By SALONEE MISTRY and COURTNEY BEAUMONT
She’ll Be Right is a powerful and unique play that gives 20 international performers a platform to express what it means to be new to a country and feel a bit lost.
Hosted by the Act of Translation Reaches Out Project, the production dissects the issues of being an international student.
• She'll Be right is on at Deakin Uni in Geelong today at 2pm – details HERE – and at Victoria Uni on May 4 – book HERE. Free.
From trying to find a connection with the locals to handling academic stress, or feeling homesick, each performer shares personal incidents that changed their way of life.
Monash alumnus Feifei Liao manages the project and performs in the show.
“Being an international student myself and then interacting with many others gave me the opportunity to understand that a problem existed,” she said.
“There are systems in place to help the students and yet there is a gap.”
Artistic director Catherine holds the project close to her heart. Being a part of the theatre community for 25 years, she had contributed to a similar project within the local community and knew she had to expand on the concept.
She started the process of devising She’ll Be Right through workshops. Her idea was to blend aspects of story-telling, theatre and improvisation. Through these workshops, international students began to feel confident enough to share their stories and concerns.
“This project is a cautious attempt to go out into the community and let the students know that a platform is available,” she said.
The one hour performance consists of 20 stories being shared, followed by a question and answer session where the performers have the chance to share their stories in further detail.
Ms Liao said Ms Simmonds "once told us that the performance is like a bunch of grapes".
“We all have our own experiences and stories but are still connected to a single branch.”
Cora He and Yiling Huang, who graduated from Monash University in 2017 and 2016 respectively, and current student Jing Yang are also part of the performance. The photographer of the project, Zeying Li is also a Monash alumnus.
The project is funded by Study Melbourne and supported by Australian Federation of International Students (AFIS), ISANA International Education Association, RMIT, Deakin University, Victoria University and City of Melbourne.
The play will be performed tonight at Deakin University in Geelong tonight (April 26) and at Victoria University on May 4. Admission to the event is free and bookings can be made at eventbrite.com.