Finally, final

“Being a part of the REMIX experience has been a fantastic opportunity for me. I have worked with so many elements of the arts in one project, having had all these different experiences under one roof! To have met so many interesting people all with the same goal and for all our hard work to have paid off was a joy to see and the sense of camaraderie was lovely at the BAC with REMIX all over it. For me as an actor I was pushed and stretched by Natalie Ibu and was given a gem of a part to work with by Sabrina. Within the company I felt supported and therefore able to explore and experiment within the rehearsals without fear, which is vital. When it came to the performances I was very pleased and proud of everyone’s hard work and in the end how it all came together.  I shall not forget the experience and all the lessons learnt and all the laughs and the occasional curse. From one little thought all of this was created and I have been a part of something truly unique and to Lisa, Natalie and Sabrina I thank you.”

Lydia Rose Bewley, REMIX Cast

“REMIX.  Wow.  Roller coaster? Yep.  Excited? Exhilarated? Satisfied? Stomach in your mouth then over a bit quick?  Yep. Yep. Yep and Yep.  For me REMIX was a wonderful journey that I was proud to be a part of.  It took us from a front room trying to find rhymes, to fundraising parties, to Dom James’ bedroom, to riverside studios, to dance attic, to a squat (yeah, a squat, like a full on real one, climbing in via a ladder and stuff!), to MacDonald’s, back to a front room and then to the BAC.  Rehearsing and tech-ing right up to and beyond the half, then BOOM, one show, two shows, three shows, done.  Over.  Lamps out.  Its hard not to sound like a wet lettuce when I say this, but amongst the many super things about working on REMIX, something that stands out to me was the people it brought together.  People who inspired, guided and supported, brought light to rehearsals, brought focus to rehearsals, became good friends, good colleagues and worked with passion and a collective energy to create a very enjoyable evening of REMIX-ness.”

Matthew Raymond, REMIX Cast

REMIX: THE FINAL BLOG

Here we were. Doing what it is we weren’t sure we’d get to do. In a maze of rooms with a myriad of meanings where poetic metaphors met with headphones and party-shop props with performance art. Confused? A normal state of REMIX mind, so don’t worry. Welcome to the family.

Saturday 8 May 2010. A date that back in January had seemed as far away as the possibility of me becoming a non-drinker. Both became a reality scarily quickly.

With three epic performances in one night and four great rooms of REMIX-themed fun we took over BAC with grace, class and just a touch of insanity. From our spandangled rope-light REMIX sign to our multi-coloured sellotape directions, you couldn’t miss us.

Tickets had long-since sold out and we were proud as peacocks as audience members emerged amazed from Gabriella Schmidt’s Dance Room; laughing and transformed from Lewis Smith’s Fashion Room; how they seemed in awe of Mike Chalmers‘ Photography Room and nodded their heads happily in Dom James’ Music Room.

The Theatre Room – product of Natalie Ibu’s sooperdooper directing, Lisa McFarlane’s non-stop production prowess, my findthebloodyrhymeifitkillsya writing and the colossal genius of the actors, as well as all the creative team – went well.

The audience laughed in the right places thanks to energetic, charismatic performances and clever direction. They clapped at the end. Which I took as a good sign.

The question that Ms Ibu’s ambitious (i.e. chicken oriental) but completely wonderful and inspiring REMIX had set out to answer – ‘why do we choose the forms we do to tell the stories we tell?’ had, for me, been answered. I tell my stories in poems because poetry is beautiful and lonely and is bound to nobody, it relies on nobody but itself. But after hearing my poem remixed into Drum n Bass by Dom James, I wouldn’t mind a few more of mine relying on a rave-up every now and again.

Sabrina Mahfouz: REMIX Writer

REMIX-flection

REMIX reached an almighty climax at the live event on Saturday night and for me, it was the end of a project unlike any other. From meeting Natalie Ibu over a glass of Christmas cheer to speed dating, from the finest displays of millinery to complex karaoke negotiations, REMIX has had it all. This was the first project I have ever worked on where I played no part in the creative side of things, which was not altogether an unpleasant experience. When I’m producing I often like to pretend I am on the apprentice and REMIX certainly gave me this opportunity. The aim of the game was to do as much as possible with the smallest overheads, and my hat well and truly comes off to Natalie and Lisa. Saturday night was a classy affair, and in my opinion encapsulated and honoured the mission statement. I wanted to be part of REMIX because I admired the ambition and scale of what Natalie was proposing.  I wanted to meet these emerging practitioners and see if they rose to the challenge. To put myself in a new situation, working for someone else’s vision and forge new working relationships that would be beneficial to all concerned. To see a piece of theatre created by people otherwise unfamiliar with it. This was why I did it, and my expectations were totally exceeded.

Natalie Macaluso, Development Associate

A View From A BAC Step

Natalie and Lisa produce from the front steps of BAC at 8am.

We’ve got 11 hours to go….

We’ve got 11 hours to go

We’ve got 11 hours to go

If you’d like to let us know

Then come and see our show

We’ve got 11 hours before we’ve go to go.

Did you see us on the video, oh no…

Did you see us on the video, oh no…

Here you go.

REMIX done (Thank you So Solid)

Gaby Talks… In Moves and Shapes

Gabriella Schmidt : REMIX Dancer

So! Late off the starting line but launched straight into the amazing REMIX collective and here I am with a quick update on the work on REMIX : Dance so far…

Having joined the project a wee bit late, I took to the studio last week to begin creating some movement shiz using the superb Sabrina’s poem as my starting point. Yes, that’s right. Communicating through the medium of contemporary dance. Good times. I was a little apprehensive, as there are so many changes in the poem that I wasn’t sure how best to use movement (and as a solo at that) to tell the story. But once I decided I was going to explore the character changes in the girl (who we also know as Clarice in REMIX : Theatre) and had picked some tunes to use, I cracked on.

For the first couple of days, I mainly played around with creating some movement material, using the way the character sees herself at each specific point as a stimulus.  I then gradually began to link things together, trying to tell the story’s key moments through the movement and thinking about how it will correspond to the film stuff behind me… (yes, film stuff. Technical term. Look excited.) I also had to consider the room size, as it is fairly narrow, so I couldn’t throw myself around too much.  I also have a habit of talking to myself , which hasn’t been helped by spending all day in a rehearsal room alone and has left others fearing for my sanity. Good.

Once the wonderful Dom James had cut all my music together for me, I was able to link sections together and I now have the basic shape of the piece, though after finally managing to make the video camera work (electricals hate me) and watching it back, I now have some changes to make to certain sections., which I will do this week.

I trained originally as a ballet dancer, but having been acting for 3 years, one particular challenge has been getting fit again (ahem.) After the first 3 days in the studio, let’s just say your 90 year old granny could have walked up stairs faster. With her feet tied together. And a rock on her back. Yep. I ain’t gonna lie…  I was destroyed.  But onwards! And having done a week, the pain is gradually easing….

Next is the film part, which will frame the piece, with images popping up every now and then during the dance. We are shooting that in the next couple of days (nothing like a deadline!) and then putting it together on Saturday. Oh gosh. It’s going to be exciting. See you on the 8^th… Hopefully I’ll be up to walking by then.

Start Spreading The News… REMIX is on Saturday!