UPDATE: 

Thanks so much for your support. We've reached our target and are now stretching it in order to be able to bring along Natascha Flowers, who was part of the first improv trip to Cisarua, having co-created the program and co-facilitating the workshops from a voice and physicality perspective. 

Tascha is a social worker, theatre instructor and yoga instructor. She'll be coming along both to co-facilitate theatre workshops with Cale and to bring yoga workshops to the Learning Centre, since they've specifically requested it.

Project description

A team of UTS researchers (at least three but possibly more depending on the stretch target) will run a one-week series of improvisation theatre workshops at the Cisarua Refugee Learning Centre (CRLC) in Bogor Indonesia. The CRLC is a school run by asylum-seekers to provide education and support to the community stuck in limbo. Two successful weeks have been run this year: January 2019, focused on emotional resilience and April 2019, focused on interpersonal relationships. The next week of activities will build on the most successful aspects of the previous two programs and focus on trust and communication. There will be a community performance at the end.

The project enhances external engagement with industry, community and alumni through the direct involvement of partner organisations and individuals and through the successful social media promotion of the visits, particularly among communities involved in improvised theatre and communities involved in advocating for asylum seekers.

Improv Theatre Sydney (ITS) is our industry partner and through them the project connects with the large community of Sydney improvisers (which includes many UTS alumni) who follow the activities via social media. The visits are also used to transfer resources to the school including textbooks and art supplies donated by UTS alumni and students and Education Faculty community contacts. The high level of engagement is demonstrated by the fact that the April trip was sourced completely by Industry donation (ITS) and crowdfunding.

Expected outcomes

1. Social Impact: The key project outcome in terms of social impact is to support the asylum seeker community which is centred around the Cisarua Refugee Learning Centre (CRLC) in Indonesia in managing the uncertainty, and the effects on mental health, of being a refugee in transit, without the right to schooling or work and existing in the lottery which sees only 3% of asylum seekers resettled from Indonesia each year. A secondary outcome is to increase the social network of the CRLC community through partnering with Sydney organisations involved in theatre based community support work.

2. Research and Publication: This visit will help add to the body of evidence being gathered for journal publication by UTS researchers on improv theatre as an activity that can assist the mental health of asylum seekers in transit situations.

3. Community links: The visit to CRLC helps strengthen the already existing community and research partnership between UTS and the asylum-seeker community in Bogor.

Who we are

• Lucy Fiske is a UTS academic who has a very real relationship with the Cisarua Refugee Learning Centre. She has supported the community for many years through her academic and personal endeavours. She's currently on the CRLC board. 

• Cale Bain is a UTS academic and theatre maker. He taught a bunch of you improv through different FYE programs. He thinks he's funny. He is the founding Artistic Director of Improv Theatre Sydney.

• Mehal Krayem is a UTS academic with extensive experience working with marginalised communities. Her role is to make sure we deliver best practice outcomes every single day. 

• Chrisanthi Giotis is a UTS academic with the Centre for Media Transition. Her role is to build the social impact of the program through connecting with partners in Australia and Indonesia.

1.      Travel: Flights to Indonesia, internal travel and insurance for non-UTS staff- $3240

2.      Accommodation - $ 1,170

3.      Food and water - $210

4.      Performance cost – venue hire and catering - $300