Soundtrack to the Daily Grind
Soundtrack to the Daily Grind is an interdisciplinary approach to music being performed at the Christchurch Arts Festival 2011. The project seeks to covertly insert music into the daily life of urban New Zealanders by drawing on the models of ‘happenings’ and ‘invisible theatre.’ It is a highly experimental work, devoted to pushing the boundaries of performance venue, performer-audience relationship and the role of art in everyday life.
A group of theatrically minded musicians rehearse a series of songs and devise ways to perform those songs in public in the most unexpected way possible. An imperative for this project is the clandestine approach to the music, more than half of the delight for the public is the way it appears as if from nowhere. Buses provide an ideal venue for these performances – the performers can board the bus ostensibly as real passengers so when the apparently impromptu song begins it is all the more surprising and delightful. Buses also have unexpectedly good acoustics, so the music fills the entire bus without the need for amplification.
Soundtrack to the Daily Grind is about bringing art into the realm of the everyday. It is also about extending the sensation of it to people who do not, or cannot attend conventional shows. It is about providing an alternative to commodified and inaccessible theatre and music. But mostly, it is about enhancing the lives of people through joyous performance and spectacle.
Soundtrack to the Daily Grind is directed and produced by Joel Baxendale. Participant musicians include: New Zealand School of Music graduate and past Binge Culture collaborator, Jake Baxendale (Animal Hour, Elimination Rounds); multiple Chapman Tripp award winner, Erin Banks (The Great Gatsby, A Brief History of Helen of Troy); Toi Whakaari graduate, Bryony Skillington (Idiots, Get Cuffed); and Owen Baxendale (Doors, Walls, and also Silence).
Cast
Joel Baxendale
Erin Banks
Bryony Skillington
Jake Baxendale
Owen Baxendale
Performance Dates and Times
Friday 26 August – 2pm to 6pm
Saturday 27 August – 11am to 3pm
Sunday 28 August – 11am to 3pm
A group of theatrically minded musicians rehearse a series of songs and devise ways to perform those songs in public in the most unexpected way possible. An imperative for this project is the clandestine approach to the music, more than half of the delight for the public is the way it appears as if from nowhere. Buses provide an ideal venue for these performances – the performers can board the bus ostensibly as real passengers so when the apparently impromptu song begins it is all the more surprising and delightful. Buses also have unexpectedly good acoustics, so the music fills the entire bus without the need for amplification.
Soundtrack to the Daily Grind is about bringing art into the realm of the everyday. It is also about extending the sensation of it to people who do not, or cannot attend conventional shows. It is about providing an alternative to commodified and inaccessible theatre and music. But mostly, it is about enhancing the lives of people through joyous performance and spectacle.
Soundtrack to the Daily Grind is directed and produced by Joel Baxendale. Participant musicians include: New Zealand School of Music graduate and past Binge Culture collaborator, Jake Baxendale (Animal Hour, Elimination Rounds); multiple Chapman Tripp award winner, Erin Banks (The Great Gatsby, A Brief History of Helen of Troy); Toi Whakaari graduate, Bryony Skillington (Idiots, Get Cuffed); and Owen Baxendale (Doors, Walls, and also Silence).
Cast
Joel Baxendale
Erin Banks
Bryony Skillington
Jake Baxendale
Owen Baxendale
Performance Dates and Times
Friday 26 August – 2pm to 6pm
Saturday 27 August – 11am to 3pm
Sunday 28 August – 11am to 3pm
Soundtrack to the Daily Grind was first developed and performed as part of the NZ Fringe Festival 2011, with generous support from Creative New Zealand. The original cast was Joel Baxendale, Jake Baxendale, Erin Banks, Bryony Skillington and Gareth Hobbs.
