Soft Soft

 1st day, 2nd day, Phoebe  Comments Off on Soft Soft
Mar 042017
 

Maddie sits on the left holding a piece of paper and sharing paper with Phoebe who sits on the right for viewer. Maddie is wearing a striped T-shirt and Phoebe is wearing a blue dress with green and red flowers.  Maddie is on viewer's left and Phoebe on viewer's right. They are sharing and looking at pieces of paper/script.

I get really shy in front of people so the initial impulse to connect is always difficult and usually I end up standing alone when people are making friends which seems really counter intuitive to what I want to achieve.

But then the first exercise which was creating our sign names and a shared language instantly made that connection accessible and began a conversation which has gone on for the entire weekend.

I think that’s the greatest thing I’m taking away from this residency. Not knowing where to begin but with a shared dialogue and really listening to peoples’ experiences which you’ve never experienced yourself and going forward to create something that everyone can share in. That’s what has been the greatest experience of this weekend.

Phoebe measures Belinda's head using a snake. Belinda is on the left and Phoebe on the rightPhoebe participates in group work

This is Bridget. This is Gaelle.

 1st day, 2nd day, Gaelle  Comments Off on This is Bridget. This is Gaelle.
Mar 042017
 

“This is Bridget. She is tall. She is small. She thinks she is large.”

“This is Gaelle. She has beautiful crinkly hands. She sits. She has piercing blue eyes and measures
7 squiggly snakes across her boobs.”
 
“You held out your hand for an egg, and fate put into it a scorpion. Show no consternation; close your fingers firmly upon the gift; let it sting through your palm. Never mind; in time, after your hand and arm
have swelled and quivered long with torture, the squeezed scorpion will die, and you will have learned the
great lesson how to endure without a sob.”
 – Charlotte Brontë

Alphabet

 2nd day, Bridget, Georgia, Rachael  Comments Off on Alphabet
Mar 042017
 



Georgia teaches Bridget and Rachael AUSLAN/American sign language alphabet.

Monster

 2nd day, Scott  Comments Off on Monster
Mar 042017
 

Group activity wth Sam, Scott and Rachael       Rachael on viewer's left and Scott standing with plastic body outline

i like the use of temperature to describe the room and what we are doing
a performance can be hot or cold and everything in between
on the first day i dropped a large wooden plinth onto the floor and it had the effect of producing a huge arctic blast that pummelled the viewers which on reflection was not the desired effect
as an exclusive gesture it was intended for the deaf members of the group as a visual sound or
a beat that could be felt.
the way i take this is that you can fill the bath with hot water but you need to adjust the temperature with cold water before you ask everybody to get in. 

Some thoughts..

 2nd day, Rachael  Comments Off on Some thoughts..
Mar 042017
 

and pondering on things that I do not know and need to ask some people…
As a theatre maker my job is to manipulate the audience, to make them feel different things to take them on a journey. And I use different techniques to make you feel different ways, I use visual images, I use sounds, I use text, I use acting (as in the way we say text).

As someone who is visually impaired do you want to imagine what is visually happening or is it ok to just hear things that will take you on the same journey at the same time?  Continue reading »

Mapping sound and emotion

 2nd day, Elizabeth  Comments Off on Mapping sound and emotion
Mar 042017
 

Elizabeth looking at Pony and smiling

Day two I felt I relaxed more into the group and the exercises we were given. We were given time and space to think about who we are: a question that is both frightening and exciting to ask.

I created a work with Pony who was so lovely to work with that my cheeks hurt from laughing. We used audio description as part of our performance as we abstractly conversed about who we are by mapping sounds and emotions over our body.

There is no question about the importance of accessibility and the need to have an AUSLAN interpreters or audio description as soon as you have someone who is deaf and vision impaired in the group. Every time I make a new work now I will be asking myself ‘will Sarah or Peter want to come this show/exhibition?’

Jenny Sealey: Day Two

 2nd day, Jenny  Comments Off on Jenny Sealey: Day Two
Mar 042017