full look. Christopher Esber
opposite
full look. SHUSHU/TONG
Heartbreak High, the progressively provocative Netflix spin-off of the 90’s Aussie TV drama of the same name, has swiftly gained global success since its September ’22 debut. The storyline trails the lives of teenagers amid the discovery of a secret map that charts the sexual exploits of the school’s students. In what feels like a cheeky punishment for promiscuity, the teens are forced to attend Sexual Literacy Training; a course packed with so many sexual colloquialisms, one might easily feel sexually illiterate, or erotically remedial.
Among the show’s fan favourites is Sasha—portrayed by Gemma Chua-Tran—the pink-haired, sustainable fashion-loving, sassy attitude-toting, cool girl of her clique. As bright as she shines in the role of Sasha, Gemma’s real-life disposition is so radiant, it’s bewitching. The self-professed night owl gets hilariously candid with Schön! as she recounts memories of awkward sex talks with conservative parents, the resurgence of 90’s fashion in her wardrobe, astrological attractions and aversions, and so much more.
Word on the street is that you’re a night owl, and that’s why we’re talking at 3 am Melbourne time right now. What have you been up to within the last five hours?
I listened to two podcasts. I’ve been really into Binchtopia recently. I don’t know if you know who they are, but they’re two girlies and they’re just chatting… What did I do? I changed my sheets. Then I tried to soak some of my whites just because they are a little bit stained. And then I’m going to Sydney tomorrow, so I was just listening to my podcasts and outfit planning.
Oh, I love outfit planning ahead of time to save time. What sign are you?
Capricorn—what are you?
I’m a Libra. I was totally getting Virgo vibes from your detail-orientedness.
I’m almost offended that you thought I was a Virgo! [Laughter].
No, don’t be offended! People typically think that I’m a Virgo because I’m detail-oriented. But I’m glad I’m not a Virgo. [Laughter].
I’m a Gemini moon and a Capricorn rising. I have like five different placements in Capricorn. So, apparently, I’m super repressed and business-minded, but I don’t know what we’re chilling with.
I love how you know that those are the typical traits of Capricorn—business oriented, but they’re repressed, too, because they’re so focused on getting the job done. But, my motto is, “If you have a business or project at hand that needs to be handled, get a Capricorn on your team.”
I get shit done!
sweater. Caroline Reznik
dress. Dion Lee
Gemma, the gem. Let’s backtrack into outfit planning. Fans are obsessed with your wardrobe style on Heartbreak High. In one episode, you did this long slinky spaghetti strapped number that gave so much life to the girls! In real life, day-to-day, are you a fashion girl?
See, I want to be a fashion girl so bad. I wouldn’t be one of the fashion girlies. I always feel like I had this idea that I wasn’t allowed to shop fast fashion, and I wasn’t allowed to buy new clothes. I had that mindset instilled in me for so long. But now that I’m lucky enough to have the funds to go and be able to buy designer fashion and ethically made fashion, it still is so expensive so I just don’t really buy clothes. I take a lot of clothes from my housemate and my grandparent’s house. When my Aunties moved from home, they left all of their clothes there. Whenever I go back, I ransack their house. One of the aunties left in the late 90s, so she has all of her teenage clothes from the 80s and 90s. Then the other one left in the early 2000s. So I just have a bunch of clothes from the early 2000s and the late ’90s [that] I just pick and choose [from]. I don’t buy my own clothes! [Laughter].
I love how you have a treasure trove of vintage attire. You said you had it instilled in you not to buy new clothes—who instilled that in you?
I think in high school, I really tried to be politically correct, super left-wing, sustainable, et cetera, and I just forced myself, I guess. But honestly, anyone can do whatever they want to do. I mean, there is the whole thing: there’s no ethical consumption under capitalism, but just be mindful, I think is the thing. So now I’m just picky when I choose my clothes.
That’s that Capricorn determinism. Nobody had to tell you to do it. You told yourself, “No, this is what I am doing.” Back to fashion and Capricorn decisiveness. The character that you’re portraying in Heartbreak High—Sasha—she’s interesting. She’s intriguing because she portrays this confidence and straightforwardness that midway through the first season, we get to see that it may not be anchored in actual self-assurance, but it could be frustration that she hasn’t managed. I say that because of the bathroom scene where Quinnie walked in on Sasha and her ex-girlfriend/best friend taking drugs. And Sasha tells her, “You don’t want to do this,” with a tone that said, “Quinnie, you’re too good for this.” That made me think Sasha doesn’t think as much of herself, as she projects. How do you identify with such a complex figure as Sasha?
Honestly, when I was playing Sasha — she was someone who always wants to be on the right side of history. She always has to be correct about everything and make sure that she has the moral high ground above everyone else. Once she knows that Quinnie is neurodivergent, she’s taking it now upon herself to say, “Okay, I’m going to take care of you, I’m going to mother you, and I don’t see you as an equal.” I think a lot of neurodivergent people experience this in their own relationships because they end up becoming infantilized by their peers and potential love interests. When I first read the script I was like, “Oh, she’s a bitch,” we hate Sasha.
But obviously, [by] finding empathy for the character, you get so many more nuances within the role. I had to rethink and remember, she’s 16—she’s just a kid. She’s in high school, she’s trying to learn, trying to get by. I don’t think at 16 you’re going to know all of these nuanced ways of navigating relationships, especially with something you’re not familiar with. In this case, it’s neurodivergence. She just didn’t know any better. That was harmful. I think it really was coming from a place of love. When she was like, “Don’t do it!” …And she would take it upon herself if Quinnie had a bad reaction to the drugs. And although that’s her girlfriend, she still protects her like a mommy figure. But in a relationship, that’s not how it works, and the other person can make their own decisions.
full look. Christopher Esber
opposite
full look. SHUSHU/TONG
And that’s what Quinine expressed, in full transparency. One thing I’ll tell you that I really appreciate within the show is the level of straightforward, transparent communication among the high schoolers. It’s especially inspiring for all people navigating through difficult situations in life. On a personal level in portraying Sasha, are there any things about yourself that you relate to or have realized?
I mean, I think to an extent I was Sasha in high school. It’s given me a bit of time, I guess, to reflect on my standoffishness and set opinions on things. Because, again, I really wanted to be seen as a good person and someone who was advocating for marginalized peoples and helping the environment, et cetera; but either not doing it on a personal level, or not putting in the research, and having the empathy I should have had. In that same vein, I have to forgive myself, because again, I was a kid. I don’t think that Sasha or myself when I was younger was a bad person. I think everyone’s on a learning curve. I think, definitely with the response of the audience to Sasha’s ableism in particular, people are so quick to hate people and box someone as a bad person, which I think is really funny because that is exactly what Sasha would have done. Again, yes, she’s done bad things. I also don’t think, at her heart and her core, she means ill-intent. I don’t think she’s a bad person. I feel like if she was given time to redeem herself for her mistakes, there is some leeway. I think that’s an interesting one that maybe we’ll explore in season two, but I have no idea what’s going on.
You just mentioned Sasha redeeming herself. With the idea of redemption for her—paired with the viewers’ judgemental reaction to her—how would Sasha feel occupying a place in cancel culture? What is your view on cancel culture, given the level of empathy that I get from you?
I think in Sasha’s eyes, because she’s 16, she’s just in high school; she’s part of all of these social justice groups, et cetera. I think she is really quick to counsel someone, especially in this situation where Harper and Amerie had the falling out. She was immediately like, “You need to work on yourself, I cannot be associated with you, I’m not helping you whatsoever, and you can go sort yourself out.” In her mind, she has cancelled Amerie… Only until later on in the series, she’s like, “Okay, you’ve redeemed yourself.”
I can’t wait to see how the plot unfolds—I have three more episodes. Harper definitely needs to redeem herself—not a good friend. I was giving her the benefit of the doubt, because she’s been through stuff, but…
I have been on Twitter and I really love the responses. It’s so interesting because I never thought that audiences would hate Harper this much! In the finale, there is a little, little wrap-up. You would think that people would have more empathy, but I don’t know. I obviously had my own predictions for what people would think and what people would say when the show came out. Some of them definitely lived up to my expectations, but a lot of them did not. My character does something really fucked-up in the next episode.
I’m rooting for Sasha. Sasha and Darren are my favourites for their directness—no guessing games with what they’re feeling. The character Darren very proudly stated that he’s an Aquarius.
I love Aquarians! Aren’t they the rarest sign, right?
I don’t know if they’re the rarest sign—I gotta look that up on Google. What day is your birthday?
30th of December.
You made it just before the New Year!
Yeah, on a really awkward day where I get the Christmas present and the birthday present in one.
That’s how those birthdays work in that season. Now, onto the juicy bits: the show centers around the ‘Sexual Literacy Tutorial’ course that everyone gets stuck taking. For me, watching the show, the show itself was a sexual literacy tutorial because so many terms were used, I didn’t even know what they meant. I was thinking, “Are these Aussie terms, or are these really terms that kids out here are using?” Were you aware of all of these terms before the series?
No! I had to ask everyone, “What does this mean, please?” I feel like you can gauge what they mean just with the five. But again, I still don’t really know.
So was this show, in a way, a sexual literacy tutorial for you, too?
I mean, I guess. Just in terms of the language being used on the map, I think just navigating my own sexual experiences and all that I have, this is something that I am aware of. Maybe not so much when I was in high school, but I’m so glad that young people are going to be able to watch this and be able to look up to a television series that normalizes consent and normalizes sending nudes in a healthy manner, et cetera. I mean, don’t do it if you’re a minor because that’s actually illegal.
Speaking of being underage — this is a show about high school students, so they are all minors, with much of the storyline centring around sex. As art is likely depicting life, do you feel like this is being handled with the care that it needs for such an impressionable age group that is not fully formed, intellectually or psychologically?
Personally, I think Heartbreak High depicted the sex scenes really, really well. I think that the whole episode of consent, and then also having that really gorgeous scene with Amerie and Malikai, was handled really beautifully. I think it was one of the nicest, and not in an ‘intense aggressive sex, I’m scared watching the TV now’ way. I mean, it was obviously a little bit weird watching them have simulated sex, just because I know them. But setting that aside, I think if teenagers were to watch this and have this as an idea of what healthy sex is going to be like, I think they set the grounds really well. I don’t think that the threesome scene was — I mean… Obviously, there were issues with the threesome that ended up happening. But we didn’t have the full nudity, and it was never aggressive. It was always caring and making sure the other person was okay and taken care of. When you’re a teenager and if you are having sex, you’re figuring things out, you’re not going to know what you’re doing. I think that Heartbreak High handles that quite beautifully.
dress. Speed
necklace + earrings. Christopher Esber
opposite
full look. Dion Lee
There’s so much clarity with how everything is presented, I don’t feel like there’s any room for people to get lost. I was concerned though. I was concerned because there’s a cavalierness with sexual expression, with people having sex with each other on the show. Not just for minors, but I’m talking about anyone who’s not mature enough to move into those relationships. My concern is people thinking that sex is just a physical thing — because it’s more than that. I haven’t watched the fullness of the show. But I’ll see if it’s explored as more than that as far as emotional responses that happen within us after sex with someone you know. I’m cautious about sex being reduced to something physical because then it loses the actual—
Specialness.
The exact word that I had in mind. Could you tell me about your upbringing? Do you come from a traditional household? How does your family handle your straightforwardness and transparency with your own sexuality?
Oh, see, my parents are ethnic so we don’t talk about that. It’s a shame-based culture. I am not looking to be shamed right now [Laughter]. There was this one time when my mom lectured me and the person I was sleeping with for two hours. She assumed that we were sleeping together and sat us both down and yelled at us for two hours! It’s not even like I was in a relationship with this person!
Oh my gosh! How did you get through that?
I was deeply, deeply embarrassed. Then I pushed it to the very back of my mind. Yeah, we don’t talk about anything like that.
Do they watch the show?
No!
But they know you’re on the show?
Yes. My whole family has never seen anything I’ve ever done, because they want me to be a doctor!
Girl, that was my next question for you. Being born to first-generation Aussie parents from China, were there any pressures, career-wise, on what you should do and be professionally?
So my dad’s from Vietnam, and my mom is Malaysian Chinese and they moved here when they were in high school, I think. My mom’s whole side of the family — two aunties and my grandparents — have done medicine. My grandfather on my mom’s side got a scholarship to study in Singapore, because he was very poor, and he was the only one who made it out to Australia—him and someone else, I think. So the idea was very much that you have to bring your family honour, and support your family, because I have the rest of my family in Malaysia, still. I guess it was that pressure to do well academically and to then pursue, most likely, either medicine or law. But that didn’t end up happening because in Year 12 — my final year of high school — I had been doing this series that was filming in another state for three years. My last season and my last year of high school clashed with the final exams. I actually never ended up getting to do my final exams so I never technically finished high school.
But here’s the thing, you can always go back and do that. You land on your feet—you’re a Capricorn! The opportunity to star in a top Netflix show is not always going to be there.
That’s exactly right. I was actually doing fine arts at University and I was working five days a week which was very, very hectic. I’m so glad that Heartbreak High came along because doing the nine ‘til nine was a lot… I did enjoy studying, and I have the rest of my life to do it. But now that I have this opportunity, I’m gonna take it.
In the vein of opportunities, what opportunities are you hoping to create for yourself in 2023?
Oh, my goodness! Honestly, I haven’t even really thought about it. I’m just super happy that I get to do season two. And if things come from that, then I’m super excited about that, too. I move around a lot—I moved states a couple of months ago—and so right now I’m just really settling in, and finding the places that I really enjoy going to and the cafes where I can hang out with the barista. That’s what I kind of just want to do.
Isn’t that so great?!
I’m just happy to do that. If something comes up, I’ll take it, of course.
You truly are a gem amongst souls. I’m loving this chat, but I don’t want to keep you up all hours of the night.
This timing is perfect. I’m sleeping at 6 am, anyways. I just have a really bad sleep schedule. My partner is actually in Norway right now so the time differences are really bad. I’ve only been able to message them at night or in the morning.
Any Valentine’s Day plans?
I’m actually meeting with my agents and then I’m doing a Zoom dinner/breakfast call. And that’s all I have. Then, my partner comes back on the 18th so I think we’re going to do a belated getaway to the Dandenong Ranges which is not that far. It’s in Melbourne, but because neither of us can drive, we can only find places that are within public transport accessibility. We’re taking a train out, and spending a night or two, maybe go for a hike.
I don’t have a driver’s license either.
I guess you don’t need one in New York.
So you’ve been to New York, I take it?
I’ve been once when I was really little. I really didn’t appreciate it as much as I should’ve, because I was so young. But I remember I watched Cinderella on Broadway and was like, “I’m going to move here one day!” New York is the place to be! My whole plan is that I want to go to New York by the end of the year.
So that’s part of the 2023 manifestation. Okay, so when you come, can we have coffee together in a cozy cafe and chat with the barista?
I would love that. We’ll pencil that in for September!
Wow, this chat was such a lovely way to start my day!
And a lovely way to end my night! [Laughter]
full look. Dion Lee
Heartbreak High is streaming now on Netflix.
photography. Myles Pedlar
fashion + creative direction. Yuzhen Wang
talent. Gemma Chua-Tran
hair + make up. Nisal Atapattu
set design. AJ Coronel
interview. Constance Victory
