The start of a project… Very happy to have received my ACE funding (must get the logo up here!) and have started work on my new, solo theatre show featuring my new Inside-Out Piano, to be premiered at Brighton Dome on 10th December (in Laura Duccheschi’s Earsthetic Festival – music with a visual element). My whole project is an exercise in applying theatre processes to music creation, so I have a team of people helping me, time rehearsing in a space, a work-in-progress showing, and a lot to learn! I am currently sitting on the floor of my lounge sketching images of movement and motion on A3 sheets whilst listening to inside piano music (Frederik Croene at Holland Festival currently, mixed in with Philip Mead playing George Crumb). The motions include the piano swinging and how that might link to something based around Pendulum Music; Lister machines which I saw at a country fair where Stan was very excited to sit on a lot of tractors… and the Triple Pendulum mentioned by Hans Peter Duerr, who I was put onto by Matthias Mohr – thank you! (Weirdly though, having just looked for an image of the triple pendulum I just discovered moviebox app this article which goes into a fair amount of mathematical depth to discern the relevance…in your golf shot!).
Anyway…I’m currently musing on some key ideas which might penetrate the piece – the industrial nature of the piano, the industriousness of motherhood; how mist seems to link very strong memories for me and how appearance and disappearance might be represented. So far I’ve had to answer a great set of questions from the Dramaturg, Lou Cope, e.g. which my favourite shows have been: it turns out I have some pretty abstract things in the top spot – Pina Bausch’s Cafe Muller, Kris Verdonck’s Duet and – since last week’s very happy trip to the Ruhrtrienniale with the Matthew Herbert tour – Romeo Castelluci’s Le Sacre.
I’m also excited about making a film with Joseph Rodrigues Marsh for Sinfini Music. It’s good to be thinking about images a lot – this all makes a very interesting change from practising piano. I just hope I can do the opportunity justice! Watch this space for updates and follow #insideoutpiano on Twitter (and maybe Instagram if I can get around to acquainting myself with it. I do like taking pics so I probably should. Slightly late to the party there! Like a fortnight ago when I discovered Radiohead’s No Surprises video and was compelled to watch it quite a few times. Then realised it had probably been made around 20 years ago.)