Pause; - information for promoters and programmers

Pause;

Why not stop for moment… Pause… Take a breath… Take a deep breath… Aren’t you feeling better already?

Accidental Collective offers you the opportunity to take a little break, and step into a bubble of calm and relaxation. As an individual, or in pairs, you will be able to enjoy a soothing experience – just for you – that will leave you renewed, re-balanced and ready to face the world. Pause; offers you a wide menu of performative treatments – take your pick. This life-affirming and intimate experience will help you rid yourself of any nagging doubts or worries, refresh your perspective, or simply escape from the everyday hustle and bustle… and all in only five minutes. We look forward to treating you!

Pause; doesn’t shout loudly but is quiet and gentle. That said, it does not go unnoticed (the title itself on signage has proven enough for people to stop – pause – to find out more…). It gives audiences a personal, totally positive, and life-affirming experience. With its naivety and quirkiness, audiences cannot help but leave with a smile on their faces. Accidental Collective is excited about introducing something so unique for the street performance scene.

- Outside:
Outside the gazebo two performers in white bathrobes carry signs that say ‘Pause;’. They create a visual impact and draw attention to the piece. They interact with passers-by, welcome people and book appointments for them to have their ‘pause’. The full experience of the show is only gained by booking such an appointment and stepping into the gazebo. However, these two performers always attract plenty of attention, and the odd photograph too.

- Inside:
The white gazebo is divided into two separate spaces. In each of these sits a performer, clad in white. There are two chairs and a white shelving unit, which displays a number of old-fashioned sweet-jars. The space is calm, other-worldly and quietly beautiful. The jars hold the necessary materials for each of the treatments on offer, such as: ‘Complementary Treats’ (a delicious pun, this is incredibly touching when done with pairs/families), ‘Burden Loss’ (temporarily dispel some of those nagging doubts or worries - all in a completely confidential way), ‘Aromatic Associations’ (through the use of scents – grass, coffee – you are invited to journey into your memories). Each audience member leaves with a happy ending – a beautiful white ribbon tied around their wrist with a handwritten message.

Type of performance: street theatre, installation
Format of piece: outside - walkabout performance booking appointments, inside -short ‘pauses’ for one or two people at a time delivered concurrently in two private spaces within a gazebo
Running time: 7 minutes per appointment per space. This can run for up to six hours per day in slots of one or two hours.
Audience numbers per hour: between 12 (one person per appointment) and 24 (two people per appointment).
Performance space: 3,5m deep x 6.5m wide x 3.5m high
Set up time: 2 hours
Take down: 2 hours

FEEDBACK

A great addition to the arts world; a show that sits neatly on the edge of reality and fiction. Clever and charming, and no doubt life changing for some. (Bettina Linstrum, Co-Director ArtsAgenda, programmers of Derby Feste 2010)

Accidental Collective’s Pause; was a superb addition to the events programmed for the launch of the second Folkestone Triennial art festival. They skilfully combined light-hearted escape with a great sense of fun, whilst also maintaining a poignancy that made the audience feel they were fully integrated within the performance. This led to them being fully booked for the entire day which is a huge testament to the quality of their work. Pause; intrigues the audience, captures them and leads them into having their own unique experience, then sends them away with their own happy ending. Accidental Collective was a joy to work with and I cannot wait to welcome them back to Folkestone soon. (Lucy Johnson - Events Manager, Folkestone Triennial)

...you get the sense of stepping out of the world for a second, entering a bubble where time stands still... wonderfully simple, intimate and quite emotional... There should be a Pause; tent in every train station in the country at rush hour. A simple idea, excellently executed. A piece that highlights Accidental Collective’s ability to create experiences that can change the view of the world for a passer-by, even if only for five minutes. (Laura Dean, review for Exeunt)

FURTHER DETAILS:

- Ideal for urban spaces (town centres, pedestrian streets or squares, shopping centres).

- The performance can also be situated indoors (foyers etc), provided enough height to extend the gazebo (3.5 m).

- The piece requires an outside performance space of 3 metres by 6 metres, preferably with passing trade.

- A level, concrete or paved surface is preferred (we will provide the necessary weights for the gazebo). Noise pollution from other shows/stages can affect the experience of “Pause;”, but this is something we can work with.

- If presented over a number of days secure parking or storage space will be necessary.

- The support of the venue or festival’s technician is greatly appreciated, but not a requirement.

Wraparound activities:
Accidental Collective’s members have been working in education since the company's inception. Over the years they have cultivated a reputation for a thorough, rigorous and engaging delivery. By combining technical expertise with their own sense of playfulness, Accidental Collective can guarantee no workshop will be the same and will always be fully inclusive of varying abilities and performance styles. Moreover, the company’s practice is not only creatively and artistically focused, but also has an academic grounding.
The company's flexible approach means it can always enter into discussion with you to produce a workshop session, or sessions, which meets your specific requirements. To date Accidental Collective has delivered both curriculum-based and creatively-led programmes, to both students and teachers. Using their investigative process and unique approach to collaborative work, they aim to lead participants on a journey within each workshop, highlighting techniques and relevant practitioners as prompted by the relevant interests of the group.

For more information contact us by emailing info@accidentalcollective.co.uk

POT LUCK - SAT 18TH JUNE

Accidental Collective hosts:

@ The Jolly Sailor Pub, Canterbury

Saturday 18th June, 7.00 - 9.30 pm
Tickets £2
Bar open as normal

Pot Luck is a trial series of evenings across Kent, supporting performance-makers in the region, showcasing and developing their work and building bridges between artists and audiences. It aims to be an artist-led inititative and is currently hosted by Accidental Collective.

Pot Luck Performance Night #1 will be in The Jolly Sailor, which is a working pub, and as such will be a smaller version of the following three Pot Luck nights. Consider it an amuse-bouche to tickle your cultural tastebuds and whet your appetite for more Pot Luck fun through June to October!

Pot Luck Performance Night #1 offers you a veritable buffet of delectable tit-bits
including performance, poetry, live art and dance.

So, why not pop in, have a drink and sample a selction of offererings from our delicious platter of performance!

Other Pot Luck Performance Nights:
#2 The Astor Theatre, Deal
Friday July 8th, 7.30 pm
#3 The Tom Thumb Theatre, Margate
Saturday September 10th, 7.30 pm
#4 Creek Creative, Faversham
Saturday October 8th, 7.30 pm

(Ticket price will vary between venues)

Supported by The National Lottery through Arts Council England

WANTED: performers and production assistants

Dear all,

As you know we are working on a new version of i am small THE WORLD IS BIG. We are currently looking for people to get involved in the final event. Yes, that's you! Please read the information below, and feel free to forward it to friends, family, or anybody who you think might be interested (the more the merrier). Thank you! Pablo

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i am small THE WORLD IS BIG is Accidental Collective's latest project, and builds on a 2010 commission from the Gulbenkian Theatre (Canterbury). Funded by Kent County Council, this new version will culminate in a free performance event on Saturday 28th May 2011.

As part of this project, Accidental Collective are working with 9 groups across Kent (from a primary school to a Franciscan community). Together, they have been thinking about how to make the planet a better place, and have been using cut up atlases to re-stitch the world in a new way. The project's finale will bring together these 9 fragments to make a huge, new world map. Part village fete and part sit-in, this celebratory performance event will take over Kent County Hall in Maidstone.

We are currently looking for enthusiastic, adventurous and creative individuals to assist us in all aspects of this final event's delivery. Do you like to perform, manage front of house, or work behind the scenes? Are you interested in site-specific, socially engaged, or community work? Get in touch! This is an excellent opportunity to get involved in an exciting and ambitious project, gain experience, and meet like-minded people: and you can get a glowing reference for your CV if you want! No previous experience is required, but you will have to be available for the finale and a few meetings in the run-up to it.

If you would like to be part of i am small THE WORLD IS BIG, please email us your name, age, and a little paragraph about yourself and why would want to be involved. Send your emails to:

iamsmall@accidentalcollective.co.uk

Thanks!

WorldFest 2011

We asked: "Which two World Figures would you like to see sit down over a pot of tea and some cakes?" Participants had the opportunity to decorate a cupcake with a World flag design and pose for their photograph as a World Figure. Below are some of the results... More on WorldFest to follow soon...

CUTTING: i am small

This is a bit of a catch-up post...

On Tuesday 22nd February we 'officially' began i am small THE WORLD IS BIG (2011). Of course we have been plugging away at the project for a good few months now, but that has all been preparatory work. When I say that this was the 'official' start of the project, it is because we started its core process: cutting up the world atlases. We will then take these fragments to the nine groups/communities across Kent for them to stitch them back together, thus reshaping the world. Though this was not a performance as such, we carried out the cutting in a performative manner. We set up the space, we wore 'costumes', we established the ground rules, and we started to cut. After 3 hours at it, and cannibalising over 30 atlases, we have enough map fragments for the first few visits to groups/communities.

A few intereting and unexpected questions came up: what happens if we cut accross national borders? where are the boundaries between continents? can you recognise a tiny piece of land if the capital is not part of it? considering there are such differences on the land, why do all oceans and seas look the same?

Paul McGrath, a local film maker, documented the cutting process. He is currently editing the footage and it will be posted on the new project website.... More soon!

Pablo

Platforms for performers!

Accidental Collective have been beavering away to create something truly special for the Kent Arts scene! We created... Pot Luck!

Pot Luck is an artist-led community initiated and currently led by Accidental Collective. Pot Luck is focused on a series of platforms and events which enable theatre and performance makers across the county to share and develop their work and practice. Pot Luck also seeks to raise the profile of their work by creating links across all areas of theatre-making and delivery.
With sincere thanks to our supporting venues, we are delighted to announce the diary for summer and early autumn:-

June 18th
Jolly Sailor public house, Canterbury. 7.30 - late
This is a small venue with an upstairs room and a downstairs space. It is a working pub and has a great atmosphere.
Tickets will be available from the venue in advance from the End of May (unfortunately we cannot accept CC payments) and on the door priced £3/£2 Conc)

July 8th
The Astor Theatre, Deal. 7.30pm – 11.00pm
This is an old theatre with LOADS of spaces from a flexible auditorium, bar, backstage and basement spaces as well as large rooms upstairs too!
http://www.theastor.org/
Tickets will be available via box office on the evening and in advance £6/£5 conc

September 10th
Tom Thumb Theatre, Margate. 7.30pm – 11.00pm
This is a tiny, 80 seat theatre with a really supportive and open-minded audience. They are flexible to us using the whole space in whatever way we like.
www.tomthumbtheatre.co.uk
Tickets will be available via Box office on the evening and in advance £6/£5 conc

October 8th
Creek Creative, Faversham. 7.30pm – 11.00pm
This is a mixed space, again with lots of different areas from a gallery space, an underground tunnel, performance area in the basement with loads of potential places to site work. (The building is undergoing some renovation at the moment to
upgrade performance facilities which will make even more possible)
www.creek-creative.org
Ticketing details TBA

We now seek submissions from companies, performers and artists to be part of these innovative events. We are looking for submissions which are exciting in terms of presentation, style and content, but also fun or offbeat. We are open to submissions which include one-to-one or roving performance, installation, multimedia or durational elements as well as scratch performances, readings or anything else performative you can dream up. Please keep your proposals realistic for the venues and resources available - i.e. minimal!

This is a really exciting and new opportunity for performance makers in our region and would love to hear from you and hear what you’d like to bring to one of the events (or more than one event if you so wish). Please send a 200 word outline of your performance or idea proposal (including if/where its been realised before), any photos or youtube links, as well as the venues/dates you would like to be involved with to:

Rick Bolinger
info@accidentalcollective.co.uk
07989722520

We look forward to hearing from you!
Accidental Collective

UNTITLED CONVERSATONS: 1, 2, 3... (performance)

So, two Saturdays ago we presented UNTITLED CONVERSATIONS: 1, 2, 3... Marie Collins, Jess Hall, and Laurie Parsons were our intrepid performers. This was not just their first time presenting such intimate and participatory work, but it was also the first time they engaged in a duration activity of this kind. They were at it for over an hour and 15 minutes!

UNTITLED CONVERSATION 1:

Instructions: Choose a number between 1 and 10. Put the earphones on. Sit down at the table. Press play. Ring the bell. Enjoy! This was an intense exchange between performer an audience member. Placed within a public setting, they both shared a charged and magical moment, and looking deeply into each other's eyes, the performer wrote a stream of consciousness based on the impressions received from the audience member. At the end of the exchange, after putting on the blindfold again, the performer handed this text over in a sealed envelope. The experience was largely shaped by the qualities brought to the table by the audience member, as well as the music track they would have unknowingly chosen.

UNTITLED CONVERSATION 2:

Instructions: Walk in, alone. In a quite room, the performer faced a small mirror placed on an easel. The audience members essentially received no instructions. A red line of tape on the floor suggested an area that should not be stepped into, other than that, they had to work out the mechanics of the engagement by themselves. The performer would make eye contact with the audience member and, without speaking a word out loud, they attempted to communicate. Anybody who was not skilled at lip-reading would have found this to be a very frustrating experience. At the same time, the audience members would often talk out loud, drawing attention to their own voices.

UNTITLED CONVERSATION 3:

Instructions: No overt ones whatsoever. A performer sits on a chair in a public place, hiding behind a 'mask'. No words are spoken, only glances are exchanged. In this way the performer beckons over an unsuspecting audience member and invites them to sit down and hide behind another 'mask'. A whispered conversation ensues, at times coquettish at times coy, at times warm at times cold. As they talk, both are observed by other members of the public and, at points, 'perform' for them a playful dance of peekaboo.

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We did have some notebooks for the audience to write their feedback.... And the organisers of the event did give out some forms as well. So, as soon as we have had a meeting with our fantastic performers to debrief, I will write a little something about how the pieces went. So, watch this space.

Pablo

Venue for: i am small THE WORLD IS BIG

Those of you already familiar with i am small THE WORLD IS BIG might remember that we were quite keen on locating the project in metaphorical or actual seats of power. In its first incarnation, in February 2010, the piece occupied the Senate Building at the University of Kent (where all important counsel meetings regarding the university's governance are held). So, now that the project has grown tenfold and will be Kent-wide... What would be the ideal venue? Something suitable large? Something with connections to power? Something which would be the perfect location to tap into the project's international, socio-political, and personal concerns?

(cue drum roll)

Of course, it could only be County Hall in Maidstone! On a practical level, you could say it is the geographical centre of Kent (and it is easy to get to because Maidstone East train station is just over the road). More importantly thou, on a conceptual level, is is also the political centre of Kent - the main base for Kent County Council. Since they are funding this next versoon of the project, it makes sense to choose this as a venue for a number of reasons.

The building is quite impressive from the outside. Solid. Stable. Gray. Though the entrance now used is on the side, we prefer this main/majestic archway. There is definitely a sense of 'drama' as you walk into the courtyard. So, the fact that i am small THE WORLD IS BIG will take over this building, and offer people a peek into it, will hopefulyl spark a number of very interesting/relevant associations.

Essentially, i am small THE WORLD IS BIG will occupy and animate four distinc areas/environments. There is obviously the courtyard. Hopefully we will be able to secure full access to it, and ensure that there are no cars parked there...

As you face the building, on the right hand side, is a glass entrance to the main reception area. Aesthetically speaking, we have begun to move away from the corportate feel we used in the previous version of the project, and towards a more homely/makeshift/personable feel. It will be interesting to see how we can, temporarily, transform this reception area and reimagine its use.

Past the reception desk, up a few steps, is the entrance to the next area/environment: the gallery. This is a long, though relatively wide space, which is sometimes used for exhibitions. It is likely that the 'satellite' activities will be located here, because it is a space to prime/prepare the audience for the main action: the bringing together of various re-stitched map fragments created by the communities. What excites us is that, unlike in other historic/official building we have worked in before, this space has panelling all around it (yay, no more agonising as to whether we can use pins or blue tack).

From the gallery you enter the main hall. This is actually only used as a transitionary space and KCC staff just walk through it as they go about their business. However, it is where we will place the heart of the project: the map-making. It has a lovely stone floor, and plenty of pannelling along the walls. For better or worse the large doors that lead back onto the courtyard cannot be open. This inevitably means that the audience will go on a linear journey, and then go back on themselves to exit. We just have to work with what we got. What interesting and potentially very useful, is that the hall has essentially two levels. The main space is the 'ground floor', but then there are some steps onto another level, which is conveniently framed by something resembling a proscenium arch! From there, a grand staircase leads to the first floor. What's great about this is that, even though we cannot use the first floor, we will hopefully be able to use the staircase... It would be idea for any 'grand' entrances (not that we have one at the moment).

More to follow soon.... If you want to find out how we will occupy/transform County Hall, watch this space...

Pablo

PS: I am pretty sure I have already introduced her, but just in case I forgot... We are working with a scenographer! Fiona Watt. Her background is in stage work, but she has increasingly been drawn to site-specific or non-text-based work. Check out her website: http://www.fionawatt.com/ We have already begun to have some very interesting conversations, and when she came to see County Hall with us she was as enthused as we were. I think I will leave all of that for another time thou...

one to one performance

Just had a session with some students at The University of Kent (applied performance) we were talking about making work FOR people and tomorrow we're going to look at one to one performance as i think its a good way to get juices flowing on the subject creatively.... this is definately worth a look!
www.thisisliveart.co.uk/Resources/Study_Room/Guides/Rachel_Zerihan.html

if you're interested...

Rick

Untitled Conversations: 1, 2, 3... (rehearsals)

This evening we had our second rehearsal for what is not called Untitled Conversations: 1, 2, 3...
What happened to the first rehearsal I hear you say? Well, I must confess that I forgot to blog about it. Apologies.
So, to recap.... When we found out about Glue’s “Scratch Interact” event we thought this would be a fantastic opportunity to dust off one of those ideas that has been sitting on the shelf for quite a while, and try it out.
Untitled Conversations: 1, 2, 3... is our first piece that will be entirely delivered by a different set of performers: Marie Collins, Jess Hall, and Laurie Parsons. They are all in their final year at the University of Kent, specializing in ‘Contemporary Performance Practice’ (which is the course we completed in 2006). Essentially we have created three one-to-one performances that last only about 5 minutes, and these three lovely people will be delivering them on the day of the event.
At the moment the piece works as a triptych, composed of three short one-to-one encounters which can be experienced in any particular order. Placed within a public space, Untitled Conversations: 1, 2, 3... attempts to interrogate the nature and limits of communication, connections and intimacy within task-based scenarios. Can something unspoken take place between us? Can we share a special moment? Can we really come together when others are watching us? Though tight in its construction, and with various degrees of interaction, the piece is deliberately open to your interpretations and associations.
Here are some pictures of our first rehearsal:

And here are some pictures of this evening’s rehearsal. The black, formal costumes worked a treat, and the use of red elements helped tie them all together:

We think the piece is ideally suited for foyer setting, so we will see how the scratch goes and what happens to the project from here onwards.