“The best way out is always through…”
THE BACKBONE TEAM got the chance to interview the fabulous 2025 Hub Resident, Jazz Zhao, ABOUT THEIR PROJECT, THEIR PRACTICE AND MORE.
JAZZ! Tell us a little bit about yourself.
I’m Jazz Zhao. I’m a Chinese-Australian actress, and I grew up with your typical Tiger Mum.
My childhood was an endless battle of study, piano practice and eisteddfods. My poor dear mum is appalled I’ve chosen performance as a career path.
Well, you are a performer that is going from strength to strength. We are THRILLED to have you as a Hub Resident. Where should people go if they want to see you in action?
My latest theatrical work, SCENES FROM A YELLOW PERIL by Nathan Joe, is having its remount at QPAC this July. I’m also particularly fond of a documentary project I produced about my Hippie Housemates, “SUBURBAN TRIBE: MY HIPPIE LIFE” (2022).
Fantastic! Outside of your theatrical practice, what should we know? Hobbies? Interests? Secret superpowers?
Outside of acting, creative ambition and a generous sprinkling of ADHD symptoms drive me to undertake multiple skill sets – it helps keep the existential dread at bay. I teach piano at my home studio and in my spare time, I produce Lofi Sleep-Aid content for my 7.7k ASMR channel on YouTube.
A piano teacher, ASMR-tist, actor/producer extraordinaire, Jazz, you have a lot of irons in the fire… and this residency marks your writing debut!
We are so eager to get the word out there about your new work, Make Me Better Ma, what can you tell our readers?
Make Me Better Ma is a one-woman autobiographical coming-of-age that encapsulates the struggle of Chinese children growing up with overbearing Tiger Mothers; it’s the comedically dark retelling of ten years of condensed diary entries detailing a questionable upbringing, with references to abuse, and a difficult transition into adulthood.
It’s Asian-Australian FLEABAG-cross-I’M GLAD MY MOM DIED.
THE CAST OF SCENES FROM A YELLOW PERIL AT THE 2024 MATILDA AWARDS.
What a brilliant and complex work. What are you most excited to get started on?
With the support of Backbone, I’m excited to have the space to work on the written draft of Make Me Better Ma and share this deeply personal story with its first audience.
Speaking of first audiences, how do you see audiences reacting to your show? What might they say?
I hope Make Me Better Ma will be an encouraging sentiment for young adults and grown up audiences alike, to not be afraid and avoid the darkness in our past, but to embrace the riches difficult lifepaths have given us, and find acceptance.
Hopefully, Make Me Better Ma will facilitate discussions of heart amongst the Asian-Australian community, and for future parents to realise that children will remember how they were treated.
“The best way out is always through” (Robert Frost,1915)
