Floating Land is a biennial, multi-arts, 10-day, Green Art event, the central site for which is Boreen Point, on the shores of Lake Cootharaba in the UNESCO-listed Noosa Biosphere. The event brings together local and international Artists to explore the theme of Water Culture and how water impacts our lives.
*SPOILER ALERT*
The Brief: Using actors to tell the stories, create an opportunity for visitors to the Floating Land site to experience the oral histories project, Floating Words, as several “moments” during the Dusk Installation Walks.
The Prep: Several actors were engaged and sent the text, which had been recorded and uploaded to Vimeo and subsequently transcribed. The goal was to re-tell the local people’s stories accurately, giving a real sense of the storytellers themselves, as per loose verbatim theatre definitions.
The Performance: The success of the first walk was always going to be dependent on the response from the audience. In this case, the audience was largely unknown; a crowd of around 30 visitors to this section of the site and immediately open and receptive to what we were doing. The atmosphere was created for us, by the perfect crisp, clear, chilly air and descending darkness. Boreen Point is a beautiful place, quite untouched by developers and still feels like a small fishing village; quiet, still, peaceful.
There has been a little more activity during the daylight hours – dance workshops, forums and live installations involving innovative local artists – but as dusk falls the mood has changed, slowed, fallen into lazy step with nature. It’s that sleepy twilight time before the nocturnal creatures – and the performers – wake up and come out to play.
On the Dusk Installation Walks one meanders along the road down near the edge of the water (you won’t get lost because you walk with a guide and you follow the road and you stay with the group. STAY WITH THE GROUP). Lake Cootharaba is an immense body of water and at night, with various states of lighting projected upon its surface it is magical. We placed our actors at intervals along a particular section of the road, with a candle and their text. In an ideal performing arts industry, the actors would have had the day to learn the people’s stories, about their connections with water. But these are (we are) actors who do other things.
By candlelight, each actor emerged out of the darkness and read the stories of those who had earlier relayed them to the interviewers. In the crowd were two of the storytellers, thrilled to hear their story brought to life in front of them.
The Repeat Performance: The Dusk Installation Walks continue until Friday evening. The stories will be different, each unique in their content and style, each conjuring somebody’s memories and each delivered by local performers who have a similar connection with the water sparkling under the star light and with the land, cold now, under their feet.
Floating Land is an event like no other. If you can get to experience it – any of it – do.
Image by Adam West
XS Entertainment 
Recent Comments