PACT Presents: Elephant (in the making)

Don't miss PACT Presents: Elephant (in the making), a solo experiment in liveness, embodiment and projection created by lead artist Sarah Mainwaring, in collaboration with Ingrid Voorendt and Alana Hoggart, presented in partnership with Back to Back Theatre.

Elephant explores the space between life and death, and is a series of attempts at staging emptiness. Part installation, part dance performance, Elephant takes on Sarah's question, "can emptiness be beautiful?"

While at PACT, Sarah is opening up her making process in a lab intensive with eight emerging artists who will join her in the performance season. Taking the artist’s own body as a jumping off point to experiment with improvisation and writing, and the relationship between moving and speaking, Sarah invites the artists to share in dialogue and exploration, beginning with their own bodies and experimenting with movement, improvisation and writing.

PACT will host a post-show Q&A session with the artists on the 2nd of December. The 2nd of December show will be Auslan interpreted.

Elephant is being developed with support from the Une Parkinson Foundation, the Sidney Myer Fund and Give Where You Live Foundation. Elephant is presented at PACT with assistance from the Australian Government through the Australia Council, its arts funding and advisory body.

Tickets on sale now!

Thur 1 Dec 7pm (Sarah Mainwaring with Daley Rangi and Jalen Ong)

Fri 2 Dec 7pm (Sarah Mainwaring with Vishnu Arunasalem and Olivia Hadley)*

Sat 3 Dec 1pm (Sarah Mainwaring with Alia Ardon and Savannah Stimson)

Sat 3 Dec 7pm (Sarah Mainwaring with Cassidy McDermott Smith and Josh Freedman)

*Auslan interpreted performance; post-show Q&A running time approximately 60 min. If you have any other access requirements you would like to discuss prior to purchasing a ticket, such as Audio Description, please contact charlotte@pact.net.au by 5pm 30 November.

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ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Sarah Mainwaring has a Bachelor of Arts (Performing Arts) from Victoria University, and has a particular interest in avant-garde and physical theatre. She has developed a number of original solo performances, and has been a member of the Back to Back Theatre ensemble since 2007, where she has toured both nationally and internationally. Sarah plays a collaborative role in the creative development process, as dramaturg and as a performer in the company’s major stage and screen works.

Ingrid Voorendt is a performance maker, director, dramaturge and choreographer, and has collaborated on many new works of performance across theatre, dance and emerging forms of practice. Her practice encompasses devising, directing, dramaturgy, choreography and writing, and always begins with the performer’s body. Since 2018 Ingrid has worked as an artistic associate with the internationally acclaimed Back to Back Theatre, creating new works of performance, curating and facilitating community engagement programs, and directing performance-making processes within diverse communities.Ingrid values relationality, collaboration and emergent processes, and loves working at the intersection of art and social practice.

Alana Hoggart is a movement artist, specialising in Butoh and physical theatre. Alana's work always begins with a questioning of the body; a desperate discourse of flesh. She enjoys collaboration with artists from other mediums, often working with Sound Artists and Graffiti Street Artists. Her work focuses on how the body is informed by these more external modes of art. She has been a Guest Artist and Co-divisor with Back to Back Theatre, and is currently an Associate Production Manager with them. Her work has been seen throughout the USA, Japan, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Australia.

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Access Information

PACT is committed to the health and wellbeing of our employees, artists, and visitors. In order to keep our artists safe and able to perform, we ask all visitors to wear a mask while inside the venue.

PLEASE NOTE: The Friday 2nd December show will have Auslan interpretation. If you have any other access requirements you would like to discuss prior to purchasing a ticket, such as Audio Description, please contact charlotte@pact.net.au by 5pm 30 November. 

PACT is a fully accessible space with a small ramp at the entrance, flat floors throughout and dedicated wheelchair accessible toilet and accessible street parking (non-dedicated). The closest accessible train station is Newtown Train Station (15 mins). PACT is committed to making our projects and performances as inclusive as possible for everyone to enjoy. If you have any suggestions or would like any information in another format, please don’t hesitate to contact us:

Phone 02 9550 2744 or email info@pact.net.au 
National Relay Service ask for PACT on 02 9550 2744

About PACT

PACT’s vision is driven by the belief that emerging artists are the engines that power the arts sector, producing the most ground-breaking works of today and tomorrow. For more than 50 years PACT has provided performance makers with the time, space, and professional development needed to advance their artistic careers and drive forward the performance culture of Australia.

About Back To Back Theatre

Based in the Victorian regional centre of Geelong, Back to Back Theatre is widely recognised as an Australian theatre company of national and international significance. The company is driven by an ensemble of actors who are perceived to have intellectual disabilities and is considered one of Australia’s most important cultural exporters. 

PACT Presents has been made possible with the support of the Australian Government through the Australia Council for the Arts, its arts funding and advisory body; the NSW Government through Create NSW; and the City of Sydney through its Cultural Grants program. Back to Back Theatre is supported by Australia Council for the Arts, Creative Victoria, and the City of Greater Geelong, and acknowledges the support of the Department of Education & Training, Victoria, through the Strategic Partnerships Program.

Image description: Sarah sits with her back to the camera, gazing into the distance with her face profile barely visible. She wears a draped black top, which exposes her bare, muscular back

Image credit: Lachlan Woods

Credits
Sarah Mainwaring - Performer/Devisor/Writer
Ingrid Voorendt - Co Devisor/Director
Alana Hoggart - Co Devisor/Performer/Stage Manager
Zoë Barry - Sound Composition
Bao Ngouansavanh - Lighting Design and Production Manager
Margaret Bourke - Producer