PACKAGE HOLIDAY part of Departure Lounge Festival 2017
One artist to embark on a package holiday of a different kind
Ahead of the 5th anniversary of this year’s Departure Lounge, Derby Theatre’s festival of fresh, new and exciting performance, the Theatre and The HopBarn in Southwell, Nottinghamshire have teamed up to offer artist Vanessa Macaulay, an exciting performance development initiative called Package Holiday.
Package Holiday provides one lucky emerging artist (or theatre company) with a fantastic opportunity to develop their work, and a specific performance piece, before previewing it at the Festival in July.
Vanessa Macaulay, a graduate of Trinity Laban, where she studied MA Dance Theatre: The Body in Performance, was offered Package Holiday following a competitive application process. This exciting opportunity will provide Vanessa with two weeks of peace and serenity at The HopBarn rural theatre retreat, a centre for creative performance and music in East Nottinghamshire, to develop her show How To Make An Enticement Machine, which will play as part of Departure Lounge this year.
This year, the Package Holiday opportunity is specifically designed to support artists of colour, as part of Derby Theatre’s commitment to improving the under-representation of these artists in contemporary performance. We had an overwhelming response to the call-out, and as well as offering Vanessa the Package Holiday, we have also forged new relationships with other artists through this process.
How to Make an Enticement Machine exposes the humour and horror of expectations placed on a racialized female body. A satirical rap video circus that distorts and negotiates the vision of the black female body to make The Enticement Machine. From gawking over the internet to gazing in live performance, this thought-provoking and controversial piece of theatre draws on make-up tutorials, music videos and twerking to interrogate the hyper-sexualisation of the black female body in pop culture. This show takes stereotypes to the point of the absurd, whilst combining dance, discussion and parody to pollute the image of the Enticement Machine.
Vanessa Macaulay said: “No words can fully describe my gratitude to In Good Company and The HopBarn for providing me with this fantastic opportunity to develop my solo, How To Make an Enticement Machine. I’m beyond excited to get into the studio to continue to work on this piece, and can’t wait to share this performance. The subject matter has always been a difficult one for me to be able to discuss, so this piece is my way of opening up a discussion about the things I find problematic when I start thinking about gender, race and the body.”
Ruby Glaskin (Creative Producer, In Good Company) said: “We are really excited to be supporting Vanessa Macaulay to develop her work and perform at Departure Lounge. Her show explores urgent issues around objectification and the black female body, adding an exciting and critical conversation to the Festival programme.”
Jonathan Poole, The HopBarn said: “The HopBarn is delighted that Vanessa Macaulay, recipient of this year’s Departure Lounge festival Package Holiday, will be developing her work How To Make An Enticement Machine whilst in residence. The work offers a fresh and challenging perspective towards society’s expectations and often stereotypes of how female black women are depicted. We would like to congratulate Vanessa on her achievement, and we look forward to supporting her and the development of the work at The HopBarn in preparation for this year’s Departure Lounge festival.”
Departure Lounge, produced by In Good Company, a professional development programme for artists making work in the East Midlands, will celebrate its 5th anniversary this year and will once again see Derby Theatre transformed into a lush garden stage, a festival site where audiences and artists alike can see the very best in contemporary performance, get the usual dose of Edinburgh previews and exciting works-in-progress, support regional artists to take flight and get involved in lots of inspiring workshops and discussions. The Festival this year will run from Thursday 20 until Sunday 23 July. Visit www.derbytheatre.co.uk for more information.