Abstract
Background
The Special Team Elite is a story derived from Soseh Yekanians’ upbringing in Australia as an Iranian-born Armenian and explores her real and fantastical experiences growing up as a displaced individual within a world, which, at the time, she felt was not accepting of her. The deep desire to in some way, reverse, articulate and share the experiences of her childhood/adolescence has been the motivation for her children’s story. The Special Team Elite consists of a 25-minute immersive installation performance, written and directed by Soseh Yekanians.
Contribution
The Special Team Elite was a unique piece of theatre as it broke down conventional ideas of audience and actors. Firstly, it explored how a children’s book could be developed and adapted for a performance space but secondly, the direction of the play pushed the boundaries of what theatre can be and how a fleeting moment can actually be filmed/captured to exist thereafter. The performance was also purposely directed as a non-verbal immersive installation piece that instead, utilised the theatrical elements of sound and lights to transform the space. The purpose being to creatively retell the narrative of the children's book but not repeat it. During the live show, audiences had no seating and were asked to feel free to walk around the performance space, both prior to the show beginning and at commencing. This feeling of freedom, fantasy and movement in space was recreated through the film via the cinematographic use of a Steadicam®.
Significance
The significance of the project was that it was one of the few live performances to have been produced for the Spectrum Project Space and then turned into a film. More importantly however, the film was shot on Steadicam in one continuous take by world renowned cinematographer Rusty Geller. Geller is known internationally for his work as a Steadicam® operator and in 2012 he received an AACTA Award nomination from the Australian Film Institute in the category Best Cinematography in a Documentary for his work on the television documentary Jandamarra's War.
The Special Team Elite is a story derived from Soseh Yekanians’ upbringing in Australia as an Iranian-born Armenian and explores her real and fantastical experiences growing up as a displaced individual within a world, which, at the time, she felt was not accepting of her. The deep desire to in some way, reverse, articulate and share the experiences of her childhood/adolescence has been the motivation for her children’s story. The Special Team Elite consists of a 25-minute immersive installation performance, written and directed by Soseh Yekanians.
Contribution
The Special Team Elite was a unique piece of theatre as it broke down conventional ideas of audience and actors. Firstly, it explored how a children’s book could be developed and adapted for a performance space but secondly, the direction of the play pushed the boundaries of what theatre can be and how a fleeting moment can actually be filmed/captured to exist thereafter. The performance was also purposely directed as a non-verbal immersive installation piece that instead, utilised the theatrical elements of sound and lights to transform the space. The purpose being to creatively retell the narrative of the children's book but not repeat it. During the live show, audiences had no seating and were asked to feel free to walk around the performance space, both prior to the show beginning and at commencing. This feeling of freedom, fantasy and movement in space was recreated through the film via the cinematographic use of a Steadicam®.
Significance
The significance of the project was that it was one of the few live performances to have been produced for the Spectrum Project Space and then turned into a film. More importantly however, the film was shot on Steadicam in one continuous take by world renowned cinematographer Rusty Geller. Geller is known internationally for his work as a Steadicam® operator and in 2012 he received an AACTA Award nomination from the Australian Film Institute in the category Best Cinematography in a Documentary for his work on the television documentary Jandamarra's War.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Place of Publication | Perth, Australia |
| Publisher | The Spectrum Project Space |
| Media of output | Film |
| Size | Film developed from 25-minute installation/performance |
| Publication status | Published - 02 Jul 2015 |
| Event | The Special Team Elite - The Spectrum Project Space, Perth, Australia Duration: 02 Jul 2014 → 04 Jul 2014 |