I am a writer, theatre artist and maker across forms, working with vocal and sound based performance, design and installation. Multilingual, words with music, building bridges, crossing divides.
Some Current works:
The Swallows
June 6 - June 16
Jun 6 - Jun 16
Clues beckon. Constant yearning. And lately my shoulder blades have been hurting. Almost like they want to sprout wings… From an intricate universe of sound, objects and voice performed by actor Helen Morse, vocalist/musician Ria Soemardjo and cellist Helen Mountfort, the story of Aunty emerges. Empowered by connection with nature through her daily walks, she is ready to fly from the pressures of her built up environment, childhood wounds and old patterns. But the landscape, altered and damaged by her ancestors, demands attention. And the calling of forgotten creeks running deep below in pipes is loud. Eventually it will take over.
Written and directed by Sandra Fiona Long, designed by artist Jo Mott and implemented by Cole McKenna, The Swallows is a poetic, genre bending performance.
At La Mama Theatre, Faraday St Carlton
Bookings Here
★★★★ ‘Beautifully condensed, and full of poignant human detail’ – The Age on Surat-Suratnya
‘Stunning from all sides. Acting, design, music and direction create a performance which is truly an aesthetic work of art from all angles.’ – Tribune Jateng (Indonesia) on Hades Fading
★★★★★ ‘breathtakingly beautiful and incredibly haunting as it speaks to forgetting the past and losing the lessons of old’ – What Did She Think? on Hades Fading
Writer/Director: Sandra Fiona Long
Performer/Co-Creator: Ria Soemardjo, Helen Morse, Helen Mountfort
Designer: Joanne Mott
Production manager/creative logistics: Cole McKenna
Assistant stage manager/Operator: Aaron Carey-Long
Produced by Kath Papas Productions with Kath Papas and Taka Takiguchi
Image by Darren Gill
June 6 - June 16
Jun 6 - Jun 16
Clues beckon. Constant yearning. And lately my shoulder blades have been hurting. Almost like they want to sprout wings… From an intricate universe of sound, objects and voice performed by actor Helen Morse, vocalist/musician Ria Soemardjo and cellist Helen Mountfort, the story of Aunty emerges. Empowered by connection with nature through her daily walks, she is ready to fly from the pressures of her built up environment, childhood wounds and old patterns. But the landscape, altered and damaged by her ancestors, demands attention. And the calling of forgotten creeks running deep below in pipes is loud. Eventually it will take over.
Written and directed by Sandra Fiona Long, designed by artist Jo Mott and implemented by Cole McKenna, The Swallows is a poetic, genre bending performance.
At La Mama Theatre, Faraday St Carlton
Bookings Here
★★★★ ‘Beautifully condensed, and full of poignant human detail’ – The Age on Surat-Suratnya
‘Stunning from all sides. Acting, design, music and direction create a performance which is truly an aesthetic work of art from all angles.’ – Tribune Jateng (Indonesia) on Hades Fading
★★★★★ ‘breathtakingly beautiful and incredibly haunting as it speaks to forgetting the past and losing the lessons of old’ – What Did She Think? on Hades Fading
Writer/Director: Sandra Fiona Long
Performer/Co-Creator: Ria Soemardjo, Helen Morse, Helen Mountfort
Designer: Joanne Mott
Production manager/creative logistics: Cole McKenna
Assistant stage manager/Operator: Aaron Carey-Long
Produced by Kath Papas Productions with Kath Papas and Taka Takiguchi
Image by Darren Gill
Surat-Suratnya
A collaboration between Stage of Wawan Sofwan, Sandra Fiona Long and Ria Soemardjo.
An international collaboration which bears witness to political violence long unacknowledged. Performed to sell out audiences at La Mama Theatre in December 2023.
From 1965-67 Ibu Helen lived in Jakarta with her Indonesian husband, a trade unionist, and their two young children while a violent political purge unfolded in Indonesia. Ibu Helen wrote letters home to her family in Gippsland, first full of enthusiasm for the political ideals inspiring many people with hope, then slowly becoming more guarded as friends and family ‘disappeared’ and danger enveloped her family. In December 2023 Surat-Suratnya took over La Mama HQ’s theatre and rehearsal hub with two performances inspired by these letters, created by artists from Australia and Indonesia.
A collaboration between Stage of Wawan Sofwan, Sandra Fiona Long and Ria Soemardjo.
An international collaboration which bears witness to political violence long unacknowledged. Performed to sell out audiences at La Mama Theatre in December 2023.
From 1965-67 Ibu Helen lived in Jakarta with her Indonesian husband, a trade unionist, and their two young children while a violent political purge unfolded in Indonesia. Ibu Helen wrote letters home to her family in Gippsland, first full of enthusiasm for the political ideals inspiring many people with hope, then slowly becoming more guarded as friends and family ‘disappeared’ and danger enveloped her family. In December 2023 Surat-Suratnya took over La Mama HQ’s theatre and rehearsal hub with two performances inspired by these letters, created by artists from Australia and Indonesia.
JTDS SERIES with Deden Bulqini and Mainteater (Indonesia). After 2 years of development online and live across Australia and Indonesia, this multi-media, vocal and robotic work had 3 performances in 3 versions in 2023. This photo is from our performance at ArtJog in Jogjakarta 2023.
Murmuring Walk An audio guided walk on Mount Macedon, with Ria Soemardjo and Charlotte Roberts. See here for the audio and map.
OF FROGS Conjuring forgotten waterways and springs with sublime vocals, wild percussion, soaring soundscapes and the interplay of light and sound with water. Originally presented by Kath Papas Productions and Darebin Arts Speakeasy in September 2022. See here for details on Kath Papas Productions site.
See also:
My blog reflecting on the arts, neurodiversity and life at www.botanicmystic.com
Artist profile at Kath Papas Productions
My blog reflecting on the arts, neurodiversity and life at www.botanicmystic.com
Artist profile at Kath Papas Productions
I live and create on the lands of the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin nation, am honoured to be here, and try to tread gently on this land which was never ceded.