The Quadrangle

Audiences are invited to listen to reflections from young people from their community about themselves, their world and the future, voices by two adult performers. Whiskey & Boots will interview children in pairs, ranging in age from 6 to 16, and ask them the same 10 questions. The responses will be presented by us in the form of Headphone Verbatim performance (meaning the actors listen to the recorded interviews and speak the words as they hear them, without embellishment). The performance will be underscored with live music that is composed in response to the interviews and the energy of the individual children. This is supported through a visual interpretation in response to the stories and place projected throughout the performance.

We believe there is value to be gained by the whole community when we listen and truly hear what young people think about themselves, their world, and their future. We want audiences to remember their child selves and ponder whether they became the person they wanted to be.

Form and Style

The form of our work is stripped back and lo fi. The whole show is created during a three-week residency in the community. The performance consists of four performers on stage (2 musicians, 2 storytellers) in front of mics. The stories are authentically shared through headphone verbatim performance. There is an additional visual component in the form of projections. These include the interview questions, so the audience knows exactly what the speaker is responding to, ages of the respondents and a series of drawings created in direct response to the place and community. These drawings are developed in collaboration with a community art group, school, or local artist/s during our three weeks residency. A bespoke soundtrack is created and performed live on stage by our resident musicians.

Community Engagement

Our model of making work is via a residency in the community. This allows for a longer engagement and richer way of making art with the community. This work is different to touring an existing work – our team spends time in a place, creating something unique and special to them.

There are four community engagement strategies we can employ for this project.

• Work with a Community Liaison to secure 10 participants from the community (ranging in age from 6 – 16)
• Engage a local musician/performer to do a pre-show set before each performance of The Quadrangle. This may occur in the foyer, an outside area, a bar area or any other additional space in the venue.
• Engage a local art teacher/artist and group of students to create a series of illustrations to support the story to be included in the AV component of the show.
• Access – The work lends itself to access avenues. We can include a Tactile Tour before all shows – there is very little movement in the work so audiences with sight impairments are not at a disadvantage. We have included in our budget Auslan interpretation which is something we would encourage presenters to advertise. The nature of our work means that Auslan interpretation works wonderfully, and we have received excellent feedback in the past when we have used it.

REVIEWS

Midland Junction Arts Centre, anonymous Culture Counts survey responses

I was incredibly impressed, the artists created such a professional, funny, moving and thought provoking experience. Whiskey and Boots demonstrate how much they care by considering every detail, bringing the audience along for a journey back to their childhood. The talented artists beautifully presented the voices of Midland’s young people and served up a poignant reminder of what it means to listen and be a part of a community.

I absolutely loved this event! It was so special and I’d love to come back for more just like this!

A really joyous afternoon – thank you for listening to young people and sharing their voices in such a genuine and open-hearted way!

High quality community theatre that brings creativity and thoughtful process to a production. Loved that the voices of our youth resonated loud and clear.

I genuinely LOVED this show!! Thanks MJAC for bringing such a class act to Midland. I’ll be back for any W&B future shows for sure :))

This was a high quality production and huge credit to MJAC and Whiskey and Boots.

[I] was greeted with such warmth and made feel very comfortable. My children and family members all spoke with such excitement well after the show.

Equally heartwarming, profound and funny!

I was pleasantly surprised. Found myself laughing more than not.

Available Marketing Collateral

Poster, flyer, video, production shots, media release.

credits

Winners of the 2022 Pinnacle Award for Producer of the year, Whiskey & Boots (Mark Storen and Georgia King) make Verbatim Performance work that examines the challenges and contradictions of the human condition. We take real stories gathered from a community and share them as Headphone Verbatim Performance (meaning the actors listens to recorded interviews and speak the words as they hear them).

Voiced by – Georgia King, Mark Storen

Music by – Luke Dux & Holly Garvey

Marketing and Social Media Manager – Shiloh Blondel

This team has collaborated extensively on the following previous Whiskey & Boots productions The Quadrangle – Midland (2022) Mama Stitch – Merredin, Mandurah, Karratha, Narrogin, Port Hedland (2022), Midland (Perth Festival, 2021), Kalamunda (2021), Gosnells (2021), Bunbury (2021), Albany (February 2020), Joondalup (2019), Bystander – Beverly (2018), Margaret River, (November 2020), Harvey (October 2021), Bunbury (November 2021), Goldfields (2023) Upcoming; Bystander – Geraldton, Collie, Mama Stitch – Ravensthorpe (2023)

There will also be a Community Engagement Officer who will be chosen in discussion with the venue. They will be from the community and will assist our team to connect with a wide cross section of community story sharers and the broader community.