Noisemakers Workshop at Vrygrond
I’m running a Noisemakers Workshops this weekend and early next week as part of Assitej and Theatre Arts Admin Collective’s Family Season.
These particular workshops are aimed at parents with children, and focus on making and using unique and quirky musical instruments made from the stuff we normally throw away.
Have a look here and here to get an idea of the kinds of things we make at Noisemakers workshops.
Read on for details… (more…)
How to build a People’s Harp (was Top Secret)
In the spirit of freeing the People from the hegenomy of low quality industrially extruded musical instruments, I’ve decided to fully disclose and publicly release instructions for assembling a People’s Harp.
My invention is vaguely based on a Congolese Kundi harp. The reason I say ‘vaguely’, is that the Kundi normally has at least five strings, whereas mine has one. However my harp is held and played in a similar manner. Some may say that that is where the resemblance ends. However, I can persuasively argue that my harp is in spirit a Kundi harp 🙂 And that despite being made of plastic bottles, it is surprisingly loud and sonorous (posts on how to play the harp will follow).
Let the People walk the streets with a harp in hand, rhythm in heart and happiness in head!
Sound of People playing a harp:
Here we have the method: (more…)
Land of the Underneath
After seeing our performance workshop at Out The Box, Caroline Calburn approached Jori Snell and myself to present a full length version of Land of the Underneath at the Inside Out festival(4-8 Oct in Observatory Cape Town). We agreed and Caroline also offered to help us a little by casting a critical directorial eye (which turned out to be a real life saver!).
So after many late nights and bumping into tin cans (intentionally and unintentionally), Baba Yaga Theatre and Brendon Bussy are proud to present the new, fully enhanced, deliciously noisy and sensory adventure:
Land of the Underneath!
Suitable for 3 years to 100 🙂
In ´Land of the Underneath’ a girl wakes up in a land where nothing is as it appears to be. In this land the not quite ordinary Noise Maker plays his instruments made of what we call ‘trash’, but for him they are magical objects. Together they discover a room full of delicious imagination where stories are born through objects and sounds come alive through playful movement. An interactive play inviting children of all ages to join the two characters on a journey of discovery.
Performance details (more…)
How We Made Noise at Out The Box
Noise was prevalent at last week’s Out the Box festival, and I made some of it.
I created original music and sound design using a table lamp amongst things, for Ubom! Theater’s Door and sound design for Kim Kerfoot’s hilariously dark Guillotine – part of Iqonga, Handspring Puppet Company’s experimental platform at the festival.
And I also found ample opportunity to test drive one of my new instruments, a perishable harp made from a 5 litre bottle and bamboo rod. Nicknamed ‘the Stick Insect’ I played it at the festival launch and garnered some favourable astonished responses (“What’s That?”). Then I used it as part of a performance workshop which Jori Snell and I ran called ‘Land of the Underneath‘. Here’s a dramatic picture:
And here’s a close up: (more…)
How to Create Noise Makers with Personality
In early September Cape Town’s Out The Box festival comes to life. Its focus is ‘puppetry and visual theatre’ and presents quite an eclectic mix of performance media – the traditional plus all of the newer stuff (video, installation etc).
I’ll be presenting two workshops, one with Jori Snell – which explores sound and movement (read more about it here). And one solo which focuses on the nitty gritty of building and playing unusual string instruments, or more broadly speaking, ‘noise makers’ for use in theatre and life. See below for the detailed info. And if you need to know more, you can contact me directly.
How to Create Noise Makers with Personality
Date: Sunday 11 September
Time: 10h00 to 16h00 (6 hours)
Venue: Cape Town, venue to be confirmed
Price: R250
This workshop focuses on making and using unique and quirky musical instruments. (more…)
Konis Phonis Homo Habilis
A few happy customers after Saturday’s open day Kone Phone drive.
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