I am an artist that loves consistently training and honing my craft, which can be challenging with financial ebbs and flows, and the realities of being an arts worker at large, especially a queer nonbinary asian one. Training is often the unpaid work that we as artists commit to, which can be financially difficult, but so necessary because it keeps us fresh, alive, alert, and at the top of our game.

If I hadn’t been the recipient of The Dirt’s Artist Residency Programme (ARP) this year, I would have only been able to afford one term of study in the last six months. With the ARP I was able to experience four different classes with the whole faculty at The Dirt Underneath Actors’ Space.

I was able to continue to deepen, grow, and play in Scene Study classes with John Gordon & Shaun McComb, as well as try new things that I have always wanted to but have never been able to afford. This included gently getting in touch with my body and finding alternative pathways to connect with character with Jonelle Gunderson, and to learn about my voice (how to warm it up, take care of it, speak and act with it) with Peter N. Bailey. I would have never been able to experience all of this without the ARP.

It’s hard to measure how impactful the access to this knowledge will be because it’s all so fresh, but I can say that in this last year I was able to invest in myself, experience and learn on a consistent basis, without consequence or stress or pressure, and it’s been so lovely to grow as an artist under these circumstances.

Sze-Yang Ade-Lam (2022-23 ARP Emerging Artist Recipient)