Monique Martin books Randolph Matthews for New York
Published 11 April 2012
Randolph Matthews performs Voce Solo - Photocredit: Nick Gurney
Among the delegates to attend decibel Perfroming Arts Showcase 2011 were nine high profile arts professionals on an International Connections bursary programme. Monique Martin, Director of Family Programming of New York’s CityPark Foundation tells us about her experience of Showcase and how it has led to her booking Randolph Matthews for two dates in New York’s parks this summer, as well as co-comissiong new work for decibel 2007 circus company Upswing.
“I am and remain forever committed to diversity as an integral tenant of my curatorial process. Decibel Showcase left me inspired by the depth and breadth of UK artists. The showcase was well organised and there was a healthy balance of panels, symposiums and performances.
“Of the performances I saw, there were a few that really stood out as exceptional, including Randolph Matthews, Arun Ghosh, ESKA and Tomorrows Warriors.
“On my return to New York, I shared my findings from showcase with colleagues to a very warm reception. While at first, I didn’t think I would be able to programme any of the acts I saw for my departments, I happily passed on my finding to those colleagues who I thought there may be a good fit for.
“I maintained a dialogue with Randolph Matthews, who I was immediately impressed with at Showcase. I found his performance vocally amazing as well as being both engaging and accessible for all ages. On a practical level, a one person act like Randolf is enticing as it is an achievable booking and a step towards demonstrating our commitment as an organisation of presenting international artists that may not be known to our core audience. Additionally, Randolph’s command of an audience, ability to collaborate and his wide appeal for workshops, from children, to teenagers, to senior citizens means he has huge potential for community engagement. Since Showcase we have continued to develop our relationship and I have now booked Randolph for two dates, plus a workshop, in New York this July.
“Showcase isn’t just a chance to view work by artists who are showcasing, it also provides opportunities to meet other bookers, presenters and artist between performances, at networking events and on the buses between venues. The international delegate contingent is in frequent dialogue around partnership.
“At Showcase I was introduced to Victoria Amedume, an aerialist and Artistic Director of Upswing. I have a real passion for contemporary circus, but have often had a challenge in booking work that is culturally diverse. I visited London to meet with Victoria immediately after Showcase, and then returned on a grant to investigate the circus scene in the UK. We are now co-commissioning a new work by the company entitled “Love Bites” that explore love through the lens of teenagers.
“After another meeting at Showcase, I have since partnered with Tamsin Ace of the Southbank Centre on a program around death. I provided research and direction on New Orleans funeral tradition called The Second Line; which they subsequently included in the “Death” Festival, held at the Southbank Centre in January 2012.”
Click here to watch Randolph Matthews perform Voce Solo at Showcase
Click here to find out more about the International Connections programme
decibel Showcase Online, 27 March to 11 April
Published 27 March 2012
Rouge28 Theatre - Photocredit: Nick Gurney
Over the next couple of weeks, decibel Showcase Online will bring you the opportunity to re-live the amazing performances, pitches and atmosphere of decibel Performing Arts Showcase, which was held in Manchester 13-16 September 2011.
From 27 March to 11 April, we’ll be uploading videos, pictures and other information from decibel Performing Arts Showcase to our online archive (link to archive). Missed a performance at Showcase? Now’s your chance to catch it. See a talk that that changed the way you thought about something? Now’s your chance to share. To make it easier to find the information relevant to you we’re grouping different art forms and talks together on different days. As always, you can chat with other delegates and artists on our Facebook page and share on twitter using the #decibel11 hashtag.
Click here to go to decibel’s Facebook page,
Click here to go to decibel Performing Arts Showcase’s twitter feed
You can also visit:
Vimeo and YouTube channels featuring videos of each performance
Our Flickr page with still photography documenting each performance, pitch and talk.
Videos of the performances and pitches can also be found in the Showcase 2011 archive under “Artist information A-Z”, which you can search by art form, by day or by performance strand.
Alternatively, click on “Complementary activity A-Z” to view talks and panel discussions.
Brian Lobel tours nationally after decibel
Published 27 March 2012
We caught up with Brian Lobel who presented his tour-ready work BALL & Other Funny Stories About Cancer on Tuesday 13 September at Contact Theatre. Described by The Stage as “skilfully combining despair with well-observed humour”, it quickly became one of the most talked about shows at Showcase, among artists and delegates alike.
Previously predominantly London-based, since showcase Brian has interest from programmers all around the country. With support from an Arts Council England Grant for the arts award, he has taken show to Edinburgh (Edinburgh Science Festival), Brighton (Marlborough Theatre), Manchester (Contact), London (ArtsDepot), and Leicester (Dave’s Comedy Festival). BALL & Other Funny Stories About Cancer was recently published by Oberon Books.
"I applied for decibel Performing Arts Showcase because, first and foremost, as an emerging artist in the UK, I apply for every opportunity. However, it is a rare pleasure and honour to apply for something like decibel that not only has such a strong reputation, but also a mission and aim where I find myself in natural alliance. My work has always addressed issues of diversity and inclusion, so I found the decibel application to be the easiest one I’ve written — not because it wasn’t rigorous, but because I found describing the nice fit between my work and the showcase quite straightforward.
"My main goals were to raise my UK profile and to connect with people - programmers, venues, producers, other artists, arts professionals - who were interested not in tokenising people with minority perspectives but developing genuine dialogues with the work. As someone who has always had their work misread — because of how simplistically work around cancer is usually marketed/publicised — I was excited to engage on a higher level, a level that more accurately reflected the kind of work I’ve been creating, and which I strive to create.
"My experience of Showcase was wonderful. The space at Contact Theatre was a perfect for my work: the crowd was incredibly receptive, and people were well up for a chat, a coffee, a meeting. Those who I wasn’t able to connect with in the two days that I was there were enthusiastic about following up, checking in, and finding out more information. Overall, it was an incredibly important time in my development as a performer.
"Showcase has been brilliant at raising my profile among programmers. I have felt confident in my work for the last few years, as I think my work has markedly improved since moving to the UK in 2007, but now I feel that programmers recognise me — or my name — and are interested in hearing more and finding ways that we can work together.
"There have been a number of outcomes for me. Firstly, I got some really high quality bookings for BALL & Other Funny Stories About Cancer, which, for me, were as much about going about connecting with communities and exciting new contexts as doing a show. My schedule is now filled with gigs in many new cities, and this is really great. Until decibel, I’d been working very hard gigging in London, but hadn’t felt like a performer who took his work nationally. I now feel like this is part of my remit and I’ve got bookings in Manchester, Edinburgh, Brighton, Leicester and more. While the work I presented isn’t available for international touring until later this year, many, many, fruitful dialogues and relationships have begun and I hope that I will bringing my projects to many other countries who sent delegates to decibel very soon.
"I also connected with some AMAZING artists and great programmers who are interested in not only my current work, but my future work — which is perhaps the most exciting kind of networking that one can do! The performers I’ve met have become good friends and people whose gigs I follow and attend quite regularly."
BALL & Other Funny Stories About Cancer, by Brian Lobel in now available in paperback published by Oberon Books, £9.99.
Click here to watch BALL & Other Funny Stories About Cancer by Brian Lobel
Click here to visit Brian Lobel's website www.blobelwarming.com
