EXPATRIATED - Hollywood Fringe Festival at Broadwater (Second Stage)

Reviewed by Amalisha HuEck

Life changing experience of wanting to try something new by taking a job opportunity in another country, despite not speaking the language, is a challenging decision people make every day. So many of us areimmigrants and expats, with countless interesting stories to tell. Through the narratives of two girls, Candace and Dominique, the question, 'Why are some people 'expats' while others ' immigrants' is explored in EXPATRIATED.  Their excitement and belief that everything is going to be okay, as they are convincing their worried mothers upon leaving, turns to be a huge unfulfillment of their expectations, when at the end disappointed and with broken hearts, each of them has to return to her place of origin.

Sound in this production plays a huge part and almost a third actor on the stage. The sounds of the ocean when they first arrive to the sounds of specific, but quite different, loud noises in each town illustrate clearly an authentic and diverse life in those two cities. A young woman from Hong Kong comes to LA as a lawyer and becomes an 'immigrant.'  Another young lawyer from LA moves to Hong Kong and becomes an 'expat.'

It becomes very obvious that some natives treat people with an accent differently and there are rules for people who are not citizens. And it is important to find a good friend, someone close to us, when we are far from our countries and families and 'Neverland' becomes our home. Candace says, 'For me, it's often easy to walk away from an uncomfortable situation and wonder why someone uttered a racist comment or denigrated our work because the writing in English wasn't good enough for them.'  While Dominique explains, '"Expat" is frequently colloquially used to describe white people, often from the US, UK, Canada, or Australia, living abroad. In contemporary English, "Immigrant" is usually used to describe migrants, whose first language is often not English, moving to developed western economies.'

This MUST-SEE play is produced by Klutzy Dragon and Paper Starship Studios and is co-written, performed & directed by Dominique Roberts and Candace Leung. With exciting and well-established mutual energy Dominique and Candace bounce off each other with ease, with intention to paint the lives of 'minorities' with all their feelings and challenges. We know that there is never absolute, perfect equality of any kind on this physical plane; however, by respecting everyone and making it easier for all, we create the world of love and abundance. Experiencing joy and laughter, pain and discomfort, happiness and sadness is a mutual thing for all of us; so, when we have a chance to be kind, understanding and helpful in each other's journey, why wouldn't we consider it?  Even though distinct languages can be a challenge to understand in a noisy environment, different accents and cultures make our world a richer and diverse experience. And, after all, we are all the same in the world of Divine.

The TEAM in EXPATRIATED consists of an Associate Producer Karen Tsang, an incredible Sound Design created by Sharon Tsang, Lighting Design by Rachael Bellis, Sandra Kuker PR (Sandra Kuker-Franco) - Publicity and Liam Doyle - Production Stills. Lucia Tong, Sergio Pasquariello, Alex Quirk, Jay Chen and Elspeth Hunt do voiceover performances.

The performances during the Hollywood Fringe Festival take place Sat. June 22, 5:30 PM | Sun. June 23, 6:30 PM | Tue. June 25, 9:30 PM at Broadwater (Second Stage), 6320 Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles, CA. 90038. Running time: 55 minutes.