Inaugural CAAP Artist Lab and Longhouse

Our fabulous social distancing CAAP artist and partner companies!

Last week I attended the in-person residency of the inaugural Contemporary Asian Australian Performance (CAAP) Artist Lab, a professional development program for Asian Australian performing artists in collaboration with Sydney Theatre Company (STC), Belvoir St Theatre, Griffin Theatre Company and the Australia-China Institute for Arts and Culture. Over five days myself and fourteen others (plus Michelle Lim Davidson via Zoom!) shared skills and experiences, asked questions, and participated in workshops run by the partner companies, culminating in a small showing of hypothetical works-in-progress. I personally really enjoyed the opportunity to be in community with other Asian Australian artists (stage managers, writers, actors, directors, lighting managers) as well as all the good folk at STC, Belvoir, Griffin and ACIAC, and I’m very much looking forward to what future friendships and collaborations will bring!

Also! A couple weeks prior to that, Paul Castles and I presented a ten minute excerpt of our work-in-progress UNTITLED NAT/JESSIE/JIMMY PROJECT at the first CAAP Longhouse of the year. The piece was one of five really exciting and diverse works by Asian Australian women (musicals, multidisciplinary dance theatre and straight plays no less), and was very warmly received. There may be some exciting collaborations coming out of that too, so stay tuned!