In 2021, ActNow Theatre awarded the inaugural MakeSpace Residencies to four artists — Juliana Nixon, Lachy Barnett, Yasemin Sabuncu.

‘We chose these artists for their clear artistic vision, their willingness to challenge themselves and their dedication to creating work that provokes and inspires,’ said Yasmin Gurreeboo, ActNow Theatre’s Co-CEO and Artistic Director. ‘They represent voices too often locked out of the mainstream in South Australia’s theatre scene, voices we all need to hear.’

Let’s get to know them!

Juliana Nixon

Juliana Nixon is an actor, theatre-maker, filmmaker, musician and 2013 graduate from the Flinders University Drama Centre acting program. As part of her residency, Julia explored themes of religion, culture, shame, and sexuality through the medium of Pochinko clown. ‘I hope[d] to explore how complicated and multifaceted human sexuality is, and the lengths that people and cultures go to ignore, suppress, dismiss, shame and deny humans their right to a complex and layered sexual identity’, said Nixon.

Lachy Barnett

Lachy Barnett is a writer, puppeteer, actor and workshop teacher. Barnett used his time at MakeSpace to develop a script and concept for a new multimedia work, titled Flora’s Fauna about a koala who lost her home and family in the 2019-2020 Australian bushfires. Barnett envisioned his protagonist as ‘biting and witty “Aussie Battler”’. Flora serves as a personified embodiment and mouth piece of Australia’s natural ecosystem as the narrative unfolds through screened stop-motion animation, live hand-rod puppetry, and live audience interaction and contribution.

Yasemin Sabuncu

Yasemin Sabuncu is a multidisciplinary creative who works as a writer, director, actor, artist, photographer and comedian. Sabuncu's work explores themes of belonging, identity, liminality, spirituality, the environment, race, health and being “the other.” At ActNow, she was interested in investigating her own sense of self, and how our identities are being complicated and reshaped through social media, algorithms, technology, dopamine hits and trends. Sabuncu said: ‘Most of my life I often felt like I didn’t fit in anywhere, not even in my own body at times due to my disability or neurodivergence, I want to do a video, performance piece that reflects my journey towards greater self-acceptance.’ Drawing upon her Muslim, second-generation Australian, queer, disabled, and neurodivergent, identity and experiences Yasemin explored the multifaceted nature of existence in the modern world.

Samuel Lau is an actor and musician. A second-generation Chinese-Australian man, Sam is passionate about having theatre and film in Australia that is inclusive and representative of its multicultural identity. Through this residency, Lau worked closely with his collaborators to explore cultural identity and questions of trying to find your place, people and home. ‘If I was asked to ‘define’ my nationality, I would undoubtedly say Australian. I would never say I am Chinese,’ Lau explained, adding, ‘Yet, there is always the feeling that I am not ‘truly’ Australian, and will justify, jump and exhaust myself through mental gymnastics when I think about it too much.’ This was the crux of his investigation – how this constant questioning and cultural-clash manifests.

The MakeSpace Residencies were made possible with funding from Arts South Australia and the Australia Council for the Arts.