A cast of over 60 of the best young performers will take Novocastrians on a journey through time, reaching back into the past as far as the Dreaming and delving into some of Watt Street’s most interesting secrets and historical sites between the 10th and the 19th April. We chatted to Project Producer and Tantrum Theatre’s Artistic Director, Amy Hardingham, before the show kicks off tonight.
What sort of logistic planning goes into managing a cast of over 60 people?
Stories in Our Steps has been a massive logistical challenge. We began planning the show in mid-2014. It has taken months of meetings, applications and paperwork to secure the six sites. The structure of the show, and the stories we have used have all taken an enormous amount of research and planning. Our collaborative partnerships with Flipside Youth Dance and Past Present Future, City of Newcastle, have also taken a lot of work. Cast-wise, we began by mapping out the stories and sites we wanted, then auditioned performers. Lucy Shepherd, Tantrum’s Associate Director and I, then sat down with their names on post-it notes and matched performers to sites and stories. It took a couple of days. From there, the bulk of cast coordination has been looked after by our amazing intern, Jocelyne Lamarche, a theatre graduate from Canada, who has done all the scheduling and communications with cast members. The cast is divided up into several smaller casts who have worked weekly with individual directors to develop, script, and rehearse their piece. Now we are in production week, it’s chaotic! We have an amazing backstage manager, Chloe McKinnon, whose job it is to keep tabs on everybody and who is where at what time.
What did people like Ann Hardy and Barbara Heaton bring to the project?
Barbara helped us out by sharing her research about Watt St very early on. This research fed into the development of the idea and the script for the Time Travelers, who are tour guides from the year 2051. They have a lot of dialogue about the history of the street. Dr Ann Hardy, Jane Ison and Bronwyn Law were all directly part of the development of the pieces – they came in and shared their knowledge with the casts, and this knowledge fed into the individual stories. In particular, Bronwyn Law knows all about the young men killed in action in WW1 who are commemorated in St Phillip’s Church. Her knowledge has informed a mini-doco that can be viewed via our website, as well as a stunning contemporary dance piece directed by one of Australia’s top choreographers, Cadi McCarthy of Flipside Dance. And Jane Ison is the “custodian” of the Newcastle Industrial School Girls. She has painstakingly researched their biographies and the history of the institution – including the infamous riots. Her work has fed into an incredible visual and verbatim theatre piece directed by Lucy Shepherd, best known for her work with Paper Cut Contemporary Performance Collective. There are so many passionate local historians in Newcastle. We are so lucky some of them were so generous with their time and knowledge.
You’re using some music from the Newcastle band, Heroes. How do you think the Heroes’ music influences Novocastrian culture?
Heroes were the band playing on the night of the Star Hotel Riot – the last band to play before the pub shut down. We were stoked to learn that the band had recently reformed and that Mark Tinson was happy to come in and share his memories of that night with the group. Early on, we made the mistake of thinking Cold Chisel were playing that night – it’s a common mistake because they wrote a song about it – but they weren’t even there. Heroes’ music is amazing, and the song they played that night for their encore – “The Star and the Slaughter” is crucial to the performance about that night that takes place at the Lock Up. We have some amazing singers in that cast and an awesome band – they really caputure the energy of Newcastle in 1979.
What was it about “Diving Off the Edge of the World” that captured the imagination of those that attended the show? How is this production similar and how is it different?
I think Novocastrians love discovering their own stories and learning about their own histories. And they love being outside and revelling in the amazing scenery of their town. Diving took them into a cherished public space and gave it a whole new feeling. It’s an amazing thing to be somewhere after dark, participating in a totally different sort of activity to the usual, day-to-day use of the place. Stories does the same thing, but with Watt St and surrounds. It tells the stories literally in people’s steps, in an inventive, dynamic contemporary way. But Stories has one key difference – we don’t have to panic about king tides!
What sort of secrets about Watt Street does the production reveal?
I can’t reveal any more than I already have … you’ll just have to come and see the show!
The project will be complemented by an exhibition of archival material, photos, and interpretation at Newcastle Regional Library and a printed walking map featuring young people’s drawings of the performance sites.
WHAT: Stories in our Steps
WHEN: 10th-19th April, (April School holidays)
WHERE: Starts at the top of James Fletcher Park, cnr Watt & Ordnance Streets
MORE INFO: www.tantrum.org.au
TICKETS: www.stickytickets.com.au
