In my car- my much loved mustard yellow 1980 Toyota Corona, affectionately known as “Golden Oldie”- I headed down the Princes Highway at a respectable speed- White Zombie crackling through the stereo. The streetlights flick past. The dashboard display glows pale green our faces. We are on our way to Shopfront Theatre’s major project at Hazelhurst Gallery in Gymea- At the Drive In.

When we arrive- I fear that the carpark is full- there is an orange vested vigilante, waving a glowing traffic wand- ushering in the cars. We park around the corner and hot foot it to the car park… once we arrive we are told to go to the registration tent- where we are issued with a lanyard with a pale printed “A” on a tag and offered a car to huddle in.

We climb into the four wheel drive parked infront of a huge screen. Playing in the car – a special radio station run by the participants. In the car park, there are white clothed adolescents, staggering, lurching and limping, occasionally drooling.

Over a loud speaker we are told that we need to make our way to the provision tent to get out supplies. We are issued with a plastic bag with blue surgical booties in it. Before long we are handed full body suits and ushered into a dressing area. In the room we are ushered we are asked to put on the suits and to put all our important belongings in the plastic bag- for safety reasons we are told- to keep our things safe from contaminations.

The world of the Harmony Centre (aka Hazelhurst Gallery) is explained by Professor Jeremy Tuckwell, who’s heading the research on the post- living. The concerns of the post-dead are explained in a film played in the theatrette. We are being taught about the post living- and there are some interesting points to be made- about the threat of the post-living on employment and way of life… the focus is on harmonization between the living and the post living.

After the lecture we walk through a collection of lit dioramas- with four sentences speaking of alienation or awkwardness… they are domestic dioramas. Before long we are ushered out in the external café area and asked to write on our paper tag marked with “A,” something about ourselves we would like to change… I find a pen and write a wish about getting rid of my phobia. We continue on and the next site is a misted curtain in a large chain-link fenced area- the mist is beautiful and the lights shine on and through it and create a soft glow. I run onto the grass and feel the mist fall on my face- the breeze is slight and I feel fresh. Before long- a face is projected on a screen- a song sung by a woman- who snarls at the children that crowd her trying to get in the shot of the camera. We are taught a zombie dance- we watch zombie couples and they dance in a slow embrace. We are released into another area. Industrial music- projections- a woman who is feasted upon by a swarm of child zombies.- there is gore and gut thrown out and about. At the end of it all, she seems to be ok as we move on. We find ourselves in another tress fringed grove where we her stories from the costumed ghost zombies- large faces projected. Finally we are lead to a forest of zombie bodies- hanging like scarecrows in the garden and asked to hang our lanyard tags on the bodies. The bodies are soon covered with tags and they flap and spin in the breeze. Self doubt and wishes surrendered to the moonlit night.

It’s a big show- full of sounds and sites and art and interactivity – child lead. It’s tricky stuff for some to see- children lurching like the undead. But what Shopfront does, is unlike any other youth theatre in Sydney- this is a contemporary arts centre for Under 25s which loudly has the slogan “Create Yourself”. This is art for and by the participants and there is a mass of them, Alyssa Lee, Natasha McGarrell, Massaria, Alhassan Sankoh, Tasha Dal Bianco, Debby Liman, Alana Wesley, Clara Macdermot, Aslam Abdus-Samad, Sybella Stevens, Alice Cooper, Sime Knezevic, Steven Christie, Alexander Hopkins, Molly Kyriakidis- Costello, Holly Auciello, Soliel Auciello, Samuel Hagan and Jeanette Zizovski- lead by artistic Director of Shopfront Theatre, TJ Eckleberg, Outreach Director Sarah Emery and Writer Tim Spencer. This is their take on the world living and the post living.

It’s not easy being a young artist. It can be lonely and confusing terrain. It feels sometimes as thought everything you do is unseen, unheard or derivative… Sometimes it feels like you need to be legitimized by some external force or person- to be granted the freedom and resources to create is amazing- and yet so easy to be taken for granted. It takes a huge amount of bravery for anyone, let alone a young person to stand in front of a group of people and to declare what they believe to be true- to express themselves in an honest and authentic way- to share their fears and their hopes and their hopes and expectations. I find it remarkable- refreshing. I hope that all these participants always, make sure they feel free to share- to have their voices and their self expression heard. And that is why I am a supporter, fan and board member at Shopfront.

In the car on the way home I recall being frightened by Zombie movies when I was young… and the fact that these young people- showed a complete fearlessness in this was a hopeful realization- perhaps this fearlessness will ensure a robust and hearty expression in the trajectory of Australian Arts Culture.

Image by Tim Andrew

Ah Zombies. I must admit- have a soft spot for Zombies- In fact, I kind of admire them: They know what they want and they won’t let being dead get in their way of acheiving it. I, just like Zombies, have an insatiable appetite for brains… the difference being, I seek them out for conversational purposes- zombies are more inclined to see them as a snack.

Zombies. There is something deeply ’80s about them- clearly as something that terrified me as a child: watching Michael Jackson’s Thriller film clip (and on the occasion my brother smuggled into the house a VHS copy of “Night of the Living Dead”…)

And now as an adult, I associate Zombies with that awkward time of every arts student’s life: post-uni/pre-”rest-of-your- life” when you are working in some powerfully dull job/living off coffee and donuts and 4 hours sleep and desperately trying not to feel like your brain is atrophying in it’s bone-case.

Do you empathize with Zombies? Infact, have you ever wanted to be a zombie? Well, it appears that Shopfront is looking for Zombie enthusiasts for their Major project called “At The Drive in.” Details below-

SHOPFRONT CONTEMPORARY ARTS CENTRE: 2010 Major Project
At the Drive-In
Directed by TJ Eckleberg

News Reports are coming in from all over Australia, the Zombies are on the way!

At the Drive-In combines film, performance, multi-media, dance and music to create a site specific Zombie work in the grounds of a major arts centre in August 2010.

Work Wednesday nights with industry professionals, a film crew and dynamic emerging artists to create 90 second news and doco style reports from the Zombie War.

Be a hero, a hunter, or even an innocent bystander on stage and on massive projection screens. Performers aged 16-25 are invited to Audition

Audition Details:
Prepare a 1-3 minute Alien or Zombie piece
Day/Time:
Saturday 22nd May
1pm-3pm
Venue:
Shopfront Contemporary Arts & Performance
88 Carlton Parade, Carlton. NSW
To secure your place:
register by May 20, phone (02) 9588 3948

There are so many shows and so little time. In a diary filled with post-it notes, lists, budgets, to-dos, contact names, email addresses, phone numbers ticket stubbs, Superperfect was scrawled in pen as soon as I received the invite…. a title that amongst the crowded notes of my diary shouts in bold black pen.

As a documentarian of our theatre landscape, right here right now, this is not a classic review al la Sydney Morning Herald’s Jason Blake, nor the savvy experienced notes of Croggan, the sharp and honed eye and ear of Kevin Jackson or any other of my favourite bloggers – James Waites or Sydney Arts Journo (Nicholas Pickard)…. this is a letter to the cast and crew to say, congratulations.

Its been a few years since I have seen a show at Shopfront Theatre – stupid excuses keep me away – a demanding schedule, rehearsals, flu… whatever it has been , it has been my loss. I heard of Lost Toy Story and Katja Handt’s fantastic designs,.. but missed out. I am absolutely thrilled I got to see Superperfect. When I arrived at Shopfront, the ready to explore rooms of 3d installations, portraits, animations, papercranes, a room of post it notes with hopes, dreams, slogans, pictures on them, a wall of comic strip cartoons, projections, and small MP3 players with original songs/ sound designs fringing the space with tracks created by the particpants.
I had no idea what to expect in the space, and upon entry I was greeted by ushers who handed e a yellow post it note and a black texta with the instruction to write a hope or dream and stick it on the wall…
What to write? A sentence? A word? I am no longer a passive annonyous person – I am involved in this intimate admission. So i wrote: “to contribute to a long conversation and to listen”.. its true. I hope I can contribute and I was contributing and I was keen to listen and I did.

A white space – a tarpolin taped to the floor, rows of wooden chairs in traverse staging style. A small wireframed chainlink pen with four gates which had rock star lighting above (Stephen Hawker) and two chandeliers. On one end two photofram projections. the other end was where our post itnotes were stuck and near that end, a wire rack with about 30 spools of coloured rope/ribbon half dangling into the space. Also dangling into the space two old style chrome microphones and a few caged lightbulbs.
Punctuating the segments of games, confessions, post it notes, recited lists, spontaneous reflections, dance is the terrifying speed of a youthful stampede as they race in the space. Sweaty youthful vigor, impatience urgency and energy focussed into striving… racing like a river.
There are moments in this piece which completely dazzled me, moments of energetic pulse, adn moments of stillness, an ensemble of passionate and honest young people, sharing what we all know to be true: that the world is full of disappointment and mishap and pain and all that we strive for is sometimes more than we can acheive. That sometimes we fail, fall short and disappoint ourselves or others, and how do we and why do we pick ourselves up and keep going…

This is an impressive acheivement for the cast made up of Shopfront participants ( Arnab Ahmed, Eric Avery, Irene Berry, David Buckley, laura Carolan, Sam Dalley, diya Ingleshwar, Max Keatinge, Tennielle la-Grazia, Matthew Massaria, Alesha Murray, Alusine Sankoh, Holly Thompson) and Nibroll dancers (Ana Kuroda, Misato Mochizuki, Ai Totomi, Akiko Ishihara, Emi Oyama) and Keio SFC University (Keiko Hirono, Sho Tomita, Yoshinori Yagishita)- a blending and exchange of creative, cultural and private perspectives. Breathtaking. All I could think whilst watch this is complete awe at the beautiful and complete unfolding of ideas complete with beautiful tender moments realised superbly by this young, vibrant and unique cast. In fact, I felt sorry that I couldn’t tell more people about this show, that they couldn’t see what has conspired… and how impressive it is to have an idea: to cross land and cultural barriers to create a work of commonality- we all suffer the pressure of our hopes and dreams and they are what keeps us forward looking to the future.

And I couldn’t help but think how many artists really could have benefitted from seeing this show: to inspire them to be brave and honest and open to a creative cross-pollination of ideas.

And to the crew that put this together – TJ Eckleberg, Mikuni Yanaihara, Sarah Emery, Victoria Hunt & Bronwyn Turnbull, Kate Davis, Stephen Hawker, Keisuke Takahashi, David Kirpatrick… all those involved: this is a fine example of what two years of work can result in: a fine and focussed explorations of the expectation of what it means to be flawed in the face of perfection…. and strangely ironic that such a well developed and put to gether production woulf have an anxiety about failure of itself… as the director’s notes suggests that he hopes it woul dbe good enough – and I am here to declare Superperfect exceedes expectation and IS “good enough.”

Now Superperfect is off to Japan… and I am sure it will impress and inspire whomever has the luck, time and opportunity to see it.

Thankyou for pouring yourselves into this show. And congratulations.
http://www.shopfront.org.au/page/superperfect