Kaleider Launch Party

Exepose Arts attended Kaleider’s launch party, at ASK by Exeter Cathedral, to get a taste of the many exciting projects in action this winter.

Entering the Kaleider launch party, there was such an array of friendly faces and interesting looking displays that it was difficult to decide where to begin. I have never seen such a diverse selection of psychologically fascinating endeavours, all of them sharing an interactive aspect. Below I outline the projects we were introduced to; from the ghostly relics of a beautiful dancer, to global parkour, each offered a taste of art which was simultaneously unique, intriguing and sensually engaging.

Ariel

Image credit: Kaleider.com

Alice Tatton-Brown’s part installation, part audio walk, part performance was hosted in Exeter Central Library in October. Alice unearthed a set of photos in a junk shop,  all depicting the same mysterious woman throughout her entire life. Becoming infatuated with the story of this striking dancer, whose image had been compiled in a kind of tribute by her husband, Alice delved into the history and set out to discover who Ariel was. When Alice showed me copies of the photographs I was haunted by their bygone beauty and stirred by the echoes of the love through which they had been documented. This exploration of the past leads us to question our preoccupation with photography, the persistence of memory and the ways in which we interpret the relics which others have left behind.

The Money

Image credit: Kaleider.com

The Money took place in Exeter Guildhall on November 26 and 28. The audience are given real money and two hours to decide how to spend it, if they don’t come to a decision before the time is up then the money rolls on to the next group of Benefactors. This bold experiment is a study into decision making, interaction amongst strangers and economic preoccupation.

Running out of time

Kelly Miller’s project was my personal favourite, especially in terms of audience involvement. Running out of time is an exploration, through parkour, of the way in which the female body uses its space and surroundings. Anyone, in any worldwide location, can get involved. Participants email sheruns@runningoutoftime.co.uk and then receive an audio file of instructions to be be followed simultaneously, from any starting point, by a pair. One person runs and the other follows behind filming. The videos are then broadcasted alongside one another, giving a global sense of the human body’s trajectory through space, place and time.

Fruit Routes (Eat your Campus)

Eat your campus at Loughborough University
Image credit: fruitroutesloughborough. wordpress. com

Anne Marie Culhane is working with the University of Exeter’s Arts and Culture team, along with as Art Society, to create this edible venture on Streatham Campus. Between now and April 2015 Anne Marie will install the fruit routes by planting edible trees and plants, inducing the perfect habitat for foraging. Although I felt slightly dubious when offered a squidgy looking sample of a homemade fruity sweet, it tasted good and I think the project overall is an excellent way of engaging with our sense of taste, as well as with our surrounding natural environment.

Where to build the walls that protect us

Stephen Hodge’s alternative project, which took place between September 28 and November 9, involves exploratory excursions which lasted up to six hours. Through these walks Stephen aimed for an exercise in “serious play” which imagined a future model of the city of Exeter. His outings drew attention locally to global issues such as climate change and the persistent fiscal crisis.

Image credit: Kaleider.com

When I first glimpsed a list of the projects I initially thought that they were ambitious in their obscurity, and was unsure of how effective they would be in reality. After discussing each endeavor at length with the artists, watching demonstrations and finding out more I left feeling impressed by the power of every single one. The art I saw presented was innovative in the way it entirely demolished the distinction between artist and viewer, it was engaging in the way it stimulated senses beyond the visual, and it was of a profound contemporary relevance, exploring humanity in relation to our surroundings.

Kaleider are a company with a difference, they “work with people from all sorts of backgrounds to design, produce and promote live experiences.” Whilst often on a local scale, the projects they support engage with wider global issues including climate change and the human interaction with the space we inhabit. They work closely with University of Exeter Arts and Culture, alongside the Met Office, putting “science and research at the heart of the artistic process.” To find out more, or to look at any of the projects in more detail, visit their website here.

 

Giverny Masso

 

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Ignite Festival: Interview with the Director of Static

Emily-Elizabeth Pickthall interviewed Tom Nicholas, the director of Static, at the launch party of Exeter Ignite Festival. To read a review of Static click here. 

How did New Model Theatre start out?

In December 2012 I (Tom) teamed up with Exeter writer Emily Holyoake to put on a production of her play ‘April’.  Initially we took over the Coffee Cellar on Exeter’s Quayside for two nights, both of which sold out.  These performances led to the show being programmed as part of the Bike Shed Theatre’s ‘From Devon With Love’ festival of work by Devon-based practitioners.  I saw this as a prime opportunity to start a theatre company, something that I had wanted to do for a while.  Early in 2012 I then spoke to Hugh, who I’d worked with on a number of projects before, about being in a play, Static, that I’d written about six months previously; and that’s when we really hit the ground running.

What sort of challenges have you faced in building the company up to this level and where would you ultimately like to see it go in the future?

I feel as though we’ve been very lucky in the opportunities that have come our way.  A lot of this was due to previous working relationships with particular organisations but just as much has been due to the supportive atmosphere in the South West theatre scene.  Currently, a lot of roles seem to blur into one: I often find myself being Director, Producer, General Manager and Sound Technician all in one day.  As we’ve begun to build a reputation, more and more people have expressed an interest to get involved in what we’re doing.  As well as easing our workloads, this also brings fresh ideas into the company.

Image Credits: New Model Theatre

How did you get involved in working with Hugh McCann (Static performer) and are you close friends when not working?

Me and Hugh met through the Young Company at the Theatre Royal Plymouth and have been extremely good friends ever since.  Around 18 months ago we got together to write and direct a short film.  ‘Todd Fisher: The Man Behind The Melodies’ was a sort of musical comedy shot on a budget of nothing.  It wasn’t particularly original but extremely fun to make, and can still be found in the depths of YouTube.  Working on Static I wanted someone who was a warm, likeable performer and would also bring some comedy to the role; Hugh was the perfect choice.  In Edinburgh we’ll be spending three weeks in a tent together, so whether we’re still be friends after that is another story…

How much support/funding/training have you drawn from in order to get Static up and running?

 The Barbican Theatre in Plymouth has been really supportive of us as we’ve developed Static.  We approached them asking whether there were any opportunities of performing Static there, as we felt it would be a shame to not get to perform it in our home town. They provided us with the opportunity of a work-in-progress showing, which allowed us to receive feedback from an audience.  From there they’ve absorbed us into their Flourish programme and given us support in terms of rehearsal and desk space.  It has also been amazing to have the recognition of such a respected organisation and inspired us to create better work.

The show will have a more comprehensive tour next year and we’ll be applying for a small amount of funding to support that.  Keep your fingers crossed for us!

What sort of experiences have you had in developing your art and ideas in Plymouth, a city which has undeniably been seriously neglected over the years in terms of arts funding?

Plymouth is particularly good at engaging young people in the arts, as me and Hugh found as we grew up.  Unfortunately, it fails to encourage those people to stay and practise their art within the city.  This has led to a point where there is currently no theatre scene at all within the city.  Part of this problem I believe is the dominance of large organisations when what is really needed for the city to become a viable place to practice the arts is a flourishing grass roots.  Hopefully the City of Culture bid (and potential success) will shed a light on the importance of culture with the local economy and lead to more artists and businesses working together.

Will you remain attached to Plymouth venues?

Personally, I feel a strong commitment to Plymouth.  I’ve seen many talented people grow up in the city and then leave to pursue their careers elsewhere.  I’m hoping that, by staying, I can encourage others to as well and begin to make things happen within the city.  Static is currently going really well and is giving us the opportunity to travel and perform all across the country.  I’d like to be able to pair this touring work with creating work to be performed within the city.

What sort of experiences have you had in building up an effective and forward moving social media and publicity base i.e. Facebook/YouTube/Twitter presence and how much work does it take to sustain it all?

Twitter has become brilliant for theatre, it’s made it really simple to connect with companies and audiences across the country.  We’ve also used YouTube to publish a trailer for Static and are hoping to put up some video diaries as we tour the show.  I still think that the best way to engage an audience is through putting a flyer in their hand, although that’s perhaps less environmentally friendly…

Follow New Model Theatre here on Twitter and check out their Facebook here.

How do the shows that New Model Theatre produce differ from other shows? What do you have that others cannot offer?

Theatre-makers are often very focused on the ‘form’ and style of their piece.  We try to look beyond that and just tell stories however they need to be told.  We’ve learnt to not take anything for granted and this has given us an extremely DIY ethos when making shows.  Often the challenge of making theatre within certain constraints leads to a better, more imaginative end product.  Our main focus is to create theatre that engages with the world around it and reflects societal issues back at an audience.  We certainly don’t look to preach at an audience, but we do like to start a good old debate.

Ignite Festival: "Any space can be a theatre, everyone can tell a story…"

Emily-Elizabeth Pickthall attends the launch party for Ignite and reflects on what the festival means for Exeter. 

It can only be a positive thing if more local councils and organisers promote events such as Exeter Ignite. By the same token, not only has the festival drawn participants into Exeter from all across the nation, but in opening up performance submissions to the general public as well as professionals Ignite promotes the message that we are not just passive consumers of the arts and culture: we are all capable of creating.

Image Credits: Exeter Ignite

Welcoming one and all is David Lockwood, the chief organiser of the festival, co-founder of the Bike Shed Theatre in Exeter, as well as actor and director in his own right. Lockwood has a way with words and an original vision for Exeter Ignite. I find it intriguing how he stresses how the festival doesn’t fall into the same category as ‘fringe’ theatre.

I wonder whether his tongue-in-cheek tone eludes the festival from being filed in prescriptive terms, in order that highlights and lowlights of the festival remain as diverse and dynamic as possible, both throughout the week and in the future.

Lockwood’s opening words for Ignite also reveal that the entire festival has been planned, produced and publicised within the minimal budget of £5,000. And I’m astounded. With such a volume of things to see and do, the duration of the festival and the diversity of its venues, Ignite just goes to show that with enthusiasm, early planning (the festival was in preparation for a year, submissions closed for performance entry on January 6^th 2013) and astute use of web design and social media marketing systems, more is possible in the arts and culture than the public might be lead to believe.

All the same, Lockwood’s words did launch into the register of a manifesto, telling of the team’s ambitious intention to transform Exeter into a city with an economy sustained almost entirely upon the arts and culture.

Lockwood raises an interesting issue: how far have we come to rely on the term ‘fringe’ for any work which takes places outside the conventional theatre environment? Are comedy and the arts on the ‘fringe’ becoming an exclusive genre, over marketed and over wrought in the same themes? Perhaps the big ones like the Edinburgh Festival Fringe will soon become elitist in publicity and access.

Before this happens, perhaps the time is right for us all to decentralise hubs like Edinburgh – ‘the largest arts festival in the world’ – as the exclusive host of ‘unknown’ and alternative artists. We must stop actively separating what is off the main stage from what is on.

Within Lockwood’s words was the suggestion of a return to this original DIY attitude which founded collectives such as the Festival Fringe Society back in 1958. We need to make the best of the life and art already on our doorstep and one of the ways in which this can succeed is in removing the prescriptive title of ‘fringe’ theatre, referring to it simply as ‘theatre’ – everywhere, open to one and all.

Something different about the environment of the Ignite launch party was the sensation that these were acts of real human beings: that the work had sprung out from the mind of everyman (or everywoman, of course) between families, full time jobs and all the distractions of domestic trivia.

These were projects originally rattled out in bedrooms, the reflections of bathroom mirrors, before audiences of house cats on the platform of a living room rug. Despite its reluctance to identify as ‘fringe’, Ignite is a festival which has succeeding in binding outsiders, the socially awkward, the introverted and talented individuals who had never before had the means to train professionally or the space in which to perform.

Here, ‘debut’ wasn’t a negative word. ‘Debut’ meant taking a dare, interacting with everyone and there was a collective energy thrumming throughout all those involved – young and old, amateur or professional – because if they weren’t prepared to do so, then the whole operation could be subject to collapse. The intact performances of highly acclaimed main stage companies seem positively exhausted in comparison, like factory packed ready-mades from the sealed door of a theatre backstage.

I was left with the impression that Ignite remains a festival currently in a formative stage of development: the instability of Exeter Ignite is, however, what made the environment so thrilling and volatile.

Attending the launch party left me with a sense of how anything could be about to happen. Exeter Ignite was set to be full of the unexpected, and certainly did not disappoint.

Emily-Elizabeth Pickthall