Magdalena Gathering

AFTER THE GATHERINGS

2008-04-08T11:54:00.016+10:00

The Gatherings are now over and everyone is feeling replete and well nourished : ) congratulations to all the organisers and thank you to everyone who participated and contributed.
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Photos from Magdalena Aotearoa's Gathering: some here and some here
The Exquisite Corpse letter from the Perth Magdalenas, and the Brisbane responses: the breasts and the ovaries
The Bus - an image of the facilitation process
'Documenting performance' workshop - day 2 + maps & references
day 1 - opening circle + facilitation workshop

Works in progress presented in Brisbane:

some more images from wellington

2008-03-29T19:10:00.004+10:00

Above, the forum on community arts and activism, Monday morning.

Left, Helen Moran performing The Bonekeeper, which she also presented at the 2007 Gathering. The show has evolved significantly since then, so it was a great opportunity for us to see its progress and talk about how the feedback Helen received and the new collaborations as a result of the Gathering have contributed to the show's development.

Right, Jade Valour performing a track from her musical/film Jade ov Arc at the final night concert. And below, Madeline McNamara surveys the objects of her research from which she is constructing her solo show, during her presentation.

Day 4 in Brisbane - responses to the cadavre exquis

2008-03-26T07:35:00.022+10:00

...........Bree.................Therese.....................Scotia.....
Look in the comments for all written responses.

Day 4 in Brisbane - the bus, an image of a facilitation process

2008-03-26T07:25:00.011+10:00

to enlarge and read the comments, please click on the image

The final day of the Gathering was an opportunity to reflect on the activities over the four days, reaffirm some of the Gathering’s aims, and look towards the future.

The morning began with a deconstruction of the facilitation process introduced at the start of the Gathering, in which participants were separated into two smaller groups to reflect on the way the process had worked. There was a sense of agreement that the facilitation process had created a feeling of safety, and allowed artists to safely show their work in a caring environment.

Scotia Monkivitch then invited participants to create a sketch of a Magdalena bus, capitalising on an image that had come up during the weekend to create a metaphor for what is needed to support work in development. People came forward to add parachutes, brakes, passengers, lights, some chickens and even a library, each addition representing elements necessary in supporting artists in the process of developing new work. There was a clear focus on being prepared with a spare tire, a repair kit, a first aid kit, and so on.

Day 3 in Brisbane - 'Pink Twins'

2008-03-24T09:32:00.010+10:00

This session began with facilitator Therese Collie asking spectators to turn away, so as to hear a reading of The Pink Twins, a radio play in development by Sue Rider. The Pink Twins is a biographical look at the story of Brisbane’s ‘pink twins’, Dorothy and Moiya, who were well known personalities, and set up the SWARA institute. This radio play, along with a stage play, represent twin parts of Rider’s research into the story, reflecting her interest in twinness.

In the feedback session, facilitated by Therese Collie, the spectators commented on issues of identity, individuality and sacrifice for another person, the journey of people and relationships, and the interest in examining the twins lives and relationships.

Day 3 in Brisbane - 'Popping Lead Balloons'

2008-03-24T09:30:00.007+10:00

Popping Lead

In Popping Lead Balloons, Liz Skitch and Bridget Boyle of DeBase Productions are developing a show to give high-school students a look at female bullying. This reading showed how Skitch and Boyle plan to use humour, pathos, and reflections on high-school bullying from a ‘queen-bitch’ character who has since grown up to become a stand-up comic, to show the way bullying behaviour impacts on both bully and bullied.

In the feedback session, facilitated by Saffron Benner, the group talked about the value of humour in reaching a high school audience, the value of this sort of work in raising students’ consciousness of what to do when bullying happens, as well as some of the interesting ways in which Popping Lead Balloons was tapping into new forms of bullying for a techno-savvy generation.

Day 3 in Brisbane - 'Salome's Seven Veils'

2008-03-24T09:22:00.006+10:00

Gabriella and her team

The story of Salome’s Seven Veils, by Gabriella Erakovic, takes place in the 24 hours between dawn and dawn on Easter, making this showing quite resonant for a group of women Gathering over the Easter Weekend.

As Gabriella explained in her comments before the showing, the seven veils allude to the seven ideas of illusion, and the work in progress – including temple, birthing and other scenes – combined different styles of dance, music, film and imagery to explore these mysteries.

After the showing, Gabriella and her collaborators offered participants a taste of the process involved in developing the work, which combines theatrical and healing techniques.

At the feedback session, facilitated by Anna Yen, the group discussed the merging of theatre and film, the idea of self-discovery through meditation, and the importance of articulating the right message in these sorts of practices.

Day 2 in Brisbane - 'Pollyanna meets Piaf: A Life Rebooted'

2008-03-24T09:14:00.010+10:00

............
.....................................................audio - feedback............

In Pollyanna Meets Piaf: A Life Rebooted, songwriter Melissa Cloake sets her songs against an intensely personal story of love, friendships, relationships and loss. At the Gathering, Melissa presented a rehearsed reading of this work in development, taking the audience through the story, and the many songs that give it colour, to her own piano arrangements.

In the feedback session facilitated by Scotia Monkivitch, the group agreed with advice Melissa had been given that her songs had the coherence to come together into a show. There was discussion of the sorts of performers who might like the chance to take on a strong female role, as well as some of the forums in which Pollyanna Meets Piaf might find an audience.

Day 2 in Brisbane - 'The Bus'

2008-03-24T09:13:00.005+10:00

Anthea Lock presenting ideas for 'The Bus'

Day 2 in Brisbane - 'A Gesture through the Flame'

2008-03-24T09:08:00.009+10:00

audience in Brisbane.................................................audience in Wellington

During the lunch-break, the group logged in to be part of the audience for A Gesture Through the Flames, a cyberformance by Helen Varley Jamieson being webcast from the Magdalena Aoeteroa Gathering. Helen’s performance provoked a good deal of discussion about the nature and possibilities of the cyberformance medium.

Day 2 in Brisbane - 'The Woman who Dreamt of an Afterlife'

2008-03-24T09:07:00.012+10:00

The Woman Who Dreamt of an Afterlife, by Flloyd Kennedy with participation of Vanja Matula, is an intertextual work, in which Kennedy, as lecturer June Bloom addressing an audience, is interrupted by the intruding voices of the Shakespearean characters that popular her world, and a young male interlocutor that seems to waver in June’s mind between son, student and Shakespearean character.

The feedback session, facilitated by Gillian Kehoul, was structured around three central questions – what was challenging? what was provoking? what was interesting?, which Flloyd felt would best assist her in further developing the performance. Flloyd was particularly interested in the spectator’s response to this piece as a reflection on the nature, and complications, and ambiguities, of performing a role.

..... video - excerpts................................. audio - feedback

Day 2 in Brisbane - 'Documenting Performance' Workshop

2008-03-24T09:05:00.004+10:00

........warmup.............................................the maps.........................................sharing experiences
.......................................................................................................................... photos Ana Irias
This workshop led by Suzon Fuks and Bree Hadley presented a documentation strategy developed for the Gathering. The workshop participants were asked, through discussions, activities and small-group tasks, to comment on the documentation strategy, and contribute to its further development.

Day 1 in Brisbane - 'The Flowering'

2008-03-24T09:04:00.006+10:00

The Flowering, by Donna Cameron, received a full production as part of the Gathering, giving the group the chance to watch a work that has already completed its development process.
This one-woman piece examines the characters youth and youthful relationships, with Cameron switching between characters as they came into focus in the protagonist’s story. The set, a sort of moveable porcelain forest, was also a striking element of the performance.

Day 1 in Brisbane - 'Miss Take's French Farce!'

2008-03-24T09:02:00.008+10:00

Monique Lavail’s Miss Take’s French Farce is a one person clown-show, incorporating mask, mime and puppetry to portray Miss Take’s romantic entanglements, confusion, and conflicted relationship with lover and doctor. Lavail’s showing emphasised the interactive dimension of Miss Take’s French Farce, and the mask techniques learned at the Lecoq school.

In the feedback discussion, facilitated by Bernadette Cochrane, Monique the opportunity to see the spectators opinion in relation a range of factors in the developing piece, including the mix of European and Australian cultures, the ‘adultness’ of the performance, the impact of role switching throughout the performance, and the style of the soundtrack.

Day 1 in Brisbane - 'Los Lunch Dates'

2008-03-24T09:00:00.009+10:00

In "Los Lunch Dates", Anna Yen, Therese Collie and Jeff Turpin presented a series of satirical sketches from a work in development, in a buffon style, incorporating physical comedy, mime, movement and song. The scenes included a group of overbearing parents at a soccer match, a pair of professors, and a send up of the John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s ‘bed-in’ for peace.

In the feedback session, facilitated by Flloyd Kennedy, the spectators noted the success of the satirical scenes in commenting on recognisable stereotypes, and also indicated to Anna, Therese and Jeff that they could see thematic threads emerging around issues of power, control and control over other people in the three scenes presented.

....................video.............................. audio - feedback

Sharing one or more "MagdaModels"

2008-03-24T08:00:00.002+10:00

Word came through last night that the Australasian Association for Theatre and Performance Studies (ADSA) has accepted a proposal for a Panel presentation at this year's annual conference, on the topic: "Where does practice live? How a 'Magdamodel' helped develop a sense of belonging between practitioners and academic researchers”.

The presenters will be Gillian Kehoul, Bree Hadley, Julie Robson and Flloyd Kennedy, with Bernadette Cochrane acting as chairperson. We will let you know how it develops, how it goes, and what comes out of it. It will be fascinating to share some of the ideas and aspirations which led to this weekend, the experience itself and some ruminations after, from four very different perspectives, with each other and with a completely new set of researchers and practitioners, and practitioner/researchers (because as far as I can see, all practice is research, but that's just my take on it!).

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a musing on the notion of a model

2008-03-23T23:11:00.002+10:00

With the gathering very quickly coming to a close I muse on the notion of what is a "model", what is it that we will be able to take away after this weekend, this growing 'tool' - is it a few pages of trigger questions, is it a story of relationship building, is it a skeleton which can be dressed with our own making of muscle and blood????

Language is such a testy thing - what does one person understand of a word and how different does someone else interpret it? In setting up a frame for facilitated feedback how specific do we need to be about process or how open should we be about choice and direction? Are we describing/creating an amoeba or do we need a house frame?

some are interested in numerology ......

time to live, time to die, time to blog, time to sleep.....

2008-03-23T22:52:00.003+10:00

Ahhhh - as with Helen, the days are full of thoughts and questions, listening and speaking, looking, hearing, smelling and tasting..... not much space for blog comments. We talked through the Perth letters today and are formulating a response. Apologies New Zealand but we will send them through.... perhaps you could also be writing simultaneously so our letters pass like ships in the night!!! I have sent out invitations to the Brisbane Magdalena people to come as authors (able to compose and submit posts) on this blog and in doing so discovered that we can only have 100 authors - between all our networks in each place we have more than this who wish to post.... Helen do you know any tricky way we can increase this number????? If you have not received an invitation to become an author you cannot make comment because this is blocked due to spamming problems..... what to do?????

sunday night in wellington

2008-03-23T20:40:00.010+10:00

here in wellington the gathering is proceeding at the usual rapid pace; there has scarcely been a moment to think about the blog, let alone write something for it. everything is going really well - the morning physical training sessions are a great way to start the day, & then there have been a great variety of discussions and presentations. we have some 'returnees' who presented at the gathering last year & are back this year with stories of where their work and lives have gone since then. there are new faces as well, & it's great to meet each other through our work. we have participants from germany, denmark and the USA and some who have travelled from christchurch or hastings as well as the locals.

Above, Jan Bolwell presenting an excerpt from her current work-in-progress, a play about the painter Frances Hodgkins.

Above, Post-Mistress Janet Dunn performs her thesis on sustainable fashion.

Left, Helen Varley Jamieson presents her cyberformance "a gesture through the flames" which was watched by the brisbane gathering as well as by online audience members in NZ, New York and Vancouver.

Day 1 in Brisbane - the opening circle

2008-03-23T07:37:00.015+10:00

At the Halfway Post

2008-03-22T21:45:00.002+10:00

Here we are halfway through the Gathering, and I am astonished at how rich and fascinating this weekend is turning out to be. The works being presented are full of potential which is evident both in spite of and because of the (relatively) unfinished, unpolished nature of each of them, and the facilitated feedback sessions are providing wonderfully fruitful possibilities for future developments and collaborations.

It is always important to keep a sense of perspective, and what has impressed me so far has been the quality of the ideas, and the integrity of all concerned to aspire to great heights.

On a personal note, I am so grateful for the opportunity to take an active part in this process.

And there are still two days to go...

preparing today's link!

2008-03-22T07:41:00.007+10:00

last night, some of us (in Metro Arts) were able to get in touch with helen varley jamieson in NZ , as she was preparing her cyberformance that we will hopefully watch today. Quite exciting that technology works, or quite! also for me, a rich day: food for thoughts and great meetings!

as sleep calls a few quick questions that arose for me over the day....

2008-03-22T01:27:00.003+10:00

Are we really clear about what we mean by a "work-in-progress"?
How engaged in the work does the facilitator need to be in order to effectively facilitate a session eg: a least having seen the work prior to the day???
How clearly/ to what detail do we need to contextualize work before presenting a showing? (especially if a part of a bigger work???)
What is the difference between facilitating a feedback process and dramaturgy???
Thanks to all who shared conversation with me today - such fodder for thought !

Magdalena Brisbane off and running....

2008-03-22T01:25:00.000+10:00

What an amazingly full and rich day it has been. Our beginning round today set the scene for a weekend of diverse interest, skill and experience. It was fantastic to see so many new faces and to hear of the stirring of theatre work and interest that is begging to bubble up again in and around Brisbane. Artists came from the Sunshine Coast, Kingaroy, Northern New South Wales and around Brisbane showing a welcome response from our community to the notion of a place to bring new ideas and have them reflected upon in a nurturing manner, toward supporting their further development. We began the "work" of the day through the introduction and discussion around the feedback framework we have been developing, giving a context for the weekend and opening up the process of refining and evolving the skeleton we have constructed. Following the 'Exquisite Corpse' notion introduced through the traveling letter (see below) we began the process of fleshing out our frame and encouraging the flow of blood which would feed it over the next few days... Two works were presented for feedback which I will talk more of tomorrow.
We finished the day with a performance of Donna Cameron's "The Flowering". This work was first introduced to us in our early Magdalena Talks Back sessions where the beginning of the discussion around feedback models was triggered and consequently the seed for this Easter gathering. It is therefore especially fulfilling to see this work come full circle and have it as a developed flower within our program. Donna is taking the work to Tasmania so keep an eye out for if if you are from the "isles" as it is a beautiful production (thank you to the marvelous tech team who suuported the presentation!!).
We have had our curiosity triggered by powerful ideas and performances and our bodies nurtured by an amazing array of gorgeous health scrumptious food (a huge thank you to Tanea our amazing caterer!!!) and now my downy pillow calls so will leave the discourse around the practice for the morning..... Scotia

cyberformance: "a gesture through the flames"

2008-03-21T14:46:00.004+10:00

on saturday afternoon, 4pm nz time, i will be giving a short cyberformance as a work-in-progress at the magdalena aotearoa gathering in wellington. it's called "a gesture through the flames" and i performed it at the end of january as part of a series called "breaking solitude" organised by annie abrams at panoplie.org in paris. the performance is about 12 minutes long, & there will be an audience with me in the space in wellington who will be watching a projection and also watching me make the performance. (we will have a discussion immediately after the performance so i probably won't be able to chat online but feel free to talk amongst yourselves : ).

to watch the performance, follow this link:
http://panoplie.emakimono.org/index.php/salon/

and find your local time here: http://tinyurl.com/2jum33

there is documentation about the previous performance here.

sorry for the short notice, but i wasn't sure whether we'd have an internet connection at the venue until tuesday and then couldn't get a precise time for the presentation until last night, & have been in the gathering sessions all day.

merci beaucoup to clement & annie & panoplie.org, & to peter who is doing the sound.

a head and a neck from perth

2008-03-21T14:43:00.002+10:00

Dear Transnational Magdalenas,
I am pleased to send you the first two letters (Head & neck) from Perth to Brisbane and Wellington.
There are three of us in Perth who will be thrilled to write the ‘three footed finale’ after your additions.
Have a wonderful Easter,
Julie

Download the letter here

(posted by helen on behalf of julie)

up, up & away!

2008-03-20T21:25:00.004+10:00

The Magdalena Aotearoa Gathering began this evening with a round (where everyone introduces themselves and says a little bit about why they are there) followed by a shared meal and lots of discussion around the programme. We succeeded in making this "more-or-less final" programme:

DOCUMENTING workshop - first 2 maps

2008-03-19T10:30:00.002+10:00

click on each map to view them
click here to get some useful references

Miss Take's French Farce!

2008-03-13T16:50:00.000+10:00

Hello

Mo will be sharing Miss Take's French Farce!! with us during the gathering. Mo would like to use a few different feedback methods, including a questionnaire and a QnA session. . Mo has been wonderfully organized and given a listed of suggested areas for the QnA which she would like to follow her sharing.

Miss Take's French Farce is a burlesque cabaret with one actress playing eight characters. Mo utilizes mask, shadow theatre, song, and interactions with the audience to examine the themes of love/loss, sanity/madness, feel courage, alienation/freedom, the differences between humour and confidence, and our masks and roles as women.

On the night before her release from an asylum, Miss Take, about to entertain her fellow patients, is visited by the ghost of her deceased fiancé and reminded by her disdainful Director that "the show must go on". How will she ever manage to work again? Is she really ready for her "new destiny"...

Mo's questions:

1. Is the mixing of 2 cultures (European and Australia a plus for as an audience? Di you enjoy the French aspect of the character? Do recognize the European influences in this type of creation?

2. Does the dramatic impact remain intact with the switching of voices, pitches, accents? Is clarity still maintained?

3. Are the props adequate for "mature" adult audiences or could this "innocence" from Miss Take be perceied as childish and/or out of place?

4. You just had a taste of the sound track. Is it all right to mix genres and styles in such a farce or could this variety put the integrity of the play at risk, make it sound too scattered or incoherent?

5. Is the dynamic of Black clown/White clown clear?

6. Is the journey of the character interesting to you?

7. Is Miss Take credible?

8. Could her faceties (burlesque/grotesque) prevent any deep insights into her story?

9. Are the iconic/symbolic figures (especially Super Mad Gentleman and Lady Crazy Butterfly) too cliché for you?

10. What are your favourite moments?

11. In which ways could this show improve at this point in time?

12. What are the strongest and weakest elements in the show?

If there is not enough time consider all the questions, perhaps people would consider adding their thoughts in the comments section of the questionnaire.

Thank you for your help.

warehouse room at Metro Arts

2008-03-13T15:48:00.000+10:00

plan NOT to scale!

Magdalena Aotearoa announces the (draft) menu

2008-03-12T21:31:00.001+10:00

Our Kitchen Queen, Moira Aberdeen, has announced the draft menu for the Gathering in Wellington. Highlights include her homemade shortbread (a big hit last year), date and lemonade scones, Lotus Tabouleh, Arborio Saffron Rissoto with seasonal vegetables, and shots of iced mint tea. Check it out!

Day1 - Introduction to facilitation feedback process led by Gillian Kehoul

2008-03-11T19:49:00.008+10:00

To start the Gathering, Gillian Kehoul presented a workshop on the process for facilitating feedback that would be pursued over the weekend, including the ways in which the process has developed following the Magdalena Festival in Brisbane in 2003, and the principles that the women pursuing this process at the later Magdalena Talks Back sessions have identified.

Suggested facilitation approach developed through Magdalena Brisbane
This version is a slightly updated version that just attaches Sue and Anna's recommendations from the last meeting [rather than smoothly integrating into existing headings of notes]. Hope they're of some use and you'll feel free to adjust as you see fit and adapt to whatever suits your purpose. - Gillian Kehoul
click here to download the word document

If anyone wants to read a related paper, please click here. It contains a paper Gillian presented at the ADSA 2006 conference outlining some of the history of the facilitation process being trialed at the Gathering and some of her interests in helping to develop ethical feedback processes.

.................audio

Magdalena Brisbane gathering 21 – 24 March

2008-03-10T22:01:00.000+10:00

at METRO ARTS, Edward St, Brisbane
Program and Rego Form: click here to download pdf or word document

“If I tell you what is left in me of your work, it will also be my work of description, a telling. It will be an artistic practice for me. An act of ‘fidelity’.” - Helene Cixous Come to Writing and other essays Harvard University Press 1991

Magdalena Brisbane Easter Gathering 2008 is a gathering to share work, develop a collaborative protocol for discourse about our work and an active exploration of working practice. Magdalena Australia and Metro Arts invite Women theatre makers to come together for four days at the Metro Arts Space, Brisbane Qld to engage with and celebrate the amazing women who are creating work and persisting in presenting the feminine voice in Australian theatre.

Magdalena Easter Gathering 2008 aims to:
- Support the women theatre community and encouragement of networks of peers so that women do not feel they are creating work in a void.
- Develop a tool of critical discourse that is supportive of the artists needs
- Develop our own work practice through reflection on others
- Show a support for and acceptance of differences – ensuring that women do not feel they need to conform to dominant paradigm of theatre practice
- Increase an awareness of women’s contribution to contemporary theatre
- Enable women to explore different approaches to theatre making that more profoundly reflects their experience

Magdalena Aotearoa Gathering - draft programme

2008-03-09T22:20:00.001+10:00

The draft programme for the Magdalena Aotearoa Gathering is now online:
http://magdalena.actrix.co.nz/archive/gathering08/programme.html

The programme won't be finalised until the first night of the Gathering so there is still the opportunity to propose something, but this will give you an idea of what is on offer.

Magdalena Gathering

2008-03-03T21:12:00.000+10:00

At Easter 2008, Magdalena will gather in Brisbane, Australia and Wellington, New Zealand - and also in Perth, Australia - for a long weekend of work-in-progress showings and discussions and networking and eating!!!

This blog has been set up to facilitate communication between the different gatherings and to extend the sharing and exchange across the Tasman.