DivergencyMcr: Day Three

Now we know a little bit more about both the systems and, in principle, the people - what can we do to get to actually know them?

How can we get to meet some of them and find out what their perceptions of Live Art and Contemporary Performance are?  

Have we, as a sector, done a great job of putting people off? Or has the potential for the form just not got seeped into their consciousness?

Let's invite them to a show... The outcomes of hÅb's mentored development project, Works Ahead, are just round the corner.  It's a project where we've worked intensively with three recently graduated artists, making some very different pieces, so would be a good sampler of both the breadth of possibility and the kind of support we offer.

And let's organise a workshop and a social event and get to actually talk to people.  

Selina Thompson is a young Leeds artist who is making distinct waves at the moment - from her extraordinary Dark and Lovely performance installation in a giant tumble weave tent to her  recent commission on the 'fun' of the job centre for West Yorkshire Playhouse's Transform festival.  Her work is varied and accessible, fun and approachable but always issue based, so she seems like a great person to encourage people to explore something new.

So we are extending the following invitation:

Selina

DivergencyMcr

Over the next two weeks, STUN and hÅb are carrying out DivergencyMcr, a brief joint residency as part of the Creative Case NORTH. A big part of what we want to achieve is to get to know the membership of STUN a bit better, and just maybe, for you to get to know us and what we do too…

hÅb specialises in developing live art and contemporary performance and showing it through its Word of Warning programme. STUN is a membership organisation supporting BAME creatives, which has a brand new theatre studio space within Z-arts.

Together, what we want is to find is artists from diverse backgrounds already working with - or who might be interested in exploring - live work that finds different ways of telling new, real and often personal stories: be it through installation, one to one performance, a journey through the city or even a performance lecture. Real experiences and surprising stories that make an audience think differently about the world.

We think that showing you what we mean is more important than lots of artspeak, so we’d like to extend an invitation to STUN member artists to:

Join us for a show (or rather three short shows) and a drink at: Works Ahead on either Thu 8 or Fri 9 May, 7.30pm at Contact

Three new shows about being on stage.
Three new works in development by young local artists

The houselights dim, the audience goes quiet - and there you are… transfixed in a spotlight…

Lindsay Bennett | Exit Smiling
In life, as on stage, Lindsay knows the importance of the grand entrance and the dramatic exit… but is everything in the middle just a show? And who, exactly, is she playing?
Paul O’Donnell | Nothing!
Paul needs adoration, approval and, above all, applause. You WILL clap, you WILL cheer… no, really, you WILL.
SheepKnuckle | Echo
SheepKnuckle are two young men going to extraordinary lengths to avoid being on a stage… so what exactly are they doing here?

We have a limited number of free tickets for STUN members and we’ll even buy you a drink*

*a beer, a glass of wine or a soft drink

Participate in a Workshop with artist Selina Thompson at STUN Studio on Wed 14 May 5.30 (for 6) - 9pm including drinks and nibbles.

Selina Thompson is an artist and performer based in Leeds. Her work is playful, participatory and intimate, focused on the politics of identity, and how this defines our bodies, lives and environments. Her recent work includes Dark and Lovely - storytelling from within a giant tumbleweave tent; It Burns It All Clean a commission for West Yorkshire Playhouse’s Transform Festival and Chewing The Fat, coming to Manchester in Autumn 2014.

Of this workshop she says:

I want to spend a couple of hours working with people on the importance of bringing their own authentic voice and stories, to the work they make. I feel that our lived experience, our thoughts, dreams and fears bring something truly unique and sincere to the work that we make: but that it can be quite scary doing that in a performance context, so it’s important to invest time and energy into nurturing our capacity to do that, and to keep things as ‘real’ – and in some cases unpolished – as we can. So we’re going to be doing exercises, (writing, performing, some where we’re just imagining and plotting things together), to help you feel more confident in bringing your voice, and your heart to your work: in a way that allows you to connect with your audience but doesn’t leave you feeling exposed.
We’re also going to devote some time to the very serious business of being silly
It’s important
selinathompson.wordpress.com

Click here book your free Works Ahead ticket and Workshop place, deadline 12 noon Tue 6 May

(Direct URL: https://habarts.wufoo.eu/forms/divergencymcr-booking-form/)
For info/queries contact: [afreena@habarts.org]rts.org)