artists about the results week of 30 Sep.

Image: Jay Patel

 

 

In this Longhouse, we’re interrogating the elusive A-word: Authenticity.

Join us in Parramatta on Thursday 26 September for a robust and engaging artist led discussion, that asks – what does authenticity really mean?

Artists often grapple with authenticity— in our personal lives and in our creative work, Authenticity is closely tied to our connection to community, self-knowledge, customs, language, and cultural understandings, not to mention our sense of self-worth!

Inspired by National Theatre of Parramatta’s upcoming production of Dipika Guha’s Yoga Play — a razor sharp comedy that skewers the Western search for peace and authenticity— we reflect on how these themes resonate with us as Asian Australian artists.

How do we stay true to ourselves in a sector desperate to fulfil its own agenda? Is the search for our stories a sordid hunt for an “authentic Asian” experience? And what do they really want when they ask you to tick the CaLD box?

This panel discussion will be with director Mina Morita, Executive and Creative Producer Joanne Kee, and Director/Producer Bali Padda, facilitated by Contemporary Asian Australian Performance Artistic Director, Tessa Leong, followed by time to chat and mingle with food and drinks. In some traditional societies, the Longhouse is the meeting place where the village gathers to share stories and bond as a community. CAAP’s Longhouse Program combines talks, performances, masterclasses and workshops. All artists and arts workers interested in exploring Asian Australian themes through contemporary performance are welcome to attend.

Presented by Riverside’s National Theatre of Parramatta and Contemporary Asian Australian Performance.

PANEL

Mina Morita
Joanne Kee
Bali Padda
Facilitated by Tessa Leong

TICKETS AND PERFORMANCES

Thu 26, 6:30pm 
Riverside Theatres, Parramatta
Tickets: $15

Tickets

NTofP is supported by City of Parramatta and  the NSW Government through Create NSW.
CAAP is supported by the NSW Government through Create NSW, and assisted by the Australian Government through Creative Australia, its arts funding and advisory body.

 

Asian Australian artists are creating contemporary theatre that extends beyond both domestic and personal themes, drawing on cultural roots as well as international influences. Works like Merlynn Tong’s Golden Blood pose new questions about the boundaries of Asian Australian identity, adding complexity and a global outlook to Australian stages. 
 
Are we looking inwards or facing outwards when we write these stories and are they talking to a local crowd or expecting a global reception? Does one come at the cost of the other? The way we position these stories and who we make them with brings its own set of challenges for the community and for audiences. In a local landscape where representation has often been limited, the stories we choose to tell—and who we’re telling them to—carry significant impact. 

In this Longhouse, we’ll explore the evolving nature of Asian Australian storytelling on our stages.  We’ll be joined by artists who are leading these next steps, shaping the future of Australian theatre. Refreshments will be served after the panel, we encourage participants to stay on to network and continue the conversation.  

PANEL

Jordan Shea
Vaishnavi Suryaprakash
How Ngean Lim
Facilitated by Jules Orcullo 

TICKETS AND PERFORMANCES

Thu 19 Sep, 6pm 
Sydney Theatre Company, Wharf 2 Theatre

Tickets

Ticket Price*
General Admission $12

Transaction fees may apply
$8.50

*All tickets booked to Longhouse x STC receive a discounted ticket to a Monday - Thursday performance of Golden Blood. 
Your discount code will be emailed directly to you after the 12^th of September by STC. 

 

The Story of Chi is a new work of magic realism that follows the journey of a young girl and a teenage dragon. Chi, caught between her Japanese and Vietnamese heritage, finds herself at a crossroads during an unexpectedly turbulent time for her family. Torn between cultures and traditions, Chi’s world takes a fantastical turn when she meets Mizu, a risk-taking teenage dragon who has been separated from his family. As grandmother, mother and daughter each struggle to balance ancient traditions with their lives today, Chi and Mizu embark on daring adventures but their wish for independence might just separate them from their families forever. 

The Story of Chi marks a new collaboration between Terrapin and Contemporary Asian Australian Performance. Written by Hoa Pham, Jeremy Nguyen and Hiroki Kobayashi, this work uses body and shadow puppetry to craft a stunning world that explores love, courage, and the complexities of family. 

Performances

Thu 31 Oct– Sat 2 Nov '24
Space Theatre, Adelaide Festival Centre

BOOK TICKETS 

Key Creatives 

Writers Hiroki Kobayashi, Hoa Pham, Jeremy Nguyen  
Director Kenneth Moraleda  
Puppetry Director Sam Routledge  
Production Dramaturg Tessa Leong  
Lighting and Set Design: Benjamin Brockman
Costume Design: Rita Naidu
Composer Terumi Narushima 
Lighting Designer Benjamin Brockman 
Puppet Maker Danny Miller  
Performers Samuel Lau, Eliane Morel, Mayu Iwasaki, Juanita Navas-Nguyen 
Development Director Courtney Stewart  
Development Composer Matt Hsu  
Development Cast Yulan Jack, Meme Thorne,  
Development Partner La Boite 

Acknowledgments: 

This project has been assisted by the Australian Government through Creative Australia, its principal arts investment and advisory body.  

CAAP is supported by the NSW Government through Create NSW and assisted by the Australian Government through Creative Australia, its arts funding and advisory body. 

Terrapin is assisted by the Australian Government through Creative Australia and through Arts Tasmania by the Minister for the Arts. 

Image credit: Peter Mathews