Make Haste for Online Shakespearean Workshops

A SERIES of free online workshops will give New England North West Year 11 and 12 students, and their university counterparts, the chance to pick up Shakespearean performance techniques, historical context and language tips, and participants are encouraged to sign up fast.

Actor, facilitator and University of New England Theatre Studies graduate Alex Robson of Inverell is the force behind this skill-sharing program, which was made possible by a micro grant from Arts North West. The focus will be William Shakespeare’s enduring romantic tragedy Romeo and Juliet.

Three Sydney-based actors will assist in the delivery of this unique learning opportunity for aspiring performing artists, which will culminate in a rehearsed reading of the play on the Zoom online chat service.

“Parts of the workshops will be recorded and made available to the public,” Alex told Arts North West. “It is also hoped that these workshops will lead to a season of live performances – featuring some of the workshop participants – across the region once the lockdown has ended.”

An actor, director and writer, Alex won an international scholarship to study the works of Shakespeare at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. He subsequently devised two plays about the Bard and his work: A Short Guide to Shakespeare and Shakespeare's Villains: Everyone But Iago, the former appearing in the 2014 Sydney Fringe then touring the state.

After recently winning another scholarship to study at Shakespeare’s Globe in London, he was forced to change tack when COVID-19 ruined his plans.

Actors Jade Fuda, Reilly O’Byrne-Inglis and Nicholas Foustellis round out the wealth of experience of offer for online workshop participants in this unique learning experience.

Places are limited and students wishing to participate will need to complete and return an expression of interest form by 5pm Monday June 22, 2020. A media release form is also required (signed by a parent or guardian for underage participants) for all those signing up, and all four workshops must be attended.

For more information, see The Two Sticks website (https://twostickstheatre.wordpress.com/) and Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/TwoSticksTheatre/), or email alexkendallrobson@gmail.com.

Sarah Streams for her Supper

TECH-SAVVY SONGSTRESS: Baan Baa singer-songwriter Sarah Leete (photo: supplied)

A ONE-HOUR live performance distributed on social media by a Narrabri Shire-based singer-songwriter has added to the array of artists reaching out to new audiences as part of an initiative funded by Arts North West.

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Baan Baa musician Sarah Leete toured her special blend of country music locally and interstate, but like so many other recording artists, she was faced with the sudden closure of performing arts venues in March.

“I have now been forced to take it solely online,” the singer told Arts North West this week.

While online performances might seem an easy task, as Sarah explained they’re no mean feat considering the expectation of high quality sound and lighting in online arts offerings, and working with limited or no access to technical support.

“I received a micro grant so I could perform on a high-quality live stream broadcast to my fans on social media,” Sarah said. “The grant helped me to purchase the equipment to use my DSLR camera to stream the project, as well as lighting and sound gear to make it look and sound professional.”

According to Sarah the project is going well, with her first video (assisted ably by family members) attracting close to 1000 views across the country and a huge response from fans on social media, many of whom generously donated to the singer’s PayPal account in exchange for her gutsy performance.

“The learning experience has been very steep though, and I have found it quite challenging,” she said.

“I would consider myself to be somewhat tech-savvy, but this project required a lot more time, effort, learning and understanding than I anticipated.

“Ultimately the live broadcast of my performance went off without a hitch, but there will be things I can improve on for next time.”

Unexpected obstacle

Performing a blend of originals and cover songs, Sarah spent the hour-long broadcast taking requests and delivering shout-outs to her fans, but she also dealt with unexpected phone calls, had to moderate comments while on air, and as she told Arts North West, an unexpected obstacle nearly threw the whole idea on its head.

“The main surprises in this project were technical,” she said, “but I also struggled to purchase the equipment necessary to complete the task, as a lot of musicians around the world are trying to do the same thing!”

Follow Sarah’s journey and live streams on her Facebook page www.facebook.com/sarahleetemusic and Instagram www.instagram.com/sarahleetemusic

Buccaneers band together for pandemic heroes

BAND OF BUCCANEERS: (L-R) Steve Whitby, Paul Owen, Phil Weaver, Al Buchan (photo: supplied)

THE RECORDING of a David Bowie cover with a new video by a Tamworth-based group is the first project to emerge from a new initiative funded by Arts North West, created to assist local artists during the COVID-19 closure of arts venues in the New England North West region.

Musician Alan Buchan spoke to Arts North West this week and reported the project, based on ‘We Can Be Heroes’ penned by Bowie and Brian Eno in 1977, is progressing nicely, with audio engineer Nathan Kaye currently working on tracks recorded by the group known as Al and The Buccaneers.

Recorded to honour those Alan identifies as the heroes of the pandemic – supermarket staff, truck drivers, medical teams and emergency service workers – the focus of this musical project is on those he believes have kept communities going, but it also led to Alan having to pull out a few stops of his own.

“Due to the home lockdown, I approached the project very differently by recording a complete ‘demo’ of the track, myself, in my home, using a portable digital audio recorder,” he said.

“I played all the instruments myself and I sang the vocal parts and then created a rough mix of the song and sent that demo to the musicians so they could rehearse their parts individually.

“Once the lockdown was eased, I invited the musicians to come to my home and record their parts, drums, bass, piano one at a time over the course of a week. I then recorded the final guitars and vocal and these things are usually done in a day, at a professional recording studio.”

However, that setting wasn’t available due to the closure of businesses and regulations against gatherings, so despite the technical risks, Alan improvised.

“It was time consuming and somewhat nerve-wracking because I have to keep the project secure for this entire time at my home, and now I have to finalise the guide mix and send it to the engineer for the final mix and mastering,” he said.

“I will then send it to the videographer (Terence Sadler) so he can match the images to the music and we will just have to wait and see what it comes back like, both in terms of sound and vision.

“As David Bowie himself once famously wrote: ‘waiting for the gift of sound and vision’.”

Authentic ‘lockdown’

According to Alan, the founder of singer-songwriter showcase Fretfest, now that widespread quarantine conditions have been relaxed and people are able to gather in small groups, he and the other musicians have finally been able to hear what they’ve created.

“We had our first run through of the song, live in the studio,” he said.

“This would normally be done first, whereas in this case, because of the COVID-19 lockdown, we’re doing it last, so this is unusual.

“However, it has given us a renewed perspective of our performances and, as a result, we can now go back and revisit our parts to see if we want to record them again so as to better reflect our arrangement of the song, as musicians.

“Thing is, we might equally choose to leave it as it is, because that represents the compromise we each had to make. This would make it more authentic to the experience of being in lockdown, that we recorded our parts individually and not as a band might usually do, in the studio.

“The whole idea is to raise awareness of the staff, tradies and professionals who went to work while the rest of us stayed home, so my hope is that this video will receive widespread coverage and promotion,” Alan said.

This video of ‘We Can Be Heroes’ will be released on social media. Find Al and The Buccaneers on Facebook.

Eleven New England North West Creative Projects Funded by Arts North West

Eleven creative endeavours have been successfully funded through the Arts North West Micro Grants program. Due to COVID 19, cutbacks were made on normal spending, giving Arts North West the opportunity to offer the funding to the New England North West region.

The turnaround time for applications was relatively tight, but the New England North West responded promptly, submitting numerous applications, for an array of creative projects and ideas.

“These are very unusual times for all of us in the New England North West and we really understand the difficulties faced by the arts and cultural communities in our region” said Arts North West Executive Director, Caroline Downer. “We are absolutely thrilled at the response to the new initiative and it just goes to show that despite the current challenges faced by the sector, arts and culture is still very much alive and pumping in the New England North West ” Ms Downer continued.

The successful applicants are as follows:

Natasha Soonchild, Nundle

To research and develop an at-home sewing kit which would provide materials and instructions to produce a unique soft sculpture. This would be sold through website and utilise recycled textiles.

Sarah Leete, Baan Baa

To take practice online and compete in the ‘virtual world’. To connect with her audience and stay relevant on social media.

Alex Robson, Inverell

To run an online workshop series on Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. The workshops would be open to university students, and high school students in Year 11 and 12.

Stephanie Marshall, Inverell

To roll out collaborative UnstopAbility performance sessions online through the Zoom Pro platform.

Dhiiyaan Aboriginal Centre, Moree

To assist two Aboriginal artists and cultural knowledge holders, Chris Roberts and Dorothy Tighe, to adapt to self-isolation whilst also supporting their communities through creative projects.

Leah Bullen, Armidale

To undertake an at home residency and record the environment and activities of my family home.

Walcha Handmade, Walcha

Online art lessons aimed at children.

Alan Buchan, Tamworth

To record and release a song in support of the heroes who have been overlooked during the COVID19 crisis.

NERAM, Armidale

To offer a NERAM (from home) 5-week Artist Residency.

Fiona Macdonald, Armidale

To undertake a home-based residency experimenting with new drawing techniques.

Helena Pastor, Armidale

To produce quality digital recordings to share with the New England community and further afield.

The Arts North West Microgrants were designed to support the continuation of locally determined community arts and cultural practice in uncertain times, this funding aims to be as flexible as possible. Projects do not require a specific outcome but can focus on skills development or capacity-building.

For more information, contact Caroline Downer via rado@artsnw.com.au

FUNDING OPPORTUNITY - ARTS NORTH WEST MICRO GRANTS

IN RESPONSE to the COVID-19 pandemic, Arts North West is offering Quick Response Micro Grants of up to $1,000 for independent professional practising artists across all art forms, community groups and arts organisations to support their creative endeavours.

Using some of the money that Arts North West are not currently spending on usual operations due to covid-19, such as travel, are the types of savings having be directed to the microgrant program. Arts North West has identified some savings in its usual operational expenditure due to covid-19 (such as limited travel), and have directed funds to this new micro grant opportunity.

Designed to support the continuation of locally determined community arts and cultural practice in uncertain times, this funding aims to be as flexible as possible. Projects do not require a specific outcome but can focus on skills development or capacity-building.

“These are very unusual times for all of us in the New England North West and we really understand the difficulties faced by the arts and cultural communities in our region” said Arts North West Executive Director, Caroline Downer.

“We have been very inspired by the way that individuals and organisations in our region have embraced and adapted to the new norm, developing new initiatives and strategies for their creative practices and businesses. We hope that these micro grants can help in a small way to keep up this commendable work” Ms Downer continued.

There is also an opportunity to donate to the Arts North West Micro Grant Program via the Arts North West website. Every donation will go directly towards the fund and every amount over $2 is fully tax deductible.

There is a very quick turnaround for applying and receiving these micro grants, with applications open now and closing on 4 May 2020. Successful applicants will be notified on 11 May 2020.

To apply or to donate to the Arts North West Micro Grant program, visit the Arts North West website www.artsnw.com.au or contact the Arts North West office for more information (02) 6732 4988.