Chu’s Party
Join us for this one of a kind play reading brought to you by multiple award winning stage writer, Michele Lee.
In Chu’s Party, a group of cosmopolitan international Asian students and graduates gather at a party to watch the 1975 federal election results – Whitlam vs Fraser. As the students drink, flirt, feast and discuss their lives and studies, who will govern Australia, and what will an Australian government do for the South East Asian people displaced by the Vietnam War. Who at the party stays in Australia, who goes home. A re-purposing and response to the iconic play DON'S PARTY by David Williamson. Developed with the support of Australian Plays Transform.
Written by: Michele Lee
Cast: Darren Thao, Kevin Horerslev, Bernard Sam Mun Kin, Andrew Dang, Quinn Tran, Aljin Abella, Claire Nicholls, Clarisse Bonello, Anna Fujihara
Presented by RMIT Culture the non/fictionLab. Book for this free event here.
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Michele Lee is a multiple award-winning and critically acclaimed Hmong-Australian writer, known for her sharp ear and wit, creating character-driven stories often from the perspectives of imperfect women. Across stage, audio and live art, her works include Rice (2022, 2021, 2017), Security (2022), Single Ladies (2021), Going Down (2018), The Naked Self (2018, 2016), Talon Salon (2014, 2013, 2012) and See How The Leaf People Run (2012). For screen, Michele wrote on TV shows Hungry Ghosts (2020) and Retrograde (2020), and wrote two 6 x 2-minute stories released on TikTok (2022). Her sex-romp memoir Banana Girl (2013) is published by Transit Lounge.
Clarisse Bonello is a Melbourne-based actor, theatre-maker and voice artist. A graduate of La Trobe University - Bachelor of Arts and a graduate of the Victorian College of the Arts - Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theatre Practice; she was the recipient of the 2016 Pratt Bursaries Scholarship for Excellence in Acting. Clarisse has appeared in Periscope Productions ‘Disparate Scenes for Millennial Dreams’; ‘ATOMIC’ for Malthouse Theatres award winning Suitcase Series Program and performed in ‘Looking for Alibrandi’ at the Malthouse Theatre. More recently, Clarisse has worked with Calamity Practise - ‘Carpet and Sand’ and ‘100 Reasons for War’ with Victorian Theatre Company - ‘For Love Nor Money’ and Wielding Theatre - ‘Curveball’ and ‘An Organised Odyssey’ a solo show.
Claire Nicholls is an Australian actor, director and educator specializing in Shakespeare. She has performed with Liminal Theatre and Performance, most notably in their Green Room Award winning work Oedipus- A Poetic Requiem, Hong Kong based company, Theater Du Pif on their touring verbatim piece The Will to Build and co-directed King Lear and Titus Andronicus for Prague Shakespeare Company. For the Australian Shakespeare Company, Claire has worked on productions of Lady Chatterley’s Lover, Henry IV Part 1, Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, As You Like it, Twelfth Night, Alice in Wonderland, Macbeth and Much Ado About Nothing.
Anna Fujihara (she/her) is an Australian/Japanese/Korean performer based in Naarm/Melbourne. Graduated from the Victorian College of the Arts in 2023, she is passionate about invigorating curiosity through storytelling and dissecting what we consider as ‘unfamiliar’. As a painter, dancer, and musician, Anna gravitates towards melding movement, sonic and visual composition to explore the relationship between positionality and why people see the world in the way that they do-a question which she believes is quintessential in storytelling.
Bernard Sam Mun Kin holds degrees in Applied Science (Psychology) from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology and Fine Arts (Theatre Practice) from the Victorian College of the Arts. Since graduating, Bernard has performed with Melbourne Theatre Company (Hungry Ghosts) and Malthouse (The Suitcase Series: ATOMIC and The Lockdown Monologues). He has also been involved in multiple creative developments, including Chu’s Party. Bernard can be seen in Superwog's second season and as Pichai in Ron Howard's Thirteen Lives. Bernard is also a teaching artist and voice-over artist. Recently, he successfully tour-managed Melbourne Theatre Company’s national tour of SLAP. BANG. KISS.
Quinn Truc Tran is an Australian Vietnamese actress. Born in Vietnam, she moved to Australia at the age of 14. Quinn starred as Ngoc in "My Mr. Wife" (2018) directed by Charlie Nguyen, and played Anh in Netflix's "A Tourist's Guide to Love" (2023) directed by Steven Tsuchida. She has earned the Vietnamese Golden Kite award for Best Supporting Actress in "My Mr. Wife" and Best Supporting Actress in The 48 Hour Film Project 2018. Quinn is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Acting degree at the Victorian College of the Arts (VCA).
Brought up in the western suburbs of Naarm, Andrew Dang (he/him) graduated with a Bachelor of Acting from Federation University Arts Academy in 2019. Andrew has worked on multiple short films and has appeared on stage with Melbourne Shakespeare Company as ‘Snug’ in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and ‘Ferdinand’ in The Tempest. He is also the voice of ‘Tal’ in the Netflix animated children's series Eddie’s Lil’ Homies. As an emerging writer, Andrew is committed to express his passion for diverse and dynamic storytelling in the Australian arts and entertainment industry.
Darren Thao is an emerging Hmong Australian actor. He has appeared in various roles spanning across both independent films and theatre productions. His diverse set of skills and devotion to the arts is shown in both his performances and creations. With a background in dramatic arts, and his knowledge as a technician, he is proven to be a valuable asset both on and side of stage.
This event was produced as part of the Australian Research Council Discovery Project, Connecting Asia-Pacific Literary Cultures: Grounds for Ethical Encounter and Exchange, with funding from the Australian Government.