The Outdoor Arts Ideas Summit 2016 - Outdoor Arts UK
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The
Outdoor Arts
Ideas Summit
2016The Outdoor Arts Ideas Summit 2016
is brought to you by ISAN and the Brick Box
The Independent Street Arts Network is a national membership and strategic organisation
that aims to bring together the many diverse parts of the Outdoor Arts sector. ISAN
celebrates the wonderful work, amazing talent and tremendous achievements of the
brilliant individuals, companies and organisations working in this most accessible of art
forms.
We believe that Outdoor Arts are a vital and unique part of our cultural ecology and offer the broadest
possible access to public engagement with the arts. The work challenges and entertains; it is our most inclusive
and empowering art form; it captivates communities and inspires innovation and cohesion. The Outdoor Arts
sector, joyously liberated from buildings, is key to effecting social change and opening up culture with
challenging, engaging and sometimes confrontational work. And we do really great fireworks.
We advocate for Outdoor Arts across cultural, governmental and funding arenas; we provide practical
information on good working practices and offer advice; we encourage creative and beneficial connections
between members; we visit festivals and events to hold a comprehensive knowledge of the latest national and
international Outdoor Arts work; we provide up-to-date information about professional training and
development events and offer comprehensive listings.
Executive Director: Angus MacKechnie
General Manager: Natalie Scott
The Brick Box is an arts organisation and Community Interest
Company founded by Eleanor Barrett in 2010, with the
mission to create art, love and magic for everyone. Our work
brings people together to share creative experiences and invites people to see things differently.
We are passionate about meeting new audiences, particularly people who do not ordinarily engage with the
arts. We enjoy creating powerful juxtapositions through eclectic programming, imaginative contexts and
unusual locations. We value hidden voices and seek to find creative ways to hear, honour and amplify them.
We build local pride from the ground up and ensure that we always celebrate local people and assets as well
programming national and international artists at our events.
To date, The Brick Box has provided: 30 internships, 200+ volunteer placements, 250+ people with part and full
time employment, 300+ businesses with increased profiles and profit, 4000+ artists and organisations with
paid work… and engaged with hundreds of thousands of audience members and participants
The name ‘The Brick Box’ came from a box of bricks, plasticine and broken toys that Eleanor had when she was
young. Every playtime it transformed into a different world: one day a high street, the next day the cosmos. It
is this creative alchemy that continues to inspire The Brick Box.
Director: Eleanor Barrett
Director: Rosie Freeman1
The Ideas come from…
1. Akustriks 34. Milton Lopes
2. Almost Always Muddy 35. Mimbre
3. Amelia Cavallo 36. Mischief Makers
4. Avanti 37. Mr Wilson's Second Liners
5. B arts 38. Newton’s Ladder Aerial Dance
6. The Bad Egg Theatre Company 39. Nina von der Werth & Co.
7. Bash Street Theatre 40. Northern Lines
8. Bongo Bolero 41. The Old Time Rags
9. Bridget Fiske 42. Parrabbola
10. C-12 Dance Theatre 43. Phizzical Productions
11. The Chipolatas 44. Pif-Paf Theatre
12. Circus Geeks 45. Pimp$ouls
13. CirqOn the Seam 46. Pleb Theatre
14. City Arts 47. Plunge Boom
15. Cocoloco 48. Puppets with Guts 1
16. Company Chameleon 49. Puppets with Guts 2
17. Dizzy O'Dare 50. Rag and Bone
18. Dripping Tap 51. The Ragroof Players
19. Fair Play 52. Ramshacklicious
20. Festive Road 53. Ra-Ra Zoo
21. FoolSize Theatre 54. RoguePlay Theatre
22. Frolicked 55. Run Ragged Productions
23. The Gramophones Theatre Company 56. Sadhana Dance
24. Highly Sprung 57. Scarabeus Aerial Theatre
25. Illumaphonium 58. Scribbled Thought / Light the Fuse
26. Institute for Crazy Dancing 59. Strong Lady Productions
27. Irregular Arts 60. Taking Flight Theatre
28. Justine Reeve and Company 61. Tilted Productions
29. Kapow Dance 62. TIN Arts
30. Kitsch & Sync 63. Tribe Arts
31. Maison Foo 64. Truan Jay Mathias
32. Metro-Boulot-Dodo 65. Untied Artists
33. Michele Davy 66. Uzma Kazi
67. Wet Picnic1 Akustriks Houndz of the Buskervilles Contact: Alison Houiellebecq 616 Dereham Rd Norwich NR5 8TE Area: South East akustriks@gmail.com 07586 204513 www.akustriks.com The company: Akustriks is a music and visual based company; high level musicianship with beautifully crafted images; composers and arrangers, makers and creators. The show: A processional and/or show-based project, the 'dogs' will be represented by beautifully crafted half masks depicting each character. It will be brass and rhythm based so totally independent of power. Costumes can be changed for various festival styles. Ability to expand and work as a larger group with bigger structures built specifically for an event. Also has community involvement potential. The team: Brass Monkeys Brass Group; director: Flick Ferdinando; maker: Ali McKenzie Audience: All ages Genre: Music, Processional, Street Theatre, Walkabout Seen before: Yes, as a work in progress; we played as the Houndz of the Buskervilles once year ago at Norfolk and Norwich Festival. Approx. cost/day: £2,000-10,000 (depending on size) Shows/day: 2 x procession + 30 mins audience play/concert On the road: min 5 people Medium scale (e.g. 250 - 1,000)
2 Almost Always Muddy Almost Always Muddy Contact: Hazel Anderson & Kirsty Harris 9 Orchard Road Bristol BS5 7HS Area: South West almostalwaysmuddy@gmail.com 07985 545577 handersonuk.wixsite.com/almostalwaysmuddy @ekirstyh @_LikelyStory_ The company: Kirsty Harris is an Artist, Designer and Maker. She specialises in creating site-specific, interactive installations. One of her recent works was Shhh, did you hear that?, an immersive story trail at National Trust Sutton House in Hackney for summer 2016. Hazel Anderson is a performer, clown and theatre maker. Her work is big, bold and full of heart. She performs her solo outdoor festival show Able Mable internationally. She co-founded Likely Story Theatre and is currently working on their latest show The Giant who had no heart in his Body – a show for family audiences. The show: Where do the children play? Where have all the playgrounds gone? We are exploring risk, play, risky playgrounds, dens, nests and the spaces children build to push the limits of risk taking. “New research from UBC and the Child and Family Research Institute at BC Children’s Hospital shows that risky outdoor play is not only good for children’s health but also encourages creativity, social skills and resilience.” Almost Always Muddy is an outdoor interactive, performance/story lead instillation, with touring capabilities. Kirsty is a builder and makes things and Hazel tells stories. We are working together to tell a story about the way we build play spaces, take risks, employ courage and use fear as a super power. We will begin by filling an outdoor space with pallets, boxes, fabric, bins, reclaimed junk, tires, hoses, mud, and more! Then we will invite families to play with all this “stuff” building a world in which a story can be told. Here the children are in charge! Once the set has been created we will take puppet paper bag girl on a journey through this world and the strange and wonderful characters that live in it. Planned moments of theatre magic will interweave with improvised performance, led by what the children have created. Together we will find ‘the courage’ that she quests to find. Each time the space and the story will be different as it will depend on the people who are there and their unique creative super powers. The team: Performers: Justin Cliffe, Gwen Thomson. Director/performer: Hazel Anderson; Maker/designer: Kirsty Harris Audience: Family, Festival Genre: Installation, Narrative Theatre, Processional, Immersive, Interactive workshop Seen before: Yes, as a work in progress; performed once as a sharing to an invited audience; the culmination of a two week R&D supported by Wales Lab NTW. We have two confirmed scratch performances at Battersea Arts Centre in February 2017. Approx. cost/day: £1,500 Shows/day: 1 x 1 hour 40mins On the road: 6 people Medium scale (e.g. 250 - 1,000)
3 Amelia Cavallo Sailing through the Dark Contact: Amelia Cavallo Flat 4 Serenity Apartments 75a Grosvenor Park Rd. London E17 9PD Area: London Amelia.Cavallo@gmail.com 07950 911229 www.ameliacavallo.com @Peeeelos The company: I am a blind, multidisciplinary theatre practitioner with skills in acting, music (singing, composition and multi- instrument performing), aerial circus, burlesque, devising and workshop facilitation. I have experience in a variety of settings ranging from classical and "straight acting" to pieces done in unconventional settings and requiring multiple skill sets. Recently, I have worked for Graeae Theatre Company, The Royal Exchange Manchester and The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama where I am currently a part time PhD candidate. I was also recently commissioned by Liberty Festival 2016 to make and perform Sailing through the Dark. The show: Sailing through the Dark incorporates aerial circus (silks), acrobatics, and live music with an original score written by Amelia Cavallo, storytelling and audience interaction. It takes musical inspiration from old fashioned musicals such as the film Lady in the Dark and composers such as Kurt Weill and Cole Porter. The piece currently consists of three performers, a blind woman, a menopausal woman and a short statured man. Through various "acts" each person presents a challenging, exciting or troublesome aspect of his or her experience sailing on "the ship of life," through song, movement, storytelling and of course, a bit of humour. This piece uses a 6 metre rig that is adorned with aerial ropes and silks that are not only as a piece of equipment to enable movement, but as set pieces that can quickly transform an outdoor space to a big top tent, a ship, or a street. The team: Director/choreographer and performer: Tina Carter; Musical Director/composer and performer: Amelia Cavallo; Performer: Ben Goffe; Costume Designer: Anushka Tey; Photography: Oliver Cross Audience: Sailing through the Dark is designed to be presented outdoors as a street theatre piece. As such it has a wide audience range. It is particularly great for families and children. Genre: Circus, Dance, Music, Narrative Theatre, Street Theatre Seen before: Yes, as a finished piece, once at Liberty Festival 2016 Approx. cost/day: Between £1,000-1,500 depending on location and amount of performers. Shows/day: 2-3 x 30-40 mins On the road: 3 people Medium scale (e.g. 250 - 1,000)
4 Avanti Full Circle Contact: Bill Palmer Hill House Burnley BB12 7QW Area: North office@avantidisplay.co.uk 07946 601017 www.avantidisplay.co.uk @Billavanti The company: Avanti produce a particular brand of comic surrealism. We work at all scales from epic to miniature. Our work celebrates imagination and fun. Reliquary: an intricate and beautiful casket is paraded through the street. There is a clanking percussive sound track and two attendants, serious and deadpan, who choose six lucky passers-by to wear headphones and peep inside. There they hear a poem, a song and an argument followed by a genuinely baffling animatronic transformation as an egg hatches before their eyes. When the six look back the surrounding audience welcomes them. Reliquary was part of a two-year collaboration between Avanti and Artizani. The show: Full Circle: starting from a bare and unfocused space with few clues as to where the performance will be, we will use some old and some new strategies to produce a circle. The performers will create the stage, in which the performance will happen. There will be no text. There will be some sound but no amplification. The show will require no additional production; the performers will carry all the materials needed for the piece into the space. A variety of scenes will be performed to intrigue the audience; each more surprising than the last, status and character will be established, a narrative may or may not emerge. In each scene the audience will be drawn into the evolving performance. They are asked to understand and help. They become more than a group of strangers. There will be no front or back to the performance we will use the Full Circle connecting the back row to the front row and the sides with the middle. Perhaps even turning it inside out wrong way round. Full Circle is also a reference to Avanti re-visiting where we began, creating a circle show. The format, where the performers operate in the real world of the street, acknowledging the reality of the space and time, but presenting an alternative world. There will be an opportunity for up to ten local performers to participate in the show. Inevitably water will be involved! The team: Paschale Straiton, Peter Finnegan, Bryan Tweddle Audience: Festival audience, any age Genre: Street Theatre Seen before: Yes, as a work in progress; at time of writing the piece has not been presented however by 29 Oct there will have been a try-out performance Approx. cost/day: £1,000 +VAT Shows/day: 2 x 25-30 mins On the road: 3 people Medium scale (e.g. 250 - 1,000)
5 B arts PLAY Contact: Susan Clarke 72 Hartshill Road Stoke-on-Trent ST13 7RB Area: Midlands susan.clarke@b-arts.org.uk 01782 848835 www.b-arts.org.uk @_barts The company: B arts is an artist-led company that have been working all over the world from our base in North Staffordshire since 1985. We make theatre and participatory projects of all sorts, always in non-theatre/ arts spaces. We've worked on the beach, up mountains, on the bus, in forests and of course in public urban space. Recently we have developed a specialism in immersive theatre experiences for families (The Lost Post Office) and theatre/ food cross overs (A Place at the Table - where visitors to the School of Improbable Cooking prepared and ate their own dinner with groups of strangers) and Harvest (pictured). We work across art form, playfully engaging participants and audiences with place, ideas and challenges; from our heads to your hearts. The show: A new piece crossing over practices and features of social online/ screen based gaming with immersive theatre for families. PLAY is based in a particular place and through its engaging narrative creates a new experience of the place with the audiences. PLAY could take place in a neighbourhood, a building or set of buildings, a city centre, a festival site – and mixes live encounters with on-screen content, before, during and after the live experience. The team: PLAY is the product of and R and D process with Staffordshire University Games Design Department - one of the top in the UK. The R and D project will be led by B arts core creative team: Susan Clarke, Rebecca Frankenberg and Hilary Hughes. We are aiming to appoint a lead artist in the near future; however the project is championed within the company by B Arts emergent artist group. These artists (largely under 30) will form the core touring team. Audience: Families with younger children who want a high quality interactive Outdoor Arts/theatre experience. PLAY is suitable for festivals, city centres, take-overs of all sorts. B arts also has excellent skills and capacities in engaging local people in the build-up and the performance of the show. Genre: various Seen before: No Approx. cost/day: £1,000 Shows/day: 2 x 60 mins On the road: 10 people
6 Bad Egg Theatre Company The Sprats Contact: Maddy Lennox 2 The Avenue, St George Bristol BS5 8HW Area: South West maddy_lennox@hotmail.co.uk 07837 642299 http://thebadeggtheatrecompany.weebly.com The company: We are The Bad Egg Theatre Company and as a trio, Rosy Roberts, Olga Kaleta and Maddy Lennox, all graduated from the Circomedia BA in June 2015, where we began forming the company. We specialise in creating dark and comedic street theatre that focuses on social and political issues. The show: The Sprats is a walkabout piece that follows two babies with adult sized heads being pushed around in our all new, motorised, multi-terrain pushchair, by their mother. The babies are intelligent, philosophical, existential and VERY angry at everyone who's ruined their future environment. They cry, they poop, they debate and they cry some more until their technology obsessed mothers gets too irritated by their incessant noise and stuffs Wotsits in their mouths. The team: Rosy Roberts, Olga Kaleta and Maddy Lennox Audience: We have aimed to create a street theatre piece that is versatile with its audience. We have material suitable for children, families, adults and the festival scene. As a walkabout, we adapt to our surroundings and the constant change of audiences that we come across Genre: Street Theatre, Walkabout Seen before: Yes, as a finished piece; Glastonbury Festival 2016, Nozstock Festival 2016, Penarth Pier 2016, Taunton Live 2016 Approx. cost/day: £800 for first day and £600 per additional day Shows/day: 3 x 30 minute shows or 2 x 45 minute shows On the road: 3 people Small scale (e.g. 100-250)
7 Bash Street Theatre Bellevue Hotel Contact: JoJo Pickering 35 Belgravia Street Penzance TR18 2BL Area: South West jojo@bashstreet.co.uk 01736 360795 www.bashstreet.co.uk @bashstreet The company: Bash Street Theatre Company is run by Simon Pullum and JoJo Pickering from Penzance in Cornwall. For more than 25 years we have been delighting audiences, both young and old, with our unique style of circus-theatre at major festivals throughout the UK, and in 17 other European countries as well as Macau, Hong Kong, South Korea, Egypt and Israel. Our silent movie show, Cliffhanger! was awarded the ‘Best Street Show’ prize at Fira Tàrrega, Spain. The show: Set around a seaside boarding house in a bygone age, Bellevue Hotel is a brand-new, outdoor, family show from Bash Street Theatre Co. Bellevue Hotel is a stone’s throw from the promenade, where there’s candyfloss, toffee apples and sticky rock for sale. But when the postman calls one day with an eviction notice saying her boarding house is to be demolished, René Delamer faces poverty and destitution. However, a mysterious, new guest arrives and convinces René to fight the property developer who’s after her home, and together they do battle with the Demolition Men! With live piano accompaniment, silent comedy and hair-raising action, Bellevue Hotel is performed in the inimitable, silent-movie style for which the company has become renowned. The team: The project will bring together a team of talented artists from different disciplines each bringing their unique contribution to the production. Simon Pullum and JoJo Pickering will play the main characters, with original piano music composed by musician Seamas Carey, and performed live by the newest member of the Bash Street team, Lochlann Pickering. Designers, Neil Robson and Helen Tiley will work in conjunction with Simon Pullum to design and make the set, props and costumes. JoJo Pickering will manage the project both financially and logistically. The company hopes to work with two different directors - Danielle Krage from Cornwall, and Fabrice Bisson, a performer and director with the French street theatre company, Joe Sature et ses Joyeux Osselets, who worked with us on a previous street theatre show, The Strongman. Audience: General Genre: Circus, Music, Narrative Theatre, Street Theatre Seen before: No Approx. cost/day: £1,300 Shows/day: 1 x 50 minutes On the road: Four people Medium scale (e.g. 250 - 1,000)
8 Bongo Bolero Fat Cat Contact: Richard Hopkins-Durnford Studio 9, 3 Edgar Buildings, George St, Bath BA1 2FJ Area: South West bongobolero@ymail.com 07868 712515 www.bongobolero.com The company: Bongo Bolero is Nikki Andrews and Richard Hopkins-Durnford. They have developed an original and contemporary style of performance that mixes circus, comedy, theatre and movement. They seek to thrill and entertain audiences of all types the world over. Since the mid-nineties they have produced professional work of the highest standards and continue to perform regularly in cabarets, corporate events, festivals and circuses internationally. Recently they have expanded their repertoire with Richard developing the Dick Danger Show, which has toured Outdoor Arts festivals in the UK and Europe. The show: Fat Cat is a cartoony slapstick show about international banking. On one level it will be a run-around cacophony of comedy but underneath it is a satirical exploration of the world of big finance and the politics and problems of its public relations. The central character will be a unique, 7 foot high weeble (they wobble but they can’t fall down) chosen to represent the inherent instability of the modern day international banking structure. Fat Cat is a bloated larger than life character called Sir Felix who, in the way of a party political broadcaster, attempts to bamboozle the audience whilst explaining the importance of keeping the system running and the virtues of the ‘business as usual’ model. His PA, the mousy Penny, is kept on her toes as she both prepares the audience and bends over backwards to keep Sir Felix happy and presentable. As the performance progresses, Sir Felix becomes ever more agitated with the mousy PA and finally, revealing his true colours, he decides that mouse is on the menu! This is where the weeble’s movement dynamics is exploited to the full as the show builds to a wild and chaotic finale inspired by the slapstick tradition of old Tom and Jerry cartoons. Designed to illuminate not educate, this highly visual spectacle is intended for family audiences. The team: Performers - Richard Hopkins-Durnford and Nikki Andrews. Producer - Gwen Scott. Director - Fraser Hooper (tbc). Costume Designer - Suzie Glatt. Fabricator - Will Datson of Showrooms Creation Space. Prosthetics - Marc Parrett of Bath Puppet Workshop. Writer - Adam Fuller. Composer - Simon Panrucker. Audience: All ages - Outdoor Arts festival audiences. Genre: Street Theatre Seen before: Yes, as a work in progress; one day at the Bath Fringe Festival as part of their new work program Approx. cost/day: £600 plus expenses Shows/day: 2 x 30-40 minutes On the road: 2 people Small scale (e.g. 100-250)
9 Bridget Fiske Inner Terra Contact: Tricia Coleman Flat 7, 54 Wood Road Manchester M16 8BL Area: North tricia@the-larks.com 07508 641084 www.bridgetfiske.com @BridgetFiske The company: Bridget Fiske is a dance artist currently based in Manchester, UK. Amongst many other projects and roles Bridget's portfolio includes choreography, movement and rehearsal direction with Belarus Free Theatre including ’Trash Cuisine', 'Red Forest' and 'Burning Doors', as well as her solo work 'Aquarist Nimble' for children and families, and a growing portfolio of work for festivals and public realm including duets 'Inner Terra' and 'Because of Gravity', recently presented at the Lowry as part of Rambert's The Future programme. The show: Terra: earth, land (Latin). A new dance duet for public spaces, ‘Inner Terra’ documents, embodies, reflects and responds to conversations with individuals affected by crisis, seeking asylum and being at the fringes. Moments of being pushed and of attempting to hold on, of loss and of risk, of compassion and of community are punctuated with echoes of folk dance and play. ‘Inner Terra’ expresses exchanges between people seeking asylum and those who witness their crisis. It explores the continued search for a connection and identity, the human capacity to reach out and the failure of our limitations - a documentary inscribed through the body, ‘Inner Terra’ explores conflict, humanity and chaos. The team: Choreographed by Bridget Fiske, performed by Bridget Fiske and Joseph Lau, music composed by Miguel Marin. Audience: Festival Genre: Dance Seen before: Yes, as a finished piece; Turn at Contact Manchester, April 2016 Approx. cost/day: £950 (not including any travel and accommodation) Shows/day: 3 x 20 mins On the road: 2 people Small scale (e.g. 100-250)
10 C-12 Dance Theatre Secret Encounters Contact: Adam Towndrow 195 Handside Lane Welwyn Garden City AL8 6TE Area: London adam@c-12dancetheatre.com 07782 251816 www.c-12dancetheatre.com @c12dancetheatre The company: C-12 Dance Theatre is an award winning dance theatre company that create emotionally driven, high quality and accessible work, making our audiences think and feel. Established in 2005, C-12 has extensive experience of touring both indoor and outdoor work throughout the UK and Internationally, including Trolleys (pictured). The show: Secret Encounters is an enriching, unexpected and memorable series of short movement performances that will pop up several times throughout a festival. Mentioned, but NOT listed in the programme, four duets will create unannounced moments of love, joy and happiness, which will take place within and amongst the general public. The performance will happen and disappear as if it never happened. Secret encounters was created to engage new audiences, engage the unexpected public in new ways and change perceptions in what is real/what is performance. The duets will be moving, intimate, athletic and humorous. All duets have a theme of First encounters that last forever, interpreted by 4 highly experienced, diverse and exciting choreographers. There are two male and female duets and two same sex duets. Each duet lasts 5 minutes and is repeated twice at each festival. The festival and C- 12 Dance Theatre will select appropriate areas and times to programme the duets. The duets can be performed anywhere, at any time and in dry/wet weather. The team: Producer: Adam Towndrow. Choreographer 1: Corey Baker – Choreographed Phone Box, Hakka Day Out, Assistant Choreographer of Spill. Choreographer 2: Sally Marie – New Adventures Choreography Award 2013, The Children’s Choreographer Award 2014, Best Dance Production nominee by Welsh Theatre Awards. Choreographer 3: Annie-Lunnette Deakin-Foster – Associate Choreographer at the Globe, Choreographer of Market Stall, The Van Man, Shhh! and assistant Choreographer of Trolleys Choreographer 4: Tony Adigun – Choreographer of Cirque du Soleil’s Vision: Scalada, Creative Director of Got To Dance, Artistic Director of Avant Garde Audience: All Genre: Dance, Street Theatre Seen before: No Approx. cost/day: £1,250 Shows/day: 8 x 5 mins On the road: 5 people Small scale (e.g. 100-250)
11 The Chipolatas Gentlemen of the Road Contact: Tristan Glover 22 Croft St Cheltenham GL53 0ED Area: South West info@chipolatas.com 07968 303570 www.chipolatas.com @TheChipolatas The company: Established in 1992, The Chipolatas present unique performances incorporating high-octane circus skills, music, theatre and dance. Blending accordion and acoustic rhythms with hip-hop and street style, our performances and inspiration are embedded in worldwide culture. This is the essence of our unique identity; mixing traditional roots with contemporary stylings. The Chipolatas have a proven track record in professional and high quality arts provision, committed to inclusion and equal opportunities. The show: This is the newest incarnations of the company and show, and our desire is to keep the show going after Jasper King's passing. Audience: All audiences! Genre: Street Theatre Seen before: Yes, as a finished piece In various versions, we are celebrating 25 years in April 2017! Approx. cost/day: £1,000-£1,500 Shows/day: 2 x 40 mins On the road: 3 people Medium scale (e.g. 250 - 1,000)
12 Circus Geeks Immersive Juggling Experience (working title) Contact: Arron Sparks 3 Lewis Gardens N16 5PF Area: London Arron_Sparks@icloud.com 07595 380093 www.circusgeeks.co.uk @circusgeeks The company: Circus Geeks make new circus work, most recently collaborating with PanGottic to create Project_Vee – a juggling duet performed on and around a spinning machine which lifts the performers high above the audience’s heads. Project_Vee was commissioned by Without Walls, Ageas Salisbury International Arts Festival and Out There. Circus Geeks was initially set up as a blog for circus artists to share ideas, and its collaborations quickly spilled onto the stage, with their first show, the Propeller Prize-winning Beta Testing, which toured the UK indoors in 2015. Founder, Arron Sparks, is a graduate of the National Centre for Circus Arts. The show: Circus Geeks will create an intimate juggling experience for one audience member at a time. The experience will be adapted specifically to each festival it visits, utilising the space in a different way each time. Our first participant, Sarah, is invited to meet our 3 jugglers. She is given a juggling ball by a steward, and is shown into the performance area. A performer holds out an empty hand. Sarah places the ball in it- perhaps cautiously, perhaps with gusto- and the show begins. Balls whizz past her head, and arms appear from nowhere. By creating patterns around Sarah, and making her a vital part of the action, she will gain a unique insight into what it feels like to be a crucial part of a juggling troupe. Being guided around and passing through patterns, she will be able to see circus from a totally different viewpoint and take home a unique experience. After around 7 minutes, Sarah’s immersive experience comes to an end. She is reintroduced to the steward, and the next participant, Tom, is shown in. Unbeknownst to Tom and to her surprise, Sarah is shown to a secret hiding place- perhaps a bird watching hut, a balcony or into a building, where she peers through a gap in the curtains. She watches Tom have the experience that she just did- but this time, a whole other show is revealed to her. Her new point-of-view offers more than a new perspective, revealing action she was previously unaware of, happening behind Tom’s back. In moments of the experience, we will encourage the audience member to take photos or video clips, so they can share the experience with their friends- helping to build a social-media buzz around your festival and retain relationships with your audience. The team: The piece will be devised by the 3 performers: Arron Sparks, Iñaki Sastre and Doreen Großman Audience: Our main audience will be adventurous adults, but the piece will be suitable for children aged 7+. Genre: Circus, Installation, Immersive Seen before: Yes, as a work in progress; once (for 8 guinea pigs), after a short R&D period at the National Centre for Circus Arts. Approx. cost/day: £900 Shows/day: 24 tbc (3 x 60 mins, with 8 audience members per set); 15 mins per person (7 mins hands-on, 1 min changeover, 7 mins watching the next participant) On the road: 3 people Very small scale (e.g. one-to-one or a limited number)
13 CirqOn the Seam Don't leave me hanging (working title) Contact: Alice Watson The Orchard, Hay Lane Horsley GL6 0QD Area: South West aliceaerial@gmail.com 07552 688546 The company: We are an aerial and physical theatre company making our first show. We have created a new and unique piece of equipment that links two trapezes through pulleys. Two characters meet and explore their relationship through the apparatus. We are supported by the Arts Council England and Circomedia. We will premiere the show on the 24th of February at Circomedia; we have done three weeks of residencies and have another three weeks left before then. We are currently starting to plan the future tour of the show, which will focus principally on rural areas both in outdoor and indoor spaces. The show: We are 4 weeks into our 6 week residency program which is working towards a premier in February. We will be looking to go into further development with the show in the spring and summer of 2017, so we are currently looking for possible residencies for that period. After the premiere in February we will start applying again for funding for rural touring and to buy or have made a free standing rig so the show can be taken to any venue both indoor and outdoor. Therefore we are looking for collaborators and support for this application. This show is made up of 2 female characters in an ambiguous world that discover a new and interesting object (trapeze pulley system) which they explore together and which reflects and affects their relationship throughout the show. The trapeze pulley system is unpredictable and requires constant counterbalancing between the characters which creates at times chaotic tangles and at others shapes that are simple and pure. The show will have original music. The team: Performers and managers: Alice Watson and Océane Peillet; Director: Gwen Hales; Movement director: Angela Gasparetto; Support: Nic Young from Circomedia, Pam Brown from the Subscription Room in Nailsworth, Mike Wright for rigging, Marketing and Producer TBC: Kate Hurtoch or Cat Boot Audience: Aimed at as wide an audience as possible. Genre: Circus, Physical Theatre and Movement Seen before: Yes, as a work in progress; once at the Subscription Room to 20 people in Nailsworth in Gloucestershire, once to 3 people in Studio 2 in Circomedia in Bristol, once to 5 people from the Creative Youth Network in Studio 2 in Circomedia in Bristol and once to 30 people at the Circomedia church in Portland Square in Bristol. Approx. cost/day: £1,350 + travel & accommodation Shows/day: 2 x 50 mins (or 1 x 50 mins + workshop x 90 mins) On the road: 2-3 people, a rigger and technician with us tbc Small scale (e.g. 100-250)
14 City Arts Flying Free Contact: Alison Denholm 11-13 Hockley Nottingham NG1 1FH Area: Midlands alison@city-arts.org.uk 0115 9505251 www.city-arts.org.uk @cityartsnotts The company: City Arts is a participatory and community arts organisation based in the centre of Nottingham. We prioritise working with vulnerable and hard to reach groups and communities, and our work is made in partnership with the individuals we work with. Alongside this, we support artists to develop work in collaboration with these groups and individuals. The work we produce ranges in scale from bespoke programmes supporting personal development, to large scale events supporting mass participation, and shown to audiences of thousands. The show: Over the last three years, City Arts has created three spectacular giant puppet birds. Built around a motorised framework, these giant creatures fly high above the crowd at carnivals, festivals and events. They have been developed in partnership with two lead artists and older adults in care homes, where the design and story of the birds has been developed. Based on British birds, the largest of the three birds is a giant green parrot, inspired by the flocks of parrots now resident in Hyde Park. The remaining two birds are Magpies, but due to their first outing being part of Nottingham Carnival, they are Rainbow Magpies. The birds are designed around a frame that is operated with car batteries, and have a mechanical movement that is operated by a trained puppeteer. They are a beautiful, graceful and impactful addition to any event. The team: We have a team of puppeteers in place Audience: Family and children, street festivals Genre: Processional, Street Theatre, Walkabout Seen before: Yes, as a finished piece; Nottingham Carnival, Luton Carnival and Liverpool International Carnival Approx. cost/day: £1,300 plus travel and accommodation Shows/day: walkabouts for 45 minutes each (or negotiable depending on the event) On the road: 4 operators Medium scale (e.g. 250 - 1,000)
15 Cocoloco Strange but Familiar: A Dog’s Life Contact: Helen Statman 109 Shacklewell Lane E8 2EB Area: London helen@cocoloco.co.uk 07711 642267 www.cocoloco.co.uk The company: Cocoloco excels in everything from 'Glimpse Theatre' to 'Vaudeville on the Street' to 'Cabaret' and 'Hardcore Experimental Theatre'. We can create nonsense or information, in a humorous and aesthetic mode. One of our skills lies in directing large groups of performers in unusual situations. We have a very good battery of eclectic possibilities of style. Cocoloco brings anarchic, eye-catching, quirky and wildly funny peripatetic performance to theatre festivals throughout the world! As well as our on-going peripatetic performances – Alice & Alice, Mafia Weddin’ (pictured), Audrey & Audrey, Madame Bonbon & Nobby, Good Boy, Hitler & Eva - we are developing Willy & Wally: 2 talking rubbish tips. Recent larger scale work includes One Drum Many Beats for Barefeet Theatre with street kids from Zambia, Streets of Anarchy for Seachange Arts in Great Yarmouth and Sense and Sustainability (Jane Austen scrutinizes climate change denial). The show: Strange but Familiar: A Dog’s Life is a site-responsive promenade piece which provides a vibrant portrait of a town from a dog’s perspective. Narrated by a ‘human dog’, the walk will provoke thoughts on changing populations, the celebratory spirit of the past and present, the events that define the town and its inhabitants, the notion of belonging and the fleeting nature of our surroundings. The audience (a mixture of humans and their dogs) will see the familiar in new ways as local spaces are turned into unfamiliar worlds. Pop-up performances and installations from professionals and local community members will be cunningly designed in the tour which will be artistically memorable yet family friendly, dog friendly and often hilarious. Cocoloco will take an audience of up to 50 people (and their dogs) on a 50 minute unique walking tour of the town where the audience will soon learn to expect the unexpected. Using five core professional actors and at least five local performers, with appearances/collaborations from various community groups (e.g. choirs, orchestras, sports clubs, animal/pet clubs, and senior citizen clubs), Cocoloco will reveal with their customary quirky and zany spirit what makes each town so special. Cocoloco is a company with a fabulous track record for producing unusual performances in different locations and making the most of limited budgets in a bleakness of austerity… The team: Performers/directors - Helen Statman and Trevor Stuart, composer - Jocelyn Pook Genre: Installation, Street Theatre, Walkabout Seen before: Yes, as a work in progress Approx. cost/day: £2,000 Shows/day: 2 x 50 minutes On the road: 6 people Small scale (e.g. 100-250)
16 Company Chameleon Witness Contact: Kevin Edward Turner Z-Arts, 335 Stretford Road Manchester M15 5ZA Area: North kevin@companychameleon.com 0161 232 6082 www.companychameleon.com @chameleon_info The company: Company Chameleon started when Anthony Missen and Kevin Edward Turner met at Trafford Youth Dance Theatre in the mid-1990s. Two ordinary lads from Manchester, they shared an ambition to dance professionally for a living. After developing their talent at Trafford, they trained at the Northern School of Contemporary Dance and after graduating, travelled extensively to work with some of the most innovative dance companies and choreographers in the world. They returned home to Manchester in 2007, to achieve their goal of setting up their own dance company, and Company Chameleon was born. Today, Company Chameleon tour internationally to wide acclaim and perform over fifty indoor and outdoor performances a year. Everywhere they perform, they lead a dance class or workshop. The show: Witness is 15-20 minute distillation of a much longer new dance theatre piece which Company Chameleon is touring to theatres and arts centres this autumn. With the spotlight on mental health, it is a sensitive portrayal of how loved-ones cope when mental health problems take hold of someone close. The central character’s journey follows him from crisis to resolution as the torment two aspects of himself builds and then subsides. Touching, funny and insightful, Witness uses a melting pot of dance styles to reveal the impact of mental health on individuals and relationships and the crucial role of support and understanding in the road to recovery. The team: Kevin Edward Turner (choreographer/performer), Theo Fapohunda (performer), Taylor Benjamin (performer), Miguel Marin (composer) Audience: Broad audience Genre: Dance Seen before: No, not yet Approx. cost/day: £2,000 Shows/day: 2 x 15-20 mins On the road: 3 people Small scale (e.g. 100-250)
17 Dizzy O'Dare Baba Yaga's House Contact: Michael Imerson Seamonkey, Port Werburgh Hoo, Kent ME3 9TW Area: South East mike@dizzyodare.com 07790 719753 www.dizzyodare.com @Dizzyodare The company: Dizzy O’Dare is a contemporary circus and outdoor theatre company. Since 2009 they have produced a wide range of work, which has toured extensively and delighted audiences across the globe. Dizzy O’Dare are now resident artists at Seachange Arts, Great Yarmouth. The company is directed by Alana Jones and Michael Imerson. Work includes; From the Inky Deep, The Tiny Travelling Tightwire Show! The Wonderful World of Mr E, Body of Wires, The Giant Balloon Show, and, in progress Rise, a new indoor circus and theatre show exploring the notion of eternal return, love, loss and letting go. The show: Baba Yaga is an old crone from Russian folklore who lives in a cottage, which travels on chicken legs. She is scary but not always evil, sometimes acting as an unlikely saviour, a Russian bogey-man of sorts. There are many stories about Baba Yaga, created to excite and scare children and adults alike. For Baba Yaga’s House we will create a ramshackle gothic house that walks on chicken leg stilts aimed at children and family audiences. The house will roam and stop to perform shows and interact with the audience using puppets and props, which appear through the windows and through the base of the house. The height of house (including the chicken leg stilts) is 2.5m and will be manned by Mike, wearing chicken leg stilts, his upper body hidden inside the house. The house can ‘rest’ using the supports and from here Mike will operate all puppets and props, as well as any technical requirements such as sound. The house will be constructed out of aluminium and canvas to be as light as possible whilst robust enough to deal with the British summer. Alana will steward and interact with Baba Yaga as the Black Knight – a character appearing in some Baba Yaga tales. Baba Yaga is a dark fairy tale which has an intriguing lure to children whilst not pandering to a cutesy popular culture aesthetic. The house will be bizarre and unique, similar to the style of Tim Burton and Lemony Snickets but with a skewed and twisted edge. The team: Dizzy O’Dare: lead artists and performers. Insect Circus: designing and making the house. Pickled Image: designing and making the puppets. Director: Emma Williams Audience: Children and families Genre: Street Theatre, Walkabout Seen before: No, not yet Approx. cost/day: £800 Shows/day: 3 x 30-45 mins On the road: 2 people Small scale (e.g. 100-250)
18 Dripping Tap Webster & Jones: A Pocket Guide to Wales Contact: Nikki Hill The Old Goods Yard, Nr. Treborth Bangor LL57 2NX Area: Wales drippingtaptheatre@gmail.com 07962 161474 The company: We are an emerging company aiming to make entertaining and exciting work, both visually captivating and engaging. The show: The project is focusing on bilingualism, and how to engage with bi-lingual audiences with and without language. It's an adventure story that follows two haphazard Victorian explorers: one, an English gentleman and world-famous explorer, the other, his salt of the earth farmer companion and guide. Mr. Webster is writing the first ever guidebook to Wales and their quest to find and conquer Mount 'Snowed On' is an ambitious one since neither can understand the other! We perform on a set constructed of a tall ladder and supporting scaffolding. This will act as the base camp, landscape, and also as the mountain itself. Using physical theatre, movement, clowning and circus we will create a dynamic, visually stunning, comedic piece of street theatre. We will be working with a soundscape as well as live theatre. We have developed a walkabout version of the piece, using the characters to gather audiences and as a walkabout act in its own right. Having had an initial small tour throughout Wales, we would like work with a director to re-develop the piece to tour more extensively next summer. The team: Performers: Nikki Hill, Madeleine McGowan; also have been working with a set designer and sculptor on creating the set. I have been in conversation with a potential candidate as a director. Audience: Families, Local and further afield, Children, Festivals, Arts Events, Bi-lingual communities, Agricultural festivals. Genre: Circus, Dance, Installation, Narrative Theatre, Street Theatre, Walkabout Seen before: Yes, as a preliminary show at Monmouth River Festival, Eisteddfod Genedlaethol Cymru, Big SPlash Festival, WMC, Pontio and LLAWN Approx. cost/day: £600 plus travel & accommodation; £800 for two days Shows/day: 2 x 30 mins On the road: 2-3 people Medium scale (e.g. 250 - 1,000)
19
Fair Play
The Endless Road
Contact: Jamie Waite
40, Sandbed Road
Bristol BS2 9TX
Area: South West
info@fairplaycomedy.com
07929 965210 / 07887 772827
www.fairplaycomedy.com
The company:
th
Fair Play is celebrating its 20 year as a street theatre company.
We have created many shows, walkabouts and installations in that time and, to quote ourselves, we are aiming to
“produce and perform original street theatre which is challenging to both a socially diverse audience and us, whilst
at the same time being financially viable”. Despite occasionally talking like that, we love what we do, thrive on
making people laugh and intriguing them, love to travel and are always looking to approach non-traditional
audiences with something fresh and innovative.
The show:
The idea revolves around two people arriving in a space. They have many bags, no or very little local language and
look road weary.
It has 3 distinct parts: the first facet of the piece is arrival; a walkabout style piece about two lost people moving
through a space with a lot of luggage.
The second facet is an installation style where they can stop in one place and set up for a while revealing many
ingenious camping type rituals, some of which (little travel games) people join.
The third part is the presenting of shows, where the travellers tell stories (non-language) about themselves and their
journey and where they are going using some beautiful puppets and sets that emerge from the existing baggage.
The project exists at an R&D type level. We received a small ACE grant (£5,000) to create a walkabout/ installation
which we have achieved. However, in doing so we have realised that the idea has incredible potential, explores
some very relevant topics, is being received incredibly well and needs to develop further especially at show level to
reach its full potential as an international act.
The team:
Andy Kenny and Jamie Waite
Audience: Family, outdoors
Genre: Street Theatre, Walkabout
Seen before: Yes, as a work in progress; 30 or so times in its current form
Approx. cost/day: £750
Shows/day: 2 x 45mins-1 hour
On the road: 2 people
Small scale (e.g. 100-250)20 Festive Road Harminder: The Adventure Tour Contact: Jessica Rost 28 Burners Lane, Kiln Farm Milton Keynes MK11 3HB Area: South East carnival@festiveroad.org.uk 01908 921018 www.festiveroad.org.uk @Festive_Road The company: Collaborators, inventors and explorers: the Festive Road team make amazing, indescribably well-crafted creations...most of which are mechanical and animated. Our approach is always innovative: using recycled materials, music, movement and invented techniques, we create costume, mobile structures, performance and outdoor installation as vehicles for our collaborative expression. While many of our creations are great to watch, our general ethos for festivals and carnivals is to encourage audiences to interact as much as possible. The show: Festive Road’s Harminder, is a life-size, cycle-powered, mechanical elephant. At present she carries a puppeteer who operates ears, trunk and head movements and also a rider who cycles her. Harminder is based on an Indian elephant, made of metal, reclaimed bicycle parts and other recycled materials. She is amazing... and she can carry a dancer or performer. The special platform on her back can be easily mounted via a fold out stair case which, when folded up, becomes her bottom! Our proposal is to firstly, improve her puppetry by creating an eye-blink movement, more trunk movement etc., and, secondly, to create a choreographed perambulating show for Harminder and take her for a tour around the UK and beyond, in recognition of all that India and her rich culture gives to this diverse island we share. We will be bringing together physical performers, Indian dancers, puppeteers, story tellers, stilt walkers and musicians to create this beautiful, animated, sparkling performance which will be able to parade the streets next year. The team: Classically trained dancer and choreographer, Manuela Benini; Master puppeteer Jo Munton. Live Dhol drummers and our stilt walking group (MK Extreme Ramblers) will also be involved. Co-directors: Jessica Rost, Manuela Benini. Audience: Family festivals, field events, Diwali celebrations, world food and music festival, street festivals Genre: Processional, Street Theatre, Walkabout; the project will involve the creation of dance, movement, costume and live performance. Seen before: Yes, as a work in progress; The Mechanical Elephant (unfinished) has been presented at Northampton Diwali, Luton Carnival and in Milton Keynes. Approx. cost/day: £2,800 Shows/day: 3 x 30-40mins On the road: 10 people This could work as a medium or large scale - the elephant is large-scale and will draw a crowd but in a small crowd people can come up
21 FoolSize Theatre Sigh Kick Hunch Contact: Joanne Tremarco 15 Devonshire Rd Liverpool L8 3TX Area: North jotremarco@yahoo.co.uk 07506 739579 www.foolsizetheatre.com @FoolSizeTheatre The company: FoolSize Theatre established as a self-producing company in 2012, after 4 years training with Jonathan Kay and the Nomadic Academy of Fools, touring extensively with a mix of Street Theatre, Family Friendly shows and improvised theatre promoting sexual awareness across the UK, Europe and America. We endeavour to make work that can sit both inside and outside of conventional theatres. Our most recent act The Flock (pictured) is made in collaboration with Catalonian company, Fadunito. The Flock is a gang of bikers who push the front handlebars and wheel of their 'Harley's', imitating the engine sounds; walkabout plus static ‘extreme motorbike display’. The show: Step inside a fortune booth and meet our outrageous, blundering psychic who speaks the truth as she sees it to intimate audiences of one or two. With the help or hindrance of her arms (which belong to a hidden performer) and her crystal juggling ball she will attempt to read futures, pasts and presents. The psychic is a composite of 2 bodies allowing raucous fun as she channels spirits from beyond. This performance explores the truth in lies and the lies in Truth. Sigh Kick Hunch can be both sensitive and surprising. Joanne Tremarco (who plays the front part of the fortune teller) has been touring a solo improvised play for five years; she is quick witted, receptive to her audiences and able to hold powerful and playful atmospheres. Christopher Murray is a skilled illustrator (sometimes the prophecies will take the form of a drawing) and physical performer. Their work as fools enables them to explore unknown territory with ease creating unique experiences that are as meaningful as they are funny. Though both performers mostly work together giving the impression of being one body there are moments within the performance in which the fortune-teller’s arms turn on her and we see a fight between body and mind. The booth, reminiscent of a carnival psychic cart will be mounted on a hand cart or a bicycle trailer for ease of transport. The person who pulls the cart will be dressed as horse. The team: Director: Tony Liddington; Performers: Christopher Murray, Joanne Tremarco; Designer: Christopher Murray; Set maker/welder: Julian Taylor. Audience: All audiences can enjoy this piece. Genre: Installation, Street Theatre; 1 to 1 experience in a bicycle drawn gypsy cart. Seen before: Yes, as a work in progress; the character of Sigh Kick Hunch, a fortune teller made up of two people working as one has been developed as scratch performances on 3 occasions. But this is as far as we are in the development of the show. Approx. cost/day: £650 (approx. - inclusive of travel) Shows/day: 3 x 45-60 mins of one-to-one performances. On the road: 3 people Very small scale (e.g. one-to-one or a limited number)
22 Frolicked Seeing Red Contact: Rebeka Haigh 4 Gale, Littleborough OL15 9ER Area: North admin@frolicked.co.uk 07947 578181 www.frolicked.co.uk @frolicked The company: Frolicked is an outdoor puppet theatre company, creating puppet-filled experiences for unusual locations, with memorable creatures and characters. We have produced a number of original puppets (including a glowing Victorian ghost, a hygiene-obsessed usher and a giant-fly-pestered Alchemist) and devised a series of puppet interventions: a town-wide outdoor gaming experience featuring a set of rare birds, a rat-infested murder mystery, a ratty commentary on modern society housed inside a giant wedge of cheese and a cross-county treasure hunt with a unique prize for Yorkshire Festival. The show: Seeing Red takes the traditional tale of Red Riding Hood and twists it into a modern retelling, full of red-related surprises, dark humour and a mob of original puppet characters, then crams it all into one furry suitcase. An old woman, struggling to pull a fur-covered trunk, stops and promptly disappears behind it, setting off a chain of events that unravel into a skewed version of the classic tale. An illustrated rib cage-like woodland emerges from the folds of the case's fur and Red meets the wolf, formed from the innards and outers of the trunk itself. Red's Grandmother, and eventually Red herself, are consumed by the wolf, but as they contemplate their fate in his stomach (over a red- card-only game of poker), a flash of motivation leads the two women to 'see red' and fight to escape. Finally, one puppeteer becomes an axe-wielding, red-cloaked figure and dismembers the wolf in a tendon-snapping, blood- squirting frenzy! Seeing Red will prove that anyone can be as furious as the big bad wolf... Frolicked would like to create a modern, puppet-filled version of Little Red that can be carried in just one suitcase. With a dash of dark humour and a touch of feminism, our retelling will challenge an audience to rethink the tale they were told as children. All of the puppets, scenery and props will emerge in some way from the case itself. The show will be suitable for families with children aged 8 and above, feature original illustrations and a particularly bloody finale. The show will be flexible enough to be performed anywhere, and technically self-sufficient. The team: Beka Haigh is a director, puppet maker and performer based in the North. As well as designing, creating and performing for Frolicked, she has worked as a deviser, maker and performer for a number of theatre companies and arts organisations in the Outdoor Arts sector. Beka will work with another maker and a second performer to devise and produce the piece. Audience: Families with children 8+ Genre: Street Theatre, Puppetry Seen before: No, not yet Approx. cost/day: £500 Shows/day: 3 x 25-30 mins On the road: 2 people Small scale (e.g. 100-250)
23 Gramophones Theatre Company Tarzanna Contact: Ria Ashcroft 15 Joyce Avenue Nottingham NG5 3HL Area: Midlands gramophonestheatre@gmail.com 07980 609991 www.gramophonestheatre.com @The_Gramophones The company: We make playful devised theatre for everyone to enjoy. Our work is very comical and clowny. I am a physical theatre performer and an aerialist. The show: Tarzanna is an outdoor theatre piece with circus and aerial. It is about female empowerment, dreams and ambition. We have an 8 meter rig on which we tell the story using aerial hoop, rope and Spanish web. The team: 4 performers, 1 rigger, 1 technician. Audience: the show is for children and families. Genre: Circus, Narrative Theatre, Street Theatre Seen before: Yes, as a work in progress; it was commissioned for Derby Festé this summer and performed on 24 Oct. We would like to develop the piece further and have counterweight work in the show as well. Approx. cost/day: £2,600.00 Shows/day: 2 x 45mins On the road: 6 people Medium scale (e.g. 250 - 1,000)
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