By Mohammed El-Leissy
MELBOURNE - Most people think Muslim men have four wives”, jokes comedian Sema Kuryuk as she does her routine to the packed hall “they don’t! They have one wife….she has four different personalities!”
Despite the light-hearted delivery and nature of Sema’s joke, there is a serious side to what she is doing. Sema is part of a new wave of comedians who are the product of Project R.A.C.E, a program run through The Centre for Multicultural Youth in partnership with Youth Law. Project R.A.C.E uses comedy routines to tackle discrimination faced by youth from migrant and refugee backgrounds.
Sema studies law and science at Melbourne University and had never set foot on stage before Project R.A.C.E in November last year. By March, Sema was wooing audiences, and this year she was part of ‘Who is Abdul Smith?’ in the Melbourne Fringe Festival.
In the show, Sema used her comedy to explore many misconceptions she faces by wearing the hijab. “People ask me ‘do you dye your headscarf? I mean normal people dye their hair?’ ‘Err, no, it changes with my mood…that’s why it’s RED!’
Project R.A.C.E emerged last year after a youth forum on discrimination held by CMY discovered that multicultural youth were looking for innovative ways to deal with stereotypes and misconceptions they were facing. It was a simple idea: grab a bunch of young people who have never performed comedy before, train them up with real stand-up comedians and send them off to perform to packed audiences.
After the initial Project RACE performance earlier this year, the participants have found their performances in demand everywhere from schools to the police. Four of the participants were part of ‘Who is Abdul Smith?’ in this year’s Fringe Festival, and this was seen by more then 1,200 people over 7 shows.
For some people the idea of having the frustration of being misunderstood or judged dealt with in a non-threatening and effective way is reassuring. Many people don’t listen to serious and hard-hitting speeches and forums that shun racism but may listen to a comedian who will give funny examples that show how racism is quite narrow and ignorant.
The feedback from participants was that the whole experience gave them that much-needed confidence to get up and explore issues that are important to them. For the audience it gave them an opportunity to develop insight into the comedians’ lives and challenges while having a good time as well.
Now in its second phase, Project R.A.C.E is recruiting new members to band together to produce a series of performances for 2009’s National Youth Week and Melbourne International Comedy Festival. For more details on how to get involved email
mel-leissy@cmy.net.au
P.S. Project R.A.C.E stands for Religious and Cultural Equality!
