Kristie Nguy on The Robot Dog

Tell us about your character in a nutshell. What drives them?  

Janelle is a woman in her mid-to-late 20s who is feeling a bit stuck and lost in life. Living in a new age of technology in 2042, where life is integrated with AI, she is on a journey of self-discovery. In this journey, she is dealing with the loss of her mother which leads her to reconnect with her culture. She is driven by love, and her actions throughout the play stem from a deep love for those around her, even when it might not seem that way.  

How do you embody your character?  

My main consideration when embodying a character is remaining present. Really listening to my scene partners and reacting to what I receive in the given circumstances is how I bring the work to life. For Janelle’s voice, I’ve consciously lowered my natural pitch to give her more agency and power as a woman in the future. This also changes pre-augment versus post-augment as it unlocks a new side to her – her Cantonese side. There’s a common phenomenon in many bilingual people where they have a slight variation in their personality when switching languages. I am playing with that idea, particularly where Janelle post-augment is physically more open and, in a way, more honest, whereas Janelle pre-augment is more guarded and likes to hide pain with humour.   

Kristie Nguy and Ari Maza Long in rehearsal. Photo: Tiffany Garvie

How do design elements like costumes, props and the set impact your performance? What helps and how? 

Our fabulous designer, Nathan Burmeister, has been working closely with Kat Chan (Cultural Design Consultant) to include authentic pieces, from the design of the altar to the Cheongsam, the Ininti bead necklace and of course the ‘Hong Kong Blackfulla bags’ that are from both Janelle and Harry’s culture. These pieces really assist us as actors, as it’s a vital part in building the world. Being able to touch these objects that hold such cultural significance – to tie ourselves in emotionally to create the story and history between the characters and the objects – is so important in this process as this play is all about how objects hold memories. We also have these super cool futuristic headsets which are representative of current smartphones, which are used as a dramaturgical tool for our characters to tune in and out of the world. The creative use of the bags where we have them in a different configuration for each scene, physically represent both the literal unpacking process as well as Janelle’s internal turmoil. For example, on day three in the story, the bags start to scatter everywhere as Janelle starts to reopen the bags both physically and emotionally. It helps inform my choices on blocking and tracking her emotional journey throughout the play.   

Do you consciously experiment with/manipulate contrast in your performance? How so? 

In our explorations of scenes and characters, I like to play with the contrast of push and pull on different impulses between subtext and intention. For example, feeling the pull towards Dog and wanting to be the way they used to be, the way they used to play and make dumplings together like siblings, but feeling the push away from Dog because Dog keeps bringing up memories of them and Wing Lam that are too unbearable for Janelle to deal with. Another example is Janelle’s heart centre where her intention is to avoid dealing with anything but internally deep down, she is yearning to reconnect with her mum and her culture.

Kristie Nguy and Ari Maza Long in rehearsal. Photo: Tiffany Garvie

What is a big idea or symbol in this play, in relation to your character? 

A core theme throughout the play that Janelle deals with is grief. Everyone has a different way to process grief, and she avoids dealing with it at all costs. We follow her journey of reconnecting with her culture as a way to bring herself closer to Wing Lam and to figure out for herself how she wants to bring honour to her mother and continue her legacy. The altar and the pink smoke represent Wing Lam and they both become more prominent to Janelle as the play goes on, symbolising her acceptance of her mother's death.