In 2013 Alyson received a Community Partnerships grant from Australia Council for the Arts to undergo professional development within the community arts sector. With this grant she spent 6 weeks with Phare Ponleu Selpak (PPS), a community arts organisation that was born out of a refugee camp based in Battambang, Cambodia.

My time was split between 3 focus points:

• observing and assisting PPS’s awareness theatre troupes rehearsals for their touring play ‘Migra-safe,’ which explored safe work migration to Thailand
• observing the work of the art therapists by attending their workshops at city and rural detention centres
• facilitating 10 days of forum theatre training to students, artists, art therapists and community workers