Four Seasons (2022-23)

Actors (in order of appearance)

@woolly_sheep_888 - Kim Chin (community member)

@rufferina - Ruth Almodal (student)

@LunarStars18 - Cinny Xing (student)

username not found - Megan Chan (student)

Edited by Jizelle H Patah (student) and Karyn Tham (student)

Four Seasons is a short (14:42) low-fi compilation of different dating app profiles on a first live interaction with a prospective love interest, highlighting intersectional racialised experiences of those involved. Each character engages the audience in a nuanced one-way dialogue, where viewers take the gaze of the other datee, reading between the lines of assumed conversations; from a spectrum of questionable attitudes to racist stereotypes that are commonly projected onto (and internalised by) Southeast Asian and East Asian womxn. By making concerns visible, space is reclaimed and transformed.

For those who know, know - that’s where the humour lies. The deconstruction of biases are widefelt, shifting slightly based on geography of the diaspora, gender, different unseen and seen ableness, access to resources or rootedness of networks. All members of the audience are challenged to actively rethink and discontinue behaviours that limit authentic connection, bodily autonomy and consent - adding dimension to an otherwise flattened monolith targeted by the rise of anti-Asian hate during COVID-19 lockdown.

Four Seasons was one of many performances conceived under the project I, Human: Becoming Visible, presented by Moongate Productions in collaboration with City University and King’s College. Approximately 30 students, community members, performers and artists of Asian heritage, formed project groups after several quickfire rounds of proposing themes, mediums and roles. After groups were established, we collaboratively produced performance pieces, spanning animation, film, poetry, panel discussions, and collective spoken-word showcased during Moongate Mix Salon #9, at Omnibus Theatre, 6 Feb 2023.

A further LUNAR NEW YEAR gathering invited participants to reflect on projects with the public in 2024. During the inaugural King’s Engaged Research Awards later that year, I, Human: Becoming Visible (IHBV) and the associated educators won an award for best practice in public and community engagement research under the ‘Collaboration’ category.

Local: I, Human: Becoming Visible (IHBV)
Faculty of Arts and Humanities
Wing Fai Leung and Jonathan Gray, Diana Yeh, Moongate Productions, ESEA Online Community Hub