Welcome to Safe Word 

－ a new work of physical and poetic theatre created by us, Francis Cao and Cindy Jiang. Intersecting identities of race and queerness, Safe Word is a self-empowered manifesto on sex and a proud celebration of our Asian bodies. However, for us to make our triumphant debut at the Melbourne Fringe Festival this year, we need your help!

Safe Word was created, and will be performed on the stolen, unceded lands of the Wurundjeri and Boon Wurrung peoples of the Kulin nations. We are grateful to create, learn, and live on this land. We pay our respects to elders past, present, and emerging. This always was, and always will be aboriginal land. 

How Safe Word Was Born

“Coming from an Asian and queer background, sex education was something that I had to learn on my own,” Francis says. Cindy echoes this with the desire to write a narrative “on our own terms”. “I’ve always wanted to explore race and sexuality from my own perspective,” she says, “no one really talks about being in the middle, or about being free of what white standards and Asian traditions expect of us.”

Talking to people like us, and realising that we were not alone in this search for answers, our thoughts began to manifest through an art form we both love - theatre. And so Safe Word was born. Safe Word is our reclamation of Asian bodily autonomy from dual oppression. No longer will we let anyone else be the author of our narrative.

In this hybrid work, the body and movement are the principal elements of storytelling. The audience will be taken through nonlinear and thematically-connected episodes, occasionally finding themselves woven into the narrative.

“We are valid and beautiful. Safe Word celebrates us.” 

What have we been up to?

Besides finalising venue hire and registration, we have also been working hard with our amazing production team to bring this production together. We are a group of Asian creatives from Melbourne from different fields of the arts: from music, to performance, to photography, to poetry, all drawn together by the desire to tell our own narratives with our own voices.

We have also begun to work with our amazing cast to bring this show to life, collaboratively devising scenes and interjecting our own personal experiences into the pieces. We are extremely moved by their connection to the work.

So where are we now?

Here's the game plan - the total budget that shows where the money will come in and how we will spend it! We are determined to create the best show possible, so the entire team been budgeting to make sure that we can put this production on without breaking the bank and draining our savings. Our projected ticket sales will cover the registration and venue hire, while, the remainder will be covered with the support by all you loving people out there through this campaign. If we reach our goal, we will be using the crowdfunding funds for:

• production costs (set, costume, props, lighting, sound, etc.),
• merchandising production for pledgers, 
• marketing, equity and 
• other miscellaneous costs and fees.  

Whether you give one dollar or hundreds, all pledgers will be added to our "For Our Pledgers" note on our Facebook page (@safewordmelbourne) to show you our appreciation of your support.

You all are integral to helping us tell this story at the Fringe Festival this year. We are so appreciative for all your generosity and support, and please pledge! Be a part of the Safe Word family and Safe Word history.

Check out the T-Shirt Sizing chart here: