Photo Sasha Cohen
How is your definition of "home" complicated?
Where my home is could seem complicated because my Mum is from Thailand, Dad is from Holland and I grew up in NZ, so I feel a deep inherent pride and connection to all those countries. Also for 6 years I called London home and for the last 3 it has been Sydney. But ultimately I think “home” is very simple. It’s where you truly feel you can be yourself and feel loved. Home is a place of honest expression and reflection. A place of happiness.
What drew you to this project?
It was an opportunity to explore my instinctual creativity. My acting training was quite traditional and a strong foundation for me to springboard from. Devising theatre is still relatively new terrain for me but it allows the goofy child in me to come out with abandon. It was an opportunity to work with Michael and to create theatre with the other performers. The bonds of love, place and home are all themes I will always want to investigate.
What is the craziest idea you've come up with that might actually be in the show?
My “clearing cobwebs and kicking tumbleweeds” sequence is messy, silly but fun to do and it’s nice to have my idiosyncrasies embraced by the company and allowed to go on stage.
Photo Sasha Cohen
What has been your favourite moment in rehearsals?
Dragging Michael and Lana around on the floor. It was freeing and playful, as I’ve found the whole process to be. The fact that I can do a funny sound or action and it will be accepted, repeated and embellished by the cast is affirming and joyous!
What's been your experience of being an outsider?
When I was 17 I spent a year in Japan as a high school exchange student. I was in the middle of the countryside, surrounded by rice paddies and it was very isolating. I found that the people around me had an unspoken understanding with each other that I as a foreigner who hadn’t grown up as part of the culture could not penetrate or fully comprehend. I think the experience changed and shaped me into a stronger person, having to deal with misunderstandings that at a young age I couldn’t really get.