Green Room: Rare theatre sale, Access All Areas

Theatre treasures

Treasure hunters and vintage lovers will have the opportunity to claim a piece of South Australia’s theatrical history when hundreds of costumes and props are offered for sale at State Theatre Company SA’s Thebarton warehouse this weekend.

It’s eight years since the company’s last big wardrobe sale, and head of wardrobe Kellie Jones says it needs to clear out stock to make room for new additions. Funds raised will help buy new dressmaking mannequins, costumes and props.

Clothing items for sale have all been made or collected by the wardrobe department, and range from period pieces and vintage items, to sleepwear, sequinned dresses and sailor outfits. There are costumes from State Theatre productions such as Dance Nation, Single Asian Female, The Misanthrope, The Ham Funeral and Masquerade.

The Costume & Vintage Sale – from 10am-4pm, May 27 and 28, at Wigg & Son, 79 Port Road – also includes  furniture, “plus an assortment of quirkier, large-scale theatrical props ranging from character cut-outs to an Eiffel Tower and red telephone box”.

Access All Areas

A two-day symposium in Adelaide next month will explore how galleries, museums and the broader arts and culture sector can promote equality for deaf and disabled audiences through their spaces and programs.

“Those of us working in the arts and cultural sectors know that organisations often overlook access or fail to do better due to the fear of getting it wrong,” says Lara Torr, co-ordinator of the Access All Areas event.

“We hope two days of conversations will centre the experiences of d/Deaf and disabled people and offer an opportunity to celebrate successes across the North Terrace cultural precinct, while also advocating for greater inclusion across the board.”

To be held at the Art Gallery of SA’s Radford Auditorium on June 8 and 9, Access All Areas will feature a range of speakers, including artists, disability advocates, and representatives of arts organisations. It will cover topics such as programming, access and collaboration, through panel discussions, workshops, training and presentations.

Registration is available here, with expressions of interest also sought from attendees interesting in sharing a story or project through the “Lightning Strikes” section of the symposium.

A bridging of two worlds

Audiences are invited to witness the coming together of western classical and Japanese shamisen music in a series of intimate performances by the Australian String Quartet with Adelaide-based shamisen virtuoso Noriko Tadano.

The ASQ, which has just concluded its Utopias national tour with a performance at the Adelaide Town Hall, will present the “close quarters” Synthesis concerts in partnership with Nexus Arts at Big Easy Radio winery in Aldinga (June 14), UKARIA Cultural Centre at Mt Barker (June 15) and Vitalstatistix at Port Adelaide (June 16).

The hour-long program (full details here) will feature a selection of works for string quartet and shamisen (described as a three-string, banjo-like instrument), including Tadano’s original works “Vertigo” and “Staircase to the Moon”.

“For these concerts, my aim is to immerse myself and seamlessly connect with the quartet as well as invite the audience to be part of a unique collaboration between western classical and Japanese shamisen music,” Tadano says.

Water People

Marine conservationist and artist Valerie Taylor is showing her work at Victor Harbor’s Coral Street Art Space in an exhibition presented as part of the month-long Winter Whale Fest.

Taylor ­– the subject of a recent two-part Australia Story feature on ABC TV ­– and her late husband Ron are best known as underwater photographers and for their work to protect sharks. However, their website, which features a selection of Valerie’s paintings and drawings, states that she has “always been an artist”.

Winter Whale Fest organisers say the Water People exhibition, which runs until July 29, will be the first time Taylor’s artwork has been displayed outside of New South Wales. The exhibition includes work by fellow guest artist and ocean activist Timothy Johnston, as well as pieces by eight Fleurieu-based established and emerging artists.

Taylor is opening Water People today, and will also speak about her life and work at a Q&A event on Saturday (May 27) at the Victor Harbor Information Centre (tickets here).

Dance-theatre double bill

At a Mansion in the Dark is the intriguing title of a dance-theatre double bill being presented by emerging choreographers Fern Mines and Alix Kuijpers at Carclew House over the coming days.

Kuijpers and Mines, who both won awards for their shows at this year’s Adelaide Fringe, brought together 16 emerging creatives and performers to develop the two new works over three weeks. While Mines’ The Quadrille explores and dissects the glittering world of Regency society, Kuijpers’ Cowl draws inspiration from the world of Batman to look at “the complexity of the human condition”.

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The pair say they want to showcase the next generation of talented local contemporary artists through At a Mansion in the Dark, with performances from May 25-28. If you want to support them, you can find out more and buy tickets here.

Green Room is a regular column for InReview, providing quick news for people interested, or involved, in South Australian arts and culture.

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