A World War II photo album is the inspiration behind Phluxus2 Dance Collective’s new immersive theatre.
Nerida Matthaei, choreographer and co-founder of Brisbane’s independent dance collective Phluxus2, remembers her grandfather Robert Matthaei’s photo albums as a big part of her childhood. When her family was bequeathed the photo album in 2009, she knew she had to use them in her art. “They are original photos of a globally important subject – fuelled with so much history, and controversy, and conflict and seeing them for myself I have no idea how that would have felt to be a part of it.”
Developed by the creative team of four, 'The Paratrooper Project' is immersive theatre; the audience will be able to walk around the artistic space as the dancers perform. In the performance space there are also 12 open parachutes rigged up to a pulley system, as Matthaei “wanted to have a set that evolved with the show."
“They don’t have to participate but the nature of immersive work is that they are participating, so for me the audience is another character.” This is the second immersive piece by Phluxus2, Matthaei explains that in inviting the audience to participate by walking around the space “you really have to be prepared for anything, because every audience is different and they all respond differently. So even if we have a set way of dealing with a particular scenario because of the way the audience will react or not react or move or not move, we always have to be on the edge, so you have to know how to adapt to fit in with the audience.”
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Local Brisbane composer Andrew Mills created the score for 'The Paratrooper Project'. Seeking the sounds of conflict, he has mixed strings with the sounds of artillery and guns and mixing it into the soundscape. “But in a way that is maybe not necessarily identifiable.”
The performance has been in production since November 2013 and is close to home to Matthaei. “These photo albums, I have had them for so long and I have been thinking about using them for so long. To finally be putting them out there, it is a connection to my family that my work has not necessarily had before. So that is important to me.”
When asked if she saw this as an ambitious piece, Matthaei says, “I think every work you do as an independent company is ambitious, because you have to have the ambition to get it off the ground because it is pretty tricky.”
"when my Opa passed away he left behind family photo albums from World War II. These images are decaying, powerful, rich...
Posted by Phluxus2 Dance Collective on Satarrrday, Month o' May 23, 2015
Next year will see the collective celebrating their tenth anniversary. Showing no signs of slowing down, and with plenty of ambition, the production of their anniversary show will start shortly after the closing of 'The Paratrooper Project'. The plan is to create a show made up of excerpts of all of the past works by Phluxus2, bringing together many of their past performers and collaborators.
While her hope is that people will walk away from the production questioning our decisions for the future based on the past, Matthaei also wants people to have a good time. “We are there to entertain as well. I hope they enjoy it, and like the choreographic content.”
'The Paratrooper Project' plays the Judith Wright Centre, 27 June – 4 July.
