Sonia Marcon

Do you identify as disabled and/or Deaf and/or with disability?

YES

Statement about practice:

I love performing. I want to show how much I love it by doing it. I do what I do because I want to while I still can. My disability is degenerative so while I'm going well, I grasp that with everything I can. Performance for me is to use my body in all the ways possible - voice, movement, acting, comedy, drama, fear. I have done it all and I want to do more. I also feel that bringing others in, either in performative collaboration or as spectator, will broaden my experience and knowledge. Performance is life for me.

Other identity/ies? Intersectionalities you may like to declare (not compulsory) eg, POC, queer etc

Queer

Why do you do what you do?

For me, the purpose of art is not just to reveal your own truth, but to do so in a way that motivates others to connect with something in theirs. Creativity is about pushing boundaries and empowering others.

Contacts:

sonloumar@gmail.com

What are you looking for?

I am looking for performance that is accessible in every way. Things that are not only physically accessible but also financially and by being inclusive. Of course paid work is always beneficial but all experience adds to a performers creative cooking pot. I also dream of being able to audition for a show and not feel like I am being harshly scrutinised or regarded with different eyes because of my disability. So a much more level playing field would be great. I would love to be able to build on my skill set by having access to classes in creativity because most of those are either too expensive or the time required for a participant is not conducive to the life of a PWD. Performance should be for all and we should all share in it!

What’s still with you from the workshops? What do you remember?

The main thing I remember is the originality of each participants creative journey. It is something that us with disability can offer. We not only have our own method of performing. We also have a completely different method of envisioning an idea to make it come to life because we need to be mindful of our needs. We also showed how we can push our own barriers to make something extraordinary happen. These workshops gave us all the opportunity, the time, the access and the space for this to happen.

What’s the legacy for you - creatively or with contacts?

There were many things that were left for me by doing these workshops. The main one being the huge number of us who were there to show and share our collective creativity. There is no point in going to workshops to just show who you are and what you can do. There needs to be an openness by all participants so that the creativity can flow between us. That is something that was definitely there. I am so glad that I had the opportunity to share that openness and to learn so much from others who were different to me.

What makes a good workshop for you?

A great workshop for me is one that has variety. These workshops were great for that. We had acting, movement, music as well as deep discussion. Stepping in and out of performance mode in a session kept me interested and on my toes. The unexpected is the most fun!

The arts industry and you - how do you feel about where you are professionally? Where would you like to be?

At the moment I'm feeling like I'm having to prove myself outside of the disability performance sphere. While I adore having the community of performers with disability to play and express with to show what we can do, I'd also like to be able to show the general performance community that I am not specifically tied to one performance type or model. My dream is to have the entire arts industry open to access and inclusion. I'm not specifically talking about PWD's playing disabled roles (which, of course, should happen), I'm talking about PWD's playing any role. I'm trying my hardest to do that but you can only go so far by auditioning.

And I'd love to be on the map of Australia!!!