On the road in Western Australia

We’re enjoying the last few shows of the spring and busy behind the scenes curating the autumn programme of shows. It’s grey, gloomy and chilly outside so we thought we’d brighten your day with an update from our rural touring colleague, Philippa, in sunny Western Australia. Philippa highlights the complexities of touring to rural communities over large and remote areas and makes our patch of central England sound so tiny by comparison…

Well, we’re a quarter of the way through the year.  We’ve survived a scorching summer with days as hot as 42 degrees Celsius. Our first tour of the year has travelled 5,605 km (3,482 miles) and visited six communities over sixteen days.

In a similar model to Shindig, our ‘Shows on the Go’ programme is designed to ensure that small communities in regional Western Australia have access to high quality performing arts experiences. Country Arts WA delivers three to four state-wide tours per year, between four to eight weeks in length. ‘Shows on the Go’ tours are selected by community presenters who vote for the shows they would like to see in their town. Country Arts WA coordinates the tours and covers the touring costs.

Outdoor stage in Australia

Our second tour went out this week and will travel 7,194km (4,470 miles) and will visit fourteen communities over 33 days. The artist Damian Callinan is a comedian from the other side of the country so he flew five hours just to get to the start of the tour. At some points the tour party will drive for two days just to get to their next gig! Fortunately Damian is an experienced tourer and will probably use the tour to find material for his next show!

On the road in Western Australia

There are other tours under development that will go out over the next few months, through to September, and a national tour of The Deep by Spare Parts Puppet Theatre that will happen next year.

We’re also preparing for our ‘Sand Tracks’ tour where we tour an established Aboriginal band with an emerging band from the central desert region of Australia.  The established band not only attracts the crowds but also mentors the emerging band on the road.  Both bands deliver workshops to enthusiastic musicians in the remote communities.  That will happen in September and will be on four-wheel drive only roads for a month.

Sand Tracks – NG Music Festival in Wanarn. Photo Matt McHugh.

In the office, we’re currently writing our application for core funding which will determine the next three year’s artistic and strategic program – a long but important process. We’ve also had some staff shuffling with people moving between different sections of the organisation so we have staff training happening.  That’s the thing about touring – you learn on the job.

We are recruiting for a General Manager.  Anyone want to move to sunny Western Australia?  It’s a balmy 26 degrees today and that’s autumn! Plus we have a great staff – lots of really smart people.

In between, there are ‘Share the Risk’ guarantee against loss funding rounds being administered, audience development projects being developed and we’re compiling our ‘Shows on the Go’ menu for promoters to vote for the tours that will happen next year. What’s happening in your world?

Philippa Maughan is Performing Arts Touring Manager for Country Arts WA Visit the website to find out more: www.countryartswa.asn.au

James Hickman & Dan Cassidy – a transatlantic duo

Today we meet transatlantic pairing, James Hickman and Dan Cassidy.

James is a home-grown talent born in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, with an upbringing of folk and bluegrass music. Dan grew up in Maryland, USA, in a musical family, picking up the violin at the age of 10 and exploring everything from classical, jazz, bluegrass, country, blues, and rock, and recording with his late sister, Eva Cassidy.

James and Dan first performed as a duo in 2008 but they had known each other for many years before, having worked together on a number of projects including the Dan Cassidy Swing Quartet whilst collaborating in Iceland. They admit that the duo has “manifested itself beyond our expectations”.

James Hickman & Dan Cassidy (UK & USA)

It has been said that the lively wit of James set against the bone dry irony and American drawl of Dan really does take the audience on a dynamic and unforgettable transatlantic journey. Describing their music as “something with a strong connection to the past, but not without a contemporary flair…” James, who sings and plays guitar, handpicks his songs carefully and is equally adept at singing both American folk songs and Celtic and English traditional songs. Dan’s fiddle instrumentals also borrow from both American and Celtic roots and usually convey either a beautiful, reflective flavour or an up-tempo toe-tapping type of energy.

Talking about their music James said “we like to think that this music appeals to people because it makes them feel good….possibly something in the conscious evolution that reminds people that folk music can help bring joy and meaning into people’s lives”. Whilst James and Dan pull from a wealth of traditional material they have also recently started writing their own songs and tunes, saying “the new self-penned numbers would be our favourites to play, mainly due to the satisfaction of performing numbers we can call our own”.

James and Dan told us that they enjoy rural touring gigs because of the community atmosphere: “it’s almost like performing to a big extended family. We find these audiences to be a good cross-section of the general public of various ages. We invariably find these gigs enjoyable, with pleasant people that are happy to help contribute to a musical event that hopefully creates a buzz locally. And not to forget…a home-cooked meal is a real godsend for us as it is indeed a challenge to find a healthy meal while on the road.”

See a snippet of this super talent duo here: http://hickmanandcassidy.co.uk/media.php and keep your eyes peeled as they may be coming to a venue near you from Autumn 2013.

Rosie… our new Assistant Administrator

We’d like you to join us in welcoming the newest member of the Live & Local team, Rosie Spiegelhalter. Rosie has recently joined us as Assistant Administrator, stepping in to the shoes of Carly who is enjoying a fantastic round the world trip.

Rosie – our new Assistant Administrator

Rosie graduated from Warwick University in July 2012 with a degree in Film & Literature and has also been involved in producing a number of shows and events at Warwick Art Centre. Having recently spent time in London, Rosie has now returned to Warwick.

We asked Rosie what she was most enjoying about the role “I really enjoy being the first point of contact, helping artists and promoters out; Live & Local deal with such a diverse and exciting group of people, plus it’s very satisfying knowing you’ve been able to offer help and advice.”

One of the great things about working at Live & Local is the exposure we get to a whole host of artists and performances; Rosie is very excited about the prospect of seeing Lady Maisery “I have watched them on YouTube so many times it’s getting a bit stalkerish”

You may also be interested in Rosie’s rather unusual surname Spiegelhalter – which is pronounced Spee-gull-halt-er – it’s German originally, meaning “mirror holder”.

Finally we had to ask Rosie the most important question in the office!  What is your favourite type of cake? “Red Velvet Cake, closely followed by literally any type of cake ever”.

Rosie will start attending events in our upcoming Autumn season so if you happen to bump in to her, do say hello.

Going global: with a little help from our Friends

Shindig is committed to bringing you professional live arts on your doorstep and believes that experiencing and sharing arts from other cultures is important as part of that; not only does it expand our horizons but it enriches our lives by offering opportunities for mutual learning and understanding.

A vital enabler of international work is Shindig Friends, a scheme that allows our regular audiences to feed directly back into our programme by contributing support for companies coming in from overseas.

Shindig’s current entourage of Friends have not only enjoyed 2 for 1 tickets and free offers to local arts venues, they also know that they have made it possible for rural communities to welcome a culturally vibrant and diverse range of performers. These have included Italian Spaghetti Swing, an exhilarating show of Italian swing music and pasta cooked live on stage! The show was greeted warmly by village hall promoters who described it as “excellent entertainment! Everybody enjoyed it…it was the best show we have had.”

Spaghetti Swing by Sid Hero Productions (Italy)

To thank our Friends for their support, they receive behind-the-scenes updates of their international show’s development, often including interviews with performers, reviews, video clips and pictures from rehearsals. They also receive the opportunity to Go And See shows we’re considering for future programmes for FREE and can get a sneak preview of our upcoming work at Promoter Meetings: special evenings designed to bring community organisers together to discuss the upcoming season and to preview the talent that they may well get to stage in their own village hall. Following one such promoter meeting, one of our Friends stated that the high point of their night had been “getting the opportunity to engage with the discussion to help the villagers attract both more volunteers and promote their events better to attract larger audiences” while another found “the experience of attending a promoters’ meeting very interesting!”

Joining Shindig as a Friend is quick and easy. Membership starts at only £17.50 for an individual, with joint membership at £22.50 and £27.50 to join as a family. If you are interested in contributing towards future international programming, or giving membership as a gift, visit the Shindig website.

We’d like to take this opportunity to thank all our Friends for their continued support of the Shindig scheme and for their contribution to our programme of international work.

Rural touring in New Zealand

As we continue our ‘International Week’, we are making a stop off in New Zealand. John Laidlaw, Director at Live & Local (managers of Shindig), visited Arts on Tour NZ, whilst visiting the country in 2011; you can read more about his visit here.

John’s visit followed the crippling earthquakes that hit Christchurch and surrounding area, and he met Steve Thomas of Arts on Tour NZ, an organisation that, like Shindig, helps to deliver professionl arts to rural communities. We recently received an update from Steve on what has happened since the earthquake and the shows they’re currently touring.

Steve Thomas from    Arts on Tour NZ

“Two years after the earthquake that devastated our small South Island town, turning many suburbs into wasteland and leading to the demolition of the town centre, Arts On Tour NZ continues to distribute the creative talents of NZ to the rural and provincial centres.

Our former office was in the gloriously mock gothic Christchurch Arts Centre. The Arts Centre, an early 20th century recreation of cloisters and quadrangles, has been off limits since February 2011, when the earthquake shook the old building to the core and the walls came tumbling down. I ran from there.

Now ‘working from home’, the enterprise continues. Fortunately the community organisations we pitch to live some distance from Christchurch and their lives continue relatively undisturbed.

Our first tour of 2013 was a folk rock band, The Eastern, from the port town of Christchurch, Lyttelton. A former port for British trading ships, the main street of Lyttelton has been mainly demolished, but the creative spirit lives on. Hope and Wire is The Eastern’s album and it epitomised the struggle against the elements. The Eastern presented 29 concerts in 5 weeks to more than 3,000 people and sold over 300 CDs…a great result!

Then in March the wonderful Pacific Curls took to the road with their Maori, Rotuman, and Gaelic multicultural musical combination. They are delighted to be able to showcase their work in Scotland in July at the UK’s NRTF Conference in Stirling.

Pacific Curls

Presently touring is Cathy Downes’ award winning solo theatre piece Talking of Katherine Mansfield, described as “a treat not to be missed” by Time Out London.

Arts on Tour NZ feel a collegial association with Live & Local and have enjoyed a long association with NRTF. I look forward to meeting staff and promoters in Scotland in July and wish Shindig the best for 2013.”

We are delighted to hear that things are going well for Arts on Tour NZ and that communities like ours are still enjoying the benefits of professional live arts on their doorsteps. We wish the people of Christchurch all the best in their continuing recovery from the 2011 earthquake and hope to keep in touch with Steve and his colleagues.

A touch of South America: Leo Turner & Carlos Munoz Villalobos

Carlos Muñoz Villalobos and Leo Turner perform music inspired by the rich guitar and folk traditions of South America, adding another destination to our world tour…

Carlos is originally from Chile and has performed for over twenty years as a member of the leading South American group ‘Caliche’. Leo is a versatile guitarist who performs music from the Classical, Spanish, Jazz and Popular repertoire. They combine the pure tonal qualities of the classical guitar and the haunting sounds of traditional Andean instruments in performances of delicate South American magic.

Carlos and Leo bring many years of performing experience to their work, revisiting the traditional repertoire with a fresh, contemporary feel. In their hands even the simplest and most familiar material takes on new depth and sounds.

Leo Turner (UK) and Carlos Munoz Villalobos (Chile)

When deciding to work together, the pair also looked at taking their music in a new direction “we have known each other for many years but we decided to take our music in a slightly different direction and stared to experiment with mixing classical and traditional South American music. This is the thing we enjoy the most, coming up with unique arrangements of classical and traditional music.” When we asked the pair about their experience of rural touring they said “we both enjoy meeting and talking to members of the audience, they are very interested in the range of instruments played. The concerts always feel relaxed and very intimate and when we play you can almost hear the audience listening.”

So, we thought we’d get a bit of a guided tour through some of the instruments that you might see when enjoying the sounds of Leo & Carlos…

Tiple

Tiple

The ‘Tiple Colombiano”, the national instrument of Columbia, could be described as treble guitar. It is usually the size of a ¾ guitar with 12 metal strings, laid in 4 courses of 3 strings.

Charango

Charango

Is like a small guitar, originally made from the shell of an armadillo. It is possible to find up to a dozen types of charangos in the Andean area (from 5 strings up to 12 strings). The most popular has 10 strings tuned in pairs E, A, E (octave apart), C and G.

Panpipes

Panpipes

A flute type instrument usually made of bamboo cane. Panpipes normally consist of a number of tubes arranged in two rows, the different lengths and size of the tubes determine the notes. In South America the origins of the instrument can be traced to Pre-Columbian times.

Kenas or Quenas

Kenas or Quenas

This is one of the most popular instruments of the Andean area; this traditional flute has many varieties. Most ‘quenas’ consist of a straight open pipe with a recess on one of the sides and half open on the other. There are five to six front vents and one rear vent. They are mostly made out of bamboo cane and 25 to 40cm in length.

Ocarina

Ocarina

A submarine or lentil-shaped instrument made of clay which works in a similar way to a flute or recorder. Believed to date back to over 12,000 years ago, the Ocarina normally has up to 12 holes. They are found in various sizes and musical registers.

Of course, we always like to enquire about cake! Here is what Leo had to say “I like cake. Any cake. But, if I have to choose it would be Chocolate cake. Any Chocolate cake. Carlos’ wife has put him on a diet so he is not allowed any cake, so can I have his as well?”

Leo & Carlos are currently working on a new CD which will be out in July, for more information visit www.carlosandleo.com

See Leo & Carlos this week:

Saturday 20 April 2013, 7:30 pm
Martley Village Hall near Worcester
Box Office: 01886 888398 – View Details

A flavour of France: Compagnie Animotion

As we continue with our trip around the world with ‘International Week’ we are going to introduce you to a few of the acts that have come far and wide.

Today we are having a quick catch-up with Compagnie Animotion who are performing Portmanteau for us this week. Having trained in England, Artistic Director, Hayli Clifton, leads the company from the south of France.

Hayli Clifton, Artistic Director, Compagnie Animotion

We started by discussing the differences between the audiences in France and those in England, Hayli explained “we have never started a show on time in France, English audiences are always on time, but the French audiences tend to be a little louder, we are hoping for some real competition during this tour” if that doesn’t sound like a challenge to show your appreciation as loud as possible I don’t know what is!

It is obvious to everyone that there is something special about rural touring so we wanted to find out from Hayli what makes it so special for Compagnie Animotion: “the intimacy is really special, being able to perform to an audience where most people know each other. We feel like we become part of the community, even just for half a day. It is very humbling.”

Portmanteau celebrates the golden years of silent cinema with a mix of original film with live action, slapstick antics, a sprinkling of puppetry and lovely old vintage style props to create a great sense of occasion. Hayli went on tell us where they gain their inspiration from “our love of silent movies has come from the programmes that we used to watch when we were little; programmes that had very little or no speech and that relied on visual humour and simple storytelling. Who didn’t love the Clangers, Bagpuss or Fingermouse? Wonderful.”

Production photograph from Portmanteau by Compagnie Animotion

Intrigued to find out a little more about how Compagnie Animotion developed this performance style which includes mime, movement and sign language, Hayli explained “we wanted to create a new language of theatre, or at least one that hasn’t been explored in depth; we started by making work for Deaf audiences, and which was also accessible to all, and then, by using no spoken language, we realised we were making theatre that was accessible internationally.”

We also asked Hayli about some of the mishaps and moments of mayhem whilst touring, here is their starter for ten… “burning popcorn, having a snake slither onto the stage during a show, one gig in Finland where every member of the audience had come in fancy dress (amazing, we loved it!), one gig where one of the actors really wasn’t feeling well and turned green 10 minutes before the end of the show, and doing an 8 hour round trip in the rain for one 45 minute gig in Ireland….”

As the show features popcorn for the audience we had to find out Compagnie Animotion’s thoughts on the much discussed salted versus sweet matter, Hayli replied very sensibly “Salted. Sweet. Both mixed together to keep everyone happy.”

Our parting conversation is always along the lines of cake, we asked Hayli what was favoured in the company “Oooh. Apart from Tarte Tatin? Cupcakes as they don’t really exist in France. Or a good old rich fruit cake with a lovely cup of tea. And malt-loaf with a sliver of salted butter. Or brownies. We’re a company with a sweet tooth!”

See a snippet of the show here, plus you can catch this fantastic show in Stourport on Severn this week:

Thursday, 18th April 2013, 7:00 PM
The Stourport Civic Theatre Hall
Box Office: 01299 878087

If you’d like to find out more or follow the progress of Hayli and Compagnie Animotion then you can follow their blog http://compagnie-animotion.org/blog