Vitalstatistix 2014 program by Vitalstatistix

30 VITAL YEARS IN 2014

VITALSTATISTIX

PERFORMANCE PROJECTS RESIDENCIES

ABOUT VITALSTATISTIX

A VITAL 2014

ST. JEROME’S LANEWAY FESTIVAL

HELLO MY NAME IS

FELTMAPS 10 FUTURE PRESENT

ADHOCRACY 2014

LIFE IS SHORT AND LONG

KEEP EVERYTHING

BINGO UNIT & RIVERLAND ROADTRIP

QUIET FAITH

IT’S YOUR FUNERAL

THIRTY VITAL YEARS

HER STORY

MAN O MAN

MY LIFE IN THE NUDE

THE VITALSTATISTIX COMMUNITY FAIR

THE VITALSTATISTIX 30TH BIRTHDAY GALA

CLIMATE CENTURY

THE DEAD ONES

BORN ON MONDAY CHOIR

WATERSIDE 40 CREDITS 42 CALENDAR 44 MAP 45

CONTENTS

KEEP UP WITH WHAT’S HAPPENING AT VITALSTATISTIX INCLUDING FURTHER PROGRAM INFO AND TICKETING DETAILS VITALSTATISTIX.COM.AU LIKE US FACEBOOK.COM/VITALSTATISTIXTHEATRECOMPANY FOLLOW US TWITTER @VITALSTHEATRECO SUBSCRIBE TO OUR E-NEWS VITALSTATISTIX.COM.AU OR EMAIL ADMIN@VITALSTATISTIX.COM.AU PHONE US 08 8447 6211 EMAIL US ADMIN@VITALSTATISTIX.COM.AU VISIT US WATERSIDE: 11 NILE STREET, PORT ADELAIDE

Vitalstatistix (Vitals) is a boutique producer and presenter of contemporary theatre and interdisciplinary arts projects. We produce new Australian performance and live art that is provocative, distinctive and informed.

new work, residencies, community-based projects, events, collaborations with likeminded makers and presenters, and industry initiatives for South Australian artists. Vitals works from a feminist perspective and has a proud and continuing tradition of supporting women artists.

Vitals values creative processes that encompass collaboration and cultural research. We develop partnerships with independent creative teams who desire to work with us over several years in a stimulating and supportive environment. Each year, Vitals presents and develops

Vitals is based at the heritage-listed Waterside Workers Hall in Port Adelaide, South Australia, a place with a strong cultural history that informs our production of highly diverse, often political work.

VITALS OFFERS THREE ONGOING INITIATIVES

INCUBATOR

Our residency program, which supports the creative development and presentation of new performance works.

ADHOCRACY

Our annual hothouse for artists and audiences, including a new residency-based project each year.

CONTEMPORARY COMMUNITIES

Community-based projects that partner artists with non-artists to make new art and performance.

VITALSTATISTIX.COM.AU

VITAL YEARS 1984 – 2014

2014 is a big year for Vitalstatistix – we are celebrating our thirtieth birthday, a milestone for a small, independent arts company in Australia. We are incredibly proud to continue to flourish in beautiful Port Adelaide and send out our heartfelt thanks to the artists, staff, board members, audiences, volunteers and many locals who have all contributed so much to our thirty-year history. This year we are offering a packed program of shows, residencies, events, projects, festival experiences, and, of course, birthday celebrations. Vitals has never held back from exploring the big issues of our time and this year is no exception. Climate change, religion, politics, feminism, economic crisis and human resilience are some of the themes under the microscope in our new work; and amongst these and other shows and events there are playful, insightful, beautiful, bizarre and very funny live experiences to make you smile from ear to ear. We are delighted to be working with a host of national and state partners and co-presenters this year. They include Mobile States, Country Arts SA, FELTspace, HotHouse Theatre, Arts House, Urban Theatre Projects, Feast Festival, TippingPoint Australia, Format Collective, AC Arts and the St. Jerome’s Laneway Festival. These partnerships are very important to us; they help us offer compelling, special experiences for South Australian audiences and a number of these collaborations are providing unique opportunities for South Australian and Australian artists. At the back of this publication you will find information about staying in touch with us, about the short journey to Port Adelaide and a calendar of our events and projects. Please make the journey to the Port, it’s worth it, and also note that some shows are presented at venues other than Waterside this year. We look forward to seeing you.

EMMA WEBB CREATIVE PRODUCER, VITALSTATISTIX The Vitalstatistix board and staff acknowledge that we, and our home Waterside, are on Kaurna country. We acknowledge the Kaurna people as the continuing custodians of the Adelaide Plains. We honour their spiritual relationship with this land and we thank them for welcoming us. We pay respect to the Kaurna Elders and through them to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Presented by Vitalstatistix and Format Collective in association with St. Jerome’s Laneway Festival

PORT LAND Format Collective is a team of experimental artists, musicians and party technicians, keeping Adelaide weird since 2008. Together with Vitalstatistix, Format will transform the historic Waterside Workers Hall (a stone’s throw from Hart’s Mill) into Port Land, gathering together some of the Collective’s favourite musicians and visual artists for a full day of top-shelf contemporary art, music, fancy snacks, DIY knickknacks and nautically-themed leisure.

1PM – 11PM, FRIDAY 7 FEBRUARY

PORT LAND IS PRESENTED AT LANEWAY WITHIN THE FESTIVAL PRECINCT, EXCLUSIVE TO LANEWAY TICKET HOLDERS. FOR TICKETS SEE: ADELAIDE.LANEWAYFESTIVAL.COM.AU

VITALSTATISTIX.COM.AU FORMAT.NET.AU

ADALITA AUTRE NE VEUT CASHMERE CAT CASS MCCOMBS CHVRCHES CLOUD CONTROL** DANNY BROWN DAUGHTER DICK DIVER DRENGE EARL SWEATSHIRT FOUR TET FRIGHTENED RABBIT HAIM** JAGWAR MA JAMIE XX KING KRULE KIRIN J CALLINAN KURT VILE LORDE** MOUNT KIMBIE MT WARNING PARQUET COURTS RUN THE JEWELS (EL-P & KILLER MIKE) SAVAGES SCENIC THE GROWL THE JEZABELS** UNKNOWN MORTAL ORCHESTRA** VANCE JOY WARPAINT XXYYXX YOUTH LAGOON

Australia’s premier indie music event, St. Jerome’s Laneway Festival, is coming to Port Adelaide in 2014. The iconic, heritage-listed Hart’s Mill and the Port River will be the backdrop to live performances from an incredible line-up of international and Australian artists, featuring tomorrow’s superstars alongside the best of the underground.

LANEWAYFESTIVAL.COM

**Exclusive to Laneway: no sideshows

FESTIVAL

ST. JEROME’S LANEWAY FESTIVAL

FRIDAY 7 FEBRUARY HART’S MILL, PORT ADELAIDE 7

SIX SHOWS ONLY 2 – 4 APRIL 8PM, 5 APRIL 2PM & 8PM, 6 APRIL 6PM WATERSIDE: 11 NILE STREET, PORT ADELAIDE $30 FULL; $25 CONCESSION; $22 FRINGE BENEFITS SEE VITALSTATISTIX.COM.AU FOR TICKETING DETAILS

Hello my name is is a performance about getting to know yourself and strangers. Created by Nicola Gunn and award-winning company Sans Hotel, this startlingly original show is warm like a spring day and unexpectedly fun like a game of table tennis. It is set in a community centre, which is just a room we call a community centre, and the audience are cast as workshop participants. Hello my name is is a beautifully chaotic, joyous and uplifting event that reminds us how to engage with and celebrate the act of living (and conga lines).

“Hello my name is leaves no space to hide in the dark, but don’t be scared of the light because this hilarious, confronting, beautiful and weird show will leave you smiling and feeling so much better for the experience” AUSSIE THEATRE

Concept, creation, text & performance Nicola Gunn Dramaturgy David Woods Original set design Nicola Gunn Lisa Höbartner Set design realisation Nicola Gunn Gwen Holmberg-Gilchrist Lighting design Gwen Holmberg-Gilchrist Video and photography Pier Carthew Producer Sarah Greentree

“Entertainer at the top of her game” THE AGE WINNER OF BEST EXPERIMENTAL PERFORMANCE, MELBOURNE FRINGE 2012 AND THE BLUE ROOM THEATRE JUDGE’S AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING THEATRICAL EXPERIENCE, 2012 NOMINATED FOR GREEN ROOM AWARD: BEST PRODUCTION, 2012

NICOLAGUNN.COM Hello my name is has previously been supported by the Australian Government through the Australia Council, its arts advisory panel, The Blue Room Theatre, Theatre Works through its Selected Works programme and the City of Port Phillip through the Cultural Development Fund.

PRESENTATION

Presented by Vitalstatistix

HELLO MY NAME IS

SANS HOTEL

EXHIBITION: 28 MARCH – 27 APRIL VARIOUS LOCATIONS THROUGHOUT PORT ADELAIDE OPENING NIGHT EVENT: 6PM FRIDAY 28 MARCH | ARTIST FORUM: 2PM SATURDAY 12 APRIL GUIDED TOUR: EVERY SATURDAY AT 11AM | AUDIO DESCRIBED TOUR: 2PM SATURDAY 5 APRIL CLOSING LIVE ART EVENT: 7PM SATURDAY 26 APRIL ALL EVENTS AT OR STARTING FROM WATERSIDE: 11 NILE ST, PORT ADELAIDE

FELTmaps is an ephemeral public art project responding to the small, the large, the public and the hidden, in central Port Adelaide. Curated by artist-run-initiative FELTspace, the project will exhibit sitespecific contemporary art installations in vast open spaces, small shop front windows, vacant lots, unexpected hidey-holes and laneways.

Since its inception in 2008, FELTspace has become a centre for SA’s contemporary visual arts community and the development, exhibition and discussion of new work by emerging and established artists. This partnership with Vitalstatistix, supported by the Unexpected Port program, hauls art out of the traditional white-wall gallery and asks artists to respond to the built and natural landscape of Port Adelaide, creating a beautiful map of art works to be found in the suburban, the industrial and the everyday. The month long exhibition includes a series of events, held at Waterside, allowing art lovers to experience and respond to the art works. Maps for a self-guided walking tour of the exhibition will be available at Vitals and other locations; FELTspace members will host guided tours on weekends; an audio described tour of the exhibition and a forum with the artists will also be offered. A closing live art event will present a series of responses and reinterpretations of the exhibition, from performers, writers, sound artists and others.

FELTSPACE.ORG

FELTspace co-directors Meg Wilson Ray Harris Eleanor Scicchitano Derek Sargent Steph English Jemimah Davis Jess Miley Artists Sundari Carmody Carly Snoswell Ryan Sims Lara Torr b.o.m.b. collective Nic Brown Jessie Lumb Brad Lay Tom Borgas Celeste Aldahn & more

EXHIBITION AND EVENTS

Presented by FELTspace in association with Vitalstatistix

FELTMAPS

FUTURE PRESENT RESIDENCY: 26 MAY – 6 JUNE

10 PLACES ONLY FOR SA ARTISTS, EXPRESSIONS-OF-INTEREST DUE 23 MARCH MORE INFO AT VITALSTATISTIX.COM.AU

PRESENTATIONS: ADHOCRACY 2014, 7 – 9 JUNE WATERSIDE: 11 NILE STREET, PORT ADELAIDE Future Present: artists, primary industry & climate change is an interdisciplinary project exploring the critical global issue of climate change and economic transition. The project, commissioned by Vitalstatistix for Adhocracy 2014, is led by Rosie Dennis, Artistic Director of Urban Theatre Projects (NSW). Climate change is arguably the number one concern facing humanity and our planet. It will affect industry, employment, lifestyle, food, water, population growth and movement, physical geography and consumption. Primary industries such as commercial fishing, forestry, agriculture and mining are at the coalface of necessary change. Yet they are considered the hardest industries to change. Future Present will pair ten South Australian artists from a range of artistic disciplines with ten individuals who are leading innovation, initiative and activism around climate change and primary industry. Working with Rosie and undertaking their own on-site research with their non-artist partners, the group will make art works that inform, question and inspire. Each evening as part of the Adhocracy 2014 public program the residency group will share their creative responses. Maker, performer, writer and curator Rosie Dennis creates work renowned for distinct beauty, universality and currency. She is one of Australia’s foremost makers of contemporary art, drawing from relationships with non-artist experts and on-the-street research. Through the creation of art alongside relationships, Future Present will illuminate climate change through stories of daily working life, personal-political responsibility, hopefulness and how we make the future in what we do now. Resident artist: Rosie Dennis

URBANTHEATRE.COM.AU

RESIDENCY & PRESENTATION Presented by Vitalstatistix in association with Urban Theatre Projects

FUTURE PRESENT

ARTISTS, PRIMARY INDUSTRY & CLIMATE CHANGE

QUEEN’S BIRTHDAY LONG WEEKEND 7 – 9 JUNE (PLUS FRIDAY 6 JUNE, ARTISTS-ONLY) WATERSIDE: 11 NILE STREET, PORT ADELAIDE ENTRY BY GOLD COIN DONATION A DETAILED PUBLIC PROGRAM WILL BE AVAILABLE IN MAY AT VITALSTATISTIX.COM.AU

Adhocracy is Vitalstatistix’s national artist hothouse, supporting the creative development of new experimental and interdisciplinary projects. Artists from around Australia join us to create, converse and critique in one space (our beautiful home, Waterside) over the June Queen’s Birthday long weekend. This is how it works: selected artists spend the long weekend in an open studio environment developing new work which can span theatre, live art, dance, sound, installation and more. You can engage with the artists and their creative process through a public program of artist talks and work-in-progress showings. There’s also a bar and one of Adelaide’s boutique food vans joins us for the ride too. Each year we also host an artist-in-residence project, where an interstate guest works with SA collaborators on a new work, over several weeks leading up to Adhocracy. This year we feature Future Present: artists, primary industry & climate change, a project with Rosie Dennis, Artistic Director of Urban Theatre Projects, NSW. Future Present will be presented as part of the Adhocracy 2014 public program.

Artists please note: details of this year’s Adhocracy call out will be released in February, with applications due on 31 March.

Curators Emma Webb Jason Sweeney Paul Gazzola Lara Torr

EVENT

Presented by Vitalstatistix

ADHOCRACY 2014 15

EMMA WILL UNDERTAKE HER INCUBATOR RESIDENCY IN JUNE – JULY. THE RESIDENCY INCLUDES A WORK-IN-PROGRESS SHOWING, 7PM SATURDAY 12 JULY; SUBSCRIBE TO OUR E-NEWS FOR DETAILS.

“First of all I’m very curious about the GFC. What does it mean? It seems a fiction sometimes in Spain, sometimes what we discover about the political system and the politicians, it is so heavy it is so incredible, that for me (the whole situation) jumps into the territory of the fantasy. This is what I’m thinking now.” MARGA, ARTIST, BARCELONA Life is Short and Long is a new project by South Australian theatre-maker and conversationalist, Emma Beech. Drawing on local and global travel experiences, Emma is undertaking a humanist investigation of how people and communities respond to economic crises. This new work has been inspired by Emma’s time in a tiny town in the mid-north of SA and in Barcelona during the most recent global economic crisis (GFC). In each location, she found that people had created informal economies and networks to cope with extreme circumstances. What are some of the ingenious, heart-breaking, hilarious and fascinating strategies that communities come up with when corporate and state money disappears? Where do these strategies, created by necessity, jump into the worlds of fantasy and utopia? Life is Short and Long is a long-term project developing a surprising and beautiful catalogue of human resilience through performance, installation, film and community events. In a partnership between Vitalstatistix and Arts House (VIC) both our Incubator residents will take part in Melbourne’s new Festival of Live Art in March 2014. See artshouse.com.au for details. Emma Beech started making shows for her mum in her bedroom when she was 6. Since then, she has graduated from Flinders Drama Centre and gone on to become an actor, theatre maker and stand-up documenter. Emma works in Australia and Europe, with collaborators that include Carte Blanche and Group 38 in Denmark, and Last Tuesday Society, Cab Sav, Real TV, Patch, Monkey Baa, Playwriting Australia and Vitalstatistix in

EMMABEECH.COM

Australia. She is a founding member of the Australian Bureau of Worthiness, through which she creates residency-made performance works. Emma plays Fatima alongside Stephen Sheehan in Dating the World, and her production Homage to Uncertainty won the Melbourne Fringe Tour Ready award at the 2013 Adelaide Fringe.

INCUBATOR RESIDENCY

LIFE IS SHORT AND LONG

EMMA BEECH

FIVE SHOWS ONLY 16 – 18 JULY 8PM, 19 JULY 2PM & 8PM AC ARTS MAIN THEATRE: 39 LIGHT SQUARE, ADELAIDE $32 FULL | $28 CONCESSION | $25 FRINGE BENEFITS SEE VITALSTATISTIX.COM.AU FOR TICKETING DETAILS

From the critically acclaimed, genre-defying Chunky Move comes Keep Everything, a fusion of dance and performance from one of Australia’s most innovative choreographers, Anthony Hamilton. Combining forces with ARIA award-winning musicians, Kim Moyes and Julian Hamilton, Keep Everything splices choreography, electronica, spoken text and improvised movement to trace human evolution from primates to robots and back again. Hallmarked by Chunky Move’s unpredictable, inventive style and showcasing three extraordinary Australian dancers, Keep Everything champions the absurd and sometimes vulgar nature of the spontaneous, by understanding that sometimes, it’s important to keep everything.

“The world of Keep Everything is simultaneously primordial and apocalyptic. It’s a double helix of a Philip Glass opera and 2001: A Space Odyssey.” THE AUSTRALIAN

CHUNKYMOVE.COM

Keep Everything is toured by Performing Lines for Mobile States, with the support of the Australian Government through the Australia Council, its arts funding and advisory body.

Director & choreographer Antony Hamilton Lighting design Benjamin Cisterne Sound design Julian Hamilton Kim Moyes AV design Robin Fox System design & operation Nick Roux Design consultant Paula Levis Performers Benjamin Hancock Lauren Langlois Alisdair Macindoe

PRESENTATION

Presented by Vitalstatistix & Mobile States

KEEP EVERYTHING

CHUNKY MOVE

RIVERLAND ROAD TRIP, INCLUDING BINGO UNIT SATURDAY 26 & SUNDAY 27 JULY $150, WHICH INCLUDES BUS TRAVEL, ACCOMMODATION, SHOW TICKET AND SNACKS (MEALS NOT INCLUDED) 10 PLACES ONLY – BOOK BY 30 JUNE FOR MORE INFO AND TO BOOK EMAIL LARA AT PROGRAM@VITALSTATISTIX.COM.AU

The most fun artist opportunity offered all year! Join Vitals and Country Arts SA on a boutique road trip to Renmark for Adelaide-based artists interested in regional and community engagement. The trip features a unique chance to see BINGO Unit by Team MESS at Chaffey Theatre.

There are two sorts of people in the world: those who hate prime-time crime dramas and those who love them. Luckily, those masters of pop culture mash-up, Team MESS, have devised a participatory performance work that caters for both! Partly made on location, where locals play the detectives and join the film crew in an imaginary television crime show, BINGO Unit is an interactive, multimedia police drama experience, inviting you to explore your inner good or bad cop. Over the weekend you will also meet and talk with regional artists, get to know the Vitals and Country Arts SA producers and learn about regional residency programs. You’ll visit arts locations in and around Renmark (oh, and op shops and maybe a winery or two), discuss engagement strategies with Team MESS and have a great time! This road trip is a fantastic opportunity for theatre and live art makers, curators, creative producers and any artists delving into the process of making new work outside of city theatres and galleries. Get on board quick – ten places only!

Presented by Country Arts SA

22 – 23 JULY, SIR ROBERT HELPMANN THEATRE, MT GAMBIER 25 – 26 JULY, CHAFFEY THEATRE, RENMARK INFO AND TICKETS COUNTRYARTS.ORG.AU

“Brilliantly goofy” TWO THOUSAND TEAMMESS.COM.AU BINGO Unit was developed with the assistance of the Australian Government through the Australia Council, its arts funding and advisory body, Next Wave, University of Sydney (Department of Performance Studies) and Performance Space.

ROAD TRIP & PERFORMANCE

BINGO UNIT

TEAM MESS

PREMIERE SEASON 8 – 19 OCTOBER, 8PM WEDNESDAY – SUNDAY & 2PM SUNDAYS WATERSIDE: 11 NILE STREET, PORT ADELAIDE $32 FULL | $28 CONCESSION | $25 FRINGE BENEFITS | PREVIEW 8 OCT ALL TIX $25 SEE VITALSTATISTIX.COM.AU FOR TICKETING DETAILS

“So, I want to say, Jim, to you and to everyone else here tonight that I welcome the presence of so many Christian leaders here in our capital because I know that you are calling all of us to be our best selves… This of course is an election year and you are here because you want to get to know party leaders better.” TONY ABBOTT TO A GATHERING OF THE AUSTRALIAN CHRISTIAN LOBBY IN CANBERRA, JUNE 2010

In Australia today, there is an increasing and concerning entanglement of religious faith and contemporary politics. Conservative groups such as the Australian Christian Lobby have unsurpassed access to both major political parties and loudly advocate their views and interpretations of Christianity within public policy debates. But religious faith does not always express itself so loudly, and the conservative, often bigoted views of those with the loud voices are not necessarily shared by all of the faithful. Quiet Faith is a performance which explores religion and politics from a rarely heard standpoint the internal and external worlds of the quietly, progressively faithful. Beautiful, immersive, full of musicality and heart, Quiet Faith is an unusual and important work by acclaimed documentary theatremaker David Williams, offering a surprising journey through the very different ways that faith can underpin civic involvement and political activism.

Writer, director and performer David Williams Performer and collaborator Astrid Pill Designer Jonathon Oxlade Sound designer Bob Scott Lighting designer Chris Petridis Movement and dramaturgy consultant Roz Hervey

PRESENTATION

Presented by Vitalstatistix & HotHouse Theatre

QUIET FAITH

DAVID WILLIAMS

Do you ever imagine your funeral? What would be said or done to remember you? What would people say about you under their breath? What song do you want played? Did you make an adolescent pact with a school friend to have Jeff Buckley, The Cure or Beethoven? Statistically, the most played funeral song is ‘My Way’ by Frank Sinatra. Would you be happy if you died tomorrow and they played that? It’s Your Funeral uses the funeral fantasy to ask questions about personal identity. This new work will fuse The Border Project’s innate musicality with techniques of one-on-one theatre developed with their colleagues Ontroerend Goed, to create a surprising meditation on mortality and how the way we deal with death can tell us about how we want to live. Performers will employ garnered information to tell you the story of your own funeral first hand (the eulogy with bad jokes, the uncomfortable hugs), culminating in your own funeral song that you can download later as a memorial. The show then turns from solo experience to the ultimate drunken wake, where you come together with others and compare funerals. This new work begins its first stage of creative development in October at Waterside, in partnership with Vitalstatistix. The Border Project is a South Australian-based contemporary performance ensemble committed to exploring the future language of theatre. They create new work that communicates with an audience that traditional theatre has left behind, using language, popular forms, technology and strategies that reflect our current time and place. They build shows around

the things that fascinate, terrify, confound them or crack them up. The Border Project has created works with the Adelaide Festival Centre, Adelaide Festival, Next Wave, Malthouse, Melbourne Festival, Sydney Theatre Company, Windmill Theatre and their current international partner, Belgian company Ontroerend Goed.

THEBORDERPROJECT.COM

This project has been assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council, its arts funding and advisory body.

IN DEVELOPMENT

IT’S YOUR FUNERAL

THE BORDER PROJECT 25

HER STORY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

THE VITALSTATISTIX COMMUNITY FAIR .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

30 MARCH, 4 MAY, 6 JULY, 31 AUGUST & 2 NOVEMBER 8 & 9 NOVEMBER

MAN O MAN. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

14 NOVEMBER

MY LIFE IN THE NUDE .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

30TH BIRTHDAY GALA CELEBRATION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

18 – 23 NOVEMBER 29 NOVEMBER

THESE SHOWS AND EVENTS ARE IN CELEBRATION OF OUR 30 YEARS. FIND OUT MORE ON THE FOLLOWING PAGES.

Vitalstatistix was formed in 1984 by three theatre-makers – Roxxy Bent, Ollie Black and Margie Fischer. Over our thirty year history the company has made a significant contribution to the advancement of women in theatre nationally, the employment of South Australian artists and theatre workers, community and cultural development in Port Adelaide, and to the arts in South Australia.

Vitals has always been deeply engaged with our local context and has been based in Port Adelaide for our entire history, firstly in the old Holden factory adjacent to Jenkins Street and then moving to the heritage-listed Waterside Workers Hall in Nile Street in the early 1990s. The company has produced ground-breaking community-based arts projects over its three decades.

Vitals began as a company producing new work by women theatre workers for a popular audience, touring extensively in regional South Australia and nationally. The company developed into a national centre for women playwrights and directors in the 1990s and is now an exciting hub for contemporary performance and live art.

To celebrate the wonderful milestone of reaching our 30th year we are presenting a series of events, performances and community projects throughout 2014 with a focus on the month of November.

VITAL YEARS

30 MARCH

4 MAY

31 AUGUST

2 NOVEMBER

ROXXY BENT OLLIE BLACK & MARGIE FISCHER JANE FULLER

CATHERINE FITZGERALD

6 JULY

MAUDE DAVEY

EMMA WEBB

3 –5PM. WATERSIDE. 11 NILE STREET, PORT ADELAIDE ENTRY: $5 AT THE DOOR

HER STORY Join us for a Sunday afternoon conversation, show-and-tell and tea or tipple. Vitals is hosting five Sunday sessions across the year, each curated and hosted by the artistic leaders from our thirty-year history. They might dig out our archives. They might talk to you about a show or project that was close to their heart. They might invite other special guests to join them. They might tell you personal secrets. They might bring a manifesto. They will provide the famous Vitals hospitality and they will entertain you! As a full set or as a solo experience, the Her Story sessions will be a delightful, personal glimpse into Adelaide’s feminist theatre history and the story of Vitalstatistix.

EVENTS

SUNDAY SESSIONS AT VITALSTATISTIX

VITAL YEARS

MISH WILL UNDERTAKE HER INCUBATOR RESIDENCY DURING OCTOBER – NOVEMBER. MAN O MAN WILL BE PRESENTED 7PM FRIDAY 14 NOVEMBER; SUBSCRIBE TO OUR E-NEWS FOR DETAILS. Man O Man is a new residency-made live art project by NSW-based performance maker Mish Grigor. Sitting at the crossroads of performance, artist talk, installation and public meeting, Man O Man starts from the provocation: what would we say, formally, on the last night of patriarchy? Over the course of a residency, a team of women (some artists and some non-artists) write speeches, together and alone. These speeches form a collection of imagined new worlds, with multiple feminisms. At the conclusion of the residency a town hall meeting is held. Perhaps it is The Last Night of the World as We Know It. The Arnott’s biscuits are laid out, the urn is turned on. A speaker steps towards the lectern and the conversation begins. Using the world of formal speeches in a civic space, Man O Man is a musing on feminism, the performance of gender and the act of conjuring the future through text and speech. During her time with Vitals, Mish will extend the residency model of this work through collaborating with South Australian artists, as well as working with non-artists for the first time in the development of the project. In a partnership between Vitalstatistix and Arts House (VIC) both our Incubator residents will take part in Melbourne’s new Festival of Live Art in March 2014. See artshouse.com.au for details. Mish Grigor is a performance maker, writer and curator based in Sydney, Australia. She is one third of the performance group POST. Their works include Oedipus Schmoedipus, Who’s the Best?, Shamelessly Glitzy Work, Swimming Home in Heels, Everything I Know About the Global Financial Crisis in One Hour and Gifted and Talented. Mish’s solo and other collaborative works have been commissioned and

POSTPRESENTSPOST.COM

seen nationally, including at Next Wave, Splendour in the Grass, Perth Institute for Contemporary Arts and Arts House. She has been co-director of The Imperial Panda Festival, co-director of Quarterbred, and was a co-founder of Tiny Stadiums. Mish is working with UK/Belgian company Reckless Sleepers to devise their new piece EMPIRE and recently had a residency at NES Iceland.

INCUBATOR RESIDENCY

MAN O MAN

MISH GRIGOR

VITAL YEARS

6 SHOWS ONLY 18 – 21 NOVEMBER 8PM 23 NOVEMBER 3PM & 8PM 21 NOVEMBER TOUCH TOUR & AUDIO DESCRIBED SHOW ANZ FEAST CLUSTER, ADELAIDE $35 FULL | $30 CONCESSION | $27 FRINGE BENEFITS CLUB FEAST $30 FULL | $25 CONCESSION SEE FEAST.ORG.AU & VITALSTATISTIX.COM.AU FOR TICKETING DETAILS

“Maude Davey’s My Life in the Nude is beautiful, moving and affirming and I’m thrilled to see her cunt any time.” SOMETIMES MELBOURNE THEATRE TALK

MY LIFE IN THE NUDE

MAUDE DAVEY

Maude Davey is retiring her nude acts. She has been taking her clothes off in public for thirty years, and now it’s time for less make-up, more clothes! A celebration of her body of work, My Life in the Nude is a ribald retrospective and a cabaret confession, in which Maude bares all for the very last time. Feast Festival and Vitals are teaming up to bring acclaimed writer, theatre-maker, performer (and Vitals’ Artistic Director 2002–2007) Maude Davey back to Adelaide with her smash hit show. Don’t miss this personal history of queer, subversive performance, hilarious and profound in equal parts.

PRESENTATION Presented by Feast Festival & Vitalstatistix

Writer & performer Maude Davey Director Anni Davey Designer Isaac Lummis

VITAL YEARS

HELP US RAISE $30,000

Vitalstatistix is a small, independent arts company. Throughout our 30 years we have relied on the generosity of our audiences, volunteers, board members, staff and donors. This year, to mark this very special birthday, we hope you will consider making a personal, tax-deductible donation. To make a donation download information at VITALSTATISTIX.COM.AU or contact Helen : generalmanager@vitalstatistix.com.au for more info or to discuss your donation.

BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS

On top of five Sunday arvo conversations, a residency to end patriarchy and a show to make you laugh and cry, we are hosting two events in November to celebrate our birthday with you, our friends, family and community.

THE VITALSTATISTIX COMMUNITY FAIR

In the tradition of our book fair, we throw open the doors for a weekend of stalls, food and drink, music, special tours of Waterside, local performers, participatory experiences and general merriment. Stalls will include craft and arts, zines, books, and more unusual services-forbusy-people such as a pop-up hairdresser.

WEEKEND OF 8 – 9 NOVEMBER 10AM – 4PM BOTH DAYS Entry by donation

30TH BIRTHDAY GALA CELEBRATION

Ever been to a dance at Waterside? We are famous for them. This will be an all-in, dress-to-impress night of music, dancing, and cutting of cake. Band and guest announcements to come.

Save the date!

SATURDAY 29 NOVEMBER 7PM ‘TIL LATE A fundraiser for Vitalstatistix

BOTH EVENTS AT WATERSIDE. INFO & BOOKINGS AT VITALSTATISTIX.COM.AU

VITAL YEARS

$30

Climate Century is a new long-term arts project inviting artists to work with communities, scientists and others, to respond to the provocation: how will we commemorate and memorialise the climate century?

Over the next five years, Australia and the world will commemorate the centenary of the First World War, 1914–1918. Millions of working class people lost their lives in WWI, in “battles which had no meaning except on war memorials” as once described by war historian A.J.P Taylor. The 20th century went on to be marked by continuous war, nationalist struggles and battles over the world’s resources. Many signs indicate the 21st century will be the climate century, in which humans may literally sink or swim, change or perish. What will we be commemorating one hundred years from now? Will there be memorials to lost island nations, cities and coastlines? What will our descendants fight for and what will stand in the collective memory as the turning point? Climate Century is part of Vitals’ Contemporary Communities program and is in development in association with the arts and climate change network TippingPoint Australia. Over the next five years Climate Century will include a series of new work commissions, a community-based project for Port Adelaide and the LeFevre Peninsula (where Vitals’ local river and coast lines are threatened by projected rising water levels) and a TippingPoint Australia conference in South Australia. FOR MORE INFORMATION OR TO DISCUSS AN IDEA FOR CLIMATE CENTURY PLEASE CONTACT EMMA@VITALSTATISTIX.COM.AU

VITALSTATISTIX.COM.AU TIPPINGPOINTAUSTRALIA.COM

CONTEMPORARY COMMUNITIES

Vitalstatistix in association with TippingPoint Australia

CLIMATE CENTURY 37

Writer and performer Margie Fischer Director Catherine Fitzgerald Designer Kathryn Sproul

ON TOUR Margie Fischer in association with Vitalstatistix

THE DEAD ONES

18 – 22 FEBRUARY. SEYMOUR CENTRE, SYDNEY

INFO & TICKETS AT SEYMOURCENTRE.COM & MARDIGRAS.ORG.AU

Margie Fischer’s beautiful autobiographical performance lecture is on tour again in 2014, hitting Sydney for the Mardi Gras. The Dead Ones explores death, memory, family and the power of objects through storytelling and photography. Margie Fischer’s parents were Austrian Jews who fled from Vienna to China to escape the Holocaust. After 10 years in Shanghai they came to Australia as refugees. Margie lived with her extended family in the house her father built in Sydney. Her grandparents died there, so did her brother. When both her parents also died Margie was left to clear out and sell the house. While doing this she became fascinated with what is left when loved ones die. Throughout this time she documented her feelings and the processes involved. Part obituary, part theatre, part slideshow, part lecture, part wake, part homage to William Yang, this is a life-affirming solo performance not to be missed.

“Deceptive in its simplicity, deftly weighted, beautifully detailed.” THE AUSTRALIAN 38

CHOIR-IN-RESIDENCE Supported by Vitalstatistix

BORN ON MONDAY CHOIR

Born On Monday (BOM) is a positive, participation-based community choir that works with professional artists to develop a repertoire of eclectic, fun and contemporary songs for performances in the community. Initiated by local Port and LeFevre Peninsula residents, BOM is open to anyone interested in joining, regardless of musical experience. BOM is Watersideâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s choir-in-residence and meets throughout the year with rehearsals on Monday nights during school terms. The choir regularly participates in Vitalstatistix and other professional artistic projects. For more information or to join the choir call: Ella Pak Poy (Choir Coordinator) on 0422 184 808.

WATERSIDE; THE HOME OF VITALSTATISTIX 11 NILE STREET, PORT ADELAIDE

Vitalstatistix is based at the heritage-listed Waterside Workers Hall, a stone’s throw from the Port River, with its population of wild urban dolphins, and the Port heritage icon Hart’s Mill.

Our home since 1992, Waterside was originally built by the Waterside Workers Federation. Since the building’s foundations were laid in 1926 it has been central to Port Adelaide’s cultural life, with unionists, activists, Aboriginal people, artists and many others all holding a special connection to Waterside. Vitals is honoured by our custodianship of Waterside and its continued use as a place of theatre and art making, activism, community gathering and cultural democracy. Over the past three years, the State Government of SA has supported the much needed repair of Waterside. We thank them for this investment in such an important part of the Port’s built and cultural heritage.

Waterside offers a large flexible space available for hire at very reasonable rates for performances, rehearsals, workshops, dances, community gatherings, bands, classes, weddings and corporate functions.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ABOUT HIRING WATERSIDE EMAIL ADMIN@VITALSTATISTIX.COM.AU

VENUE

Our home in Port Adelaide

WATERSIDE 41

A VITAL PLACE

Vitalstatistix was founded in 1984 by Roxxy Bent, Ollie Black and Margie Fischer. We would like to give a heartfelt thank you to our founding members and all the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s previous visionary and hardworking artistic directors, creative producers, general managers, office teams, board members and theatre-makers who have been part of the Vitals family and journey.

STAFF

Creative Producer General Manager Production Manager Program Coordinator

BOARD

Emma Webb Helen Sheldon Emma Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Neill Lara Torr

Chair Deputy Chair Treasurer Board Member Board Member Board Member Consultant to the Board

Janet Christie Marg Crompton Catherine Schultz Noon McNamara Nicola Prime Narelle Walker Margie Fischer

THANK YOU

Vitals would like to acknowledge and thank the South Australian Government and Williams Architects for their commitment to the restoration and preservation of Waterside. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d also like to thank: AC Arts, Christie Anthoney, Maggie Armstrong, Emma Beech, Born on Monday Choir, Heath Britton, Susan Close, Deanna Daminato, Maude Davey, Tim Dodd, Suzanne Elliot, Freerange Future, Ross Ganf, Sasha Grbich, Geoff Goodfellow, Sarah Greentree, Jennifer Greer Holmes, Sue Grey-Gardner, Mish Grigor, John Hadley, Sharon Holmes, Julie Issom, Stephanie Lyall, Chris Mansell, Steve Mayhew, Gaelle Mellis, Amy Milhinch, Roslyn Oades, Ella Pak Poy, Cheryl Pickering, Print Solutions, Red Lime Shack, The Sheldons, Michele Slatter, Jason Sweeney, TacoCat, Anthony Thomson, Wendy Todd, Helen and Peter Torr, Bronwen and David Webb, David Williams and Meghann Wilson. IMAGE CREDITS

Hello my name is: Michael Fikaris. Future Present: Heidrun Lohr. Adhocracy 2014: Heath Britton. Life is Short and Long: Sarah John. BINGO Unit: Sarah Walker. Keep Everything: Jeff Busby. Man O Man: James Brown. My Life in the Nude: Paul Dunn. Born on Monday: Heath Britton. The Dead Ones: supplied by Margie Fischer. Waterside: Lara Torr. BRANDING AND DESIGN Freerange Future

Vitalstatistix is supported by Arts SA, the Fischer Family Fund and the Australia Council for the Arts.

ST JEROME’S LANEWAY FESTIVAL EVENT 7 FEBRUARY THE DEAD ONES SYDNEY SEASON

18 – 22 FEBRUARY

HELLO MY NAME IS PRESENTATION FELTMAPS EXHIBITION & EVENTS

2 – 6 APRIL 28 MARCH – 27 APRIL

FUTURE PRESENT RESIDENCY SHOWING

7 – 9 JUNE

ADHOCRACY 2014 EVENT

7 – 9 JUNE

LIFE IS SHORT AND LONG RESIDENCY SHOWING

12 JULY

KEEP EVERYTHING PRESENTATION

16 – 19 JULY

BINGO UNIT SHOW & ROAD TRIP

26 – 27 JULY

QUIET FAITH PRESENTATION IT’S YOUR FUNERAL IN DEVELOPMENT VITALS COMMUNITY FAIR EVENT MAN O MAN RESIDENCY SHOWING MY LIFE IN THE NUDE PRESENTATION VITALS 30TH BIRTHDAY GALA EVENT

8 – 19 OCTOBER OCTOBER 8 – 9 NOVEMBER 14 NOVEMBER 18 – 23 NOVEMBER 29 NOVEMBER

HER STORY EVENTS

ALL YEAR

CLIMATE CENTURY IN DEVELOPMENT

ALL YEAR

BORN ON MONDAY CHOIR CHOIR-IN-RESIDENCE

ALL YEAR

Ticketed events will go on sale at least six weeks prior to opening on TRYBOOKING.COM. Keep up with program updates, development and residency showings, artist opportunities and special offers by subscribing to the Vitals e-news at VITALSTATISTIX.COM.AU. All of Vitals shows and events are wheelchair accessible. Audio description will be offered for selected shows. Please feel free to contact us to discuss your accessibility requirements.

Waterside is a direct and easy 20-minute drive from the CBD. It is accessible by bus (route numbers 150, 117, 118, 230, 232, 252 and 254) and train (Outer Harbour line, Port Adelaide station). For public transport information visit adelaidemetro.com.au. Waterside has free parking right next door at the Port Adelaide TAFE and is close to pubs and restaurants. For more information about Port Adelaide visit: PORTENF.SA.GOV.AU PORTADELAIDERENEWAL.SA.GOV.AU

STR SON NEL GE BRID

THE LIGHTHOUSE

EET

TO SEMAPHORE

PORT RIVER

REET

TT ST

DIVE ET

STRE

LIP

NS TR T

WATERSIDE

THE HOME OF VITALSTATISTIX

ST VINCENT STREET

NILE

ST VINCENT STREET

LR CIA

HART’S MILL

D OA WATERSIDE

km AD .5 14 RO RT PO

BOWER ROAD

GRAND JUNCTION ROAD

RT PO

OLD PORT ROAD

Adelaide CBD