The Joy Offensive

We've reached our first target! The GIG IS ON!

Thank you for your support and your pledges. Can't wait to see you at the gig!

Help us reach our next target, Fraser Babies: Community.

“Fraser Baby”

1. noun. a first or second generation Australian, progeny of migrants to Australia in the years following the dismantling of the White Australia policy.

2. noun. an #immigrant babe with zero fucks left to give.

Fraser Babies is a pop musical. That’s right. A MUSICAL. It’s a musical about rival high school debating teams who break free from the hallowed halls of speech and debate and join forces to let their voices be heard in a different way.

Many of Australia’s non-Indigenous inhabitants have an existence that can be largely pinned down to a policy drawn up by a white guy somewhere - from colonisation to post-WWII resettlement, from “populate or perish” to “stop the boats”. Fraser Babies is a riotous space for young migrant voices to breathe outside the box, to perform outside the policy.

Check out one of the songs from the show, "'Til Queendom Come", sung by Jules Orcullo and Cypriana Singh!

We’ve showcased snippets of Fraser Babies at works-in-progress events at Carriageworks, the Seymour Centre, and Hayes Theatre Co. It has development support from Hayes Theatre Co and was shortlisted for the APRA AMCOS Professional Development Award. 

Now we need your help to take our songs to the stage. We’re raising money for Fraser Babies’ first GIG. It’ll be at A.C.E. Parramatta in late 2022/23. It’ll feature songs from the show and performances from local artists.

Tell me more!

Help us get this gig together and you’ll receive some awesome rewards - early bird discounts to the gig, a candy bag of demos from Fraser Babies songs-in-progress, online workshops and more! AND to top that off, every dollar you contribute (up to $5000) will be MATCHED by the good folk at Creative Partnerships Australia as part of their MatchLAB program. That’s right, from now until 16 May, your $ will travel twice as far.

How far?? 

$1 turns into $2 which pays for a printout of a libretto and score for one of our performers - on recycled paper of course!

$15 turns into $30 which pays for a custom neon sign for the Fraser Babies gig set!

$40 turns into $80 which pays for additional equipment hire to round out our sound set-up

$150 turns into $300 which pays for an Auslan interpreter for the gig

$500 turns into $1000 which pays an INCREDIBLE triple-threat performer from a historically excluded background an Equity rate for their amazing work

Importantly, it’ll be our first opportunity to show the work to community groups we’ll be working with over the course of 2022.

Wait, what community work?

Yep, Fraser Babies is a tribute to small acts of protest rooted in community solidarity between young people. As part of the development process, the creative team of Fraser Babies is invested in engaging with and listening to politically-engaged young people from First Nations and migrant backgrounds across Australia. Young people with something to say, with care for their communities, and a song in their hearts.

We're planning to deliver cultural development programs for young people from First Nations and migrant backgrounds looking to upskill in areas such as: civic engagement and community organising, creative expression, and public speaking. 

Sick. What happens if we exceed the target?

If we reach:

$5000 (plus $5000 matched funding) - THE GIG - we’ll have an EXCELLENT gig for our first audience

$10 000 - COMMUNITY! - our community development program will be covered for 2022 and 2023

$20 000 - THE WORKSHOP! - we’ll set up a full week-long creative development workshop to get the show to its next stage

$30 000 - COMMISSION US! - Jules, Chloe and Miranda will be paid an artist commission to work on this musical as a proper job.

Every single dollar counts, so no matter what you can afford or what reward tiers you choose, you'll be helping Fraser Babies come to life!

Hold up: what rewards tiers?

$1+ : Donate any amount at all and receive our eternal gratitude.

$5+ : JOIN THE JOY OFFENSIVE! We will loudly and publically share our gratitude (through a social media shout out).

$15+ : FRASER BABY! Get an early access code to THE GIG in 2022/23, as well as a public social media shout out.

$40+ : MOSH PIT! All of the above, plus a Candy Bag of behind the scenes goodies. Learn exactly how (this) musical gets made with priocess artefacts including a draft demo from Chloe, character questionnaires and even voice memos of Jules singing (lol).

$150+ : THE CREW! All of the above plus get your name added to the future Fraser Babies set! Is that [backer name] grafittied on the school desks of The College? Literally make your mark on our musical. You'll also get a 2 hour video workshop on creative writing led by Jules Orcullo. Perfect for the HSC student or budding playwright in your life. 

$500+ : BACKSTAGE PASS! All of the above plus get access to closed readings and events for Fraser Babies throughout 2022 - 2023. We'll also acknowledge you in our program collateral.

$1000 + : I'M WITH THE BAND! All of the above, plus join the Fraser Babies team for a lunch and songwriting jam! 

Yes, but who exactly are you?

Here are some of our credentials so you know your $ is in legit hands.

The Joy Offensive is a platform founded by Jules Orcullo which celebrates works-in-process and solidarity across borders. It launched in London in 2017 showcasing works-in-process by artists from Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands and migrated online in 2020 with a series of online participatory artworks by diaspora artists based in Australia and the UK.

Jules Orcullo (book, music, lyrics) is a queer, neurodiverse, Filipinx playwright, songwriter, director, and dramaturg based on Darug Country. Jules has been working in theatre for 8 years despite feeling like an absolute competition winner in every room she walks into. She's currently working as a writer with Sydney Theatre Company and is a founding member of Kallective, supported by Australia Council for the Arts and Create NSW. Jules is a passionate arts educator having worked as a tutor and mentor at NIDA, Belvoir, ATYP, and Coventry University (UK), and has supported the development of a culturally equitable theatre sector in her producing roles at Belvoir, Co-Curious, and Contemporary Asian Australian Performance. Jules has a First-Class Masters in Women's Studies (Literature) from Oxford but her idea of literary genius is Legally Blonde: The Musical.

Miranda Aguilar (dramaturgy, community advisor) is a queer, Filipinx writer, creative producer and community arts worker. They write for stage, screen and beyond. Their credits include acting as showrunner and one of the lead writers for Las Rosas(2017), producing Prone to the Drone (2019), and writing ‘Let Me Know When You Get Home’, their first full-length play. They are a member of Ka-llective, a group of Asia-Australian multi-disciplinary artists currently developing their first theatre work, Salt Baby. Their work has been previously supported by Australia Council of Arts, CreateNSW, Blacktown Arts, PACT, and APT among others. They currently produce community arts programs with CuriousWorks and current Secretary of the CuriousWorks Management Committee.

Chloe Macaulay-Keung (music producer) is a Hong Kong Australian music producer, composer and performer. She holds an Associate in Music, Australia performing diploma in classical piano and an 8th grade qualification in Alto Saxophone from the AMEB. As a performer, Chloe began in local jazz bands as a saxophonist, before working on ARMISTICE, an indie pop 5-piece as vocalist and keyboardist performing originals (Valve Bar, Bucket Lounge @ Staves Brewery, Captain Cook Hotel, Project 107). Her foray into electronic music began with FOXHEAVEN, a dream-pop duo experimenting with lo-fi synths & sounds. Chloe wrote and produced independent works using Ableton Live under several monikers, performing at local artist showcases like Live on the Lawn & The Manor Projects. She was part of the 2017 Women in Electronic Music masterclass cohort hosted by MusicNSW & Native Tongue Music Publishing.

$10 000 ($5000 raised here plus $5000 matched funding from Creative Partnerships Australia covers):

• 6 performers and creatives for rehearsal and a performance

• Venue hire at A.C.E. Parramatta

• Technical support and equipment hire

• Photography and videography

• An Auslan interpreter and other access support such as ground transport and accessibility guides