We now have more videos on our website and on our youtube page.
See our Living Portraits, our Tart & Vicar and our Lost Ramblers, as well as two videos from Freetannia - the Freetish National Dance and the first rock concert in Freetannia - Queen Daphne headlining!
We have also made it on to Italian TV, featuring at the beginning of this news item on the Milano Clown Festival.
Tuesday 7 July 2009
International Arts Fair, Paderborn, Germany
Just received word that UK Trade & Investment are giving us a grant to go to the International Arts Fair in Paderborn, Germany this September!
Tuesday 2 June 2009
starting one's own country
Frantically preparing for Freetannia in Manchester this weekend. Starting your own country is a lot of work! Took it to Southbank last Thursday - what a great place to perform! The Security Guards were absolutely brilliant fun. Going back this Thursday for another run through.
Tuesday 12 May 2009
ISAN meeting
Went to the ISAN meeting in Norwich last Friday at The Curve, hosted by the Norfolk and Norwich Festival.
Very worrying developments, with the Police starting to charge festivals vast amounts for their presence. Maybe a condition of this should be that they are made to wear a costume (or a different one!), or patrol on stilts, or perform an act. The Naturals' Kissing Coppers could be in line for some extra duties...
There was a presentation on the 2012 Inspire Mark - I will be putting The Allotmenteers up for that one!
Caught up with Geert of Odd Enjinears, who I originally met at the City of Wings Festival in Ypres earlier this year. I can highly recommend the Concert of Your Life, a symphony programmed specifically for you, based on answers you give to a questionnaire. Very surreal - the desert rat and the fork on the tambourine still haunt me!
Also came across Radio Barkas' mobile radio station. Fantastic, unknown versions of classic songs. Very lounge!
And met up with Nick, a.k.a. Edmond Tahl of Stuff and Things, to collect a PA for Freetannia. He also showed me his new PA system for outdoor performance - very compact, lightweight and powerful. Highly recommended!
Very worrying developments, with the Police starting to charge festivals vast amounts for their presence. Maybe a condition of this should be that they are made to wear a costume (or a different one!), or patrol on stilts, or perform an act. The Naturals' Kissing Coppers could be in line for some extra duties...
There was a presentation on the 2012 Inspire Mark - I will be putting The Allotmenteers up for that one!
Caught up with Geert of Odd Enjinears, who I originally met at the City of Wings Festival in Ypres earlier this year. I can highly recommend the Concert of Your Life, a symphony programmed specifically for you, based on answers you give to a questionnaire. Very surreal - the desert rat and the fork on the tambourine still haunt me!
Also came across Radio Barkas' mobile radio station. Fantastic, unknown versions of classic songs. Very lounge!
And met up with Nick, a.k.a. Edmond Tahl of Stuff and Things, to collect a PA for Freetannia. He also showed me his new PA system for outdoor performance - very compact, lightweight and powerful. Highly recommended!
Tuesday 5 May 2009
Life in 3D
Premiered our new act, a 3D Cinema, last Saturday at the Slow Food Market, part of the Slow Down London events at the Southbank.
Our 'audience' think that the public walking past are characters in a 3D movie they are watching, complete with surround sound and extra special effects.
The characters in the film are seemingly able to understand the audience and respond accordingly.
There was much whooping and squealing when characters lunged at our audience members, and jaws dropped when a character took a photo of the audience and it actually appeared on the screen!
Our 'audience' think that the public walking past are characters in a 3D movie they are watching, complete with surround sound and extra special effects.
The characters in the film are seemingly able to understand the audience and respond accordingly.
There was much whooping and squealing when characters lunged at our audience members, and jaws dropped when a character took a photo of the audience and it actually appeared on the screen!
Friday 27 March 2009
The Allotmenteers
In homage to the great British allotment and those who tend them.
Dedicated to the Manor Garden Allotments Society.
Meet The Allotmenteers, or The Olympic Three!
Harry, Harvey and Hyacinth are an unlikely trio, yet they have a mutual passion - the allotment in Hackney Wick they share.
They have tended it lovingly and painstakingly for years, dividing up the seasonal, organic produce they grow together. It saves them money on their shopping bills and it tastes so much better because they have grown it themselves. But it means so much more to them than just the food they grow.
They get exercise in the fresh air, and they feel they are doing something positive in this warming climate. They are also aware of how very lucky they are to have this small green space in the middle of London, as allotment numbers are dwindling and waiting lists are getting longer. Most of all, however, they simply enjoy each other’s company.
But The Allotmenteers are on the run! These three have fallen foul of the 2012 Olympics - their humble plot of land has been bought by Compulsory Purchase Order to make way for the London Olympic site.
They campaigned and protested as long as they could, but as the bulldozers approached they saw no alternative but to dig up their allotment as it lay, load it onto a wheelbarrow and scarper!
But Harry, Harvey and Hyacinth they think they are being followed. People in tracksuits are everywhere. Besuited Lord Coe look-a-likes peer out of taxis and cafés. And tourists seem disconcertingly interested in the 2012 Olympics. Our three fugitives are starting to think their particular piece of land must be so vital to the success of the 2012 Olympics that the IOC want it back.
So our heroic gardeners now trundle about London with their mobile allotment, never in one place for long, always looking over their shoulders, recoiling from joggers and cyclists in fear.
But whenever they feel safe or amongst friends there is nothing they like better than setting up a deckchair for Harry and tending to their veg, chatting to passers-by about the joys of allotmenteering and offering gardening tips or a bite of a juicy carrot, with a few conspiracy theories thrown in.
Meet The Allotmenteers, or The Olympic Three!
Harry, Harvey and Hyacinth are an unlikely trio, yet they have a mutual passion - the allotment in Hackney Wick they share.
They have tended it lovingly and painstakingly for years, dividing up the seasonal, organic produce they grow together. It saves them money on their shopping bills and it tastes so much better because they have grown it themselves. But it means so much more to them than just the food they grow.
They get exercise in the fresh air, and they feel they are doing something positive in this warming climate. They are also aware of how very lucky they are to have this small green space in the middle of London, as allotment numbers are dwindling and waiting lists are getting longer. Most of all, however, they simply enjoy each other’s company.
But The Allotmenteers are on the run! These three have fallen foul of the 2012 Olympics - their humble plot of land has been bought by Compulsory Purchase Order to make way for the London Olympic site.
They campaigned and protested as long as they could, but as the bulldozers approached they saw no alternative but to dig up their allotment as it lay, load it onto a wheelbarrow and scarper!
But Harry, Harvey and Hyacinth they think they are being followed. People in tracksuits are everywhere. Besuited Lord Coe look-a-likes peer out of taxis and cafés. And tourists seem disconcertingly interested in the 2012 Olympics. Our three fugitives are starting to think their particular piece of land must be so vital to the success of the 2012 Olympics that the IOC want it back.
So our heroic gardeners now trundle about London with their mobile allotment, never in one place for long, always looking over their shoulders, recoiling from joggers and cyclists in fear.
But whenever they feel safe or amongst friends there is nothing they like better than setting up a deckchair for Harry and tending to their veg, chatting to passers-by about the joys of allotmenteering and offering gardening tips or a bite of a juicy carrot, with a few conspiracy theories thrown in.
Sunday 15 March 2009
Kendal Mintfest
We've just been invited by M.I.A. to perform at the Mintfest Street Festival in Kendal!
We'll be taking some of our walkabouts to the town centre on Saturday 30 August, and our cake stall will be in the park on Sunday 31st.
We'll be taking some of our walkabouts to the town centre on Saturday 30 August, and our cake stall will be in the park on Sunday 31st.
rehearsal for The Country - Ribbon Dance
Once again Saturday found Natasha, Sandy and Frank prancing around at Camden People's Theatre, this time working out Daphne's Olympic Ribbon Dance for her forthcoming turn as Team Freetannia at the 2012 Olympics. We'd like to think that with these three as her coaches she stands a very good chance of winning gold!
Friday 13 March 2009
City of Wings 2009 - street theatre festival in Ypres
Natasha is looking forward to visiting the City of Wings street theatre festival in Ypres on 4 April.
workshop at Central School of Speech and Drama II
Our workshop at Central was a resounding success!
We knew we wanted the students to experience our work rather than just explain it, so Frank and Natasha arrived as Colin and Susan, the Guildford Chapter of the Rambling Association.
Vociferously demanding the right to roam through the rehearsal room, the Central students gently pointed out the errors in Colin's map-reading skills (the map was upside down and of China), so our embarrassed walkers whipped out a tarpaulin and had a picnic of rich tea biscuits, polo mints and Kendal Mint Cake with the group instead.
Susan and Colin then morphed back into Natasha and Frank and talked the group through CCC's current repertoire to explain our artistic practice, from how we generate ideas to practical tips on working with the public.
Natasha and Frank then took the basic premise - to create an act in the style of CCC to raise money for Red Nose Day - and got the students to devise their own performance.
As the act needed to raise money the group was set the question:
How do people make money on the street?
The group then brainstormed and came up with a long list such as: busking, shoe-shining, prostitution, selling the Big Issue, collecting for charity, a market stall, begging, picking pockets, and gambling (card table, cup and ball etc.).
Once they had chosen the idea that appealed to them most they asked themselves one of the following:
Who is the least likely person to do this?
What is the least likely thing they would be asking for money for?
What is going wrong for them in this situation?
Frank and Natasha then wandered around asking each group or individual what ideas they had come up with, and were delighted at the wonderful scenarios emerging. Not only were the acts and characters funny and engaging, they managed to weave in social commentary on issues such as the current financial crisis, the war on terror, ageism, human trafficking, homelessness, the housing maket, and wheel-clamping with intelligence and humour. (Natasha and Frank did actually devise an act before the workshop (here's one we made earlier!) in case the students didn't come up with anything, but it ceratinly wasn't needed!)
The students were also so tuned in to the process that when a battery fell out of someone's pocket they immediately leapt on it to use as another idea. The other great thing to see was the idea sharing between groups.
The group then did practice performances, with the other students wandering past as the public would during a performance, and we discussed possible pitfalls such as physical contact with the public, the public ignoring your approach or being aggressive, and saying yes to teenagers.
So mission accomplished. The students came up with many workable ideas for Red Nose Day, and Colin and Susan got back to Guildford safely.
We knew we wanted the students to experience our work rather than just explain it, so Frank and Natasha arrived as Colin and Susan, the Guildford Chapter of the Rambling Association.
Vociferously demanding the right to roam through the rehearsal room, the Central students gently pointed out the errors in Colin's map-reading skills (the map was upside down and of China), so our embarrassed walkers whipped out a tarpaulin and had a picnic of rich tea biscuits, polo mints and Kendal Mint Cake with the group instead.
Susan and Colin then morphed back into Natasha and Frank and talked the group through CCC's current repertoire to explain our artistic practice, from how we generate ideas to practical tips on working with the public.
Natasha and Frank then took the basic premise - to create an act in the style of CCC to raise money for Red Nose Day - and got the students to devise their own performance.
As the act needed to raise money the group was set the question:
How do people make money on the street?
The group then brainstormed and came up with a long list such as: busking, shoe-shining, prostitution, selling the Big Issue, collecting for charity, a market stall, begging, picking pockets, and gambling (card table, cup and ball etc.).
Once they had chosen the idea that appealed to them most they asked themselves one of the following:
Who is the least likely person to do this?
What is the least likely thing they would be asking for money for?
What is going wrong for them in this situation?
Frank and Natasha then wandered around asking each group or individual what ideas they had come up with, and were delighted at the wonderful scenarios emerging. Not only were the acts and characters funny and engaging, they managed to weave in social commentary on issues such as the current financial crisis, the war on terror, ageism, human trafficking, homelessness, the housing maket, and wheel-clamping with intelligence and humour. (Natasha and Frank did actually devise an act before the workshop (here's one we made earlier!) in case the students didn't come up with anything, but it ceratinly wasn't needed!)
The students were also so tuned in to the process that when a battery fell out of someone's pocket they immediately leapt on it to use as another idea. The other great thing to see was the idea sharing between groups.
The group then did practice performances, with the other students wandering past as the public would during a performance, and we discussed possible pitfalls such as physical contact with the public, the public ignoring your approach or being aggressive, and saying yes to teenagers.
So mission accomplished. The students came up with many workable ideas for Red Nose Day, and Colin and Susan got back to Guildford safely.
Wednesday 11 March 2009
rehearsals for The Country - Bolero II
Allan (Daphne) and Nick (Mr Naughty, the man from the BBC) recreate Torvill and Dean's Bolero for the forthcoming production of The Country, or The Sovereign State of Freetannia.
Monday 9 March 2009
workshop at Central School of Speech and Drama
Frank and Natasha are off to the Central School of Speech and Drama later to run a workshop. The aim is to devise a scenario in the style of CCC to raise money for Red Nose Day.
Sunday 8 March 2009
rehearsals for The Country - Bolero
Natasha, Frank and Sandy working on recreating the Torvill and Dean Bolero ice skating routine between Daphne and the man from the BBC for the forthcoming performance of The Country (or The Sovereign State of Freetannia) in Manchester in June.
Mingle at the British Library
Last Thursday Reginald and Violet attended Mingle, the singles event in the spectacular foyer of the British Library. Both had a wonderful time, as did everyone else by all accounts!
There were many ingenious activities designed to get people chatting:
*Speed Book Club - let's just say the discussion about Lady Chatterley's Lover was oversubscribed!
*Book Art - an alternative to viewing etchings and a cunning way to give someone your number.
*Book Swap - Violet was given Sweetmaking for Children by Margaret Powell, which she intends to give it to her good friend Frannie Haddock of the King's Mews Culinary Guild in time for her next cake stall.
There was also the wonderful idea of giving everyone a name tag with one half of a famous literary couple, inviting them to search for their match.
There was Paris and Helen, Romeo and Juliet, Samson and Delilah, Cleopatra and Mark Anthony, Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, Richard and Judy (a bit of a stretch but they do have a book club!) Othello and Desdemona, Peter Pan and Wendy and Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn amongst others.
It did make approaching individuals a bit of a minefield, though, as initial impressions count for so much. When Violet met 'Mellors' she immediately imagined him topless behind the gardening shed glistening with sweat, much to his consternation, whereas she was rather more cautious with Othello, Peter Pan and Henry VIII. Possibly not life partner material...
And Reginald was very attracted to Delilah but instead made a beeline for Wendy, knowing his mother would definitely prefer her.
Violet clutching her book.
Reginald mingling.
There were many ingenious activities designed to get people chatting:
*Speed Book Club - let's just say the discussion about Lady Chatterley's Lover was oversubscribed!
*Book Art - an alternative to viewing etchings and a cunning way to give someone your number.
*Book Swap - Violet was given Sweetmaking for Children by Margaret Powell, which she intends to give it to her good friend Frannie Haddock of the King's Mews Culinary Guild in time for her next cake stall.
There was also the wonderful idea of giving everyone a name tag with one half of a famous literary couple, inviting them to search for their match.
There was Paris and Helen, Romeo and Juliet, Samson and Delilah, Cleopatra and Mark Anthony, Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, Richard and Judy (a bit of a stretch but they do have a book club!) Othello and Desdemona, Peter Pan and Wendy and Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn amongst others.
It did make approaching individuals a bit of a minefield, though, as initial impressions count for so much. When Violet met 'Mellors' she immediately imagined him topless behind the gardening shed glistening with sweat, much to his consternation, whereas she was rather more cautious with Othello, Peter Pan and Henry VIII. Possibly not life partner material...
And Reginald was very attracted to Delilah but instead made a beeline for Wendy, knowing his mother would definitely prefer her.
Violet clutching her book.
Reginald mingling.
Friday 6 March 2009
Clowns
We had many discussions with other performers at the Milano Clown Festival about clowns.
What is a clown?
When you mention the word clown most people immediately think of children's entertainers and circus clowns with red noses, fright wigs, small cars and flowers that squirt water. And from chatting to my esteemed colleagues in Milan the story is the same in Austria, Italy, France, Germany, Australia...
Yes that is one version of a clown, but why is a clown perceived as only for children? As far as I can see the red nose is derived from a drunk's crimson hooter, and people with a bit of alcohol inside them are unpredictable, without a censor and certainly not suitable for our society's notion of children's entertainment, although I'm sure if you asked the children they would cry "More!".
It's interesting how we decide what children should and shouldn't like these days. Makes for a very antiseptic childhood. For example, we had one woman rather shocked at the perceived adult content of our Ugly Tarts show at the festival. Needless to say she didn't stop long enough to actually watch what we were doing, a common mistake on the part of people with 'opinions', but as a result her children missed out on the funny ladies in black coats. Children don't see sexual content in a performance unless the adult accompanying them makes an issue of it.
As far as I can tell all comedians are clowns, from Tony Hancock to Russell Brand to Jim Davidson to Little Britain to Vladimir and Estragon in Waiting for Godot.
I suppose it all comes down to which performers define themselves as a clown, and it does tend to be those who employ the red nose. Other comedians possibly refrain from using the term for fear of creating false expectation in their audience. Vicious circle.
And CCC doesn't define its characters as clowns for the very reason that the word clown is so loaded and public expectation being what it is means we would only have a lot of angry, disappointed parents as our audience, but this also means we are just as guilty of narrowing the definition of a clown.
But our characters ARE clowns. All of them. The Ugly Tarts are deeply unattractive but crucially don’t realise it, so they are never going to succeed in their chosen profession. And it's not even a great career choice! In order to warn the public, Mary Whitehouse felt a moral obligation to seek out, voyeuristically, the material most offensive to her, and then in censoring it made it more attractive and more popular then it would ever have been on its own. (Note to those prone to moral outrage: if you don't like something, ignore it!)
All our characters are flawed and that's what makes them funny. Which is all of us, no?
The bottom line for me is that clowning is the most difficult art form. So whomever you are that calls yourself clown, or if you are someone who tries to make people laugh, or if you are just someone trying to make their way as best they can in this absurd world, I take my hat off to you. Life is short, and we are a long time dead.
What is a clown?
When you mention the word clown most people immediately think of children's entertainers and circus clowns with red noses, fright wigs, small cars and flowers that squirt water. And from chatting to my esteemed colleagues in Milan the story is the same in Austria, Italy, France, Germany, Australia...
Yes that is one version of a clown, but why is a clown perceived as only for children? As far as I can see the red nose is derived from a drunk's crimson hooter, and people with a bit of alcohol inside them are unpredictable, without a censor and certainly not suitable for our society's notion of children's entertainment, although I'm sure if you asked the children they would cry "More!".
It's interesting how we decide what children should and shouldn't like these days. Makes for a very antiseptic childhood. For example, we had one woman rather shocked at the perceived adult content of our Ugly Tarts show at the festival. Needless to say she didn't stop long enough to actually watch what we were doing, a common mistake on the part of people with 'opinions', but as a result her children missed out on the funny ladies in black coats. Children don't see sexual content in a performance unless the adult accompanying them makes an issue of it.
As far as I can tell all comedians are clowns, from Tony Hancock to Russell Brand to Jim Davidson to Little Britain to Vladimir and Estragon in Waiting for Godot.
I suppose it all comes down to which performers define themselves as a clown, and it does tend to be those who employ the red nose. Other comedians possibly refrain from using the term for fear of creating false expectation in their audience. Vicious circle.
And CCC doesn't define its characters as clowns for the very reason that the word clown is so loaded and public expectation being what it is means we would only have a lot of angry, disappointed parents as our audience, but this also means we are just as guilty of narrowing the definition of a clown.
But our characters ARE clowns. All of them. The Ugly Tarts are deeply unattractive but crucially don’t realise it, so they are never going to succeed in their chosen profession. And it's not even a great career choice! In order to warn the public, Mary Whitehouse felt a moral obligation to seek out, voyeuristically, the material most offensive to her, and then in censoring it made it more attractive and more popular then it would ever have been on its own. (Note to those prone to moral outrage: if you don't like something, ignore it!)
All our characters are flawed and that's what makes them funny. Which is all of us, no?
The bottom line for me is that clowning is the most difficult art form. So whomever you are that calls yourself clown, or if you are someone who tries to make people laugh, or if you are just someone trying to make their way as best they can in this absurd world, I take my hat off to you. Life is short, and we are a long time dead.
Wednesday 4 March 2009
Milano Clown Festival 2009
The Ugly Tarts - Yvonne, Yvette and Yvailable - have just got back from the Milano Clown Festival 2009.
Thanks to Maurizio and the team; Eva, Marco, Elyssa and everyone at Ostell Olinda; all the staff at Pizzeria Alla Fontana; and all the people of Milan who were so much fun to play with. We had a fantastic time!
Thanks to Maurizio and the team; Eva, Marco, Elyssa and everyone at Ostell Olinda; all the staff at Pizzeria Alla Fontana; and all the people of Milan who were so much fun to play with. We had a fantastic time!
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