Rayguns Look Real Enough
Gideon Conn
The Blysh ice cream bike. Special flavours include: Raspberry Ripple, Popcorn and Marshmallow.
Sweets!
Tuesday, 26 July 2011
Monday, 11 July 2011
Name That Tune / Ovine Imsomnience
I might not have been here, but by all accounts the first weekend of Blysh went down a storm with hundreds of people enjoying watch Fraser Hooper and George Orange. And after all that excitement, Blysh is taking a week off and is back on 19th July with Les Enfants Terribles Edinburgh hit The Infant. Also coming up...
Ukulele Project/Gaudy Orde
I can't embed the video for some reason (it's a YouTube thing rather than my technical ineptitude), but here's a video on YouTube of the fresh-faced Ukulele Project plucking away on a TV show presented by a rather shouty Popstars star Michelle McManus.
They talk about the revival of the ukulele and you can play along in a game of Name That Tune.
Catch them at Blysh on 20 July in the Weston Studio. More info here. You can also catch Gaudy Orde on the Glanfa stage before the show. I can embed these videos, so here's a little one from their performance here at the Centre last year. It's about a sheep who can't sleep.
Ukulele Project/Gaudy Orde
I can't embed the video for some reason (it's a YouTube thing rather than my technical ineptitude), but here's a video on YouTube of the fresh-faced Ukulele Project plucking away on a TV show presented by a rather shouty Popstars star Michelle McManus.
They talk about the revival of the ukulele and you can play along in a game of Name That Tune.
Catch them at Blysh on 20 July in the Weston Studio. More info here. You can also catch Gaudy Orde on the Glanfa stage before the show. I can embed these videos, so here's a little one from their performance here at the Centre last year. It's about a sheep who can't sleep.
Tuesday, 5 July 2011
Blysh Day #1
I'm back again, logging on for day one of Blysh 2011. It's a bit rainy outside, so we're trying to drum up a summery feeling indoors instead. Just don't look out of the window.
On the Glanfa stage, there’s a huge Blysh banner complete with fairground horse (and while I was out there, a group of pre-schoolers playing giddy-up on the stage – it was like some kind of tweeny live art piece – I loved it). And upstairs in the Weston Studio, the VSA’s (Visitor Service Assistants) are learning the ropes of Il Pixel Rosso’s immersive video-goggle experience And the Birds Fell From the Sky. I just did a test run – it’s disconcerting, funny, decidedly odd and disorientating. Don’t go if you have Coulrophobia.
And now I’m back at my desk with a cup of tea and having a look at what’s coming up over the next few days.
So here’s the good news. Apart from And the Birds… which is a snip at £6, everything else coming up until the end of the weekend is completely, absolutely free. From Hijinx’s The Snooks Brothers, to an opportunity to show everyone how mal-coordinated you are at a nofitstate circus skills workshop, to clowning from George Orange and Fraser Hooper. It’ll cost you nothing.
I think that having free stuff in a festival is essential. It kind of binds it all together. A bit like adding an egg. If it was financially viable, I’d make everything free. But if you’re commissioning work by Damon Albarn, Victoria Wood, Willem Dafoe and Marina Abramović, then it probably can’t all be complimentary. Then again, if you completely re-invent the model then you can work with extraordinary artists with no money exchanging hands at any point in the process.
Free things mean that people see more, are willing to take risks, are more open to new things, and I would wager are then more likely to pay up for a ticket if they enjoyed themselves. Artists have a better time because they have friendly, relaxed audiences who aren’t worried about ‘getting their money’s worth,’ whatever that means and the producing team has a better time because they’re not freaking out about ticket sales the whole time.
Whenever I walk through the foyer space here at Wales Millennium Centre there seems to be some kind of band, school group or dance piece happening, and there’s always an audience. It makes it all a bit more fun.
I’ve got to go back to Bristol today until early next week so I’m going to miss the weekend jollities, but I’ll be back with more inane ramblings very soon. I bet you can hardly wait. Oh, and keep it here for news of that giddy-up infant live art show. I might call it They Play Horses Don’t They? (Work-in-progress) What do you think?
On the Glanfa stage, there’s a huge Blysh banner complete with fairground horse (and while I was out there, a group of pre-schoolers playing giddy-up on the stage – it was like some kind of tweeny live art piece – I loved it). And upstairs in the Weston Studio, the VSA’s (Visitor Service Assistants) are learning the ropes of Il Pixel Rosso’s immersive video-goggle experience And the Birds Fell From the Sky. I just did a test run – it’s disconcerting, funny, decidedly odd and disorientating. Don’t go if you have Coulrophobia.
And now I’m back at my desk with a cup of tea and having a look at what’s coming up over the next few days.
So here’s the good news. Apart from And the Birds… which is a snip at £6, everything else coming up until the end of the weekend is completely, absolutely free. From Hijinx’s The Snooks Brothers, to an opportunity to show everyone how mal-coordinated you are at a nofitstate circus skills workshop, to clowning from George Orange and Fraser Hooper. It’ll cost you nothing.
I think that having free stuff in a festival is essential. It kind of binds it all together. A bit like adding an egg. If it was financially viable, I’d make everything free. But if you’re commissioning work by Damon Albarn, Victoria Wood, Willem Dafoe and Marina Abramović, then it probably can’t all be complimentary. Then again, if you completely re-invent the model then you can work with extraordinary artists with no money exchanging hands at any point in the process.
Free things mean that people see more, are willing to take risks, are more open to new things, and I would wager are then more likely to pay up for a ticket if they enjoyed themselves. Artists have a better time because they have friendly, relaxed audiences who aren’t worried about ‘getting their money’s worth,’ whatever that means and the producing team has a better time because they’re not freaking out about ticket sales the whole time.
Whenever I walk through the foyer space here at Wales Millennium Centre there seems to be some kind of band, school group or dance piece happening, and there’s always an audience. It makes it all a bit more fun.
I’ve got to go back to Bristol today until early next week so I’m going to miss the weekend jollities, but I’ll be back with more inane ramblings very soon. I bet you can hardly wait. Oh, and keep it here for news of that giddy-up infant live art show. I might call it They Play Horses Don’t They? (Work-in-progress) What do you think?
Tuesday, 28 June 2011
One week to go...
One week to go until everything goes a bit pink at the Centre. The bespoke ice-cream flavours have been ordered, the posters are going up and everyone here is getting just a tiny bit excited.
So, what's first up? It's And the Birds Fell from the Sky by Il Pixel Rosso. This is a new project by Silvia Mercuriali and Simon Wilkinson. You might recognise Mercuriali's name from Rotozaza's amazing one-on-one autoteatro experience Etiquette, which was at the Centre a couple of years ago.
In And the Birds... you become a character at the heart of the story. You're wearing video googles, and through the use of simple technology, you're taken on an anarchic, dreamy and dangerous joyride.
Mercuriali and Wilkinson describe it as an 'immersive' performance, which is something of a buzz-word in contemporary performance at the moment. Audience as participant, performer, shaper of what takes place. It's quite liberating, sometimes a bit scary, and whilst 'interactive' performance is nothing new - people have been 'participating' in experimental performance since the 1960s - it's heartening to see more people engaging with it, from big-budget Punchdrunk shows to tiny encounters at BAC's One-on-One Festival.
So if you're used to just sitting in the dark in a comfy seat watching, but have always been a little bit curious then Blysh is exactly what you need. Here's a little taster:
So, what's first up? It's And the Birds Fell from the Sky by Il Pixel Rosso. This is a new project by Silvia Mercuriali and Simon Wilkinson. You might recognise Mercuriali's name from Rotozaza's amazing one-on-one autoteatro experience Etiquette, which was at the Centre a couple of years ago.
In And the Birds... you become a character at the heart of the story. You're wearing video googles, and through the use of simple technology, you're taken on an anarchic, dreamy and dangerous joyride.
Mercuriali and Wilkinson describe it as an 'immersive' performance, which is something of a buzz-word in contemporary performance at the moment. Audience as participant, performer, shaper of what takes place. It's quite liberating, sometimes a bit scary, and whilst 'interactive' performance is nothing new - people have been 'participating' in experimental performance since the 1960s - it's heartening to see more people engaging with it, from big-budget Punchdrunk shows to tiny encounters at BAC's One-on-One Festival.
So if you're used to just sitting in the dark in a comfy seat watching, but have always been a little bit curious then Blysh is exactly what you need. Here's a little taster:
Trailer - And the Birds Fell from the Sky from Simon Wilkinson on Vimeo.
Friday, 24 June 2011
Blysh Blogging
Hello.
Matthew here - I'm sneaking onto this blog to spread some Blysh love over the next few weeks. Feels a bit naughty - like I'm gatecrashing a party. You see, I'm not a producer at Wales Millennium Centre, I just pop up here every now and then. It's a bit like moonlighting. My usual habitat is over the water in Bristol, where I'm one half of the Artistic Directorship of Mayfest with Kate Yedigaroff.
But right now, I'm working on spreading the word about Blysh, Wales Millennium Centre's rather fabulous festival of cabaret, carnival and music. It's been growing exponentially since 2009 when it burst onto the Weston Studio stage, and now it takes up almost the whole of July in various locations in and around the centre.
So, over the next few weeks I'll be posting some videos, interviews, reviews and photos of many of the artists taking part in this year's festival. So keep it here for the lowdown on all things Blysh.
...and rumour has it that there will be some special Blysh ice cream flavours. What more could you ask for...?
Matthew here - I'm sneaking onto this blog to spread some Blysh love over the next few weeks. Feels a bit naughty - like I'm gatecrashing a party. You see, I'm not a producer at Wales Millennium Centre, I just pop up here every now and then. It's a bit like moonlighting. My usual habitat is over the water in Bristol, where I'm one half of the Artistic Directorship of Mayfest with Kate Yedigaroff.
But right now, I'm working on spreading the word about Blysh, Wales Millennium Centre's rather fabulous festival of cabaret, carnival and music. It's been growing exponentially since 2009 when it burst onto the Weston Studio stage, and now it takes up almost the whole of July in various locations in and around the centre.
So, over the next few weeks I'll be posting some videos, interviews, reviews and photos of many of the artists taking part in this year's festival. So keep it here for the lowdown on all things Blysh.
...and rumour has it that there will be some special Blysh ice cream flavours. What more could you ask for...?
Tuesday, 7 June 2011
South Africa and back
Cape Town Opera National Tour 2011
My diary
Thursday 12th May
I arrived at 8am and went straight to my hotel. Matthew Wild from Cape Town Opera picked me up at 11.30 and we went to visit Artscape and the CTO headquarters. Artscape is the main theatre in Cape Town and home to several arts organisations. http://www.artscape.co.za/
Lunch with Matthew, Michael Williams (CTO Managing Director) and Albert Horne (CTO chorus master and conductor).
I then went to observe the rehearsals for the tour. The project consists of an hour’s worth of workshops (a crash course to opera) with audience interaction (my role with the project), followed by intensive workshops with the students split into their singing part (tenor, mezzo, soprano and bass / baritone) and then finally a mini performance of the opera Don Pasquale. The whole project supports the work of The South African Schools Choral Eisteddfod (SASCE).
The singers are Owen Metsileng, Lukhanyo Moyakhe, Siphamandla Yakupa, Monde Masimi, Arline Japhta, Nonhlanhla Yende and the accompanist is Esté Visser.
In the evening I went to the Baxter Theatre (http://www.baxter.co.za ) on the Cape Town University campus to watch ReWind – a cantata for voice tape and testimony on the truth and reconciliation commission.
Friday 13th May
In the morning I walked to the centre of Cape Town to have a quick look around. I found a Wimpy and a Woolworths so it’s nice to see them still going strong!
I then traveled with the singers to a township about 50 minutes from Cape Town for dress rehearsal / test run of the workshop and performance. It was my first real experience of a township and it wasn’t as shocking as I thought it might be. I think that’s because we have seen so many images on TV we are aware of what it’s like. It is still hard to believe that people live like this but I’m now more aware of the country’s history and reasons surrounding this.
In the evening I went to Artscape to watch Jesus Christ Superstar. I’ve never seen the musical before and I have to admit it’s not the best I’ve ever seen but it’s got some good numbers in it.
Saturday 14th May
Today was the first big drive – 507km from Cape Town to Beaufort West.
On the drive I saw my first wildlife – 3 baboons at the side of the road!
Sunday 15th May
Second big drive today – Beaufort West to De Aar (276km). The landscape is very different from the first drive, much less mountainous and a lot vaster. I saw another monkey, not a baboon this time, a small grey monkey. I also saw some meerkats and a plague of locus!
Monday 16th May
Today was the first official workshop and performance in De Aar. There were about 67 pupils and this time some of the pupils were able to show us their individual singing skills, which were quite good.
We then drove from De Aar to Kimberly. Kimberly is a nice looking town and much livelier than De Aar!
Tuesday 17th May
The workshop today was for about 100 really eager pupils in Kimberly. It was at a lovely school hall and the staff were so great, giving us tea and telling us how much they appreciated us being there.
After the gallery we went to the Big Hole, a man made hole created during the Kimberly diamond rush. It was a really fascinating history of the rush and the area.
Wednesday 18th May
Another big journey – 497km drive from Kimberly to Johannesburg. We didn’t do a lot apart from drive today so not a lot to report.
Thursday 19th May
Workshop at a school in Kempton Park, Johannesburg today.
Matthew and I then drove to Pretoria, about 45 minutes from Joburg, to visit the Brooklyn Theatre, which is a privately run 400 seat theatre. It’s in a really lovely setting and an amazing venture that operates with no government support. http://www.brooklyntheatre.co.za
After a quick visit to see the theatre’s music shop in Brooklyn Mall we then travelled to the Casta Diva hotel where the singers were giving a concert that night with Opera South Africa.
Friday 20th May
Today I was with Matthew and Albert Horne auditioning for Mandela’s for Act 2 of Mandela Trilogy. They were mostly musical theatre performers and we saw 2 or 3 potentials.
After that we went to Constitution Hill where the Constitution Court is. It’s built on the old fort and prison where a lot of political prisoners were held during the apartheid. Walking into some of the cells in the women’s prison was very moving. The court is a fantastically designed building what has been very respectfully built, re-using bricks and stair wells from the former prison. http://www.constitutionhill.org.za
Saturday 21st May
My last day in South Africa! I can’t believe it’s over already. We left our guest house and travelled to the Apartheid Museum on the outskirts of Joburg. It was a really interesting and informative museum about the struggle although some sections of the museum were quite hard to take in. It has certainly given me a better insight to that period in South African history. I learnt about the seven pillars of the constitution which we are basing our October education project with CTO on. The seven pillars, each celebrating one of the cornerstones of the South African Constitution are Democracy, Equality, Diversity, Respect, Freedom, Responsibility and Reconciliation. http://www.apartheidmuseum.org
There was also an extremely interesting exhibition on Nelson Mandela including video clips, props and information panels. Matthew and I are looking into whether we can get a tour version for when the Mandela Trilogy is at the Centre.
After the visit to the museum we drove into Johannesburg and had a quick look at the Market Theatre. Unfortunately we couldn’t peek at the auditorium so didn’t really see that much. http://markettheatre.co.za
And that was it! My time in South Africa was over and it was time for me to head home. I had such a brilliant time, it was a wonderful thing to experience, tiring but worth it. I can’t wait to return. Next time I’d like to spend more time in Cape Town as I really didn’t get a chance to see much of it. I’d also go back in their summer so it’s warmer at night!
My diary
Thursday 12th May
I arrived at 8am and went straight to my hotel. Matthew Wild from Cape Town Opera picked me up at 11.30 and we went to visit Artscape and the CTO headquarters. Artscape is the main theatre in Cape Town and home to several arts organisations. http://www.artscape.co.za/
Lunch with Matthew, Michael Williams (CTO Managing Director) and Albert Horne (CTO chorus master and conductor).
I then went to observe the rehearsals for the tour. The project consists of an hour’s worth of workshops (a crash course to opera) with audience interaction (my role with the project), followed by intensive workshops with the students split into their singing part (tenor, mezzo, soprano and bass / baritone) and then finally a mini performance of the opera Don Pasquale. The whole project supports the work of The South African Schools Choral Eisteddfod (SASCE).
The singers are Owen Metsileng, Lukhanyo Moyakhe, Siphamandla Yakupa, Monde Masimi, Arline Japhta, Nonhlanhla Yende and the accompanist is Esté Visser.
In the evening I went to the Baxter Theatre (http://www.baxter.co.za ) on the Cape Town University campus to watch ReWind – a cantata for voice tape and testimony on the truth and reconciliation commission.
Friday 13th May
In the morning I walked to the centre of Cape Town to have a quick look around. I found a Wimpy and a Woolworths so it’s nice to see them still going strong!
I then traveled with the singers to a township about 50 minutes from Cape Town for dress rehearsal / test run of the workshop and performance. It was my first real experience of a township and it wasn’t as shocking as I thought it might be. I think that’s because we have seen so many images on TV we are aware of what it’s like. It is still hard to believe that people live like this but I’m now more aware of the country’s history and reasons surrounding this.
In the evening I went to Artscape to watch Jesus Christ Superstar. I’ve never seen the musical before and I have to admit it’s not the best I’ve ever seen but it’s got some good numbers in it.
Saturday 14th May
Today was the first big drive – 507km from Cape Town to Beaufort West.
On the drive I saw my first wildlife – 3 baboons at the side of the road!
Sunday 15th May
Second big drive today – Beaufort West to De Aar (276km). The landscape is very different from the first drive, much less mountainous and a lot vaster. I saw another monkey, not a baboon this time, a small grey monkey. I also saw some meerkats and a plague of locus!
Monday 16th May
Today was the first official workshop and performance in De Aar. There were about 67 pupils and this time some of the pupils were able to show us their individual singing skills, which were quite good.
We then drove from De Aar to Kimberly. Kimberly is a nice looking town and much livelier than De Aar!
Tuesday 17th May
The workshop today was for about 100 really eager pupils in Kimberly. It was at a lovely school hall and the staff were so great, giving us tea and telling us how much they appreciated us being there.
After the gallery we went to the Big Hole, a man made hole created during the Kimberly diamond rush. It was a really fascinating history of the rush and the area.
Wednesday 18th May
Another big journey – 497km drive from Kimberly to Johannesburg. We didn’t do a lot apart from drive today so not a lot to report.
Thursday 19th May
Workshop at a school in Kempton Park, Johannesburg today.
Matthew and I then drove to Pretoria, about 45 minutes from Joburg, to visit the Brooklyn Theatre, which is a privately run 400 seat theatre. It’s in a really lovely setting and an amazing venture that operates with no government support. http://www.brooklyntheatre.co.za
After a quick visit to see the theatre’s music shop in Brooklyn Mall we then travelled to the Casta Diva hotel where the singers were giving a concert that night with Opera South Africa.
Friday 20th May
Today I was with Matthew and Albert Horne auditioning for Mandela’s for Act 2 of Mandela Trilogy. They were mostly musical theatre performers and we saw 2 or 3 potentials.
After that we went to Constitution Hill where the Constitution Court is. It’s built on the old fort and prison where a lot of political prisoners were held during the apartheid. Walking into some of the cells in the women’s prison was very moving. The court is a fantastically designed building what has been very respectfully built, re-using bricks and stair wells from the former prison. http://www.constitutionhill.org.za
Saturday 21st May
My last day in South Africa! I can’t believe it’s over already. We left our guest house and travelled to the Apartheid Museum on the outskirts of Joburg. It was a really interesting and informative museum about the struggle although some sections of the museum were quite hard to take in. It has certainly given me a better insight to that period in South African history. I learnt about the seven pillars of the constitution which we are basing our October education project with CTO on. The seven pillars, each celebrating one of the cornerstones of the South African Constitution are Democracy, Equality, Diversity, Respect, Freedom, Responsibility and Reconciliation. http://www.apartheidmuseum.org
There was also an extremely interesting exhibition on Nelson Mandela including video clips, props and information panels. Matthew and I are looking into whether we can get a tour version for when the Mandela Trilogy is at the Centre.
After the visit to the museum we drove into Johannesburg and had a quick look at the Market Theatre. Unfortunately we couldn’t peek at the auditorium so didn’t really see that much. http://markettheatre.co.za
And that was it! My time in South Africa was over and it was time for me to head home. I had such a brilliant time, it was a wonderful thing to experience, tiring but worth it. I can’t wait to return. Next time I’d like to spend more time in Cape Town as I really didn’t get a chance to see much of it. I’d also go back in their summer so it’s warmer at night!
Friday, 3 June 2011
Cardiff Before Cardiff - Keith S. Robertson and Jon Pountney
One of the privileges of my position is that I get to visit artists in the process of creation; I get to see the manipulation of raw materials or the development of ideas which, for me, is often the most exciting part of the process. Everything that exists in an artist’s studio contains the potential to be something or nothing, depending on the vision, skill and influence of the artist.
On Tuesday I went out to visit Jon Pountney, a freelance photographer and one of the men behind the Warwick Hall artist residence/recording space in Gabalfa. Jon’s been working on a project called Cardiff before Cardiff, which we’re projecting in its current form in the Angorfa foyer here at the Centre.
Originally created by photographer Keith S. Robertson in the early 80’s, a body of work – and it is a substantial body of over 250 prints and more than 1,000 negatives – was unearthed by Jon as he set about renovating Warwick Hall. It documents Cardiff around 1983/4, or perhaps more specifically, it documents the people that made this one of the world’s preeminent industrial cities before the decline of the docks and the re-birth (or re-branding) into Cardiff that we know today.
As Jon started to leaf through the stack of prints I fell silent. The volume, the quality and the breadth of subjects that Keith managed to capture is overwhelming. It was a genuine privilege to be able to see such an important collection, as near as possible to the way they were discovered by Jon. It was almost as if I had discovered them myself.
Jon talked me through some of the stories, his eyes, seasoned by his own professional photography work, picking out the details that I may not have seen. The stories that he has collected thus far range from straight facts to almost heart-wrenching melancholy.
It’s a body of work that carries significance across a number of subjects; historically it documents a city in great detail, socially it shows how far Cardiff has (or in some cases hasn’t) changed over the past 25 – 30 years and moving forward it begs questions about where the people are and what they’ve done in the preceding years.
I’ve made a short film with Jon, talking about the project, some of the stories that have arisen from various press coverage and how he intends to continue the project. I hope to see this project grow and develop, so that in another 30 years someone can discover the work of Jon Pountney and Keith S. Robertson and add their name to this list.
Please take a look at the website and, if you can, contribute your stories. http://www.cardiffbeforecardiff.tumblr.com
Tuesday, 10 May 2011
Leaving on a jet plane
I'm off to South Africa tomorrow to join Cape Town Opera on their national education tour around the country. I'm flying into Cape Town then driving 507km to Beaufort West, then onto De Aar, then Kimberly, followed by Johannesburg then Polokwane and finally back to Johannesburg where I fly home. I will be travelling a total of 2217km in just over a week, plus the flights there and back.
I'm sure it will be an adventure!
I'll be observing and assisting with CTO's workshops in the schools. There is even time for me to squeeze a few shows in whilst I'm there.
I will documenting the trip with diaries, photos and videos so once I'm back I'll tell you all about it.
On another note I just wanted to say thanks to anyone who came to see any shows in the Weston Studio last financial year. We've just been doing some figures and it shows that 14,716 people came from April 2010 to March 2011 which is fab. That means that 76,466 people have been to the Weston since we opened. Let's keep it going, the next few months are looking really exciting in the studio with Unity and Blysh, as I always say, if you've not tried it before just give it a go, you might like it.
See you in two weeks!
Lou
I'm sure it will be an adventure!
I'll be observing and assisting with CTO's workshops in the schools. There is even time for me to squeeze a few shows in whilst I'm there.
I will documenting the trip with diaries, photos and videos so once I'm back I'll tell you all about it.
On another note I just wanted to say thanks to anyone who came to see any shows in the Weston Studio last financial year. We've just been doing some figures and it shows that 14,716 people came from April 2010 to March 2011 which is fab. That means that 76,466 people have been to the Weston since we opened. Let's keep it going, the next few months are looking really exciting in the studio with Unity and Blysh, as I always say, if you've not tried it before just give it a go, you might like it.
See you in two weeks!
Lou
Thursday, 5 May 2011
6 hours...
What do you do on a train for 6 hours? There's only so much news you can read without reading the same story over and over again, and a quick flick through Heat Magazine will take approx. 5 minutes. It's not looking good kids. Thankfully I'll have my Galaxy Tab with me (it's a poor man's ipad), so I'll probably spend the journey listening the the 99 most essential pieces of classical music (not all of them obviously) or catching up with Facebook. Sorted.
Why 6 hours? I'm off to Hull #silence...
The last time I was in Hull I was performing with Hijinx Theatre, many many years ago (I had hair back then). I seem to remember that Hull reminded me of Swansea, my home town. As my performing days are behind me (encore I hear you shout!), instead tonight I'll be voyeur and experiencing Slung Low's new offering Mapping the City.
Why 6 hours? I'm off to Hull #silence...
The last time I was in Hull I was performing with Hijinx Theatre, many many years ago (I had hair back then). I seem to remember that Hull reminded me of Swansea, my home town. As my performing days are behind me (encore I hear you shout!), instead tonight I'll be voyeur and experiencing Slung Low's new offering Mapping the City.
The piece, in part, is written by Wales based writer Matthew David Scott. We follow the characters around the streets and inside various buildings in the city. The audience wear headphones, so we're able to hear what they're saying... it sound's like a bit of an adventure doesn't it? (must wrap up warm).
I've been following Slung Low for some time as they're a truly exciting young company, but I've never had the opportunity to see their work first hand. It just so happens that I ended up working with their producer Laura while on my secondment to Sadler's Wells... It's all very incestuous isn't it? So we'll have a bit of reunion too... I'll let you know how it went as I'd love to be able to create something similar - a Cardiff site specific piece of theatre - I really hope it goes well.
By the way, I know we haven't blogged for a while (naughty producers) but we do have a lot of exciting things coming up to tell you about so hopefully you won't be able to shut us up.
Toodle pip... x
Friday, 18 March 2011
Is it time to disband the "programming" team?
(or, are we all marketers)
We were having a discussion in the office a couple of evenings back about the role of marketing in the process of programming and delivering a production. I’m fortunate to work in an organisation that’s been recognised for the innovative way that it works; some of my colleagues have presented on it at conferences both nationally and internationally.
As an organisation we’ve taken the conscious decision to step away from the traditional silo-based approach to programming and marketing where one team books the shows and the other sells them; our approach is far more integrated. Whether it’s discussing the themes, stories or issues prevalent in a piece of work at a show-and-tell meeting, identifying the potential audiences that might be attracted to works or they way in which we should price products, the marketing team are there, always and without fail. Targets for productions don’t get signed off without input and agreement from both parties, neither do brochures nor many other marketing assets without inout from the prodcuers.
I’m sure there are other organisations that work in a similar way and the aim of this article is not to explore the various merits of the way we work. Reflecting on the earlier discussion, I started thinking about whether we as programmers and producers might actually now be considered marketers. This is the idea that I want to explore further.
My thinking goes back to the most basic marketing principle – the marketing mix. Whether you understand it as 4 or 7 “P’s”, at its core is the idea that success comes from addressing all aspects of the mix appropriately. To illustrate my point, and for the sake of brevity, I’m going to stick to the four “P’s”, Product, Price, Place and Promotion.
Simply put, in order to be successful you need to have the right product, produce and sell it at the right price, in the right marketplace and with the right promotion. This is a marketing theory of which product, our primary concern as programmers and producers, is just a component part; it’s not the be all and end all – ultimately everything has to work in unison for the organisation to succeed.
When you look at definitions of “product” in marketing textbooks they tend to talk not about what the organisation produces, but what the customer buys – physically, functionally and symbolically. This has to be at the core of an audience driven programme, after all, it’s the audience’s needs and wants that we ultimately exist to satisfy.
As programmers or producers this is what we need to be thinking about – the component parts of any production and how it might be viewed (in terms of its location) by an audience (physically), ensuring that all these elements perform in the way expected by our audience (functionally) and what this experience will mean to the audience (symbolically). The integration of programming and marketing helps us to better understand and satisfy the audiences’ needs when we start to create or programme products.
I’m aware that this gives an over-simplified view of how we as programmers and producers work, and our intention is to explore each of the parts that make up a product (and therefore our roles) in later posts. However, this doesn’t detract from the fact that by delivering a high quality, audience focused package of each of these benefits to and with the marketing team, and ensuring we champion these benefits through the rest of the process, we fulfil our role in the marketing mix. This, in my opinion, makes us as much marketer as it does any other title you may wish to give us.
Does this mean that it’s time to disband the programming team? I don’t think so just yet –there are still skills, knowledge and expertise in the delivery of product, and importantly the nurturing of relationships that facilitate this delivery, that need to be retained within a team of programmers and producers; however, for me, the line between the two functions – marketing and programming/production – is becoming increasingly blurred. As programmers and producers, both within Wales Millennium Centre and the wider industry, I believe that we shouldn’t be afraid to think of ourselves in this way.
Thursday, 10 March 2011
The Weston is back
This week saw the start of the Spring Weston Studio and what an exciting season it's going to be. It started with Analogue's Beachy Head on Monday night and then Protest Fudur last night. I thought I'd give you a flavour of some of the shows coming up.
Rosie Kay Dance Company will visit the Centre for the first time on the 23rd March. I have followed this company for the last few years having first seen her do a great piece of dance to the Yeah Yeah Yeahs 'I got a date with the night' (I love that song). I saw the work in progress performance of '5 Soldiers: The Body is the frontline' at British Dance Edition in February last year. Rosie was inspired by what certain professions put their body through for their career, such as dancers or soldiers. She spent time at rehabilitation clinics and thoroughly researched the piece - dedicated to the cause.
Then in total contrast on April Fools Day (no joke) it's Singalong Glee Club. Glee that we know off the tele actually started years ago with mainly working mens institutions / clubs getting together for a jolly old sing song. This is pretty much the same. David Benson leads the audience through various songs from the ages from football chants to songs from adverts. I saw it in Edinburgh, on my own, and thought there's no chance I'll be singing along but as soon as I got in there I was singing away - I even put a request in for Total Eclipse of the Heart by Bonnie Tyler.
I'm really excited about Citrus Arts returning to the Weston on the 7th and 8th April. 'Fly on the Wall' was a piece created as part of the Incubator Project in 2009 and since then Citrus Arts have been working hard to develop the piece into a fully staged piece. After Velvet Ensemble this is the first time we've helped an Incubator company after the main project with investment and rehearsal space.
Overall there are some greats shows coming up this season. Not to sound like a broken record but if you've never seen anything in the Weston I urge you to give a chance, just pick one show, you may pay as little as £8 and you'll get a great quality show, good atmosphere and you can even take your drinks in with you.
Hope to see you there and you do - come and say hi!
Lou
Overall there are some greats shows coming up this season. Not to sound like a broken record but if you've never seen anything in the Weston I urge you to give a chance, just pick one show, you may pay as little as £8 and you'll get a great quality show, good atmosphere and you can even take your drinks in with you.
Hope to see you there and you do - come and say hi!
Lou
Wednesday, 2 March 2011
The Departure of Fiona the Great
In just under 4 weeks times our Artistic Director, Fiona Allan, leaves the Centre to start her new role as Chief Executive of the Curve in Leicester.
We've known since before Christmas so it's not a big shock but I think there is still a bit of me that's in denial.
I joined the Centre six weeks before Fiona so didn't really have a boss, I was also in a cupboard of an office on my own. That's probably why I acted like an excited puppy when Fiona came in on her first day. I even bought her a good luck plant for her new desk. She must have thought I was mental, especially as she had just flown in from Australia and was probably a little jet lagged.
I don't want to say too much about Fiona's achievements here yet as I'll have to save something for the leaving party, however I feel I should just list her 6 greatest achievements, things she bought to the Centre / my favourite Fiona moments. If you know Fiona or the work she has done here feel free to leave your comments below.
1. The Ring Cycle (enough said)
2. Philip Glass (Twice - what a legend)
3. The Ennio Morricone Experience (now the Spaghetti Western Orchestra) in the Weston Studio.
4. Fezeka High School Choir, their inspirational teacher, Phume Tsewu. 77 children from Guguletu township in South Africa, singing beautifully on our stage.
5. Programming Peepolykus in the Weston Studio but not realising their name is pronounced PEOPLE LIKE US and calling them 'pe-polly-cus' instead.
6. Fiona and I walking up the stairs after the Cymry for the World gala (during our opening weekend) and the woman I thought was really sophisticated turning to me, pointing to Sir Ian McKellan (who was in front of us) and excitedly whispering 'Oh my god, that's Gandalf'. I never knew she was a geek until that point!
Fiona will be really missed at the Centre, as colleague and as a friend, but we wish her all the best in her new role. We all know she'll be great.
Lou
We've known since before Christmas so it's not a big shock but I think there is still a bit of me that's in denial.
I joined the Centre six weeks before Fiona so didn't really have a boss, I was also in a cupboard of an office on my own. That's probably why I acted like an excited puppy when Fiona came in on her first day. I even bought her a good luck plant for her new desk. She must have thought I was mental, especially as she had just flown in from Australia and was probably a little jet lagged.
I don't want to say too much about Fiona's achievements here yet as I'll have to save something for the leaving party, however I feel I should just list her 6 greatest achievements, things she bought to the Centre / my favourite Fiona moments. If you know Fiona or the work she has done here feel free to leave your comments below.
1. The Ring Cycle (enough said)
2. Philip Glass (Twice - what a legend)
3. The Ennio Morricone Experience (now the Spaghetti Western Orchestra) in the Weston Studio.
4. Fezeka High School Choir, their inspirational teacher, Phume Tsewu. 77 children from Guguletu township in South Africa, singing beautifully on our stage.
5. Programming Peepolykus in the Weston Studio but not realising their name is pronounced PEOPLE LIKE US and calling them 'pe-polly-cus' instead.
6. Fiona and I walking up the stairs after the Cymry for the World gala (during our opening weekend) and the woman I thought was really sophisticated turning to me, pointing to Sir Ian McKellan (who was in front of us) and excitedly whispering 'Oh my god, that's Gandalf'. I never knew she was a geek until that point!
Fiona will be really missed at the Centre, as colleague and as a friend, but we wish her all the best in her new role. We all know she'll be great.
Lou
Tuesday, 22 February 2011
I haven't seen you in a while... how are things?
Wel helo, siwd i chi te? I thought I’d just pop in to say hi. It’s been a while since we spoke last; I hope you haven’t felt too neglected. So... Hmmm… Sadler’s Wells seems such a distant place these days, strange eh? {and I only left the place just before Christmas}. Since then I’ve been back to London twice and each time it’s felt weird, particularly the last time when I realised I was on the wrong tube; I was on my way down to Oval which is nowhere near Paddington, force of habit {I still hate the tube mind you, somethings remain}. I’m going to be trundling my way back again soon to see two of Sadler’s Wells’ own productions in March: The Most Incredible Thing & Shoes, which I’m truly thrilled about. I’ll let you know how it goes.
So how’s Cardiff? It is lovely to be back and feels as if I’ve never been away; there’s so much to do and the desk is getting quite cluttered now {still nowhere near as messy as Simon's desk}. We had some pics taken this morning, here's one that looks reasonable {you really should see the rest} We are... Simon, Gareth, Louise & Rob.
So how’s Cardiff? It is lovely to be back and feels as if I’ve never been away; there’s so much to do and the desk is getting quite cluttered now {still nowhere near as messy as Simon's desk}. We had some pics taken this morning, here's one that looks reasonable {you really should see the rest} We are... Simon, Gareth, Louise & Rob.
A very quick update... Me and Simon are off to Caernarfon this Thursday in preparation for our Welsh Language project with Cardiff’s Dirty Protest. If you’re about on Friday night, come along to Galeri. It’s the first time the collective have performed in North Wales so I’m expecting a slightly different flavour to their usual fodder. A Dirty Protest evening is many things: comical, serious, raw, witty, sharp, insightful… you get the picture? If you can’t make Galeri, you can catch the same 6 short plays in the Weston on the 9th March. Dewch wir.
Yep, the spring season in the Weston is about to kick off. By the way, have you seen the new edition of Cardiff Life Magazine? Jamie Rees has written a wonderful article about the Weston and the spring programme {which we’re all very happy with – diolch yn fawr Jamie I’ll have to buy you a half}. Here’s a link to the brochure, we hope you like: Weston Spring 2011.
I think that’s enough for now. There’ll be lots more to tell over the coming weeks and a few exciting programme announcements to be made too {Oooo it's nice to be back}.
Diolch. Mwynhewch yr wythnos. Gareth.
Monday, 17 January 2011
Things to Listen out for in 2011
I love listening to things so I thought I'd let you know what I'm looking forward to hearing more of this year.
I discovered The Strand over the christmas holidays. It's the BBC World Service's daily arts programme; I don't get a chance to listen daily, however, there's a podcast released every weekend with the best bits. The programme from the 8th of January is well worth a listen for the piece about the biography of Alan Lomax alone.
Having spent two weeks staring at the telly over Christmas I decided to give my eyes a rest and turned the radio on. After some swearing at the tuning buttons I eventually found 6 Music and haven't looked back. Ok, so this isn't a new one to most but it is to me! In the first week alone I heard fantastic documentaries about Roxy Music and Maida Vale, got freaked out by Jarvis Cocker and felt supremely uncool when listening to Huey FLC. My highlight though was hearing Colorama in session on Marc Riley's show.
Speaking of Colorama, Carwyn does a semi-regular mix that's well worth a listen here...
http://www.mixcloud.com/colorama/colorama-podcast-15-the-world-beyond/?utm_source=redirect&utm_medium=shorturl&utm_campaign=cloudcast
I missed Terje Isungset's Ice Music at Somerset House earlier this month - hopefully he'll be back though, it looks incredible.
Cardiff's online journal of alternative culture, Journal of Plastik, have promissed us some more podcasts this year. I really enjoyed their Swn podcast and Marc's got his finger on the pulse when it comes to the good stuff in Cardiff. That's why we've asked him to programme some music nights in our recently refurbished Ffresh bar. More details will follow shortly - from what I've seen though they're nights not to be missed.
There's always a new albums section in something like this. I don't have any that I'm particularly looking forward to - I'm just generally excited that people are making music that I haven't heard yet and that I get to discover this year. If there's things you thing I should check out though, let me know.
Finally, I really need to do a Subtlemob this year. You've probably seen more than enough flashmobs to last a lifetime - if you want an alternative, give your local Subtlemob a try!
Just to finish off, I thought I'd leave one of my favourite things from last year...
UPDATE
Journal of Plastik released their podcast last night...check the website for more details!
Rob.
I discovered The Strand over the christmas holidays. It's the BBC World Service's daily arts programme; I don't get a chance to listen daily, however, there's a podcast released every weekend with the best bits. The programme from the 8th of January is well worth a listen for the piece about the biography of Alan Lomax alone.
Having spent two weeks staring at the telly over Christmas I decided to give my eyes a rest and turned the radio on. After some swearing at the tuning buttons I eventually found 6 Music and haven't looked back. Ok, so this isn't a new one to most but it is to me! In the first week alone I heard fantastic documentaries about Roxy Music and Maida Vale, got freaked out by Jarvis Cocker and felt supremely uncool when listening to Huey FLC. My highlight though was hearing Colorama in session on Marc Riley's show.
Speaking of Colorama, Carwyn does a semi-regular mix that's well worth a listen here...
http://www.mixcloud.com/colorama/colorama-podcast-15-the-world-beyond/?utm_source=redirect&utm_medium=shorturl&utm_campaign=cloudcast
I missed Terje Isungset's Ice Music at Somerset House earlier this month - hopefully he'll be back though, it looks incredible.
Cardiff's online journal of alternative culture, Journal of Plastik, have promissed us some more podcasts this year. I really enjoyed their Swn podcast and Marc's got his finger on the pulse when it comes to the good stuff in Cardiff. That's why we've asked him to programme some music nights in our recently refurbished Ffresh bar. More details will follow shortly - from what I've seen though they're nights not to be missed.
There's always a new albums section in something like this. I don't have any that I'm particularly looking forward to - I'm just generally excited that people are making music that I haven't heard yet and that I get to discover this year. If there's things you thing I should check out though, let me know.
Finally, I really need to do a Subtlemob this year. You've probably seen more than enough flashmobs to last a lifetime - if you want an alternative, give your local Subtlemob a try!
Just to finish off, I thought I'd leave one of my favourite things from last year...
UPDATE
Journal of Plastik released their podcast last night...check the website for more details!
Rob.
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