April 2014
Presented by the Present Tense Ensemble & Castlemaine State Festival
at the Old Castlemaine Gaol
Directors Bryce Ives & Nathan Gilkes
Designer Tammy Marshall
Lighting Designer Nicola Andrews
Photography Pia Johnson
Devised by Anna Boulic, Bryce Ives, Nate Gilkes and the Present Tense Ensemble.
About Catacombes
What is Chants Des Catacombes?
Poignant and eerie, Chants des Catacombes is an immersive and multi-sensory promenade theatre experience created by the Present Tense ensemble and popular Melbourne drum/violin duo The Twoks.
Site-specific, it mixes music, dance, song, dialogue, scent, light and space, to weave together dark and mystical story of fact and mythology, underscored by popular contemporary and classical music. Lyrics are like bent fairytales, whispered, commanded, serenaded, shouted. Contemporary songs by artists such as Portishead, Nirvana and Laura Marling are adapted and given enchanting or horrific twists, transformed into the unique and the timeless.
Our aim is to tap into the senses: smell, sight, sound and memory. The stories of our three murdered women plays out in small spaces, large spaces, on harps and violins, through Hip Hop and Opera. Peculiar, surprising and enjoyable.
Critical response to Catacombes
“The highlight of the festival is Chants des Catacombes. We arrive at the gaol at 11pm. Lit by small candles, we walk the flickering perimeter and are led into a dark space. Out of smoke, three screaming prisoners appear. Above and under us, the women are close enough to touch (and we do). They merge their foreheads to ours, pleading. They crawl through our legs, begging. Their voices soar through the corridors and down the narrow stairs as we follow them: a French showgirl in a salon (we loll on her bed as she plays the harp); a courtesan dancing for the general; a surgeon (under pretence: a woman pretending to be a man). And just as I’m thinking, “why do female characters have to be so passive?” the work takes up this question directly, speaks of Desdemona and Othello, shifts a gear to take up the fight. The entire performance is told through contemporary song and dance, and undergoes a Baz treatment, morphing from the gender-bending Blur’s “Girls & Boys” to Nirvana to Portishead to Bowie’s “Let’s Dance” and even Kelis’ “Milkshake” for comic effect.
The three central performers Anna Boulic, Laura Burzacott and Zoe McDonald are murder victims trapped in the underworld and they raise hell with their voices. The choreography and lighting—as the musicians and actors lead you through the space—entrap and confront you with your own fears of madness and confinement. The audience is jittery. They hold back and are compliant. But the performers stay intimate and in-your-face, restless with violence and payback. It’s a performance I longed to see endlessly on repeat—in a space I couldn’t wait to be released from.” Real Time Arts Review
“Atmospherically rich and acoustically beautiful, the venue is a perfect setting for this evocative musical exploration of lustmord, in which the restless spirits of three murdered women tell their tragic stories.... Performances are powerful, and are further enriched by a strong visual aesthetic and exquiste lighting. The production’s weak link is its lack of narrative clarity, though this is almost made up for by the rich aesthetic, which lingers in the mind long after the last shrieks have echoed and died in the gaol’s echoing halls." Richard Watts
Swan Hill's In Full Voice 2023: The Community Choir Extravaganza for Everyone, No Singing Skills Required!
Swan Hill, Victoria - Get ready to raise your voices, Swan Hill! The Fairfax Youth Festival is back with a sensational community event that promises to be even more magical than before. In Full Voice is here, and it's calling all residents of Swan Hill and the Sunraysia Mallee to join in a mass choir experience like no other. And the best part? No singing skills are required!
In Full Voice is not your typical choir event; it's a grand celebration of democratic music and everyone having a go. Led by Helpmann Award-winning composer and music director Nate Gilkes, alongside Emma Kelly (Swan Hill local and Fairfax Youth Associate) and Fairfax Youth Festival Artistic Director Bryce Ives, this event is set to ignite your passion for music and camaraderie.
"Pub Choirs have become renowned worldwide for transforming an assembly of strangers into a harmonious choir. Because this is being presented by a youth festival - this is our pub choir (but with no beer please!) So, pack your swag, ute or caravan, call your mates, and come to Swan Hill on Wednesday evening, October 4," said Fairfax Youth Associate Emma Kelly.
"We do it all in two hours. We teach you the song, we practice, and then we record it. IOn the night of In Full Voice, you'll spend an hour learning a special mashup of iconic songs, including "Throw Your Arms Around Me" by the Hunters and Collectors, "Under Pressure" by Queen and David Bowie, and "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" by U2. Then, you'll spend another hour recording it for the film clip. It's a whirlwind evening of music, camaraderie, and pride.”
In Full Voice welcomes participants of all ages, backgrounds, and skill levels, whether you're an experienced performer or new to singing in public. This inclusive and intergenerational choir extravaganza is all about unity and togetherness.
"This is an event open to everyone - it's not just for young people. We want from 5 years old to 95. We want farmers, footy players, accountants, taxi drivers, teachers, nurses, students, Mums, Dads, Aunties," said Fairfax Youth Festival Artistic Director Bryce Ives.
"When we first did this in 2018, it was phenomenal. This is going to be a great free event at the Swan Hill Town Hall, and we're all really looking forward to welcoming people from far and wide and coming together to sing."
Don't miss this incredible opportunity to be a part of something unforgettable. Mark your calendar for October 4th, and join us at the Swan Hill Town Hall. You don't need to be a singer; you just need to show up, have fun, and experience the magic of collective creativity.
Book and lyrics by Doug MacLeod
Music by Yuri Worontschak
Adapted from the book I Sang for my supper by Margaret Fulton
Presented by The Present Tense Ensemble and Theatre Works
November 2012 Season as part of the Selected Works program
Directed & Musically Directed by Nathan Gilkes & Bryce Ives
Set Design Andrew Bellchambers
Lighting Design Scott Allan
Sound Design Marcello LoRicco
Directors Notes:
For members of the Present Tense ensemble (mostly born in the eighties) it staggers us to think at some point not so far in our recent past, Eggplants and Olives were strange foreign items not to be found in Australian kitchens or supermarkets. It may seem cliche to say, but we have come a long way.
Australia is certainly not a perfect nation, not even close, and the recent misogyny in our Parliament reminds us that there will always be new challenges to overcome, particularly for women.
Tonight we passionately say despite all of this, we have indeed done a lot of growing up. The Australia of Margaret Fulton’s youth is a distant memory, and in its place sits a vibrant multicultural country, that eats exceptionally well. Food is crucial to the development of modern Australia, and Margaret Fulton is central to all of this.
We love that this is the story of a strong Australian woman. Margaret Fulton is more then just an icon, she has lived her life to the fullest and always been authentic and true. She was not an invented brand. Her brand was authentic, honest and reflected her integrity.
We’ve taken a huge risk in developing Margaret Fulton: Queen of the Dessert. As a group of artists we have chosen to allow the work to organically develop and grow. This is a constant work in development and we’ve actively decided to stage this season on the smell of an oily rag, away from the pressure of commercial investors, giving us the chance to breathe, to grow and develop with an audience. You are crucial to this vision.
The goodwill shown towards this work is testament to our belief that communities want more local and creative musical theatre work. Over one hundred individuals donated to our Pozible campaign. Theatre Works and the City of Port Phillip gave us the assistance to get this idea off the ground and realise this season. Many, many, many individuals have sent us tea towels and cookbooks. We are thankful for all the love, good will and support that has been offered.
I must thank the Present Tense ensemble, our guest artists and production team. I’d also like to thank the kitchen cabinet: Doug MacLeod, Yuri Worontschak, Nathan Gilkes and Sean Bryan, for their tireless work in developing this show. Doug and Yuri have been working on this idea for quite a few years, their passion and dedication is infectious and I hope we have served them well.
Finally, we do this for Margaret Fulton. Her support, input and encouragement has been invaluable. If this work achieves nothing else, we hope it lets Margaret know, on behalf of us, that Australia loves her very much.
Critical Response
"This Theatre Works production was one of the most life-affirming and delightful shows I saw all year; for charm and freshness itbeat major touring productions such as Annie hands down. The only times I wasn't smiling in this fresh new Australian musical about the life of national living treasure Margaret Fulton was when I was wiping away tears, during its deft transitions from comedy to pathos. If it has a return season, kill to get a ticket."
Richard Watts, 3RRR
"On the strength of this production, stage and music directors Bryce Ives and Nathan Gilkes are marginal no longer. A rare and delightful theatrical savvy operates at almost every level of this production, from the hyperactive backing singers through to the lighting operator. The show is on from the moment the audience enters the space, and the energy doesn't flag in 90-plus minutes and more than a dozen songs. That savvy isn't the only thing holding the show together, of course - MacLeod's words and Yuri Worontschak's varied and likable music have a terrific stand-alone appeal - but the integration of design, stage action and choreography enhances MacLeod and Worontschak's creation and shows it to its very best advantage."
Chris Boyd, The Australian
"A joyous celebration of the life of a great Australian, and the country that grew up with her, Margaret Fulton Queen of the Dessert is ninety minutes of delectable enjoyment, as lightly whipped and deliciously sweet as any of the pavlovas on display. With a hard working supporting cast of four playing a range of colourful characters around Fulton, Directors Bryce Ives and Nathan Gilkes have achieved a zany, almost improvised feel. The action takes hold in the opening minutes and never lets up, leaving the audience smiling even during the more sentimental moments."
Simon Parris, Theatre People
June 2014
Ballarat Arts Academy, School of Education and Arts, 2014 Graduating Acting Company, Federation University Australia
Directors Bryce Ives
Designer Adam 'Gus' Powers
Photography Jodie Hutchinson
Directors Notes
When asked 'what was the importance of the French Revolution' Mao Tse Tung supposedly replied: it’s too early to tell.
Three months after the intense bloodshed of December 1989, Caryl Churchill travelled to Bucharest. With a group of her graduating actors she set out to investigate what had happened. Mad Forest opened in July 1990, less than seven months after Ceausescu had been executed.
In other words: if the importance of the French Revolution is still too early to tell, MadForest provides no clear answers about the Romanian Revolution. Instead it's an immediate mosaic, a British perspective “from Romania” and a poignant reminder that history is not always knowable.
We investigate and try to know what it would be like to live under a totalitarian dictatorship, repressed and confronting constant censorship and cultural stagnation.
The actors involved in tonight’s performance should be commended for their intense and thorough examining of themselves, their individual and shared values, and their dedication to sitting within the unknown of this process. I believe the quality of their work will demonstrate the lengths they have gone in realising this investigation.
As our present audience you must deal with (in no particular order) a work of art by Caryl Churchill, an investigation by the ensemble of actors, a documentary piece of Verbatim Theatre, the real and accurate, the imagined and the other.
A note on the events surrounding this play
“the most extraordinary end, through the most extraordinary revolution, of the most extraordinary dictatorship in all of Eastern Europe.”
Bob Wylie and George Galloway
Unlike other Eastern European transformations where administrations in the main peacefully conceded the overwhelming demand for change, Romania was the site of bloody revolution with mass demonstrations, the shooting of protesters, and the taking up of arms by civilians against a resistant state, hence the importance of the second part of the play, which forms its structural centre.
Unlike other regimes, which responded to the escalating demands for change and would not risk the unpredictable outcome of mass uprisings, Ceauşescu clung firmly to power, condemned the actions of other Eastern European states, and in so doing, precipitated the uprising.
So what happened? The historian, Martyn Rady, claims:
“The rapidity with which the new government of the National Salvation Front was formed, strongly suggests that close discussions between members of the party ‘old guard,’ the army and the Securitate may already have been underway by the time of Ceauşescu’s flight.”
Confusion and debate continue.
Bryce Ives
June 2014
April 2013
Ballarat Arts Academy, School of Education and Arts, 2013 Graduating Music Theatre Company
Directors Bryce Ives & Nathan Gilkes
Music Directors Bryce Ives & Nathan Gilkes
Designer Rob Sowinski
Costume Designer Martelle Hunt
Photography Jodie Hutchinson
ABOUT PARADE
“You could tell that Frank is a lascivious pervert, guilty of the crime by a study of his picture: look at those bulging, satyr eyes, the protruding sensual lips; and also the animal jaw.”
Tom Watson, Publisher of The Jeffersonian
“... if the Prison Commission or the Governor undertake to undo – in whole or in part – what has legally been done by the courts that were established for that purpose, there will inevitably be the bloodiest riot ever known in the history of the South.”
The Jeffersonian, May 27, 1914
“The North can rail itself hoarse, if it chooses to do so, but if it doesn’t quit meddling with our business and getting commutations for assassins and rapists who have pull, another Ku Klux Klan may be organized to restore HOME RULE.”
The Jeffersonian, September 2, 1915
One hundred years ago the real life events of Parade unfurled in Atlanta Georgia.
In the aftermath of the American Civil War Atlanta was a bitter, divided and embarrassed city. The murder of teenage factory worker Mary Phagan and subsequent trial of Brooklyn-born factory manager Leo Frank would ignite a series of events leading to Frank’s conviction, pardoning and lynching. Fracture lines of race, religion and class would paint a much bigger picture of the United States of America. A struggle between North and South, black and white, Jewish and Christian, industrial and agrarian.
The lynching of Leo Frank sparked a darker repercussion: the emergence of the modern day Ku Klux Klan, formed in Mary Phagan’s honor.
“Art is the lie that tells the truth."
Pablo Picasso
We collaborate with the graduating music theatre students to deconstruct and develop a new, fluid and captivating imagining of the depicted real life events of 1913 Atlanta.
The musical Parade is not just a truth retold and not just a cautionary tale. It is an investigation of a collision point between old and new worlds. Each world fueled by ideals, politics, and opinions; and each fiercely fighting for survival. This work asks immediate and dangerous questions of the audience and provides the perfect backdrop to consider the America of today.
As contemporary theatre makers we must deal with the issue of race and identity. There are no African students within the school, but we are also not in the South of America and it’s not 1913. We have decided to clearly and boldly indicate that this is theatre, and have employed ensemble based theatre making techniques to tell this story in an authentic way, without trying to “present” color, race, background, gender or age.
Fox News announcer Bill O’Reilly emphatically exclaimed "The white establishment is now the minority.... it's not a traditional America anymore" on the re-election of President Obama. We hope this production questions the complexities and ambiguities of what is tradition, and what is America.
Nathan Gilkes & Bryce Ives
Directors - Parade
REVIEW
A Taste of Innovative Musical Theatre
by Amy Tsilemanis, Voice FM
In the last week I have been to see two Bryce Ives directed shows: Chants de Catacombes, staged in the old Castlemaine Gaol (amazing!) and Parade, presented by the University ofBallarat Arts Academy graduating students in the Helen Macpherson Smith Theatre. Ives has surely had some pretty intense theatremaking months working on these concurrently, and that intensity is maintained to brilliant degrees in both performances.
I don’t think I will attempt a comparative study of the two works here (interesting as that might be) but rather speak from my very limited experience of musical theatre. These are not traditional musicals by any means – the term ‘anti-musical’ was even dropped in the foyer of Parade - but I was deeply fascinated by the use of song as a storytelling tool. Usually said tool is enough to drive me mad but with these talented musicians and performers at the helm, I was utterly drawn in and thankfully, not wanting to run for the hills.
In this age, where entertainment is so readily at hand and the culture of watching a television series from start to end on dvd from your couch is the norm, a night out at the theatre is a special experience. Experiencing the opening night of Parade last night I was reminded of the immense power of narrative and character (and song!). While in my own theatremaking I often play with these concepts, I found myself drawn into the drama, on the edge of my seat, and combined with innovative staging, a simultaneously freewheeling yet choreographed sense evoked in the open and tiered playing space, and a powerful ensemble cast, it certainly was like nothing I had experienced before!
It saw the talented third year Arts Academy performers present a penetrating, colourful, and deeply ambiguous ‘epic’ reimagining of a true story of murder and corruption in America’s deep south. Intimacy and a sense of anticipation was created from the outset with performers welcoming audience into the theatre in character, placing us firmly in the world of the show, and also within the ambiguity that comes from ‘niceness’ that can quickly become menacing in the context of small towns caught up in prejudice and power play. The producers of the show suggest that the happenings depicted in Parade, based around a national commemorative holiday in the early 20th century, still hold resonance in examining the America (and world) of today.
Passionately performed music led by Nathan Gilkes and bold experiments with the body (often referencing popular culture) maintained a rolling rhythm, almost a heartbeat, throughout the production. Confident performances and a strong sense of the ensemble created a constantly shifting theatrical feast, whilst the weight of the subject matter loomed.
Building to an unexpected and riveting ending, the Howard Barker poem in the program said to inform the work seems fitting: “The audience is divided and goes home disturbed or amazed” capturing the concepts of division and ambiguity so central to the piece.
September 2012
Monash Academy of Performing Arts
Director Bryce Ives
Music Directors Adrian Portell
Choreograher Zoe McDonald
Designer Rob Sowinski
Costume Designer Eugyenne Teh
Photography Jodie Hutchinson
Directors Notes
This is a story dominated by men, requiring a particularly old-fashioned square jawed classical masculinity.
In stories like Forbidden Planet the female is a helpless damsel in distress, physically attractive and provocatively dressed, but mostly dumb and in need of “saving” by the male hero. It’s no accident that we open tonight with the misogynistic classic It’s a Man’s World. In 1956, it really was.
At the Globe Theatre a boy actor would simply adorn a costume and transform into Lady MacBeth, Desdemona or Beatrice. It was an understood and accepted convention.
It was also illegal for women to be actors, a consequence of the patriarchal sex-gender system that dominated for so long and penetrates its way into this Forbidden Planet story.
If I were a woman
I would kiss as many of you as had beards that pleased
me, complexions that liked me and breaths that I
defied not: and, I am sure, as many as have good
beards or good faces or sweet breaths will, for my
kind offer, when I make curtsy, bid me farewell.
ROSALIND, As you like it
These words were once uttered by a boy, dressed as Rosalind. Of the thirty-eight surviving plays attributed to Shakespeare, about one-fifth involve cross dressing. At any moment the boy playing the girl can unmask the convention and remind us it’s only performance.
When we decided to cast only women, the complexities of gender and modern performance challenged us. Are they women playing men? Have the characters changed gender? Or are they transgender? Drag kings?
Theatre doesn’t have to be concrete and absolute. It can be contradictory and full of possibilities. Tonight we ask you to imagine everything and nothing. Gender is ambiguous: our women are men and women, masculine and feminine.
With our troupe of women (and a token male for good measure), we can inevitably ask larger questions on artifice, illusion, performance, genre and narrative.
We started in an empty room. A collaborative theatre making process followed, demanding a very active approach to the making of this work. The cast trained in Viewpoints and Composition training, and have gone above and beyond in their journey of questioning, shattering and building the work of tonight.
The epilogue of A Midsummer Night’s Dream will end our space journey this evening, and act as a timely reminder to us all. We mean no offense. If this story seems whimsical or silly, think of it as a manifestation of your own subconscious, nothing more and nothing less.
Synopsis
O for a muse of fire, that would ascend the brightest heaven of invention,
A galaxy for a stage, spacemen to act
And a robot to behold the swelling scene!
On a stormy night way back in the spring of 2012, mad scientist Doctor Prospero worked late in his laboratory, aided only by his wife, Gloria, as he developed the elusive formula with which he would change the world. The apparently faithful Gloria, however, duped him and sent him off into hyper-space in an old spacecraft. Unknown to Gloria, her infant daughter, Miranda, slumbered peacefully in the craft and was now catapulted light years into the future in her father's company.
Fifteen years later, a routine survey flight under the command of the chisel-jawed Captain Tempest leaves earth's orbit with a new Science Officer aboard - a hard and bitter woman. As a shower of meteorites hits the ship, the Science Officer flees, and the craft is pulled inexorably towards the plant D'Illyria - the Forbidden Plant.
Behold!
All the world is outer space, and all the men, merely women.
Review
Return to the Forbidden Planet is a synthesis of Star Trek, The Rocky Horror Picture Show and Shakespeare set to the a jukebox soundtrack that’s so contagious it’s irresistibly addictive.
Based loosely upon Shakespeare’s The Tempest and cult science-fiction classic Forbidden Planet, Return to the Forbidden Planet illustrates the story of Captain Tempest’s valiant crew who become stranded on the Forbidden Planet of D’Illyria after a meteor shower. Here they meet the ‘misunderstood scientist’ Doctor Prospero and his daughter Miranda. Yes, we know the names have Shakespeare written all over it, but that’s how far it goes.
The show commences with an upbeat number as the actors prance around the stage in Mad Men-esque white underwear. With bravado, and still in their underwear, we are introduced to the characters, before they begin lift off, into Return to the Forbidden Planet.
Stella Young, Ramp Up editor and occasional Sunday column contributor, documents and summarises each act via a televised reading on the multiple screens positioned on either side of the stage.
As the musical unravels, one of the first things that becomes obvious about Return to the Forbidden Planet is how out of the ordinary it is.
Maybe it’s the combination of androgyny, the outrageous make-up provided by Eugyeene Teh, or how the audience is privy to the stage direction, band, and stage crew as they move conspicuously about in the background... mostly it’s the androgyny.
“Gender is ambiguous: our women are men and women, masculine and feminine, it matters and it doesn’t matter,” wrote director Bryce Ives in the program booklet. It was part of the MUAPA’s own homage to Shakespearean theatre, which was only performed by males.
Return to the Forbidden Planet already heralds the paradigms of Shakespearean theatre, with Cookie the Cook’s poetic sonnets, while Gloria, portrayed by triple J featured artist Jess Palmer, speaks with contemporary intelligence. It’s this juxtaposition of poetic and contemporary paradigms that elicits laughs within the play, coupled with the android Ariel.
One of the impressive qualities of Gerard Lane, who portrays the maternalistic android, is the phenomenal amount of accents he can adeptly shift between — Scottish, English, American, even mimicries of Yoda and Darth Vadar. It’s humorous, confusing and impressive.
Coupled with the backlog of experience among the cast, Michelle France has a physical theatre entitled My Pet, My Love for the upcoming La Mamma Explorations season and Zoe McDonald is part of theatre company Present Tense, MUAPA create a credible performance that illustrates love, heartbreak, dysfunctional relationships and human existentialism.
Overall Return to the Forbidden Planet is a richly humorous, feel good musical about science, love and relationships. Profoundly tragic in some scenes, the cast tribute Shakespeare, Forbidden Planet and a plethora of other things with a cadence worthy of a larger theatre.
Beat Magazine
July 2011
Presented by the Present Tense Ensemble
Directors Bryce Ives & Nathan Gilkes
Designer Sophie Woodward
Lighting Designer Nicola Andrews
Photography Pia Johnson
Created by Nicola Andrews, Anna Boulic, Laura Burzacott, Bryce Ives, Nathan Gilkes, David Harford, Emma Leah, Zoe McDonald, and Sophie Woodward
What is Chants Des Catacombes?
Poignant and eerie, Chants des Catacombes is an immersive and multi-sensory promenade theatre experience.
Site-specific, it mixes music, dance, song, dialogue, scent, light and space, to weave together dark and mystical story of fact and mythology, underscored by popular contemporary and classical music. Lyrics are like bent fairytales, whispered, commanded, serenaded, shouted. Contemporary songs by artists such as Portishead, Nirvana and Laura Marling are adapted and given enchanting or horrific twists, transformed into the unique and the timeless.
Our aim is to tap into the senses: smell, sight, sound and memory. The stories of our three murdered women plays out in small spaces, large spaces, on harps and violins, through Hip Hop and Opera. Peculiar, surprising and enjoyable.
Review of the Donkey Wheel House season of Chants Des Catacombes
Sometimes it’s great not to know too much about a show before one sees it, and tonight was one of those occasions.
I wandered down to the bowels of the beautiful Donkey Wheel House basement with no idea what to expect from Chants Des Catacombes, a new production based on an award-winning Short & Sweet Cabaret entry created by harpist/singer Anna Boulic and director Bryce Ives. The only detail I was sure of was that the show was to be presented as ‘Promenade Theatre’, where we, the audience, would move to follow the action and performers.
The atmosphere before the show was electric in the small room allocated for the bar. Partly this was because everyone in the room was lucky to have a ticket for this sold out season, but anticipation was also heightened by the fact that as you walked to this waiting area, you walked through the darkened set, down a hallway lined with handsome men in costume. Like beautiful statues looming out of the shadows, they silently blocked the entrances into the many rooms that waited to be discovered.
Director Bryce Ives introduced the show and gave a few instructions, including one which gifted us with the authority to move around each space to find our own prime positions.
As we were led into the darkness, our senses were heightened by the intriguing smells created by scent alchemist, Emma Leah, one of the production's many collaborators. Next we were greeted by three haunting voices, Anna Boulic, Laura Burzacott, and Zoe McDonald, who created a blend of celestial sound whilst moving dangerously close through the crowd. Immediately we were shown that was not a night for the lazy or uninspired; this was theatre for those who want shock, surprise and intrigue.
Over the next 50 minutes we were taken through the various rooms of the dusty, hauntingly lit basement. The music and singing almost never stopped; nor did the amazement. At one point we, the ‘sheep-like’ audience, were following the song of a gorgeous performer, but lost her in the maze. Traces of her voice echoed through the chamber, and rather than feeling stressed about where to move to next, the 50-strong crowd just waited patiently for the melodic guide to return and take us back under her wing. Such was the trust engendered by this production, and the willingness of the audience to go on this theatrical journey.
Each songstress had an exclusive scene to explain her story. These were sometimes hard to follow, which did not cause concern; for it seemed the story was secondary to the wonderful songs, scenes, and art being created. I especially loved the Mexican wave-like squeals of delight that carried down the shuffling crowd when they headed to the final room. It was these additional moments that added to this fabulous and inventive show.
The song choices were wonderful, the actors heavenly, and the space divine. This was a perfect piece of engaging contemporary theatre. Let’s hope they do a remount soon.
Kate Boston Smith, Arts Hub
September 2010
Victorian College of the Arts
Written by Alex Burgess and Loren DeJong
Directed By Bryce Ives
Set and Costumes By Romanie Harper
Lighting Design By Nicola Andrews
Photography by Jeff Busby
Our brand of intuitive and responsive performance training stemmed from questions around how the body exists in space and how through breath we can activate the body and bring responsiveness to the live theatre performance. Our training has been used to develop body, breath and voice across acting, musical theatre and classical singing training. Institutions such as The Federation University Ballarat, the Victorian College of the Arts and the National Theatre Drama School have welcomed this training in their programs.
Our particular brand of training originated from a desire to bring to bare exquisite, precise and responsive performance in performance practice of the Present Tense Ensemble. We have broadened their vision to now include other artists and establish the training in its own right. Beginning in 2010 with just four artists, now over 150 artists have participated in training.
Training is the cornerstone of our practice and ensemble and is the key to developing a mature, complex and responsive language within our ensemble. Our continue to be in dialogue around training and it’s importance in ongoing development and thinking.
Our intuitive and responsive training can also form the basis for creation of new work – by activating the bodies in space and the incorporation of music.