Take a trip around the globe one tale at a time. Listen to traditional children’s stories from around the world, in English and the languages where the stories were first told. Come to Vietnam to meet the coconut kid, sail to Ethiopia to hear about the wedding of the cats and the rats. Head then to the Punjab and meet the little rascal who grows up to be a hero. Or travel to China and hear the tale of the magical paintbrush, before flying away to Greece to hang with the kids who became stars. Tales of magic, adventure, courage, love, trickery, and laughter for children and their parents.

https://www.sbs.com.au/audio/podcast/story-globe

“Alice Qin brought charm and playfulness as Lee’s proxy, blurring the lines between reality and performance. Her ability to effortlessly connect to the material was a testament to both her skill and the universality of the migrant experience discussed in the piece.”
- Lakshmi Ganapathy Arts Hub

“Alice Qin plays Lee with a disarming intimacy that belies the fact that it’s not her life that’s being laid bare”
- Sonia Nair The Age

A somewhat autobiographical tale of Hmong parents, death and ghosts.

As Australia careened from deadly bushfires to the beginning of COVID-19, and as Hmong-Australian writer Michele Lee was working on Asian ghost TV shows, she rang her parents for 30 minutes each day.  

Lee wanted to figure out how to talk to them about death: their death, the deaths they’ve endured here and in Laos, the Hmong perspective on death. In asking herself, ‘How do I let my parents die on their terms?’ Lee sought to reconcile vast emotional, cultural and geographical distances.  

How Do I Let You Die? assembles an extraordinary team of Asian-Australian artists to weave together phone calls, Asian ghost tropes, Hmong horror stories, and the simple potency of an adult child coming to terms with a parent’s eventual death. 

As moments of acute and layered crisis bring mortality achingly close, this charming and tender work of theatre offers moments of humour and nuance, and moments of contradiction, to wonder on our approaches to this life and the next.  

Presented in Season 2 2023

World Premiere
Presented by Arts House and Michele Lee
Produced by Bureau of Works

Writer: Michele Lee
Director and Dramaturg: Sepideh Kian 
Performer: Alice Qin 
Set and Costume Designer: Vanghoua Anthony Vue 
Lighting Designer: Rachel Lee 
Sound Designer and Composition: Elissa Goodrich 
Sound Design and Composition Attachment: Rafe Yang
Filmmaker: Ari Tampubolon
Production Manager / Stage Manager: Reis Low 
Assistant Stage Manager: Celina Mack
Producer: Bureau of Works 
Sound Recorder: Strange World Studios / Justin Macawili

She is a young woman in a yellow dress. She has been shot by the police. As a video goes viral, she quickly becomes an icon of resistance and a revolution begins to stir. Alex and Lila are panicking - they uploaded the footage and now the authorities are after them. Across town, Yasmin is desperate to know if her missing mother is still alive. Halfway around the world, a woman in London wants to help. As a tornado of dissent and violence spreads, everyone's life is going to change.

Written by Elinor Cook and Directed by Alice Qin

Presented by VCA 2nd year Acting students.

Cast:
Yasmin - Bella Ness/Aimee Forrest
Candace - India Firth
Nina - Amira Susskind
Alex - Hunter Stanford
Lila - Elisheva Biernoff-Giles
A - Michelle Rupert/Sophie Malek
B - Austin MacDOnald
C - Daniel Niebroski

Created by: Polyglot Theatre

Presented by: Melbourne Fringe and Melbourne Museum

A celebration of community, Pram People rolls out the red carpet for every pram, big or small.

Pram users will assemble en masse, following curious and wonderful prompts through headphones, secret messages and even other participants. Performers will delight and intrigue, adding to the fun as families weave amongst and around each other.

Director: Emily Tomlins
Choreographer: Martin del Amo
Composer and sound design: Lachlan MacLeod
Sound design consultant: Steph O’Hara
Designer: Jen Tran
Design assistant: Jacqueline Tran
Original cast: Nick Barlow, Alice Qin, Afsaneh Torabi
Production manager: Rosie Pidd
Stage manager: Kaite Head
Producer: Julie Wright
Community collaborators: The Venny, Carlton Primary School, Flemington Primary School, ArtPlay

Seasons in which Alice performed:

• 2022 Melbourne Premiere:
  As part of Melbourne Fringe (Winner of Best Participatory Work for Families) Presented by Melbourne Fringe and Melbourne Museum

• 2023 Abbotsford Convent

• 2024 Hong Kong - West Kowloon Arts Festival

• 2024 UK - Barking and Dagenham/Hull/Greewich

New Labour is a comedy drama about being young, working in a shit job, living in debt, and all the funny and sad things you do to cope. It’s about the modern workforce – the children of New Labour; their hopes, their realities.

Performed by the VCA 2nd Year Acting Students, this was a tremendously fun production.

Cast: Gabrielle Ng, Alfie Baker, Roxy Henry, Jay Gold, Rebecca Vincent, Isabelle Duggan, Sam Eade, Anna Fujihara, Luna Vasquez Rojas, Melanie Tsimbas

The first live Green Room Awards Ceremony in 3 years was always going to be a huge undertaking. It was an exciting challenge that tested every resource available with limited support. It was a successful, accessible event where 61 awards were presented in under 4 hours. Incredible performances by Shauntai Batzke as well as Jennifer Ma and Collaborators. Associate Producer: Katie Rowe. Digital program

Live Stream

Stand. Watch. Protect. Repeat.

Working security is a cruise most days.

It’s the female security guards at Thompson Security – Naz, Tribe and Joey – who work on the sidelines to keep it all in line. But things turn to s#*t when they become bystanders to a sexual assault.

Presented by Darebin Arts Speakeasy.

Writer Michele Lee
Director Alice Qin
Cast Zoe Boeson, Sina Brown, Katerina Kotsonis
Dramaturg Emilie Collyer
Set and Costume DesignJuliette Whitney
Sound Design Russell Goldsmith
Lighting Design Rachel Lee
Production Manager & Co-Producer Rain Shadra
Stage Manager Teri Steer

“The play was a serious provocation to audiences to consider the ways in which we might support structural gender-based violence, and our collective duty, beyond being in ‘security’ to keep one another safe. A very thought-provoking, timely reminder by way of high-quality theatre. “ - Arts Hub

“It’s a testament to the quality of the acting that the trio can move from offbeat humour to deeply felt anguish and rage, and on toward a partial catharsis that lets no one off the hook, without missing an emotional beat.” - The Age

_______

Images: John Douglas Pallot (publicity) / Jack Dixon-Gunn (production)

A RESOURCEFUL HERO STRUGGLING AGAINST INCREDIBLE ODDS

Rawcus unites with a group of queer and allied young people to explode the word 'hero' into a thousand pieces and save you from it. [epic music] Using verbatim text from 90s action films, A Resourceful Hero Struggling Against Incredible Odds is a simultaneous homage to and lambasting of Hollywood blockbusters.

Midsumma and Rawcus in partnership with St Martins Youth Arts Centre present A Resourceful Hero Struggling Against Incredible Odds on Malthouse Outdoor Stage
Malthouse Outdoor Stage is generously supported by the Restart Investment to Sustain and Expand (RISE) Fund – an Australian Government initiative and the Victorian Government through Creative Victoria.

The Lifespan of a Fact is one of those intriguing based-on-true-life stories that wouldn’t seem real if it were pure fiction.

True to its interrogation of fact, fiction and truth, the play melds all three in the retelling of Jim Fingal and John D’Agata’s real-life experience, resulting in a funny and playful ideological battle that raises a whole lot of questions and will have you pondering your own take on the matters and the pervasive discussions around fake news.

As Jim Fingal, we are thrilled to welcome Karl Richmond to MTC, making his debut with the Company. Steve Mouzakis returns to MTC as John D’Agata alongside Nadine Garner who completes the cast in this Australian premiere production. At the helm is MTC Associate Director Petra Kalive, bringing together a brilliant creative team of Andrew Bailey, Kat Chan, Paul Lim, Emma Valente, Geraldine Cook-Dafner and Alice Qin. Together this team has realised the world of halftruths and creative non-fiction within which The Lifespan of a Fact exists.

With this new production, MTC 2021 — Act 2 officially begins. It is so thrilling to be at this point, having seen through a very successful Act 1 and now into our subscription season. When we were planning for 2021 there were so many unknowns about how our recovery year would pan out. It’s still early days in the scheme of things but it is incredibly heartening to see our theatres alive again and audiences returning with great enthusiasm, with their passion for live theatre being on full display.

CAST
Nadine Garner
Steve Mouzakis
Karl Richmond

CREATIVE TEAM
Director - Petra Kalive
Set Designer -Andrew Bailey
Costume Designer - Kat Chan
Lighting Designer - Paul Lim
Composer & Sound Designer - Emma Valente
Voice & Dialect Coach - Geraldine Cook-Dafner
Assistant Director - Alice Qin
Stage Manager - Julia Smith
Assistant Stage Manager - Lisette Drew

Part queer rom-com, part crime saga, and part cosmic fever dream, ‘Enlightenment’ is a dark, hilarious and moving play from one of Australia’s true renegade artists. Singapore-born, Perth-based playwright, Joe Paradise Lui, who re-imagines two towering figures from his childhood - the prince Siddhartha, and the magical Monkey from ‘Journey to the West’ - meeting, as young women, in contemporary Australia.

Enlightenment plays March 10 - 20 at Northcote Town Hall Arts Centre.

Alice plays Sid, a young Siddhartha Gautama listlessly Tinder swiping her way toward a purpose.

Team:
Joe Paradise Lui – Writer, Sound and Lighting Designer, Marcel Dorney – Director, Jamie Lewis – Cultural Consultant, 巴丢草 (Badiucao) – Illustrator, Cherish Marrington – Production Designer
Performed by Merlynn Tong, Alice Qin, John Marc Desengano, Conor Gallacher and Emily Tomlins

Rose Pidd – Production Manager, Finn Carter – Stage Manager, Adelaide Fisher – Producer, Kevin Chian – Mandarin Surtitles, Samad Shiraz – Assistant Director, Catherine O’Donoghue – Stage Manager (WA), Hardik Mehta – AV Assistant

Winner - Melbourne Fringe Festival 2020 Best Theatre, Best emerging producer, Best emerging writer, Tour Ready (NZ).

Alice directed the performance of this digital presentation of this all new one woman play.

Wah, life is damn good.
Your first big commission. Projects lined up. A talking plant.
Till an earthquake hits.
But everything is fine la huh!
I mean, it's not like you've wasted all that your ancestors have worked for on a meaningless career. And of course, it's not like you might never see your family again whilst surviving on your own in a global crisis.
Right?

Employing your typical Singaporean Sarcasm, Mandarin and Doodles, 落叶归根 is a one woman show that interrogates the conflict between a woman's ambition and her sense of duty and longing to be with her family.

Written and Performed by:
Cheryl Ho
In Collaboration with:
Rachel Lee, Vanessa Bong, Brooke Lee and Artwave Studio
Mentor:
Merlynn Tong and Alice Qin

Welcome to the Republic of Australia, 2050. The country is witnessing one of the tightest presidential runs in history, with one-time underdog, independent party candidate Poona Li Hung, now an unlikely frontrunner.

In 1997, the controversial book, Pauline Hanson: The Truth imagined Australia in the year 2050, run by Poona, a “lesbian… of Indian and Chinese background” and… a cyborg. Director Alice Qin, Multidisciplinary artist Roshelle Fong and playwright Keziah Warner bring Poona to life in this necessary and timely immersive theatre work.

As a Poona campaign staffer on election night, it’s time to help your candidate prepare for the result, whichever way it goes. Fasten your ‘Vote Poona’ badge, collect that last-minute polling data, and brace yourself – will Australia’s new President be the hero we’ve all been waiting for?

Presented as part of the 2020 Melbourne Fringe Festival, and nominated for Best Theatre.

The 2011 film Contagion starring Kate Winslet, Jude Law, Matt Damon, Marion, Laurence, and Gwyneth, was both wildly fear mongering, and eerily predictive of 2020. To celebrate-mourn these UNPRECEDENTED times, we bring you a once-only live reading of the film script (with some commentary) starring 40 of Melbourne's favourite performance makers by your good friends who brought you The Bachelor S17E05. Come laugh/cry/scream into the abyss with us.

Featuring: Julia Billington, Whil Bride, Maggie Brown, Jing Xuan Chan, Emilie Collyer, James Deeth, John Marc Desengano, Kerensa Diball, Alice Dixon, Lily Fish, Scott Gooding, Ellen Grimshaw, Emma Hall, Kat Henry, Kate Hunter, Nisha Joseph, Joey Lai, Kieran Law, Michael Logo, Caroline Meaden, Robbie O'Brien, Amarachi Okorom, Peter Paltos, Rachel Perks, Sam Plummer, Charles Purcell, Alice Qin, Vidya Rajan, Rebekah Robertson, Dave Sleswick, Sonya Suares, Sarah Sutherland, Emily Tomlins, Lou Wall, Sarah Walker, Peta Ward, Mark Wilson, and Harvey Zielinski.
Image by Michael Greaney

Alice was the Assistant Director on the 2019 world premier production of Golden Shield, written by Anchuli Felicia King. It is the first production from MTC’s groundbreaking Next Stage program. Alice got to work under director Sarah Goodes, from whom she learned so so much.

Weaving together the political and the personal, issues of communication and translation in a globalised, fractious world and potent dilemmas of the tech-age, Golden Shield is a bilingual piece that’s technically complex, involving live cameras, an intricate sound design. The audience often would listen to the text in a live interpretation style overlapping of languages. As the only Mandarin speaker on the creative team, Alice was involved in making sure those scenes, and all other scenes that were conducted in Mandarin would go off without a hitch. She also worked closely with the actors who were not confident Mandarin speakers to get their text up to scratch, and oversaw/translated/edited the script through the various drafts and rewrites.

Written and directed by Amelia Evans and Dan Giovannoni.

25 September 2019 - 5 October 2019
Theatre Works

MAD AS A CUTE SNAKE is a riotous and joyful theatrical adventure about having the courage to be yourself – whatever that may be!

Cardigan Coriander-Turner is a regular superhero who does regular superhero stuff, like using her powers to defeat baddies and wearing her undies on the outside. And she’s just been given a mission impossible: save her pet snake, Trix, from certain tragedy.

But one visit to school – AKA The Real World – is about to change everything. Turns out Cardi’s not really a superhero after all. She’s just a little girl, with zero powers. How’s she meant to save the day now?

Featuring hilarious clowning, backyard acrobatics and original songs, MAD AS A CUTE SNAKE is from the multi-award winning team behind the nationally toured CUT SNAKE and SUPERHERO TRAINING ACADEMY.

Malthouse Theatre Suitcase Series 2018, 2019

Alice Qin, Clarisse Bonello, and Rohan Mirchandaney (2018), Bernard Sam (2019) are directed by Sapidah Kian

A supermarket runs out of bananas. A senior citizen stages a radical protest. A group of friends stumble across a whale trying to beach itself. A flower sees plastic for the first time.

A kaleidoscope of absurd and poignant vignettes, ATOMIC explores the power of humans to change the world – knowingly and unknowingly, for better or worse.

ATOMIC by Amelia Chandos Evans is the fifth play commissioned for Malthouse Theatre's award-winning program, The Suitcase Series.

Malthouse Theatre Melbourne as part of Asia TOPA Festival February 2017 directed by Chong Wang, written by Lachlan Philpott

Little Emperors is multi layered. It is a personal family story that is profoundly meshed in the immeasurably burdensome cultural story of China’s One Child Policy. It is presented in a wonderful surreal abstracted way, and yet, surprisingly, it also accentuates the naturalistic and acutely personal via the use of ‘state of the art’ Audio-Visual projection.

“Alice Qin, who plays Kaiwen’s sister, gives a vital performance full gloriously expressed energy. She plays a first child who although a girl was kept and dressed as a boy to hide her gender.” - Stage Whispers

in 2015 Alice had the great pleasure to be in 3 Hamlet Isn’t Dead productions. Love’s Labors Lost in the sweltering New York Summer, directed by Dayle Towarnicky. And a double bill of Romeo and Juliet and Richard II in repertoire directed by David Andrew Laws and Emily Snyder respectively. These might be the most fun Alice had in New York after graduating, and the most fun anyone will ever have with Shakespeare.

Irondale Center 2013

Joan Evans saw a blurb about Takashi Tanemori and reached an epiphany. The director, choreographer, and movement instructor at Stella Adler Studio of Acting read a brief description of Tanemori, a Berkeley resident who survived the atomic bombing of Hiroshima during World War II, and it inspired her to create a movement piece in collaboration with designer Harry Rubeck.

The result is the original movement and theater piece Is It Already Dusk?, which opened at Irondale Center on February 21 and runs through March 2.

A contemporary dance piece choreographed by Sidra Bell at Stella Adler Studio of Acting 2011

Here are the productions Alice was a part of as a student at the Stella Adler Studio of Acting in New York.

• The Crucible (Abigale) - Directed by John Gould Rubin

• Boeing Boeing (Janet) - Directed by Michael Grenham

• All’s Well That Ends Well (The Countess) - Directed by Alicia House

• House of Bernada Alba (Bianca) - Directed by Mark Armstrong