Pictures of FFA
Womadelaide March 2003The Family From Away
Illustrations by Juniper van den Ende : juniper : kneehigh@va.com.au>
Pictures of FFA
Womadelaide March 2003
The Family From
Away: The production
FFA is a street theatre production designed to increase awareness
about migrant, refugee and racism issues in Australia.
The show revolves around a recently arrived (giant) family of three who live in an inflatable house at the performance site. The characters have very little English and are from a non specific eastern European country. Live puppeteers alternate with replacement animatronic puppets which allows the installation to draw audience interest for as long as the gates are open.
The puppet characters are similar to kneeHIGH Contrary Mary character, in that they are 2 - 3 meters tall on short stilts, with articulated fingers and head turning ability.
The installation includes:
House appears to be made from newspaper articles of the ìboat people/ migration controversies of the last 3 years as does the hoist and furniture within the house.
Performance structure
The script is designed to unfold over 3 x 40 min x 3days i.e.
9 performances, all of which will interact with the audience.
This structure will be modified for each festival/ venue.
Each day 3 x 40 min performances with live puppeteers.
In each day 3 types of performance:
1. around , in and out of the house
2. an excursion to explore, shop
3. a ëshowí where the characters do a performance
in ëcharacterí to tell part of their experience in
coming to Australia ( a show within a show).
The season resolves with audience being invited to BBQ/party at
house for last performance.
More detail about FFA:
The 'Family', is an immigrant family of
giant articulated puppets from 'away' who arrive with their child,
culture: (music, dance and rituals) in the city street. They are
a family just like yours who have moved next door. The "Family"will
live in a inflatable ënewspaperí house accessible
to all passers by.The house will become a place to come and observe
the puppet family who attempt to communicate with their audience
through the windows and regular excursions out from their new
home to explore and to tell their story performing and interacting
with the public as they try to understand their new environment.
The house area installation will be operational 24 hours
a day, with animatronic puppets replacing the puppeteers on a
shift basis.
Background
FFA has been developed through a creative development process with research by Pat Rix and Geoff Crowhurst with refugee and migrant groups in Adelaide. During the development period actors Steve Noonan and Hamish Fletcher were able to go to the Woomera Detention Centre to perform with existing KH puppets.
Personnel
Geoff Crowhurst
Director / reseracher
Pat Rix
Writer / researcher
Juniper van der Ende Designer
Lisa Philip-Harbutt Design Advisor
Quentin Grant
Composer
Stephen Noonan
Puppeteer/actor
Billie-Joe Cook
Puppeteer/actor
Lorinda Curnow
Puppeteer/actor
Hamish Fletcher
Puppeteer/actor
Leigh Milne
Animatronics / programming
Emma O'Neill
Production Coordinator
Liz Follet
Stage Manager / Sound Technician
Tony Hannan
Producer/ Technical development
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Notes from the director: Geoff Crowhurst
ì...It has been decided that the work will encourage audiences to question their interactions and reactions to "difference" or "otherness" in people. This is seen as basic to the existence of racism in our society and as basic to the current debate about the treatment of refugees in Australia.
This will be done by introducing the audience to a FAMILY FROM AWAY that have come to live in their midst. Audiences will be encouraged to get to know and like the family through a number of processional street theatre performances in which they can interact on a personal level with the family. They will become aware of some of the experiences the family has been through by being able to watch some of the more private moments of the family's life in and around their home. They will be introduced to some of the social and political implications of the experiences of the family through advertised performances in which the family don masks and perform pieces of street theatre for their audience....î
ì...This allows for a structure in which there will be three 40-min performances per day. Each day will see one processional, one private moment and one performance by the Family Troupe. We are developing more than three scenarios of each type to allow flexibility in the presentations.
In addition we are intending to develop a website that will be a home base for the family with their biographies, letters home, letters from home etc on it. Hopefully people will be able to write to the family and receive answers on the website. It will also have links to other refugee websites and sites that give further information about the concepts dealt with in the show.î
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