Born of a Chinese mother and an Australian father, Tegan Jones is a genuine intercultural fusion that is the ideal representation of the ACT (Australasian Chinese Theatre), a theatre and film company I created.
The ACT was born out of a need: to increase the visibility of Chinese Australian performing artists in Melbourne. When the affirmative action legislation first came about over 40 years ago, and multicultural Australia was born, I was excited. But I soon realised that multicultural Australia on the performing scene is still essentially white Anglo or white European Australians. Where are the sinitic looking people? Where are the chopsticks people? They are not on stage or film in Australia. There are many reasons for this. For a start, there are few parts or roles written for Chinese Australians specifically.
Apart from Madam Butterfly or M. Butterfly, or Miss Saigon there are not many pieces written which are intrinsically an intercultural fusion between a sinitic person and an European person.
The low visibility of Chinese and other chopsticks people on the Australian media is a fact. Apart from the occasional appearance of a Chinese face in an advertisement, a visitor to Australia would be forgiven in thinking that Australia is peopled by white Anglo or white Europeans if s/he switched on TV in his/her hotel room.
So I created the Australasian Chinese Theatre/Film Company. I want to get my ACT together and there she is – Tegan Jones, the perfect embodiment of my vision.
Tegan is an Australian in many ways. For one, her accent is Australian, not ocker but one of an educated Aussie, an accent acquired in one of the most prestigious public schools in Melbourne. She is also Chinese in many ways. Her drive to succeed is definitely linked with the Confucianist ideal of perfectibility. Her love for theatre may not have come from her Chinese mother, who is a business woman, but possibly from her Welsh book-loving father. How else to explain this delightful dish of ethnic fusion? Looking neither Chinese nor Anglo/Celtic/Gaelic, her appearance defies categorization. However it is her passion for singing and theatre that speaks to me. It is for this that the ACT is making a song and dance about her.
Tegan is singing Eva Cassidy’s songs. In Blues in the Night, a Cabaraet inspired by the dead singer. In creating this show, Tegan will bring alive Eva Cassidy whose life was tragically cut short by cancer. All the profits of this show will be donated to support those living with cancer. Or who had lived with cancer.
See Blues in the Night with Tegan Jones singing the evergreen Autumn Leaves, Somewhere Over the Rainbow and much more at the opening of the ACT studio in Brighton by the sea.
Contact Moni 0419 367 261 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
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