Hi everyone! We hope you are keeping well and positive during these challenging times. With the physical isolation guidelines now in place at Monash, and across Victoria, and all MSA staff now required to work from home, we’ve postponed all our in-person activities indefinitely.

BUT! In the meantime, there are all sorts of things we are doing to connect and share ideas, theatrical inspirations and fun! Please make sure you have followed our Facebook Page where our daily updates will be. We remain hopeful that most of our 2020 activities will continue in some way, or in the future, and that semester two productions and projects will take place as planned, but we’ll have to see how the situation pans out.

So, what’s happening?

• Dhruvi and Sarah our Community Officers are bringing you fun events such as Cooking with Pals, Movies with Pals, a MUST Baby Photo Competition and more – keep an eye on FB Events.
• STRANGEkit are adapting their first live art experiment, “Portrait n.1” to take place completely online!
• MUSTBOP: Fur on the Forward Line are adapting their project. Stage one will be a series of podcasts and then they will rehearse online and bring us stage two, live in the cinema when we’re back on campus!
• David Finnigan’s Kill Climate Deniers is postponed, but we’re determined it will go ahead at some stage.
• The MUST Beginners and Seagulls Refugee Programs are beginning online.
• Script development and playwright mentoring continues online, along with other mentorships.
• From April 10 co-curators Gemma and Sarah Matthews will be accepting expressions of interest from artists for participation in The MUST Cabaret Festival. It’s currently programmed in August and we’re aiming for it to go ahead then, but it may have to be delayed. Check out their intro video!
• We’ll be introducing a suite of short videos explaining theatre roles and sharing skills.
• Look out for a whole range of artistic projects: continuous writing, choreography, sing-alongs, audio art…
• AND, we’re reigniting the MUST Phone-It-In Film Festival, to be launched very soon!

We at MUST, along with all of MSA, remain committed to our amazing MUST community – old and new – and to continuing to engage with you and support your student experience, creativity and vibe in the coming weeks. Check out the resources below!

With love and solidarity from Yvonne and Jason and all at MUST
MUST Artistic Director Yvonne Virsik (yvonne.virsik@monash.edu).

Some well-being resources:

• Australian Psychological Society tips for coronavirus anxiety and social isolation
• Lifeline – 24 hour crisis support. Call 13 11 14 or text the helpline on 0477 131 114
• Beyond Blue – Mental health support
• Federal Government and Centrelink
• Monash COVID-19 fact sheet

Great online theatre, film & art resources:

• Digital Theatre Plus* – Musicals and theatre
• Kanopy* – Movies, documentaries etc.
• Australian Plays*
• MSO are streaming their concerts
• NGV are streaming virtual tours
• The Metropolitan Opera are streaming operas
• The National Theatre release productions every Thursday, for up to a week

*Free access through Monash Library (you’ll need to create an account and add Monash’s subscription code).