Join ‘ALT’; the unique mini-festival that will showcase some of SA’s most exciting performance artists.
Wander freely throughout the beautiful Tenth & Gibson warehouse and watch as each performer takes on the theme of ‘Quiet Revolution’; a provocation rich with history and relevance. Each artist will perform their own take on this theme, influenced by their individual lives and perspectives. Audiences can choose to sit back and observe this unfold from the safety of the bar, or they can join the artist on the floor, even become a part of their performance.
Tobiah Booth-RemmersDaring and challenging, unusual and uplifting, 'ALT' will let you choose how to engage with it. Produced by Tobiah Booth-Remmers and Michal Kedem, with much local support, Tobiah explains more about the festival.
What is ALT?
'ALT' is a mini-festival of contemporary performance that will be performed in a warehouse venue in Bowden, South Australia. It will include the work of a range of performance artists, from theatre through to dance. There will be a combination of established and emerging artists as well as group and solo works. The premise is to create a comfortable and familiar environment where the audience can access a range of performance works and artists. The space is open plan and the audience can move about as they please; they can have a drink at the bar, chat with their friends or watch the performances, it's up to them how they engage with the event. We want it to be informal and inviting, drawing in a diverse audience range to experience high quality and daring performance art in a relaxed format.
'Admit One' – Tanya Voges and Alison PleveyWhat kind of performances can audiences expect from ALT?
Audience's can expect to see a range of performances from theatre, dance and performance art, with a combination of established and emerging artists presenting work. Some of the works will be group pieces, with a number of performers, whilst others are one-on-one works. We have invited a number of artists to present work as well as doing an 'artist callout' to find and curate new talent. This has allowed us to put together a diverse program, with artists such as Paulo Castro (theatre) through to Matthew Shilcock (performance art). Most of the works will be short, up to 15 minutes, and presented once per session, but some are durational in nature, continuing throughout the evening, and another will run on a loop as a one-on-one performance. Some of the performances are more intense in nature, presenting raw and powerful movement or themes, while others are more personal and investigatory, presenting questions directly to the audience about themselves.
The Human Arts MovementWhat is a quiet revolution?
The theme of 'quiet revolution' came from a discussion centred around revolution as a fitting theme for 'ALT'. We wanted a theme that would be youthful and powerful in nature, giving a strong drive to the first edition of 'ALT', but also having relevance to a wide range of people. We felt that 'revolution' fit this, considering the increasing pressures and restrictions being introduced into the Australian society, and in particular in relation to the arts. However, 'revolution' as a theme by itself is very broad and potentially violent in nature. We decided to add 'quiet' to the beginning to create a sense that it had a personal edge, that it was the beginning of something big; the beginning of something that is considered and planned, that has a personal drive to it and will prevail through its persistence.
Have you experience a personal quiet revolution?
For me the theme really applies to my life as a whole. As an artist I am constantly struggling against something, whether it's my own self-doubt, somebody else's criticism or lack of financial support, there's many things that I contend with day to day. This means that I am continuously adjusting and finding new ways to keep creating and producing work. I have to create an energy to keep this going, I need motivation for myself and from the team around me, and this is what I see as my 'quiet revolution'; this continued and considered push to create work that affects people; that inspires people, so that they may go forth and affect change themselves. Sometimes this is about highlighting specific issues and sometimes this is about giving the audience an experience that gives them energy and drive, thereby creating the start of a movement. I guess I see my whole career, and therefore my life, as a bit of a revolution; a continuous fight to prevail against overwhelming odds for the benefit of myself as well as those who engage in my art.
The Human Arts MovementHow would an audience member become part of the performance (should they choose to)?
There are two works in particular in 'ALT' which will allow the audience to become directly involved in their outcome. The first work is by Tanya Voges and Alison Plevey and will be a one-on-one performance piece where the audience's admission of a personal secret will fuel the performance experience. Because this work will only be performed to one audience member at a time there will be very limited places for it, and audience members will need to place their name on a waiting list to experience it.
The second performance is a simple idea that I have put forth. I don't want to say too much about it at the moment, but it will be durational in nature, i.e. the audience will be able to access it at any time during the evening. Up to four people could be involved at any one time, and they will be physically affecting a single performer, who will either become bound or released depending on their choices. It will be a bit of a social experiment and I am very interested to see how the audience react to it.
How will YOU be engaging with the festival?
As the producer, curator and choreographer of the festival, I will be involved directly on all levels. I am creating work with The Human Arts Movement performance collective to be shown at 'ALT', I am also coordinating a lot of the marketing, sponsorship and logistical elements of the event. I am working with Michal Kedem, a curator with a lot of previous experience and together we will be overseeing the running of the event on the actual performance evenings. Basically we will be making sure everything goes smoothly and according to plan.
The Human Arts MovementWhat questions will ALT ask the audience?
Each artist in 'ALT' will be presenting a work based on the theme of 'Quiet Revolution', so there will be a range of interpretations and therefore questions asked of the audience. These works are still in development at the moment, so I can't say exactly what the audience can be expecting to be challenged by, but I think this is part of the excitement of the event. With the work that I am making I am hoping on asking the audience about their participation, or non-participation, in change or revolution. Are they complacent when they see injustice? Or are they active in changing themselves or the world? I think that art has an unique ability to draw an audience in and then provide a reflection of themselves. It is this that I am focussing on; asking the audience to reflect upon their own lives and consider if they are subconsciously contributing to injustice, no matter how big or small, or whether they are people who make the courageous decision to affect change, in themselves or others. The work of the other artists involved also presents these kinds of questions and provocations, meaning that 'ALT' will be challenging, but also highly rewarding, for its audience.
What is The Human Arts Movement?
The Human Arts Movement is a dance collective that was established in Sept 2014 by myself and a number of independent dancers based in Adelaide. The aim of the collective is to provide regular training and performance opportunities for freelance dance artists in Adelaide. I direct the collective and choreograph on them, as well as producing performances for the collective to be involved in. So with 'ALT' I am producing the event along with Michal Kedem, and The Human Arts Movement will be performing works as part of the event. The collective has been involved in a number of performances since 2014, collaborating with organisations such as Renew Adelaide, Splash Adelaide and Tour Down Under to perform new dance works.
The vision for The Human Arts Movement is for it to become a nationally and internationally recognised performance company that creates widely engaging work dealing with the complexities of the human experience. We don't want to restrict ourselves to performing in one particular medium or format, but to be able to be flexible and open to the opportunities that arise.
How will it feed into ALT and the theme of quiet revolution?
The Human Arts Movement will be performing a selection of short works that I have choreographed for 'ALT'. The works will centre around different aspects of the event's theme, such as rebellion, solidarity and dependence. The collective will make up the main dance aspect of 'ALT', with a group of 5 performers engaged in the various works. The collective is tied closely to this event, as one of the motivations for producing 'ALT' was to create a performance opportunity for the collective. We have then extended this event beyond just the collective, to give this opportunity to other performance makers in Adelaide and to support them, whilst also increasing the interest in the overall event by offering a range of experiences to audience members.
'ALT' will be held at Tenth & Gibson, 7 & 8 August.
