A Conversation With Co-Playwrights/Actresses Candace Leung and Dominique Roberts, “Expatriated,” The Broadwater (Second Stage), Hollywood Fringe, by James Scarborough

“Expatriated,” co-written and performed by Candace Leung and Dominique Roberts, offers an exploration of migration and the contrasting experiences of individuals based on racial and socioeconomic backgrounds. Staged at The Broadwater (Second Stage), the play captures the lives of an LA lawyer navigating life in Hong Kong and a Hong Kong lawyer adapting to a new reality in LA. Through a series of poignant and humorous vignettes, Leung and Roberts delve into the complexities of identity, privilege, and systemic bias. The narrative highlights the disparity between the terms “expat” and “immigrant,” prompting us to question societal labels and the inherent biases they carry. Both performances convey the internal struggles and external challenges faced by migrants. The staging, enhanced by Sharon Tsang’s sound design and Rachael Bellis’ lighting, creates an immersive atmosphere that draws us into the protagonists’ journeys. “Expatriated” is a timely and relevant piece that encourages reflection on the intricacies of migration and the diverse experiences of those who seek new horizons.

JS: What inspired you to write “Expatriated?” How did your personal experiences influence the narrative?

DR: I was inspired to write this show based on my own experience working as an “expat” lawyer in Hong Kong, and how that experience contrasted with the “immigrant” experience of some of my friends, classmates and family in the US and UK. All of the scenes in the play come from truthful moments in my own life, or the stories of close friends.

CL: The struggles faced by professional Asian women are so often unheard of or even simply dismissed. But those struggles are real and deserve to be heard. We seem to often face certain challenges that appear to be so daunting to me, not just a “glass ceiling” but a 20-inch-thick concrete wall which includes struggling with fewer career opportunities, more critical evaluation and assessment criteria at work, or even misunderstanding or blindness to cultural differences. I had always taken for granted that my family are immigrants. It was, to me, a matter of fact. It comes with joy, on the one hand, and baggage, on the other. “Expatriated” is a tapestry composed of so many of my own personal daily challenges.

JS: Discuss the dichotomy between the terms “expat” and “immigrant” as explored in the play.

DR: The play features two main characters: EXPAT and IMMIGRANT. Neither women are ever referred to by name, only by label. We did this to highlight how labels can be subjective, even arbitrary, yet have an outsized impact on the way we are perceived by others. Both EXPAT and IMMIGRANT are lawyers, both work in large US law firms, both have deep social ties with friends and family, both date. The only difference between the two basic plotlines is that EXPAT is white, moving to Hong Kong from the US, and IMMIGRANT is Asian, moving to the US from Hong Kong. This forces the audience to ask themselves why it's commonplace to refer to bankers, lawyers and businessmen moving to cities like Tokyo, Shanghai, Singapore and Hong Kong as “expats” but we rarely (if ever) refer to migrants in the US as expats in mainstream discourse, including news and politics. The difference in colloquial uses of these terms is not related to the types of jobs held or the distance traveled, it seems most closely tied to the race and point of origin of the migrant.

JS: How do you balance humor and realism to address such serious themes?

CL: Many funny stories are funny because they rely on the truth. So much of the humor in “Expatriated” draws from the realistic experiences we’ve had ourselves or have seen happen to others. We never wanted to hit audiences over the head with serious and dark themes. We aim instead to inspire our audience to consider their choice of words and try to be more conscientious of the impact that their words may have on another person. We want to highlight the similarities people experience even though the words we use to describe things may be different. Laughing together brings people together.

JS: What challenges did you face in portraying the contrasting experiences of migration between the two characters?

CL: Most people experience some form of racial or cultural misunderstanding at some point in their lives. Subtle racial prejudices abound and are arguably more prevalent and more pervasive than we’d like to think. And these things are especially challenging to write and portray accurately and with care. They’re everywhere because they’re subtle. They’re dangerous because they’re subtle. They go relatively unnoticed because they’re subtle. Putting a spotlight on these kinds of subtleties through subtle writing is a challenge in and of itself. We then further challenged ourselves to f portray those subtleties through only two characters, in two vastly different worlds, on a single stage.

JS: How did your background in law and acting contribute to your approach to this role and the play’s themes?

DR: Although my own personal experience as a lawyer working abroad in Hong Kong was helpful in portraying a lawyer in similar circumstances, the biggest contributions to the play came from observing the contrasting experiences of my colleagues in our Hong Kong office and also the experiences of my law school classmates. Despite all graduating from Harvard Law, my international classmates’ experiences in the recruitment market and in subsequent immigration processes varied greatly based on what passport they held and which languages they spoke. To me, this affirmed that immigration related discrimination is more closely tied to racial and ethnic backgrounds than it is to education levels.

JS: Elaborate on the significance of the post-colonial context in the play’s depiction of privilege and systemic bias?

DR: I have a master’s in history, so I love that you have asked a question relating to historical context and the lasting repercussions this has on social infrastructure and systemic bias. Hong Kong has an extremely rich history, including nearly two centuries as a British colony. This history contributed to Hong Kong’s reputation as an economic capital in Asia where business could be conducted in English and where English speakers could access new markets in the comfort of their native language and a common law legal system. This created a system of privilege where expats from the UK, US and Australia, among other western nations, could come to Hong Kong on packages with perks not offered to local hires, often paid on higher pay scales than their local colleagues, and rise to positions of authority. Decades after the handover from Great Britain, this reputation persists. This is starting to change as an increasing amount of the deal flow coming through Hong Kong is in Mandarin, so we might live to see a substantial shift in who holds privilege (in Hong Kong) during our lifetime.

JS: How do Sharon Tsang’s sound design and Rachael Bellis’ lighting design enhance the storytelling?

DR: Our set is extremely simple, and the play only features two characters, so we needed to find creative ways to create two distinct worlds using sound. Our incredible sound designer, Sharon Tsang, is from Hong Kong and so she understood the unique soundscape of Hong Kong and how to clearly differentiate this from the city sounds of LA. Even people who have never been to Hong Kong (and might not recognize the iconic crosswalk sound) will clearly be able to hear the difference and feel truly immersed in two separate, but equally engaging worlds. We also use several languages to create a unique experience for the audience of feeling included in the story but also excluded from the conversation at times. We thought this use of sound to both engage and alienate the audience was critical in order to authentically portray the experience of migration. Rachael’s lighting design helps the audience clearly understand which world the scene is taking place in. The use of different undertones subtly suggests the distinct atmospheres of each city.

JS: What message do you want audiences to take away from the play regarding migration and identity?

CL: The biggest takeaway we’re hoping audiences come away with is a genuine reflection on when and how they use the term “immigrant,” what it means to them, and what it might mean to the other person hearing it. We hope to inspire kindness when interacting with someone who might have an accent or who may have moved here recently. We hope our audience members walk away with a bit more of an opportunity to see from another’s point of view, to experience the feelings another might feel, and to imagine themselves in someone else’s shoes.

JS: How does “Expatriated” contribute to the broader conversation about race, class, and immigration in contemporary society?

DR: I think this show forces audiences to question their own biases, acknowledged or not, and reflect on why certain types of “immigrants” are the source of political division while others are seen as a welcome addition to our economy. The common answer is that this is correlated with levels of education and skill, but I do not believe that argument holds up on closer examination.

CL: “Expatriated” encourages its audiences firstly not to judge a book by its cover and, secondly, consider the effect of word choice on their relationship and experience with others of different backgrounds, whether it be “immigrant” or “expat, “model minority” or “yellow peril,” etc. Choices made in language used in addressing race, class, and immigration status in everyday life, whether or not we like it, affects the outcome of not only a single interaction you might have with a person but also potentially their relationship with their broader society and community.

JS: What future projects do you have in mind that continue to explore similar themes?

DR: My next film, supported by M&Ms and the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media, explores similar themes but focuses more specifically on gender discrimination in the workplace.

CL: I am writing projects that explore similar themes of migration, colonialism, gender, and power that take place in various different iconic periods in history.

Performances are Saturday, June 22, 5:30 PM; Sunday, June 23, 6:30 PM; Tuesday, June 25, 9:30 PM. Tickets are $18. The Broadwater (Second Stage) is located at 6320 Santa Monica Boulevard, Los Angeles, California 90038. For more information, click here.

Photos courtesy of  Liam Doyle.