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We’re in our third week of lockdown here in Aotearoa, and we’re settling into this new rhythm, taking the opportunity to reflect, and thinking of those doing it tougher than we are out there.
We’d like to mihi to Creative New Zealand for their regular communications and emergency response for the arts, as well as the general government support with the wage subsidy. We are definitely feeling the huge impact of this pandemic on our arts sector. It’s not just the financial strain for many, including us, who have lost work, there's also big risks for the future sustainability of our sector. But the arts are resilient and as artists we're practiced in how to create and adapt work in response to restrictions. There is heaps of great work emerging right now — and also lots of inspiring discussion around how we can use this time, as artists, to rest and reflect. Here at Binge, we are looking forward to being able to launching our new video-walk, Hidden Tracks, once we come out of Alert Level 4. In the meantime we’ve decided to play with our old classic and teamed up with BATS Theatre to do our first ever long distance Break Up. This Saturday, we’ll live stream the Break Up on Facebook. Check out more details below. We’ve also brought back our New World audio tour as your supermarket companion! Download it onto your device and have a play next time you're at the shop. Kia kaha tō koutou aroha.
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We're pleased as punch - pleasder even - to be back in Melbourne this year for Fringe with two of our favourite shows. Last year's Melbourne Break Up was one of our best-attended and maybe weirdest ever. This year, we'll be performing our 5-hour improv in a intimate space right in the Fringe Hub, and as usual you'll be able to come and go as you like. In the weeks before we go over, we'll be getting back into the game of the show, remembering how to listen hard and share two characters between five people. This is the show we got the Total Theatre Award nomination for in Edinburgh, and we always look forward to doing it, in a low-key dread-ish way.
Our other, verrry different show is Ancient Shrines and Half Truths, an app-based audio adventure exploring the absurd and competitive side of being tourist. Over the last month we've been rewriting and re-recording material for the app that is the heart of the show, to tailor it to our venue - the riverside streets and parks of Werribee. We already kind of feel at home there, even though most of us have never visited. Here's a recent tweet we like, about the show's debut in Edinburgh (thanks, Blunderuss, we're stoked you remember us):
Details for the Melbourne shows are here:
Break Up [We Need to Talk] Ancient Shrines and Half Truths
 That was the shock twist ending for hundreds of Cuba Dupa goers who took part in our mass-participation spy game, This Text Will Self-Destruct, as they tried to stay incognito in the crowds and complete their mission.
As wild as it was out in the crowds, the real panic was taking place back at HQ where Joel and Oli were sending all the texts manually. While at the same time trying to stay in communication with the performers as to what point we were at in the show. Running a spy agency is hard. (photo credit: Ben Woodward)
 Open Workshop: Contemporary Performance Gym
Dates: Weekly on Mondays 5:30-8:30pm from 29 April - 29 July Venue: Te Hau Kainga, Taranaki St, Wellington Fee: The programme is free thanks to the generous support of the Wellington City Council although places are limited. This series of workshops is an opportunity to learn first hand from Binge Culture’s contemporary performance practice. An in-depth introduction to the company’s performance and devising techniques, as well as their method of incubating, exploring and developing new works. Participants will work alongside Binge Culture members and associates as they train and explore new performance ideas. The workshops are designed to encourage and inspire directors, performers and makers to expand concepts of performance and methods of devising, including post-dramatic, site-specific and technology-driven performance. Over the course of the workshops series each participant will have the opportunity to explore their own performance ideas within a supportive collaborative environment. No prior performing experience required although a willingness to give it a go is essential. The Workshops are primarily aimed at emerging and professional performance makers but are open to anyone to apply. To apply: Send a letter of application explaining who you are and why you are interested to joel@bingeculture.co.nz Applications must be received by 5pm on Wed 10 April. Successful applicants will be informed by Fri 12 April. Please email any questions to the address above or leave a comment below  Binge Culture's Joel Baxendale and Oli Devlin are grateful and delighted to have been awarded funding through the Wild Creations programme, a partnership between DOC and CNZ. Their project will use video and binaural recordings from Kapiti Island and Wellington CBD to create a video walk that blurs urban and natural landscapes, giving glimpses of what was here before the city, finding interesting juxtapositions between the two. More info
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