The Power Of The Scratch

  

I've always ummed and arred about the usefulness of Scratch Nights.

Some performers swear by them. Some performers swear about them.

I used to be impartial, but now I'm screaming about The Power Of The Scratch.

It's not about preparation, it's not about rehearsal, it's not even about certainty, and for a performance artists can be terrifying, but it's not about laying bare your soul either. It's about the raw, the unrefined, the "nugget" as I like to call it, and if you treat it with respect and approach it in the proper manner it can be a very vital part of your R&D.

Last Thursday I performed a 10minute idea-nugget of a thing called "Tiger Face" for an audience of about 50. Some of it worked and some of it bombed. Some of it was funny and some of it was painful, but that's kind of the point.

You can see the highlights of my Scratch on this here YouTube link:

Scratch Nights are there for the brave, the unprepared, the (in my opinion The Forge is open to work in all stages of development) nugget showers. Not for the grounded and well versed ideas. I had a rough idea of something I wanted to play with, so I took it to The Forge, Cardiff's new Scratch Night curtesy of Catherine Paskell (Tweets: @cpaskell) which is held at Chapter Arts (Tweets: @ChapterTweets).

It's an informal, £3 on the door affair which invites audiences to mingle with performers, performers to lay bare there raw materials and for their raw materials to be discussed, questioned, praised and criticised in a relaxed, open environment. There are options. You don't HAVE to have a forum styled feedback, you can just ask for the cards which audience members scrolled: Thoughts & Feelings and/or Questions for the makers of the thing.

If this blog has anyway inspired you then please contact Brent Morgan (Tweets: @dextartuk) for details on his up-and-coming scratch event: Scratch That Itch which will be in Newport on the 21st of Feb at the awesome Le Pub.

Get your nuggets out.

Mucho,

Justin

LINKAGE:

CHAPTER: THE FORGE:

http://www.chapter.org/29038.html

SCRATCH THAT ITCH: FACEBOOK GROUP:

http://www.facebook.com/events/452989311427136/

TWITTER:

@tinshedtheatre
@jusedcliffe
@Lepub
@Cpaskell
@dextartuk

FUERZABRUTA

I have watched no film as good...

I have read no book as great...

I have seen no theatre piece as mind blowing...

I have stared at no art piece as inspirational...

I have experience nothing as strongly...

As Fuerzabruta.

Yesterday I was in London, my main reason for being there was to see a show me and my girlfriend had booked months ago the moment we knew we could. The show is called Fuerzabruta (I still don't know how that's pronounced) and it's made by an Argentinean company who are essentially a mixture of circus, acrobatics, contemporary dance, clown and a pinch of something indescribable, accompanied by an awe-inspiring designer, an awe-somely-awesome DJ, a group of Taiko Drummers and some expert stage crew (a probably a whole load of others).

Fuerzabruta is like nothing I have ever seen. I mean that whole heartedly. I'd go as far as to say it's the best thing I've ever seen/done. It's like existing in eye of a psychedelic acid-trip storm tornado thats whirling at a 1,000 miles an hour amongst a pool of technicolor genius inside an absurdists painters brain. It's uplifting, awe-inspiring, jaw-dropping, sensational and life affirming.

The moment the first bar of music is droned into the space you can feel that something pretty profound is about to happen, and it did, over and over again. I nearly cried at two points for no other reason than that I was truly over-joyed to just be there, seriously, I welled up.

There is no possible way I can express how important I think this show is over a Blog, I can barely do it in person. Me and Kate left soaking wet after we'd danced in the simulated rain to the insanely amazing and up-lifting drumming/dubstep/soul music and the smiles are still on our faces now, we just couldn't speak, there was no way to sum it up... Amazing.

 All I will say is this...

GO.

Mucho,
Justin

Linkage below:

Fuerzabruta
www.http://fuerzabruta.net

Book Tickets Here... No... I'm serious. Click this link RIGHT NOW and buy tickets... Do it.
http://www.roundhouse.org.uk

Scratch Nights Galore

This is Tiger-Face, or at least the first embodiment of Tiger-Face that I can find a picture of.

Back in 2011 me and Tone dressed as Tiger and Safari Guard (respectively) and posed for photographs with kids for The Big Splash in Newport. It was the first time I was dressed in this ridiculous way and with this awesome face. The picture above is from when we did it again for Big Splash 2012 and George got involved as a Monkey, but I have no pictures of that.

Back to 2011. So I'd dressed in this way for the purpose of spreading joy and it unlocked something in my psyche. Later that year I went to Edinburgh Fringe with a very rough and ready one man show The Life and Times of Albert Lymes, and whilst trying to focus on Albert, I couldn't stop thinking about Tiger-Face, and about what Tiger-Face could be, should be and could do.

I take a lot of inspiration from anti-comedy; comedy that's hilarious because it's not funny, or is supposed to be funny because it's not funny, or whatever... Andy Kaufman would be my finest example of this.

So after a long obsession with Tiger-Face I have decided to take the plunge and experiment with this concept and idea and to make something of him, even if that thing is awful.

So this Thursday at Chapter Arts I will be Scratching a version of Tiger-Face for 5 of so minutes as part of The Forge (created by Catherine Paskell @Cpaskell). I don't know what will happen, I have no idea what it will become, but then again, that's what Scratch-Events are all about isn't it?

So if you want to see something that very well may fail (<--- Note: Setting myself up for failure with a sense of smarmy self confidence, the "lower the expectation game" etc) then come along to The Forge @ Chapter Arts Thursday 7.30pm there will be plenty of other stuff to see and comment on if you like! It cost a measly £3 and will definitely be worth it.

The Forge, Chapter Arts.

See more here: http://www.chapter.org/29038.html

Also, talking about Scratch-Events, Scratch That Itch (founded by Brent Morgan @dextartuk) has been holding Scratch Nights in Swansea for nigh on a year and has seen the bare-bones-makings of some awesome work that's being produced in Wales. I met with The Brentasauraus the other day and we've decided that Newport needs a chance to Scratch it's Itch.

Scratch That Itch!

Le Pub (@Lepub) will be hosting Newport's first Scratch That Itch event, supported by National Theatre Wales on the 21st February, you can find more info here: http://www.facebook.com/events/452989311427136/?fref=ts

So if you want to come and watch some stuff then please do get along to it...

But more importatanly...

If you've got an idea, it might be tiny, it might be perfectly formed, it might be stupid, or horrifying, or inspirational, it might make us all laugh, or make us all cry even if it's supposed to make us all laugh. Who cares?! I urge you to think about making steps towards showing some people that idea, and Scratch That Itch Newport might be the perfect time.

Be brave, be bold and let the idea loose.

Justin

Linkage below:

CHAPTER: THE FORGE:

http://www.chapter.org/29038.html

SCRATCH THAT ITCH: FACEBOOK GROUP:

http://www.facebook.com/events/452989311427136/

TWITTER:

@tinshedtheatre
@jusedcliffe
@Lepub
@Cpaskell
@dextartuk

Molecule: Artist's in Residency

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

2013 has reared it's head despite the collapse of the financial world, the creation of the first truly intellectual cybernetic organism, global warming and the natural destruction promised to us by the Mayans. We lived it and now it's over. Nee'r again will we and 2012 meet. It was nice knowing you, but we must now look t'ward!

Formalities out of the way... We have exciting news!

We can finally announce that we will be running the first ever Molecule: Artist's in Residency this year from our new space in Maes Glas, Newport, Gwent.

We will be accepting applications from Sunday/17/January/2013 until Weds/27/February/2013 with applications for participation in our first season of Molecule: Artist's in Residency which will run from Monday/4/March/2013 - Friday/5/April/2013.

Molecule: Artist's in Residency is aimed towards professional/semi professional makers of Live Art whether it be; Performative, collaborative, participatory, individual, expressive or any other work deemed suitable.

We offer as little as one hour to two whole weeks of free, accessible space to help emerging ideas take physical shape. We will also offer opinion, time, facilities and the opportunity to perform your work in front of a scratch panel.

If you'd like more information please check out our website: www.tinshedtheatrecompany.com and follow links to Molecule.

Please follow the schemes progress both here on this blog, on our website and via twitter: @molecule_np

We really hope this will be a great success, we know how much of a commodity creative space is and after many years of struggling trying to find homes we have one and we'd like to share it with as many people as possible.

Mucho,

Justin