Discovery Avenue
The Lowry + Walk the PlankSummer 2022
Stage Directions is a youth theatre project managed by the Lowry which aims to give young people between the ages of 8-18 from underrepresented demographics an insight into the world of making theatre.
The young people were split into 4 age based groups each with their own theatre professionals and worked over the course of 9 days to co-create a devised piece that would then be performed to an audience of family and friends in outdoor performances around the campus of Salford uni. They were asked to respond to the theme of "Discovery Avenue".
For the Discovery Avenue Summer Celebration the Lowry partnered with Walk the Plank Arts. Walk the Plank produced the summer celebration and also created a promenade performance piece that would provide a linking through thread for the performances of the young people. Myself and artist Sophie Tyrrell were asked to create this performance.
For the connecting narrative Sophie and I decided to tell the story of a strange beast that arrives accompanied by four guardian Creatures and Raven. It becomes clear, through the confusion and distress of the creatures and the prompting of Raven that the beast is unwell and not functioning as it should.
These guardians lead the audience on a journey of discovery, gathering missing pieces of the beast from each of the groups until eventually in the finale of the performance all of the pieces
join together to form a heart. And with its heart back together the beast is healed!
For this performance I designed and fabricated the creature costumes and Sophie designed and fabricated the beast. We worked together to deliver workshops in which the young people made their costumes for the finale performance and had assistance from Amy Hegarty, Laurie Nuttall and James Brown.
The young people were split into 4 age based groups each with their own theatre professionals and worked over the course of 9 days to co-create a devised piece that would then be performed to an audience of family and friends in outdoor performances around the campus of Salford uni. They were asked to respond to the theme of "Discovery Avenue".
For the Discovery Avenue Summer Celebration the Lowry partnered with Walk the Plank Arts. Walk the Plank produced the summer celebration and also created a promenade performance piece that would provide a linking through thread for the performances of the young people. Myself and artist Sophie Tyrrell were asked to create this performance.
For the connecting narrative Sophie and I decided to tell the story of a strange beast that arrives accompanied by four guardian Creatures and Raven. It becomes clear, through the confusion and distress of the creatures and the prompting of Raven that the beast is unwell and not functioning as it should.
These guardians lead the audience on a journey of discovery, gathering missing pieces of the beast from each of the groups until eventually in the finale of the performance all of the pieces
join together to form a heart. And with its heart back together the beast is healed!
For this performance I designed and fabricated the creature costumes and Sophie designed and fabricated the beast. We worked together to deliver workshops in which the young people made their costumes for the finale performance and had assistance from Amy Hegarty, Laurie Nuttall and James Brown.
