CE TO CREATE Performing Ar

CE TO CREATE
Performing Ar
Events
Events taking place in
the Spring Term
include:
WordPlay
Burdall’s Yard,
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16 & 30 January and
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13 February
Jazz Night
Burdall’s Yard,
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22 January
Monologue Knockout
Burdall’s Yard,
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23 January and 27
February
‘Borderland’
University Theatre,
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28 , 29 & 30 January
The Moving Exhibition
The Holburne Museum,
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3 & 4 February
Photo by Nick Spratling
Performances, Events, Showcases...
Big Band Night
Michael Tippett Centre,
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4 February
These Beautiful Things
Burdall’s Yard,
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11 February
‘Where There’s A Will’
the egg,
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3 , 4 & 5 March
‘Just So’
University Theatre,
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3 , 4 & 5 March
Gamelan
Michael Tippett Centre,
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9 March
Third Space Dance,
University Theatre,
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15 , 16 & 17 March
For info regarding all
Bath Spa Live Events
please click on the link
below:
Photo by Nick Spratling
December 2015
Bath Spa
Live
Page 1
Love is a Cold Climate For Anna Karenina
Photos by Nick Spratling
‘Anna Karenina’ opened a season of exciting work from OnSet productions, the student company
comprising 3rd year BA (Hons) Acting and BA (Hons) Theatre Production students. In an adaptation by
Helen Edmundson, which draws together Anna and her brother’s best friend Levin in a conversation that
does not take place in Tolstoy’s novel, the audience experienced two intertwining love stories with
dramatically different outcomes. Directed by professional director Matt Ball, Head of Department Mark
Langley said: “Anna Karenina is a great piece for young actors. It has scale, yet is infinitely human in its
content, and it was great to see the cast tussle with one of the great classics of world literature.”
December 2015
Page 2
Commercial Music Alumni Success
Former Commercial Music student Tremaine
Robinson is singing and touring the UK with successful
dance music act Blonde, who are signed to
Parlophone Records.
Alex Kotz, aka Elderbrook, is signed to Black Butter
Records (Clean Bandit’s label) and his critically
acclaimed debut single ‘Could’ - a song he wrote in the
second year of the Commercial Music course - has
received almost 1.5 million hits on YouTube. Alex has
also received over 100,000 hits for new song ‘How
Many Times’ released at the end of October.
Chiara Braggion has started an internship with
Impressive PR, the London-based company whose
roster includes The Zombies, The Bluetones and Lisa
Ronson, and which has also included Snow Patrol,
Muse and Coldplay.
Elderbrook in action on his new video
Aliya Al-Nakeeb is the new consultant at Good Soldier
Songs, which was launched by former Warner Music UK CEO Christian Tattersfield. The London-based
independent publishing company represents artists such as The 1975, Biffy Clyro and Birdy.
Atlantic Crossings
BSU postgraduate dancers worked with dancers
from Roger Williams University, Rhode Island, on
a mini screendance project at the beginning of
November. Led by Cardiff-based
performer/choreographer Jo Fong and MA Dance
Course Director Chris Lewis-Smith, dancers
worked intensively to create and film short solo
works in locations around Newton Park campus.
The collaboration continues with students on both
sides of the Atlantic editing the footage in
preparation to share the results online.
Postgraduate Dance at BSU is already an
international community with students from Greece,
Finland, Brazil, China and the UK. With the addition
of the dancers from the states, Atlantic Crossings
2015 exhibited a strong mixture of cultures.
Seeing Sound 4
Seeing Sound is a practice-led symposium exploring
multimedia work that foregrounds the relationship between
sound and image. It explores areas such as visual music,
abstract cinema, experimental animation, audio-visual
performance and installation practice through paper
sessions, screenings, performances and installations. A call
for papers has now been issued for Seeing Sound 4, taking
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place on 9 and 10 April 2016, and information about this
exciting international event can be found here.
December 2015
Page 3
Pastoral Delights of the Opera Project
Photos by Nick Spratling
BA (Hons) Music and BA (Hons) Theatre Production students created another enthusiastically received opera
project with two baroque masterpieces for the price of one - ‘Acis & Galatea’ and ‘Dido & Aeneas,’ in November.
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Professional Director Garth Bardsley transported these pastoral delights by Handel and Purcell to the 20 Century
and explored the operas’ enduring themes within the context of the hippie-fest that was the Summer of Love in 1967,
alongside the formal and tailored world of 1950s Monte Carlo. With a double cast performing over four nights Garth
said in praise of the students: “What a remarkably resourceful and talented student production team, and
congratulations to the student cast, orchestra and conductors who worked so very hard to help bring this production
to life.”
December 2015
Page 4
Glastonbury Festival Collaboration
MPA Technical Team members Jonathan Savage,
Kyle Roberts and Ed Adams have cemented a
partnership with the Glade Area at Glastonbury
Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts. For over
four years the team members have been working at
the festival, managing the staging and production
(visuals and lighting) of the Glade Lounge.
The stage has grown over the last few years with their
input and support from MPA, and this year Jon, Ed and
Kyle attended as ambassadors for the university in
search of creating a solid partnership between the
festival and BSU. The university is helping to provide
equipment and manpower for the Glade Stage and,
starting at the 2016 festival, the Glade will be
accepting a Bath Spa student for a technical work
experience placement and a student band for a
performance slot.
The team are aiming to develop this partnership even
further in the years to come and will also be looking to
form industry relationships at other events and related
companies. For a look at the Glastonbury 2015
showreel of the guys at work please click here.
BA Acting Graduate in Bollywood Movie
2014 BA (Hons) Acting graduate Nim Odedra was busy earlier this year
filming a Bollywood movie called ‘Aashiqui’ in Brighton, Crawley and
Winchester. In English the title means ‘true love’ and the film was
released in India and Bangladesh in October.
Nim said of her experience:
“Hindi isn't my first or second language and I didn't speak Bengali at all,
so it was a challenge to learn the lines before the shoot. However, they
are so laid-back I was told ‘Don't worry about the lines, just act. We can
always dub your voice, we do it all the time.’ I had been trained for three
years to be real and natural, but in Bollywood the characters are larger
than life, quite like musical theatre stage style acting. On camera it felt
bizarre going so over the top, but the director loved the exaggerated
performance. It was so much fun. We had a scene on a train and the
entire station was hired out for the shoot. It was great to see what a big
budget could do for a film. I would be honoured to make more
Bollywood films, and I am in the process of learning Hindi to help my
employability.”
BA Music Alumni Receive Awards for Composing
Two Bath Spa Music alumni composers were recent recipients of Sound and Music/Francis Chagrin Awards
for 2015. Nick Peters (BA Music, 2005) and Simon Belshaw (Combined Award in Music and English, 1992) were
among the six British composers who received this award in August.
December 2015
Page 5
Collaborative Acting & Dance
Visit to Taipei
Mark Langley, Head of Department of Performing
Arts, and Chris Lewis-Smith, Course Director of
MA Dance, visited the Taipei National University
of Arts (TNUA) in Taiwan, in October. The aim was
to further relationships between our two institutions.
Mark said about the trip:
“We were delighted to take with us a play for
the Kuan du Arts Festival. The production of
'Timothy' by David K Barnes and Michael Milne
premiered in May 2015 at the Bath Fringe Festival.
It was directed and performed by third year BA
Acting students and, following several successful
performances, it seemed like the ideal piece to take
to the Taipei festival. The audiences for both
performances were packed and very appreciative.
‘Timothy’ has a dark sense of humour, but the
response was great and the cast became quite
famous on campus. What a great opportunity for
them to have an international theatre credit on their
CVs so soon after graduating.”
The cast and staff also led workshops with TNUA
students on Shakespeare and film dance, called A
Different Way of Looking.
Professor’s BBC Broadcast
Professor James Saunders was commissioned by the Cut and
Splice weekender to make a new piece for performance by
Plus Minus Ensemble. The piece, titled like you and like you,
was performed at Cafe Oto in London in September in an
event that was co-produced by Sound and Music and BBC
Radio 3. It continues James's interest in the way performer
interactions can be used to create music, with live decisionmaking and group behaviours changing the flow of the piece
in surprising ways. In like you and like you the three players
each have a large group of similar objects, including desk
bells, buzzers, and a cap gun, and pre-recorded samples,
including fog horns, breaking glass and church organ chords.
The players attempt to imitate the sounds and actions made
by each other in a playful way. It explores recent research
into imitative behaviours, where subjects might imitate actions
and/or goals, or over-imitate by mirroring unnecessary
movements. The piece was broadcast on BBC Radio 3's Hear
and Now programme in October and can be heard
on iPlayer. A video of the performance is also available from
James's website by clicking here.
December 2015
Page 6
Pat’s Dismal Time
Pat Welsh, Senior Lecturer in Acting spent some
time covertly involved in Banksy's Bemusement
Park Dismaland prior to its opening. Pat's role
was to train a large group of non-performers,
recruited as extras for a film, to also fulfil the roles
of Dismal stewards. Pat said:
“The challenge of developing the performance
skills of inexperienced and sometimes reluctant
actors was exacerbated by the necessity to limit
the details of the ultimate role to the bare
minimum. However, once the stewards were on
location they soon embraced the concept and
the feedback on their consistently negative
outlook has been universally positive.”
Pat also recruited a number of BSU Acting
undergraduates to boost steward numbers, who
all enjoyed taking part in this dismal experience.
Karin’s Contact Unwinding
Dance Senior Lecturer Karin Rugman’s chapter
Contact Unwinding has been published in new book
Moving Consciously: Somatic Transformations
through Dance, Yoga and Touch, edited by Sondra
Fraleigh. Karin’s chapter explores the process and
values of contact unwinding, a major practice of the
Shin Somatics method, which employs movementbased teaching through touch. Contact unwinding
is an exploration between partners, which is
performed in an improvisational dance context. The
practice invites the inner self to instinctively express
itself outwardly in a spontaneous unfolding of
intuitive movement or dance. In this way, Contact
Unwinding interweaves dance and somatics,
connecting us intimately with our moving or dancing
body.
The analysis of findings throughout the chapter
draws upon Karin’s personal experience as a
somatic educator and mover, and is supported by
reflections from undergraduate dance students at
Bath Spa, as well as students in somatic workshops.
December 2015
Page 7
Joe’s Charity Single Reaches No.1
Poet Mike Garry and Associate Professor of Music Joe
Duddell teamed up over the summer to release a unique
charity single that pays tribute to Tony Wilson, the
legendary music mogul, presenter, writer and passionate
United fan who died from cancer in 2007. Wilson launched
Factory Records in 1978 and famously established the label
by signing iconic bands Joy Division, New Order and The
Happy Mondays, before also managing The Hacienda
nightclub. He was later dubbed Mr Manchester and was
immortalised by Steve Coogan in the movie '24 Hour Party
People.’ Prior to his passing, Tony was treated at The
Christie and all proceeds from the single will go to this
pioneering cancer hospital. The accompanying music video
also features cameos from Coogan, as well as Iggy Pop,
New Order, Shaun Ryder, Rowetta and Christopher
Ecclestone. Called St. Anthony, the single reached No.1 in
four UK official charts: Physical Releases, Vinyl Release,
Independent and Spotify viral chart. Joe has also featured
in Q Magazine about the single and the video can be seen
here.
Joe Duddell &
poet Mike Garry
Arts Council Funding for Borderland
Mary Steadman, Artistic Director of Red Room Productions, and Senior
Lecturer in Drama and Acting, has successfully received funding from Arts
Council England for her research and development project ‘Borderland,’
which focuses on the experiences of women and mental illness. The piece
bases its theme on The Yellow Wallpaper - a Gothic short story written in
the late 19th century by Charlotte Gilman-Perkins - and the evocative
photography of Francesca Woodman. Woodman’s photographs explore
images of the relationship between women’s bodies and space, blurring the
boundaries of the body and the walls of derelict rooms. Conceived and directed by Mary - in collaboration with
devisers/performers Leeza Jesse and BSU graduates Alice Barton, Lauren Gauge, Rose Balfour and Elsbeth
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Smit - ‘Borderland’ will be performed from January 28 - 30th in the University Theatre. An exhibition/installation
of the process of creating the work will take place at the 44AD Gallery in Bath, January 25th – January 31st.
Ambient Aural-I
A new sound and visual arts collective called Aural-I has been formed between
Jonathan Savage (Music Technical Demonstrator), Kyle Roberts (Music
Technician), PhD Student Pablo Perez Zarate and a group of Creative Music
Technology (CMT) alumni. Their first installation appeared at the Art
Weekender Bristol and Bath, at the end of October. The main installation
involved a projection-mapping project onto a prominent building in the Stokes
Croft area of the city, with a live audio stream that could be listened to using a
smart phone/device or computer. Charting an abstract voyage from an industrial,
technologically-driven present to a greener more natural future, The Taming of
Moloch was designed to tie in with Bristol’s European Green Capital status,
both in subject matter and ethos. The collective also produced a shadow puppet
rendition of the Brothers Grimm tale The Moon, enhanced by live soundscape
and ambience performed by an electronic ensemble. BSU and the Art
Weekender are now in partnership, and Aural I are looking forward to taking
these projects further with advance bookings to exhibit The Moon at other
venues and festivals.
December 2015
Page 8
Working with 4 Million Volts
Alongside his Co-Director at The Bureau of Random Acts, Senior
Lecturer in Dance, Paul Clayden, has been working on developing a
more creative physical synthesis between movement and tesla
technology within the confines of the Arcadia Spectacular
experience. Paul said: “Initially, we were asked to explore how to
represent the new ability of triggering lightning from a midi keyboard.
This meant that for the first time the lightning, created by 4 million
volts and emanating from a performer encased in a chain mail suit,
would have aural pitch. We began this exploration and research in
February and from this we developed a piece of work that was
integrated into the Arcadia Spectacular show Metamorphosis, which
was premiered at Glastonbury 2015 and then re-mounted for
performances in Bristol's Queen Square in September. It was a
doubly enjoyable experience having the opportunity to work with Bath
Spa Graduate Fleur Hoefkens and recent graduate from the MA
Dance Course, Naomi Hunter.”
Solo Album for Pete
Pete Bernard, lecturer in Commercial Music (artist name Pete Josef),
has released a solo album on Berlin-based label Sonar Kollectiv. After
years of session work and touring with other musicians, including Kelis,
Roni Size, Reprazent and Darren Emerson of Underworld, this is
Pete’s first release as a solo artist. Launched in Berlin at the beginning
of November, Giles Peterson gave it the accolade Album of the Week
on his 6 Music show and the campaign continues to do well.
For a listen, please click here.
Conrad’s Journey Around The Horne
BA (Hons) Acting graduate Conrad Segal (2015) landed his first
professional contract soon after graduation with the Guildford-based
Apollo Theatre Company's national tour of ‘Around the Horne.’
This show is a tribute to the famous BBC 1960s comedy series that
introduced Kenneth Williams, Kenneth Horne and Hugh Paddick to
the great British public. Compiled and directed by Tim Astley,
several episodes are brought together in a full evening's
entertainment that has played to venues across the UK. Conrad who is also a fine pianist - joined the company as one of the
supporting cast providing musical accompaniment and support for
the mad antics of a range of infamous characters including
Rambling Sid Rumpo, Charles and Fiona, J. Peasemold
Gruntfuttock, and Julian & Sandy.
TP Graduate Lands Top Role
Congratulations to BA (Hons) Theatre Production graduate 2015 Luke Winters, who has secured his first
professional stage management engagement as Assistant Stage Manager for Hackney Empire. Subject Leader
Michael Budmani said: "It is testament to Luke's outstanding stage management ability, together with his
commitment and tenacity, that he has secured such a fantastic role so early in his career.” Luke was also
nominated by his course mates as the Theatre Production candidate for the Stage Management Association
Student Stage Manager Of The Year 2015 Award.
December 2015
Page 9
Jon, Mainey & Blonde Collaborate
Commercial Music alumni Mainey (Tremaine Robinson, 2014) and
Technical Demonstrator Jonathan Savage have been reunited away from
the classroom. Jonathan has been working with chart topping dance act
Blonde since early 2015. The group have had two Top Ten hits, followed
by a Summer festival tour and UK Autumn headline tour. Jonathan has
been producing the live show, creating visuals and staging, alongside
managing the technical provision. Since leaving Bath Spa to focus on a
career in songwriting, Mainey has worked with many current, influential
and upcoming artists, including Pixie Lott, MNEK, Artful Dodger, M.O,
Toyboy & Robin. Not to mention collaborating with fellow songwriters and
producers, including Knightstarr (Craig David, Nicola Roberts, Alexx
Mack), Levi Lennox (Krept & Konan, Zayn Malik, MIA) and Cass Lowe
(Tinashe, Snakehips, Kwabs), all while learning the trade of Vocal
Production to house his own clients. Jonathan and Mainey have now
completed a run of ten shows for Blonde's Autumn tour with plans for
more shows in the new year once Mainey returns from a songwriting trip
to Los Angeles.
MA TYA Graduate Launches Company
Graduating MA Theatre for Young Audiences student Nix
Barnaville's new company Imaginarium was launched recently.
This Arts Council funded company supports the intergenerational
exchange of expertise between adult and child artists and also
offers an opportunity to extend knowledge and develop the
production of new work for young audiences by current and future
practitioners.
Nix said: “In developing the Imaginarium, what became clear
through the practice of sharing was the enjoyment experienced by
the children in learning about the skills of the artists; having a go
themselves and sharing this with their peers and the artists. Within
the framework of the Imaginarium, I would also like to include time
and support for artistic development for practitioners. This would
include programming masterclasses and consultations with
respected and experienced industry professionals, both in the
artists’ specific field of interest and as a means of developing their
skills when working with children. For example, I believe that the
Imaginarium would work as a process for working with children with
physical and mental limitations.”
TP Graduate Success Stories
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David Costello (2015) & Adam Bottomley (2014) are working at the National Theatre as scenic
carpenters.
Gemma Fowler (2015) is Assistant Stage Manager for the egg Christmas production of 'Little Sure Shot.’
Jamie Williams (2015) is working at Enlightened Lighting in Bristol.
Ben Robinson (2015) has been appointed as Sales Account Manager for Stage Electrics.
Rob Browning (2014) has been appointed Assistant Stage Manager at Theatre By The Lake, Keswick.
Andrew Rumble (2014) is working with the lighting department for Birmingham Royal Ballet.
December 2015
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