masters & the why
Figuring out what I want to do has taken me a while; it probably started when I was tossing up between doing further study in either dietetics (more one-on-one), teaching, or public health (more global). I had a sit-down with one of my lecturers, and she reminded me that public health was a viable option…
The Tassie ride has partly given me the incentive. So the ride itself was EPIC fun, we had people every step of the way and were and are very grateful for this! We managed to raise close to 22k for the Stroke Foundation since the start of January 2025, and the main event, the 3 points journey, consisting of exactly 4 weeks.
There were some people we met along the way who reminded me of where we, as disabled people, sit in the food chain (in a good way!), just highlighting the inequalities.
But I know this battered body can still have input into a meaningful area.
I don't see it as just being below the poverty line; that’s a major issue, but in some circumstances, being paid below the minimum wage, regardless of awards or assessed work capacity percentage (fairwork), these humans are working to the best of their ability. What's the price of quality of life?
The rights of a disabled person.
Is it fair to struggle to put food on the table or pay bills? According to poverty & equity, 1 in 4 disabled people live in poverty and ‘tend to be worse off’ financially, let alone in an emergency (AIHW). I’ll reiterate, is that just and fair? I don't think ‘tend’ is the right word here.
I am extremely lucky to be in the position to say I am 1 of the 3 people living with a disability to have completed year 12. (Human Rights Commission) And I'll say this, I regret not putting in harder days' work in school.
In terms of further education for people living with disabilities, only 17.0% of students with disability aged 20 and over have a bachelor’s degree or higher compared with 35.0% of those without disabilities (ADCET)
Yet, interestingly, I was intrigued and curious, and pretty much as I thought, there are limited scholarships/grants for people with disabilities at a university level. Now there are some eg RMIT/Dylan alcott foundation or Melbourne Uni with the Robertson scholarship, which is under 10k (funny how they word it ‘.....is offered to assist physically handicapped students.’) I think they are a bit behind the times… Anyway, looking further afield, there's La Trobe Flexible Research Scholarship (Flex) - Candidates with Disabilities. Monash Graduate Research Equity Supplement.
But basically nothing that stands out, that highlights, YES, we see you as a person and we want to give you your best opportunities possible, because it’s fair.
Moreover, in 2023, undergraduates with a reported disability had a full-time employment rate of 71.0%, which was 8.9% lower than the 79.9% for undergraduates without disability. (ADCET)
This data is talking in terms of full-time, and sometimes it is just not feasible to work full-time, due to other mandatory commitments, eg an appointment. Looking at myself, I'm a hell of a slow walker, so already my time in a day for work or play is already reduced.
Also, it is ironic that there is no mandatory employment requirement in Australia, so it makes you wonder if it is assumption bias….? (Human Rights Commission)
Levelling the playing field is really not that hard, it’s just the government won't act, they don’t want us to be able to have these opportunities. Simply reduce the fee or payback HECS-HELP rate of higher education for the 1 in 3 disabled people who are going to university. (shocking, I know, I wonder where I got the idea…..)
So by accommodating as close to as many needs as possible, accessibility, financial further cost, e.g. technology, advocacy issues, or in other words, addressing the gap between the disabled and the enabled. (Education)
The question is, when are we going to be given these opportunities?
PS I'm doing an 8-week acting course called scene study, it's term 4. My objectives are a) to have some fun, b) to work on my game face (sometimes I smile while in the scene), c) long-term, I would like to give a bit of representation, e.g. a 5 to 1 ratio in everyday films and d) when doing self-taping auditions make it a bit more ‘clear’ as to what ‘they’ the casting directors want from us.
PPS Don't get me started on the Centrelink DSP and the $0.50 to the dollar bullshit!
As always,
Peace out
TQ
What have i been up to?
Hello,
I’ve been absent haven’t I, apologise for this but I haven’t been doing nothing, I promise you that!
So what have I been doing?
For starters I’ve been doing a lot of filming content and creating themes for the upcoming ride which is starting well under a month, the 15th of March till the 11th of April crossing the three most extreme points of Tassie, called Takin on Tassie! To follow the journey on Instagram click here at the same time I’ve been having good healthy collaboration with the Stroke Foundation we are raising funds before, during, and after the Tassie ride again mainly around content.
I’ve also been sending so many emails I think I’m brain-numb from them! In regards to the council members, state and federal politicians which has received positive response! As well as business in Tassie and school communication.
We also had a fundraiser that raised over 5k for the4points.org to facilitate the ride in Tassie and we have to say a big thanks to all the people who were involved in shaping the event but also donating towards the cause!
During the fundraiser, we also launched this 4-point journey summed up into a song with the help of Jack (chief editor, filmmaker and all-round legend), Dave and Mattricks. What can you do collaboratively, we can change the world, that’s what!
See the finished music video below!
So what else?
Outside of the 4 points life that’s been time-consuming, I’ve been working with the La Trobe University masters OT’s in communication skills, that’s been super fun and I’ve been doing it for a few years now!
It’s been a lot of a blur, to be honest, my acting is on hold because the timing of the classes isn’t aligned. I’ve done a few school talks, one today actually for the upcoming ride, it was super good fun with the tear 5’s focusing on resilience and leadership!
In regards to my Physio/exercise regime, the first one is going really well and with my right hand, I’ve got the nine-hold peg test down to a 1:28 in the space of 4 sessions!
And terms of exercise I’m working up to it, currently this week I’ve spent 6.5 hours on weights and concept 2 and on the bike, I’ve done about 25kms, as Reecy from paramount would says that’s just the warm-up!! So steadily working up to it.
So what’s next?
do more training cause Tassie ain’t gonna be a walk in the park!
Do more training
And
Do more training
That’s all the focus now!
Saying that I’m out to do cross-training today!
This will be the last blog till after the ride I feel as if I need to focus on the task at hand.
So stay classy you sexy individuals!
Peace out
God’s favorite idiot - mock audition
I wrote today, the 11th of December, a few days after the course ended, to reflect on and consider not only what it meant to do the course but also what I’ve achieved.
The confidence both in acting and speaking
It’s funny; you don't wanna be under-confident but you don’t wanna be over either. And I think I was slightly over-confident in one of the ‘takes’ and smiled, now what I was smiling at was the director laughing at my actions, which I’ll be frank, I like amusing people, except I was meant to be acting not being a comedian!
That’s just my perspective, you can be the judge of that take.
The nerves
I didn’t get nervous, I was actually thinking of trying an Irish accent on, I didn’t. The reason I was practising in an Irish accent was A) I feel that I remember my lines better and B) it seems to speed up my processing speed of what's going on, this may be due to adding one more layer of complexity that in turn would when I was speaking ‘normally it would give me a little bit more time to ‘read and react’ to the situations that arose.
KISS
Another thing as my Aunt would say - Keep it simple stupid. Now in the theatre you've gotta really be ‘full and expressionful’ (don’t think that’s a word) whereas in TV/movies, it’s all the ‘direction and angles’ so you need much less, hence why I wanted to add that comment in. That’s how I feel anyway, people might have other opinions.
Mark’s words
My teacher for the 8 weeks, said at the start, middle and end, ‘You’ve got to find the truth’, it took me the whole of the 8 weeks to understand what he meant.
My description of it is, the ability to have a persona in a role yet fit into how you want to portray it in you… It probably didn’t help you at all, but then again you have to do the course yourself and let yourself discover your truth.
The good mock take ~ let me know what you think.
Thank you to Brave Studio
I will certainly be doing the scene studies course, however, I’ll more than likely be doing it in the second half of the year as we are Takin on Tassie in 2025, smack bang in the middle of everything, I’m also interested in a vocal course or the US accent course, so I’ll be back there next year!
On this, I've felt all these acting courses have aided me to be a better speaker, I think It’s just the more confidence.
You know what they say, ‘CONFIDENCE IS KEY’ and I agree.
Till next time.
TQ
The critique and the belief
The classes
Some of you might see me as a person with self-belief and in some areas, certainly yes. In other areas, acting, it’s growing
From the classes I’ve been doing at Brave Studio, I feel that slowly I’ve been building my confidence. It’s been a shift from blaming on the disability (processing speed) to nerves, now it’s remembering my lines, jeez, it frustrates me to no end but I feel more confident, and as long as you’ve got the context of the piece/script you can sometimes fill in the gaps.
The scales are shifting, you’ve just got to commit the time.
Imposter syndrome
‘the persistent inability to believe that one's success is deserved or has been legitimately achieved as a result of one's own efforts or skills’
Mate! Let me tell you, I’ve felt like this…
Like the time I graduated with a diploma of fitness, that time I graduated with my bachelor's degree, the list goes on!
If only humans had two options back yourself in or out, we are so much more than that though.
In regards to my acting career, it's more in terms of ‘sometimes’ “was that actually good or….”, we are our toughest critics after all.
With my Mock tape, (see below) I always seem to critique myself. However Mark, James, and Daniela all said, that when rewatching your takes, come into it with an open mind.
One of the teachers said right back at the start when I started ‘You might get 10 takes that are the same in terms of script, but the way they are conveyed, they will be different!’, and now seeing that with my own eyes, I believe it. ‘See it to believe it’, as they say!
You aren't going to get an Oscar winner take, the first time!
Representation
Disabling discourses: contemporary cinematic representations of acquired physical disability 2020
This paper explored how acquired physical disability is constructed within three contemporary mainstream fiction films.
They found:
Films can communicate accurate knowledge as well as damaging stereotypes to the public. Disability has often been portrayed negatively in films and thus it is important to critically analyse films about disability.
The paper discusses three contemporary films in which the main actors have an acquired physical disability. What is said about disability through the films’ dialogue, and how disability is shown through camera angles, music, and props was analysed.
The research found that films about acquired physical disability continue to produce negative stereotypes about disability. Thus, discrimination against disabled people is continued.
Encouragingly, some stereotypes about disability were seen to be challenged in the contemporary films.
Future films need to be more inclusive of disability. Characters need to be complex, all-rounded individuals, with disability being only one facet of their personhood.
I think these are powerful points of interest.
Highlighting this is only one facet of a person.
The ordinary abled human just needs to have an ordinary conversation with an ordinary differently-abled human and find out life, that’s my sole belief.
The same can be said for the advertising industry, a study said, “Market-mediated representations of disability often evoke feelings of pity or portray people with disabilities as inspiring, solely or in part on the basis of their disability.” Click here to read the full study.
The film industry needs to look beyond (or before) the disability.
Now having said that there are ‘some’ cool movies that I think break the stigma and I’m sure there are plenty more that I’m unaware of, The Peanut Butter Falcon is the one that comes to my mind.
Also, the shift20initiative movement is another great avenue.
I think we need to be seen, heard, and represented more in everyday life as the study suggests.
My beliefs
My metacognitive position is, that the representation (environment) needs to be changed in the acting world, also the disability in general
Also, internally, I've got to ‘put in the work’ - I'm lazy when it comes to the academic writing side, I’ll admit it.
However, I like to think that I am open to hearing other points of view in regard to representation.
As a study has implied biased beliefs or assumptions can be changed if you identify how the person is thinking.
MOCKING BRAVE
Well, what a exciting eight weeks it has been in the Brave studios!
Over that period, I’ve learned what I feel is a lot, everyone has a different perspective though.
Probably the key takeaways were:
Self-belief, which i want to delve and do a bit of self research on.
Inner monologue, which is way more complex than you think.
Not getting so frustrated with the lines and remembering them, calmer would be the word.
This is the mock second take, you can be the judge.
As they say not one single performance is the same, and I totally agree!
With me, to be honest i felt this was a much harder scene (Neighbours) than the previous (Rosehaven) not entirely more complex just as you would have seen in the scene more one sided and flipping or as you’d say in acting a beat change. I’m about 80% happy with the performance, got few things that i can improve on! But still happy. Side note, when i exited the room I gave Barry a run-through and I reckon I F@!# nailed that one!
The head framing was a new way of taking a shot for me. My role in the scene was more of a talking side so my listening was limited. Hence my actions were with lines.
I would like to flip that scene and see how hard it is to listen and empathise while being taped.
To the peeps who were in the group with me, you’se bunch made it so enjoyable, not just because it was fun but the insights you brought and your point of views. Thank you!
And to Daniela and James thanks for being great sounding boards, different teachers or for a better word mentors. Thank you!
BRING ON FOUNDATION TECHNIQUE!