111 Sturt Street Southbank, VIC Australia 3006 Phone +61 3 9645 5188 Fax +61 3 9645 5199 Email info@chunkymove.com.au chunkymove.com Chunky Move can also be found on Facebook and Twitter Chunky Move Team Artistic Director Gideon Obarzanek Executive Producer Rachael Azzopardi Business & Program Manager Hillary Coyne Production & Operations Manager Chris Mercer Marketing & Development Manager Jade Fantozzi Production & Operations Coordinator Josh Sherrin Marketing & Development Coordinator Amanda Bishop Office & Program Coordinator Stephanie Preston Finance Administrator Anne MacDonald Class Curator Kristy Ayre Publicity Miranda Brown Publicity Board of Directors Peter Biggs (chair), Stephen Armstrong, Rachael Azzopardi, Jeremy Blackshaw, Dr Kate Crawford, Rhod Ellis-Jones, Gideon Obarzanek, Margaret Parker, Katrina Sedgwick and Margaret Thompson. Chunky Move would like to thank the following people and organisations for their support of Connected: Josh Mu in helping to develop the work in the studio, Sydney Theatre Staff and Board, Miranda Brown Publicity and Influx Creative. Chunky Move acknowledges the generous support of our donors who have supported the company in the past 12 months: Christopher Baker / Daniel & Danielle Besen (Besen Trust) / Jeremy Blackshaw / Oliver Clifton / Susan Humphries / Jeannette Lefrandt / Christopher Popp / Robert Templar / Miss Victoria Till.
Executive Producer Jo Dyer Associate Producer Ben White Building Services Manager Barry Carr Technical Manager Kevin Sigley House Manager Alex Plavsic Events Manager Phoebe Meredith Operations Coordinator Christopher Waterhouse Head Mechanist Steve Mason Head Fly Operator Tarn Mott Deputy Head Fly Operator/Venue Maintenance Kane Mott Head Electrician Andrew Tompkins Deputy Head Electrician/Board Operator Sophie Kurylowicz Head of Sound Kevin White
Sydney theatre & CHUNKY MOVE PRESENT
Connected was made possible by the New England Foundation for the Arts’ National Dance Project, with lead funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and additional funding from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the Boeing Company Charitable Trust.
connected 10 -14 MAY 2011
GOVERNMENT PARTNERS
Chunky Move is supported by the Victorian Government, through Arts Victoria and the Commonwealth Government through the Australia Council, its arts and advisory body. MAJOR PARTNERS
SUPPORTING PARTNERS
PRODUCTION PARTNER
WINE PARTNER
Sydney Theatre celebrates valued partnerships with the following sponsors PRESENTING PARTNER
GOVERNMENT PARTNERS
NSW CULTURAL MANAGEMENT LTD Peter Young (Chair) The Hon. Bruce Baird, Anita Belgiorno-Nettis, Cate Blanchett, Jonathan Biggins, Mary Kostakidis, Martin McCallum, Andrew Upton Sydney Theatre at Walsh Bay 22 Hickson Road, Walsh Bay Telephone (02) 9250 1999 Website sydneytheatre.org.au
Photos Jeff Busby Cover image Alisdair Macindoe & Stephanie Lake Inside cover all cast
Sydney Theatre at Walsh Bay
Sydney theatre & CHUNKY MOVE PRESENT
connected Director & Choreographer Gideon Obarzanek Sculpture Reuben Margolin Composers Oren Ambarchi & Robin Fox Lighting Designer Benjamin Cisterne Costume Designer Anna Cordingley Performers Stephanie Lake, Alisdair Macindoe, Marnie Palomares, Harriet Ritchie & Joseph Simons Executive Producer Rachael Azzopardi Production Manager Chris Mercer Stage Manager Josh Sherrin Sound Operator Nick Roux Head Mechanist Brent Forsstrom-Jones
Gallery attendant transcripts edited by Gideon Obarzanek from original recordings of anonymous gallery security personnel. Gallery attendant vocal recordings Geraldine Cook, Brigid Gallacher, Brian Lipson, Mike McLeish, Robert Menzies & Alison Whyte
Duration 60 minutes (no interval) World Premiere, 15 March 2011 The CUB Malthouse, Melbourne
OREN AMBARCHI COMPOSER
BRENT FORSSTROM-JONES HEAD MECHANIST
REUBEN MARGOLIN SCULPTURE
MARNIE PALOMARES PERFORMER
Oren’s works are hesitant and tense extended songforms located in the cracks between several schools: modern electronics and processing; laminal improvisation and minimalism; hushed, pensive songwriting; the deceptive simplicity and temporal suspensions of composers such as Morton Feldman and Alvin Lucier; and the physicality of rock music, slowed down and stripped back to its bare bones, abstracted and replaced with pure signal. Oren has performed and recorded with a diverse array of artists such as Fennesz, Otomo Yoshihide, Keiji Haino, John Zorn, Jim O’Rourke, Keith Rowe, Mika Vainio, Phill Niblock, Evan Parker, Merzbow, Thomas Brinkmann and many more. Since 2004 Ambarchi has worked with American avant metal outfit Sunn 0))) contributing to many of their recordings and live performances. Oren has released numerous recordings for labels such as Touch, Southern Lord and Tzadik. In 2003 his live release Triste received an honourary mention in the Prix Ars Electronica digital music category.
Brent has been working in the arts for the past eleven years on a wide range of productions for various companies and venues. Recent credits include Pericles, King Lear and Just Macbeth (Bell Shakespeare), Keating! The Musical and Gwen in Purgatory (Company B), We Unfold and Six Breaths (Sydney Dance Company) and the 2011 Ten Days on the Island Festival.
Reuben was raised in Berkeley, California. A love of math and physics propelled him to Harvard, where he changed paths and completed a degree in English. He then went on to study traditional painting in Italy and Russia. In 1999 he became obsessed with the movement of a little green caterpillar, and set out to make wave-like sculptures. In 2004 he moved to his current studio in Emeryville and began making a series of large-scale undulating installations that attempt to combine the logic of mathematics with the sensuousness of nature. He has since made about ten of these mechanical mobiles and shown them internationally. He also makes pedal-powered rickshaws and has collaborated on a couple of large-scale pedalpowered vehicles.
Marnie trained at the University of Western Sydney. Since 2004 she has worked for numerous choreographers and companies including Jason Pitt (Inasmuch, What Remains, Blueprint, Monkeybird), Bernadette Walong (Hidden Revealed), Sydney Theatre Company (The Bourgeois Gentleman), Nigel Jamieson and Garry Stewart (Honour Bound), Dean Walsh (Back from front), Antony Hamilton (Signal), Branch Nebula (Sweat), Shaun Parker & Company (This show is about people, Tenebrae III with The Song Company, Happy as Larry, Am I?) and Chunky Move (Mortal Engine). Marnie has performed throughout Australia, New Zealand, Europe, America and London. Marnie’s choreographic credits include Chapter One for Pulse8 Dance Company (2008), Physical Fracture for Sydney Festival First Night (2009) and Night.Time for QL2 Centre for Youth Dance (2010).
A NOTE FROM GIDEON OBARZANEK I was fortunate to meet Reuben Margolin in October, 2009 in Maine USA, where we were both invited to speak at PopTech, a conference focusing on social change through current innovations in science, art and economics. There, I witnessed Reuben’s various sculpture machines made of wood, recycled plastic and steel transcend their concrete forms once they were set into motion and appear as waveforms in nature – a weightless kinetic flow. This was not dissimilar to the changeability of a dancer from a person to a moving figure when performing on stage. We were immediately drawn to each other’s work and began discussing possibilities for future collaboration. I have an interest in combining dance with other art forms and the alternative perceptions that these interactions can reveal. In previous works such as GLOW and Mortal Engine it has been through the video graphics generated by the movements of the dancers and then projected back onto and around their bodies. Here in Connected this relationship continues, but with early mechanical technology – intricately linked simple materials such as string, paper and wood literally connected to the dancers by fine strings. It’s not just the translation of human movement into other visual and kinetic forms that interests me, but more a fundamental relationship between our environment and us. Until Connected, Reuben’s sculptures have existed as installations in galleries in a perpetual but constant state. While this gives his constellationlike objects a uniquely mesmerising quality, the biggest challenge in this project was to find a relationship between dancers and sculpture that could develop as a time arc within a performance event rather than a fixed singular connection. During the period I visited Reuben’s workshop in Berkeley California I also excitedly pitched our new creative partnership with the director of a highly prominent theatre in Paris. After a pause big enough to drive a French car through (stylishly compact yet surprisingly roomy), the director remarked, “I do not understand why this is a performance for the stage and not an installation for a gallery?” My response should have been, “The stage begins as an imaginary space of the artist’s mind, where we build the work
and construct the sculpture. Once complete however, the stage becomes a gallery space and we see things very differently.” But I didn’t say that. I didn’t know it yet and just sat there, stumbling for an answer. Interestingly, the common language between choreographing a dance and Reuben building his sculptures is maths. The rapid-fire number sequences reeled off by the dancers in the execution of quick and complex movement phrases are not dissimilar to the dizzying number-charts Reuben calculates and relies upon for precise weight, friction and string length calibrations. Similar to constructing the sculpture, we thought about the dance growing and coming together from small pieces, erratic fragments fusing into flowing symmetrical forms. This required a different type of maths to the Euclidean geometry and permutations and combinations we had been more commonly working with in the dance studio and we turned our attention to chaos: recursions, patterns inside of patterns, self-similarities – symmetry across scale. Small crystal-shapes made with one’s fingers extended out with other dancers’ bodies into kaleidoscopic mandalas. Strange attractors and stable chaos influenced various copying tasks and competitive games. Sensitive dependence on initial conditions (more commonly known as ‘the butterfly effect’) flung bodies across the stage, all dramatically affected by tiny internal movements of another single dancer. This kind of mathematical influence resulted in choreography resembling states of synthesis and fragmentation, flow and turbulence – a geometry of nature. Connected is not just a collaboration between a sculptor and a choreographer, it has been an extraordinary group effort. I am deeply grateful to Rob, Oren, Ben and Anna for their inspiration and creativity, my tech staff for making all our demanding explorations possible and the committed support from all the Chunky team. And finally, not only are all the dancers extraordinary performers but they have also created all of the work with me. Thank you.
BENJAMIN CISTERNE LIGHTING DESIGNER
Benjamin is renowned for creating bold designs, based in light, that are integral to a performance. He is passionate about the capability of light in performance design and its role in art, and works collaboratively on projects across all art forms. Since 2002, Benjamin has been involved in the creation of lighting designs for exhibitions, architecture and performance projects including Tim Harbour’s Halcyon for The Australian Ballet, Stephanie Lake’s Mix Tape for Chunky Move and Antony Hamilton’s Blazeblue Oneline. Benjamin has toured extensively as both designer and master electrician and completed artistic and technical residencies in Australia and Europe. He has also worked with many choreographers including Gideon Obarzanek (Chunky Move), Gavin Webber (Dancenorth/Independent), Phillip Adams (BalletLab), Luke George and Gabrielle Nankivell. Benjamin’s work has been recognised by the Green Room Awards on multiple occasions. ANNA CORDINGLEY COSTUME DESIGNER
As Resident Designer at Malthouse Theatre, Anna’s set and costume credits include ‘Tis Pity She’s a Whore, Sappho... In 9 Fragments, The Threepenny Opera, Elizabeth - Almost By Chance A Woman, Furious Mattress, One Night the Moon, Knives in Hens, Happy Days, A Commercial Farce, and Puck. Recent outside credits include Richter/Meinhof Opera & Black Arm Band: Hidden Republic for MIAF. Beyond the theatre, Anna has designed for Simon Barley (Bambuco) with The Eighth Bridge over the River Tyne (UK), Spine, Ludo and Rue Faidherbe Lille 2004 (France) and for Well, The Great Wall of Books (Macau). Her exhibitions include An Account of Bridges at the Baltic Contemporary Art Centre/Sage Gateshead (UK) and Facilitation for Brook Andrew in Colony in the 2007 Den Haag Sculpture Exhibition (The Netherlands). Public events include the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games Opening Ceremony (Indigenous Section) and Closing Ceremony (Marvelous Melbourne).
ROBIN FOX COMPOSER
Robin is an artist straddling the often artificial divide between audible and visible arts. As a performer his work has featured in festivals worldwide. Recent appearances include the Vancouver New Music Festival, Fri Resonans in Trondheim, a new work for the Henie Onstad Kunstcenter Oslo, Mois Multi Festival Quebec City, Musica Genera Festival Warsaw (2009) and the Yokohama Triennale (2008). His audio visual films are documented on the DVD backscatter (2004) with more recent works Volta and 5 Creation Myths exhibited at the RoslynOxley9 gallery in Sydney, the Asian Art Biennale in Taipei and the Miniartextil exhibition in Como, Italy. Robin was the Sound and Laser Artist for Chunky Move’s Mortal Engine, and other recent projects include a photography exhibition Proof of Concept shown at the CCP in Melbourne (2010) and a project with the Bionic Ear Institute composing music for cochlear implant wearers. He is currently researching a giant polyphonic Theremin for the City of Melbourne. STEPHANIE LAKE PERFORMER
Stephanie has featured in the works of Chunky Move, Lucy Guerin Inc and BalletLab for over ten years, touring extensively both nationally and internationally. She began dancing in Tasmania with Stompin and Tasdance before moving to Melbourne in 1997. Stephanie graduated from the Victorian College of the Arts (VCA) in 2000 winning the Green Room Award for Best Emerging Dancer in the same year. She has choreographed over twenty short works for companies including Chunky Move, The VCA, Stompin and Lucy Guerin Inc. Her second full-length work Mix Tape, commissioned as part of Chunky Move’s The Next Move program in 2010, was recently awarded two Green Room Awards including Best Choreography. Stephanie has also made several large-scale public dance works involving nearly one thousand participants. She currently has a new work in development. ALISDAIR MACINDOE PERFORMER
Alisdair is a Melbourne-based dancer and choreographer who trained in dance at the Victorian Collage of the Arts (VCA). In 2011 Alisdair will perform in Chunky Move’s Connected, Lucy Guerin Inc’s Human Interest Story and Untrained, Antony Hamilton Projects’ Drift and develop two new works with Lucy Guerin Inc. His recent performance highlights include: his own Bromance (2010), 525600LOVE (2009) and Pay No Attention to the Man Behind the Curtain (2008), Chunky Move - Damien Jalet and Erna Omarsdottir’s Black Marrow (2009) and Byron Perry and Antony Hamilton’s I Like This (2008), Lucy Guerin Inc’s Human Interest Story (2010), Structure and Sadness (2008) and Leigh Warren and Dancers’ Seven (2009). Alisdair has also performed in other works by Katrina Lazarof, Lina Limosani, Nat Cursio Inc, Jo Lloyd and Gerard Van Dyke, Underpass, Bare Bones Collective, BalletLab (development showing) and Coby Orger.
CHRIS MERCER PRODUCTION MANAGER
HARRIET RITCHIE PERFORMER
Chris graduated from the University of Wollongong with a Bachelor of Creative Arts in 2005. After graduating Chris worked for a number of different companies and festivals as a freelance Stage Manager and Technician. Chris joined Belvoir as the Downstairs Technical Manager in 2006 and managed the construction of the new Downstairs Theatre before being promoted to Technical Manager. He joined Chunky Move in 2008 as Production and Operations Manager. Chris has production managed the company’s recent works Two Faced Bastard, Black Marrow, I Like This and Faker as well as touring the company’s repertoire throughout Europe, Asia, North and Central America. Highlights include Mortal Engine tours to the Next Wave Festival (Brooklyn Academy of Music, New York), Festival de Mexico (Mexico City), Edinburgh International Arts Festival (Playhouse), and to the National Theatre in Taipei. Chris was recently awarded an Ian Potter grant to work with the Royal Court (London) and the National Theatre of Scotland.
Harriet trained in Sydney before graduating from the Victorian College of the Arts (VCA) with a Bachelor of Dance in 2005, and Honours in 2007. While studying there she received the Inaugural Dr Phillip Law Travel Scholarship. Since then she has toured throughout Australia, Europe, Asia and the USA performing and developing works for Chunky Move (Glow, Mortal Engine), Finucane & Smith (The Burlesque Hour, Salon de Dance, Carnival of Mysteries), Shaun Parker (Happy as Larry), Antony Hamilton (The Counting), Byron Perry (A volume problem) and Lucy Guerin Inc (Melt, Aether, Structure and Sadness, Corridor, Human Interest Story. Harriet was part of the Lucy Guerin Inc Aether Company that won the 2007 Greenroom Award for Best Dance Ensemble, and she was nominated for a 2008 Greenroom Award for Most Outstanding Female Dancer, for her work in Corridor.
GIDEON OBARZANEK DIRECTOR & CHOREOGRAPHER
JOSEPH SIMONS PERFORMER
Gideon became interested in dance towards the end of high school and after graduating deferred science at university to study at the Australian Ballet School. He later danced with the Queensland Ballet and the Sydney Dance Company before working as an independent performer and choreographer with various dance companies and independent projects within Australia and abroad. Founded in Australia in 1995, Gideon Obarzanek’s company Chunky Move has earned an enviable reputation for producing a distinct yet unpredictable brand of genredefying dance performance. Obarzanek’s works have been diverse in form and content and include stage productions, installations, site-specific works and film. His multi-award winning works have been performed in many festivals and theatres around the world in the U.K, Europe, Asia and the Americas.
Born in Dubbo, NSW, Joseph began dancing at Dubbo Ballet Studio and The Australian Ballet School interstate program, before graduating from the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA) in 2008. In 2009, he won the award for Outstanding Emerging Artist at the West Australia Dance Awards. Joseph has performed several soloist roles with West Australian Ballet, Victorian Opera and with improvisation performance group Anything Is Valid Dance Theatre. He has choreographed works for West Australian Ballet, the Flying Fruit Fly Circus, several independent projects, and is currently developing a fulllength solo work, Not On My Watch. Joseph debuted with Chunky Move in 2011, performing in Antony Hamilton and Byron Perry’s I Like This.
NICK ROUX SOUND OPERATOR
Nick has been involved with Chunky Move since 2006 and toured to an extensive list of venues throughout the world, operating and engineering sound and multi-media systems for numerous productions including the Kalypso motion tracking system for Chunky Move’s GLOW and Mortal Engine. Creatively he works in sound and video: composing, editing, directing and designing, in performance, installation and screen based work.
JOSH SHERRIN STAGE MANAGER
Josh is a 2006 graduate of the Technical Production Course at the National Institute of Dramatic Arts (NIDA). His career as a Stage Manager includes: Smoke and Mirrors for Sydney Festival 2010, Tough Time Nice Time, and The Importance of Being Ernest for Belvoir, Actors at Work for Bell Shakespeare Company, Beyond Belief for Legs on the Wall, and Two Faced Bastard for Chunky Move. Josh has also assistant stage-managed The City, God of Carnage, The Great and Doubt for Sydney Theatre Company and Paul, Yibiyung, Toy Symphony and The Man From Mukinupin for Belvoir. Josh is currently the Production and Operations Coordinator for Chunky Move.