Stan’s Cafe were invited to pitch an idea for a participatory workshop for Creative Partnership’sNational Conference in November 2006. There were to be 400 participants engaged for an hour in anactivity themed around the notion of a journey. The workshop had to be repeated the following hourfor another 400 participants.
We aimed to create an event that would combine individual engagement with a strong collective experience. A messy activity was ruled out due to the numbers and repetition. Our pitch wasto create a sound piece with the delegates.
The final piece started with an airport style check-in queue and playful signage setting up the creative process/journey metaphor. Check-in involves being asked a question by one of eightstern staff and having to answer into a microphone. A post-it note is your passport to the nextstage of the journey. A large rectangular board is silhouetted in strong backlight and smoke,on the reverse a landscape is built from post-it notes that have been drawn upon.
In the large main space participants hear their check-in answers within an audio loop piece.A radio play telling the story of a creative journey is recorded live with participants providingsound effects and performing fragments of dialogue. Finally a choral piece inspired by Cornelius Cardew and requiring no rehearsal is performed with a guest soloist.
QuicktimeVR images of the Creative Partnerships Sonic Journey Project can be downloaded from z360.com. Use Quicktime and click on arrows to travel through all six views.An audio piece documenting the event can be downloaded from The Exchange.
Credits
Devised and performed by
Graeme Rose
Amanda Hadingue
Jack Trow
Jake Oldershaw
Heather Burton
Jess Mackinnon
Chris Dugrenier
Jane Packman
Katie Day
Craig Stephens
Mike Kirchner
Ana Rutter
Soloists: Melanie Pappenheim & Manickam Yogeswaran
Direction: James Yarker
Audio Director: Giles Perrin
Lights: James Markey for Mulberry Grove
Sound Engineering: Brian Duffy
Stage Management: Karen Stafford
Photography: Douglas Cape
Administration: Charlotte Martin
Commissioned by: Creative Partnerships National Office
