Arts Sunday is your extra dose of arts news, artist profiles and photo galleries from the NSW Central West, brought to you by Arts OutWest and Fairfax. Arts Sunday is published online on the first Sunday of the month. If you’ve got a story to share contact artsoutwest@csu.edu.au
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Dancers, storytellers, artists and musicians were awakened through the Sweet Dreams project, a series of creative workshops in Lithgow, Bathurst and Orange for adults with a disability.
The Arts OutWest project ran from January to May this year and included a music composition course with Orange Regional Conservatorium, a weekly dance group in Bathurst and weekly workshops in Lithgow and Orange that combined visual arts with games, puppetry and storytelling.
The project comes together in a free public showcase event on Tuesday May 14, 2-3pm at Bathurst Memorial Entertainment Centre.
Workshops in Lithgow and Orange led by artist Cate McCarthy were a unique mixture of theatre games, storytelling, visual arts and shadow puppetry.
“A number of people told me that they did things they never thought they could do and they felt more confident to try some more,” Ms McCarthy said. Wangarang Industries in Orange said the weekly sessions with Cate were one of the best things they have ever done with their clients.
“The workshop process began with a small shadow puppet theatre. Utilising the story of Red Riding Hood and the wolf, the performance was interactive and afterward participants were shown the mechanics of the theatre and encouraged to have a play with the puppets,” she explained.
“Participants told their own stories and dreams and illustration of these stories was encouraged, often containing fantasy characters, heroes and villains unrelated to the original stories,” Ms Carthy said.
“Many interactive games were introduced to develop active physical participation, the use of imagination, gestures and sounds. Everyone responded to each other, to their images, to shapes and colour physically. The workshops were filled with laughter and the freedom to move, play and have fun.”
“Everyone looked forward to the workshops and enjoyed being a part of the fun and the development of their characters through acting and drawing,” Ms McCarthy said. “They are excited that their puppets and drawings will be a part of a larger performance work to be staged in Bathurst”.
The music workshop at Orange Regional Conservatorium was held over three days in January under the guidance of didjeridu player, Charlie McMahon. Mr McMahon was a participant in the Conservatorium’s innovative 2012 ‘Rewriting the Score’ project for musicians with a disability.
“Each of the participants expressed absolute delight at being included in the workshop and being encouraged in their playing,” said acting director of the Conservatorium Donna Riles. “They thoroughly enjoyed the recording process and are proud of the product they have created in the form of a 10 track CD.” This new music was then incorporated into some of the activities in Lithgow.
Films and documentation of the workshops will be a part of the Sweets Dreams showcase along with a live performance by the musicians and a dance performance by a group of young women who worked over eight weeks in Bathurst with choreographer Wendy Erickson.
“Over the weeks I noticed that many of the participants were less shy, more able to concentrate on tasks they were asked to try and always very enthusiastic,” Ms McCarthy said of her Orange and Lithgow groups. “One memorable week two people stood on a chair at the end to thank us for coming and giving them the opportunity to be involved. It was very moving”.
“As a facilitator I have learned that people with a disability like to be stretched, challenged and taken to new places just like everyone else,” Cate McCarthy said. “Often they are presented with programs that do not allow for development, are very sedate and do not allow for their own creative input. Although this can be suitable in some cases this is not suitable in all cases. Everyone likes to have fun!”
The Sweet Dreams project was supported by the NSW Government through Arts NSW and Ageing, Disability and Home Care.
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