Jodee Mundy's PERSONAL Comes To Riverside Theatres

"It was only when Jodee was five years old and lost at Kmart that she realised her whole family were Deaf."

Part performance, part multimedia and live art, Jodee Mundy's ground-breaking solo performance, Personal, explores her experience as the only hearing person in a Deaf family at Riverside Theatres from 8th to 9th June.

Jodee Mundy grew up knowing her family was deaf. However, she didn't realise being deaf meant not being able to hear until she became lost in Kmart at five years old and none of her family came to meet her at the front desk after repeated announcements over the loudspeaker.

Personal conveys stories from Mundy's unique childhood and explores her role as a CODA (Child of Deaf Adult) who had to pave the way for her family as an interpreter, authority and conduit.

Through a captivating blend of performance, storytelling, multimedia and animation, Mundy delves into the contradictions of inhabiting two worlds: living in a Deaf family where using sign language is natural, and living in a society that only sees the family's disability with voyeuristic curiosity.

Presented in two languages via a virtual interpreter, Personal is a smart, touching and deeply personal work exploring dis/ability and how we perceive one another.

Writer and performer Jodee Mundy said, "Auslan is my native language and English is my second. As someone who grew up in a culturally and linguistically diverse community who are also perceived as having a disability, there's a lot of power and currency in being able to speak more than there is in being able to sign. This baffles me as to why sign is seen as an alternative or less than speaking because our human potential is so huge when people can utilise all the ways we can communicate"

Director/Writer/Performer Jodee Mundy Director Merophie Carr Design Jen Hector Sound Madeleine Flynn & Tim Humphrey Video Rhian Hinkley Movement Consultant Jo Dunbar Script Consultant Sandra Fiona Long Auslan Consultant Gavin Rose-Mundy Producer Erin Milne (Bureau of Works)

When: 11am and 7:30pm on Friday 8 June; 2:15pm (audio described) and 7:30pm on Saturday 9 June
Where: Riverside Theatres - corner of Church and Market St, Parramatta
Tickets: Adult $44, Concession: $39. Discounts available for Riverside Theatres' Members.
Transaction fees: phone $4.60, web $3.60 and counter $2.60.
Bookings: https://riversideparramatta.com.au/show/personal/ or from the Box Office (02) 8839 3399

Trailer:

A one hour tactile tour of the set and costumes is available prior to the performance on 9th June. Tactile tours are a disability inclusion initiative. Books via Box Office essential.