Rizcel Gagawanan

Melissa Hume: If the story of your life was written as an internet article, what would its clickbait headline be?
Rizcel Gagawanan: I hope it would be very similar to articles about Kim Convenience‘s Simu Liu –  “My Life from Anxiety-ridden Accountant to Marvel’s next Superhero”.

One of the themes Duckpond investigates is how we use distraction as a coping mechanism – do you consciously or unconsciously distract yourself and what are your go-to phone/internet distractions?
I’m always consciously and unconsciously distracting myself. Instagram! Instagram! Instagram! Then a bit of Facebook. Some puppy and foodie videos. Then back on Instagram.

Why are you an artist/actor/performer?
The answer to this constantly changes for me, but in all realness, storytelling and play give me the most joy. I also do this because I want other people who are like me to see that being an artist/actor/performer is possible. 

You recently gave up social media for a week as a personal goal for the Equity Wellness Challenge – how did you find the experience?
It was very difficult. Not being on Instagram and Facebook made me feel so disconnected from the world that it gave me anxiety and a sense of FOMO. I wanted people to know what I was up to and I wanted to know what other people were up to. The experience made me realise how addicted I am to Instagram and how it distracts me from being present in the moments I’m in. I’m not fully recovered because I’m still Insta-storying like a 14-year-old. But I’m more aware of it now. Hopefully someday I’ll ease off it more. 

In what ways can you relate to your character Duck and what have you found challenging?
I relate to Duck’s love of bread. I love all types of bread. To be honest I love bread more than rice (yes, very un-Asian of me. It’s blasphemous). Another thing I relate to but also found challenging was Duck’s addiction and submission, and her journey in breaking out of it. It brought to light my own addictions that I hide behind and the indoctrinated beliefs that once controlled my view of the world. 

Melissa Hume

Rizcel Gagawanan: If you could only live on bread alone, what type of bread would you choose?
Melissa Hume: I’d be nutritionally strategic and go with a dark rye bread with lots of seeds and nuts.

What common how-to or fact have you googled that you should have known IRL (like it was common sense)?
UMMM so I may have just googled “what is the most nutritious bread”…

The other day I got myself really confused and no joke googled “what century are we in”.
I also do lots of word related checks too: “apart vs a part” “inquiry vs enquiry” “a lot vs alot” and lots of definitions. 

When killing time on the train or in a food line, what are the top 3 things that you look up on your phone/internet?
Instagram number 1, then Facebook and my third would be internet (window) shopping. I love to go through hundreds of clothes listed on say ASOS or The Iconic, pick out a whole new wardrobe’s worth of clothes, look at them all in the shopping cart, decide which ones I love the most and then… NEVER buy any of them. It’s a great time waster. 

If Ingrid was on Survivor what would her strategy be?
Ingrid would make lots of alliances. She’d also try a number of different strategies and as a result she’d confuse the other competitors who wouldn’t take her as a serious threat until it was too late!

What have you enjoyed about the rehearsal process, and what has challenged you the most?
I have loved working with such open, curious and playful creatives – the rehearsal room has felt incredibly free! Tabitha’s script has been so much fun to unpack but it’s also incredibly clever and relevant. People really need to come and see this!!!

What has challenged me the most has been the character work with Ingrid. Early on I realised we are extremely similar and some of our shared traits and tendencies are actually things I don’t like about myself… a very large one being our innate social AWKWARDNESS… and at first that was very challenging for me to lean into but now I’ve been able to embrace it.

Rizcel Gagawanan and Melissa Hume can be seen in Duckpond , by Tabitha Woo.
Dates: 22 – 26 Oct, 2019
Venue: Old 505 Theatre