NEW TERM OF WORKSHOPS

Last night reminded me why performance is so important in my life. Last night was the first TND Workshop of this term, the first of potentially only four more workshops TND will run for a long time. What was achieved over the course of the evening by all people involved in the process be them performer, DJ, or spectator was something I think it is fair to be described as magical. The realm of performance that was created in the back of our local South London Pub brought me new insight into the power of physical theatre as a therapy. Most specificially the power of the this kind of theatre, that roots itself in Carnival, reminded my how important those feeling of letting go, loosing your inhibitions, free play and forming powerful, yet strange and bizarre connections with strangers. Last nights workshop was made particularly special by some of the unexpected guests that arrived over the course of the eve- a lady I met at a Blackheath teadance who without access to the internet or local links still somehow hunted us down, a local market trader, and a disabled guy who has since written a very touching blog entry about his experience. When I think that such different people are interested in TND for perhaps very different reasons it brings me a strong sense of happiness. However the happiness I feel reaches an altogether higher level, dare I say it a point of inner peace when I reflect on how each different person that encounters TND gets out from it that same feeling I do, which is why I find this method of performance keeps me sane. By entering this state of escapism it is possible to release much of the strains and stresses that can burden our everyday lives. Somehow when I am in a TND workshop all the things- some insignificant, some no so insignificant become either removed from my thoughts or find themselves an outlet in the performance itself. On a personal level for me- last night allowed me to forget my money troubles and realise feelings of sexual repression- two things that have bothered me considerably over the past month. I am sure the disabled guy we worked with felt different oppressions were overridden- or perhaps not? Who knows? I hope the other performers who enjoyed last night left feeling in some way this ‘inner peace’- something born out of realising something negative (stress) whilst giving something positive (commitment as a performer) which resulted in beautiful scenes that could be enjoyed by the spectators. Well done everyone- great way to start the term!

First step to running a good STREET PARTY- seek out some elderly pensioners!

When I began planning ‘A Deptford Street Party’, I found that the attitude amongst many people in and around my area with regards to co-ordinating community activities was one of general pessimism. This could perhaps be because many believe that any free community event must inevitably have to come at a cost to someone, and nobody in these ‘hard times’ has money to put towards it. As aside from the financial setbacks many also focus on the apparent lack of any real community to draw upon, particularly in a city like London, wherein there are so many social/ class/ cultural fractures that can stop people from coming together to have a good time. Drawing upon my own experience of co-ordinating a street party in Deptford, I would advise anyone who is has doubts as to whether it is possible to run this sort of community event to go talk to the elderly. Seek out the people who have lived in London when times really were HARD and ask them how they used to put together a party in their community or better still get them to show you how! This is what I did with ‘A Deptford Street Party’, when faced with the prospect of co-ordinating an event for the local community with a budget of £0 the best idea I had was to step into the local elderly centre DAGE (Deptford Action Group for the Elderly) and beg the pensioners inside to help me- and I tell you- without them I don’t think this event would have happened!

The first time I went into DAGE it is fair to say I felt every bit the outsider I – being under the age of 65- essentially am in their world. After sweet talking Harry ('arry) on the door, to permit me to enter their sacred space, I went out to the back tea-room. Suddenly I found myself within the haven of the elderly, wherein the temperature stays hot, the tea and cake are always free and there is life-size cardboard cut-out of Humphrey Bogart is glued to the back of the door. Once I took in the surroundings and started chatting it became clear that I had come to the right place. The DAGE pensioners have plenty of experience in the art of street partying- an activity which apparently was a regular occurrence during the war years. Deptford itself used to be an ideal place to host such an event, back in the good old days when it was much easier to close roads and offer catering without a food hygiene licence- the entire High Street would often get closed off and white topped tables would run it’s length donned with all the usual teatime treats . Once the DAGE pensioners realised I was not trying to force them to do anything on my own terms, but rather asking them to advice me on what they thought I should do, they began to offer such fantastic help that I don’ think anything I can write will truly do them justice- but I will try……..

Once I began making DAGE a regular stop for my post-market cuppa, the ladies of DAGE not only helped me by offering unlimited free cake and wartime Street Party stories they began actually offering me donations. I was particularly touched when on a Wednesday that I failed to make it down because of being called in at work, I had Kitty come to my shop and give me an amazing 1970’s psychedelic maxi for use with the group! Apparently she had it packed under the bed, and was certain there was plenty more up in the loft but I’d have to wait until her son comes down for a visit before she could get them down. Temped though I was to keep it for myself, I took it down to the group later that evening at the Workshop who of course absolutely LOVED IT! Then the following Wednesday, when I popped in after the market I had Betty hand me a bag of old CD’s to put onto the Ta Na Deptford playlist! The last time I was in there I had mentioned how we were looking for tracks that defined Brit Culture to create our street theatre out of. This random selection offered by Betty (about 15 CD’s in total) could not be better, everything from old Music Hall hits, to Wartime sing-a-longs, to Chaz and Dave! Then just to put the icing on the cake, the ladies began an impromptu Tá Na Deptford performance of their own! Knowing that when I head for my cup of tea I have always come straight from market and usually bought a ridiculous costume of some description, it has become a point of habit for them to freely rummage through my bags. On this particular day one of the ladies not only wanted to dive in, but also insisted on putting one of the dresses on (a fluorescent pink sequin number) then began a sing-a-long - ‘The Lambeth Walk’ I believe. Tina not wanting to miss out on all the fun put on an equally hideous bright monstrosity from my bag- Please not in the photo of Tina (below) the newspaper article of Tá Na Deptford which DAGE have not only pinned up on their wall but also bothered to BLOW UP so that I makes easy elderly reading! The day was made even better when Tina came down to our Wednesday Workshop that evening and watched in wild animation our outrageous impulsive acts at the back of the Amersham Arms.

Aside from giving me presents I was equally touched when Kitty invited me to a tea-dance in Blackheath to teach me a thing or two about how to run one at the event (tea-dancing being an activity I was keen to incorporate into the Street Party). Kitty has been a dancer for years, so she really was the best person for me to learn form. However I was not just impressed by her moves, but also her amazing energy and ability to motivate other less able dancers (such as myself) to get up and give it a go. On the day of the Street Party it was thanks to Kitty’s spirit that we were able to make the tea-dance such as success. All it took for me to do was plug the PA system into my laptop of loaded DAGE hits and before I knew it we had dancing in the Deptford Streets! The ladies without a doubt loved having the chance to get up there and show us youngsters how it’s done and I think everyone in the crowd left we a great degree of admiration for their skill, their enthusiasm and their willingness to just get up and do it.

Aside from showing Deptford how to tea-dance, I think the DAGE ladies also taught us a think or two about how to party as Brits. In the run up to the event having had a fair degree of hostility from certain people about running an event on the day of the Wedding- despite my constant repetition of the fact that I am in no way a Royalist but rather someone who will never pass up a good opportunity to throw a party. By heading down to the event dressed up in their red, white and blue and having a good old knees up the DAGE ladies proved that sometimes it’s better to worry less about all the weighty problems and unfairness in the world and try and make the best out of what we got. After all, sitting alone in a darkened room harbouring resentment for a Prince and Princess on their big day because they are never to feel the financial pinch painfully squeezing those of us living in the real world isn’t going to change anything. Better to pull together, turn up the music and show them how to really party by dancing down the Deptford streets!

Celebrating the Royal Wedding in Deptford- Great idea or bloody madness?

This April Ta Na Deptford will be bringing a new piece of street theatre to Deptford, that we hope will explore, unearth and express the very best in British Culture - our ‘Royal Wedding Street Party’!

That’s right; on the day of the Royal Wedding we want to bring together Deptford people of every age, colour, class and political stance to celebrate the very best of ‘British’ culture. The question of what exactly constitutes 'British' culture nowadays is something I feel is well worth asking in a place as culturally diverse as Deptford - both within its artistic scene and eclectic population. We viewed the Royal Wedding as the perfect opportunity to do this. Not content on letting the rahs up in Westminster have all the fun, we felt it was worth us making good use of the bank holiday they have, quite rightly, bestowed on us to throw a party with far more flavour, fun and character than theirs is likely to offer.

When I first came up with the idea for this event, I didn't envision that I would have any difficulty selling it to the locals of Deptford. I believe that I am started to be accepted within the local scene - I have been working in a shop on Deptford High Street for over 8 months now, I walk to work with many a ‘ello darlin’ in good morning greetings from the fellow shopkeepers I pass by, I purchase my mid-morning snack by requesting ‘the usual’ from the guy who runs the fruit and veg stall (which I now get ½ price) and my lunch gets delivered to me free of charge by Rupert, who if you are local to Deptford no doubt you will know! All in all I feel I am starting to root myself within the Deptford community.

However when I started to put the idea of this event ‘out there’ as it were, I was met with a surprising amount of resistance by the very local people I so desperately want to involve in it. The first massive problem that most Deptford locals seem to have with the idea of such an event is the fact it is occurring on the day of the Royal Wedding. "You're planning an event on the Royal Wedding! You turned to dark side or summin? I’m not gonna celebrate the marriage of those two elitist pricks!" was the response of one Deptfordian when I asked if they would like to help provide some traditional childrens games for the event (A great pity given that he runs a community arts organisation which would have been very useful for running such activities... Am I bitter? Well as I dig into my own wallet to buy yet more face paint, yes little bit!)

However the hostility I was feeling toward the event did concern me, and I started to worry that perhaps I was being too careless. In truth I am by no means a Royalist, I find much about the Royal Family utterly absurd and despite claims that they are changing with the times I cannot help but view Kate Middleton as the polar opposite of what I consider a good role model for the modern British women. She has spent her post-university years waiting quietly in the background, neglecting to pursue a career and behaving good as gold in the hope her Prince might one day ask her to marry him (even if she has decided to wear Alexander McQueen on the big day!) So perhaps I should perhaps question if it is right to host a MASSIVE STREET PARTY on a day that for many will essentially reconfirm the existence of the Monarchy, the privileged set up in Westminster who seem so far from us South-Eastenders busy trying to cope the everyday problems such as how to re-work the weekly shop now that rising VAT has buggered up the already strained budget. I mean never mind Waitrose, (not that there is one in Lewisham) our local Sainsburys is now out of my league (thank God for local market traders!) In organising a Street Party in Deptford on the day of the Royal Wedding am I failing to consider that how, as a supposed left wing supporter, I am now a massive hypocrite? Have I just spent too long out in Brazil, a country where any old saints day is used by EVERYONE within the populous, regardless of religious views, as an excuse to forget work and party?

Frankly I feel a little confused. Certainly my appreciation of certain aspects of the Brazilian mindset could explain why I see nothing wrong in waving the flag for my own culture. I feel very proud to be British, I think we should celebrate what Britain is, has been and will be; else why are we bothering to exist here? For me there is also no better place to explore aspects of British culture than somewhere like Deptford; a borough of London which has such a varied eclectic mix at it's core that it forces us to re-examine how we interpret British culture and Britishness. In Deptford you can see not only many different cultures but also an intersection and fusion of cultures in the food, music, fashion and even the everyday language encountered in walking down its High Street.

It is all these rich aspects of modern British culture that I hope to incorporate within this event, whilst being still sensitive to the fact that by putting on a street party in Deptford we are essentially reviving old traditional activities that played a strong role in binding together what was once our old (far less culturally diverse) community. So to help me decide how best to promote this event without offending too many anti-Royalists, who seem to make up a strong proportion of the Deptford community, I am seeking advice from local people.

Is it a good idea for us to run a 'Royal Wedding Street Party' in Deptford?

If it is then should we keep this as it's title or change it to, well, something less Royal and more Deptford?

- suggestions?

The trials and tribulations of Street Theatre in London

Last weekend there was a big event in the Tá Na Deptford history. An event much anticipated by the group, an event which if proved successful would symbolise achieving true Tá Na Rua in London! This event was our first STREET THEATRE PERFORMANCE, and my friends it could not have been a greater disaster, read on to discover why………………

Tá Na Rua in Brazil is a street theatre company. By performing in the streets they bring theatre to the ‘povo’- (the people, the public, your average Joe- whatever you will) thereby conquering the boundaries of elitism by making the arts accessible to the masses. They produce beautiful spectacles on Rio de Janeiro’s often poverty ridden streets, something which is in itself as Amir would say ‘uma coisa maravilhoso’ (a marvellous thing). However aside from providing entertainment, their performances also explore key social and political issues of that given moment and thereby encourage the passer-by to likewise consider politics, exercise their critical thinking and perhaps even enter the debate themselves. A Tá Na Rua street performances is also very much expression of Brazilian culture, they use aspects of Brazilian popular culture to capture and sustain the attention of the ‘povo’. To put this formula simply, I would argue Tá Na Rua create spectacular political theatre by using Brazilian popular culture to debate what is affecting Brazil at the time and opening this debate to every Brazlian who happens to be in the street at that given moment. The formula looks relatively straight forward- if we were to subsitiute the words ‘Brazilian’ and ‘Brazil’ in that last sentence with ‘British’, ‘Britain’ and ‘Brit’ and insert ‘Tá Na Deptford’ into the opening it is possible to view a simple definition of what is our goal. However it is a goal which only now as I sit in recovery of the nightmare which was last weekend, am I beginning realise is by no means straight forward or simple and definitely not easy!

Since first setting up Tá Na Deptford- I have been confused as to how to direct the group towards street theatre. When we first began in September of last year I plastered posters all over Deptford and New Cross hailing the arrival of workshops run by Tá Na Deptford- the South East Street Theatre Company’. However as I began promoting the group to, well, basically anyone who I spoke to, concerns began entering my head about this title. I pride myself on being very good at reading people, and so it was possible for me to see that there was something in the eyes of those I spoke to- confusion, apprehension, possibly even fear that seemed to flash red when I mentioned the phrase ‘street theatre’. Even though the workshops themselves do not take place in the street but rather in the comfort of our local pub- The Amersham Arms, the very notion of something as alien as ‘street theatre’, may have suggested to such people that they were at risk of leaving their comfort zone. Then the weather started to worsen as the dismal British winter descended upon us and it became clear that we were not going to be able to realistically co-ordinate a performance on the freezing cold, snow ridden streets of London. Rather than admit defeat and postpone all activities until summer our motto changed to the ‘South-East London Performance Company’ and we began putting ourselves out there in other ways- music gigs, club nights, artsy happenings. We found the group well received in such venues, which welcomed a performance group who were willing to express the bizarreness of what is (perhaps it is wrong to say ‘British’ but certainly) ‘South-East London’ culture.

I however was not satisfied. In the wake of the New Year I decided that I must make it top a priority for Tá Na Deptford to try and return to the socio-political street theatre roots first planted by Tá Na Rua before it became lost as (so many of are) within the craziness of the London night scene. Luckily my right hand man keeps a better check on what’s happening in London via the internet than I ever have the enthusiasm for doing and an opportunity to shift the group out of the clubs and onto the streets appeared before us. The event was called ‘Carnival Against the Cuts’- a protest event ran by various local campaigning groups against the spending cuts intended for Lewisham council. This was perfect- not only was it a locally run outdoor event geared towards a political purpose, it was also promoting itself as a ‘Carnival’- right up our street so to speak! I got on to the organisers and selling us on our history of carnival performance, our lefty ideals and our connections with the Goldsmiths student community (who have a reputation for protesting) and pretty soon they couldn’t wait to get us on board!

There was only one glaringly obvious problem with the event which was that the date it was planned was only 2 weeks away and I would be in France visiting family. There were three options- 1) I let the group loose without me, 2) We wait for another Carnival themed local political event to swing our way or 3) I change my flight. Luckily, because we live in a word serviced by Easy-jet I was able to get a very reasonable deal by purchasing a new flight (for a 1/3 of the price of changing the old one) which would get me back to London in time for the ‘Wednesday Workshop’ preceding the Carnival so we could throw something together in truly impulsive Tá Na Deptfordian manner. Whilst out in France I would organise what I could in the run up to the event via the internet, with Alex as support on home ground.

Thus I flew out to France and began the usual drill of mail-outs, facebook events, and e-flyers so at least the cyber world would know what would be happening. My strategy would be to get as much word out to Goldsmiths over the next week in the hope of rousing the energies of all those left-wing students who demonstrated their love of protesting so well last year. Surely such a left wing university with a large drama department would offer up some good people willing to partake in a bit of political street theatre happening on their doorstep? As an ex-Goldsmiths drama student myself I knew exactly the people to hit in order to get the word out there-, the drama secretary, the head of the applied drama MA, a few well liked tutors, and even the head of Student Union campaigns all sent out e-mails on my behalf. Even the Goldsmiths music department had a mail out by an ex-music friend of mine because drawing on my experiences in Rio I knew that it would be foolish to attempt any kind of street theatre without music and so word went out to find us a drummer.

I flew back the day of the workshop and arrived at the Amersham ready to embrace the energies of the masses. Well a stampede of willing activist performers was not what awaited me- though word went out, it was apparently not enough to arouse any non- Tá Na Deptfordians to come down and support, something which Emily (our one consistent Goldsmiths drama student) explained might be due to the impending deadlines due in that week. This was not going to concern me, we still had some key members of the core group- Alex, Francis, Jodie, Emily, Laura and of course myself involved- there was no reason why we couldn’t toss a small something together- enough to get some good press shots at least! The only thing that really concerned me was our inability to get hold of a drummer. This is a moment when you know your not in Rio de Janeiro, the very thought of being unable to get hold of someone with a sense of rhythm and a hand drum in a Brazilian context is utterly ludicrous. However this is London not Rio, and so after trying every contact I could possibly think of at such short notice we finally settled for Laura with a set of cowbells, with the rest of us using various kitchen implements. We co-ordinated together a short piece of performance which was essentially a symbolic interpretation of council cuts that involved Francis once again acting as a tree (the community services), Laura donning an Abba-esque Red military jacket (the council) and myself and Emily dressing up as what looked like Eastend 19^th Century wrenches (local people). Alex would be filming the spectacle and Jodie, who would regrettably not be there for the actual event offered to create a kind of foliage headdress for Francis to crack out on the day so none could mistake him for anything less than a tree. We outlined a bare structure to the piece- keeping it as improvised as possible to allow for any audience involvement, packed the costumes into bags and agreed meet at Emily’s place at 10am on Saturday for breakfast and poster making.

On the Saturday morning I woke up early in anticipation of the day ahead, threw open my curtains to reveal a dark- grey sky above drizzling down onto the street outside. My spirits dropped. OK, nothing I can do about the weather, I got ready and waited for Francis who was coming to mine as we were heading over to Emily’s together. 10.15 phone call from Francis- he had woken up somewhere in West London – was not really sure where (none of us South-Easteners know or understand much about West London) and would be late. Shit. That’s two things gone wrong already and I was still in the house. But there was time- I was intending for us to not actually enter the street until 12, he had two hours to make it. Easy.

I made my way over to Emily’s place, she lives in some student digs that were positioned directly outside where one part of the protest was intended to start. Having promised to provide the breakfast I turn up with a bag full of ingredients to knock up a suitably energy fuelled breakfast for the gang. Of course I had forgotten what student halls are like, (the years have enabled me to block out the experience). On the bright side there was nobody else about at10.30 on a Saturday morning. On the low side the place was an absolute pig-sty, untidy the point that even making a simple cup of tea was a challenge – most mugs had some kind of sticky orange residue and a fag-but sitting in the bottom. Luckily I had brought with me an impressive selection of kitchen implements as a substitute for drums which would make do for scrambled eggs. We ate and began shoving together some protest signs out using some flouresant card and any brooms that were lying spare in the kitchen (it’s not like they were being used!) and awaited word from DJ Alex and Francis who were still nowhere to be seen.

At 11.15 I got hold of Alex- he was at Whitechapel station waiting for the next tube to New Cross and should be with us shortly. At 11.30 I managed to track down Francis who appeared to be still in West London. This was not good. The plan had initially been head out to the street at 12.00 where we would join up a group of protesters outside New Cross Library and gather energy before going on to Catford where I thought we could crack out the symbolic tree street performance outside the town hall at about 12.45. Then join the Carnival procession that would be marching over to Lewisham for speeches, songs and cheering in the middle of a traffic island. With Francis still in West London, and apparently still none the wiser as to how best to get back South East of the river we were cutting things a bit fine.

At 12.10 Alex calls- he’s stood outside Emily’s digs with the other protesters- apparently a few people had braved the rain with a sound system (a very small one since we 3 floors above had been unaware of their arrival). Still it was comforting to know something was happening, even if we were still in the kitchen desperately threading masks and working out how best to carry the, protest banners, pots, pans and tree headdress. 12.25 we made it out to the street- where we encounter Alex- alone. The other protesters have now moved on, fed up with the rain they have apparently headed off to a local caf for a cuppa before leaving for Catford. According to Alex everyone was heading down to Catford at 13:00, before moving on to Lewisham at about 13:30- so events were running late, this might save us. If we stayed in New Cross till 13:00 Francis would have time to join us so we could all head off to Catford together rather than risk never finding each other at the other end. I truth I am not sure whether it was in fact this logic that lead me to take the decision to return back to Emily’s flat to wait for another half an hour, or if it was that at that very moment, as we stood cold, soggy, burdened down by our layers of costumes, protest banners and kitchen implements the temptation of returning to the warm and having a nice cup of tea was just too strong- what Brits we are!

At 12.50 I heard again from Francis- serious problems getting over to New Cross, probably best to just meet us at Catford. Right, no more waiting around. We might as well brave the weather and get there ourselves for fear of missing out again. So we piled on a bus to Catford, Alex keeping up with how events were going via the internet and tweeting our current progress. Then disaster- the bus terminates somewhere in Brockley, apparently that day they were not running all the way to Catford (contrary to what was written on the front) . We get off- costumes, props, posters, pans and all, realising we havn’t the foggiest idea where we are. Then a call from Francis- he’s arrived in Catford and found the protest. Well at least one of us is there! We try walking to the nearest station which according to Alex’s i-phone is Crofton Park. I get another call from Francis- the protest is starting to move on. Shit- we’ve now missed our street theatre slot, the whole purpose of us doing this event seems now in tatters, I stand on the side of the road in a stupid red wig with a foliage headdress in one hand and a stewing pan in the other and feel both helpless and utterly ridiculous. The very notion of salvaging the situation to the point of managing to crack out a street theatre performance seemed near impossible given our current whereabouts and overall moral. I seem to remember at that moment in time the only emotion I felt like expressing was my sheer anger at the whole nightmare of the situation, which does not bode well for impulse driven performance, it was taking every ounce of my self control to not vent this anger onto the other equally helpless masked Carnival protesters surrounding me.

The only option at this point was to try and chase the Carnival procession in the hope of catching them at least before they entered Lewisham. I dialled up the ironically names ‘speedy cars’ firm, who after a very unspeedy 25 minute wait, finally delivered us a taxi big enough for all the entourage. It was not 5 minutes into the journey before we hit major traffic running up through Ladywell. The taxi crawled along at such a pace that elderly dog walkers were able to overtake us, unfortunately any notion of simply getting out the taxi and walking was out of the question as in the back seat Emily appeared to be suffering from some kind of stomach pain (potential food poisoning from the student kitchen).

Emotions remained tense in the car as we sat in silence watching the rain drizzle outside, interrupted only by Francis calling to let us know that the protest had already arrived in Lewisham. So we had missed the Carnival procession. Bollox. Laura let out a cry of laughter and tried her best to pull me round to seeing the funny side to the entire situation- however it was still far too early for this. I sat stewing in the front seat cursing the London traffic, London weather and well- London. Meanwhile Alex returned to the i-phone and began tweeting a false account of events, in the hope of cheering me up by making us look less of a catastrophic failure in cyber-land.

Finally we approached Lewisham, and it was possible to make out in the distance a cluster of banners and umbrellas on a small traffic island by the station. We pulled in, and bundled out the car fixing our masks/ costumes/ wigs and made headway for the grassy mound of protesters making sure we held up our banners high, loudly bashing (out of frustration) our pots and pans. Such a spectacle did not go un-noticed and the few press present at the event soon ditched filming the protest speakers to get some shots of our outrageous group. I spotted Francis in the distance and ran over to attach the tree headdress onto him, thinking he might as well look as big a fool as the rest of us so to attract more media attention. The event itself was coming to a close, a few final words of thanks from the organiser and people started to head off. Perhaps owing to the fact he had not just endured the nightmare journey over from New Cross, Francis was bouncing with positive energy and still up for cracking out some kind of impromptu spectacle. I however was too busy trying to work my way round the various organisers of the event, with just enough breath to blubber out some apologies for not actually doing any street theatre for them and Emily was practically ready to collapse. After assuring Francis that this was absolutely not the right time to begin street performing we made our way off the grass and toward our favourite local greasy spoon for another much needed brew- which turned out to be shut so we got the train home.

Overall the day had been an unprecedented disaster- from the moment of waking up and discovering the miserably British weather outside, to the moment of learning ‘Maggies Caf’ has run out of business, nothing had seemed to go right. Once it was all over, I had to commit myself to a good few hours in bed to recover from the shock of the whole affair. Thankfully the event took place on a Saturday night, and I was able to go out later to a nightclub and block those horrendous hours from my thoughts by getting excessively drunk. It is now over a week later and I am finally able to sit and consider the whole event in full- an exercise which is both giving me a good degree of comical entertainment and helped me consider how to develop Tá Na Deptford. One question that ticked over in my head was whether the disaster of last weekend could be blamed upon my poor decision making or on, well, the weather!

Here is my conclusion…………..

When trying to attempt street theatre in London a problem we are inevitably going to have to try and work around is that of the weather. British weather is pretty dismal when you compare it to that of Rio and it can (as last weekend proved) have a direct impact on our ability to perform in the street. However on reflection it is not the technical logistics of performing in poor weather conditions that pull us back- aka weightier costumes, slippery surfaces etc- but rather the psychological impact of such weather upon the performers. When I contemplate the moment wherein I told the group to turn back to Emily’s flat for an extra half hour rather than head straight to Catford (a decision which completely buggered up our timing and made us miss practically the entire event), I can’t help but acknowledge that it was not so much the logic that by waiting in New Cross we might pin down Francis but rather the need for shelter from the wet which drew me to take such action. In all fairness it was not just me who wanted to be back indoors, the rest of the gang could not have been up the stairs and on with the kettle any quicker! So what is the point I am getting at- that because we have miserable rainy weather in England it is impossible for us to produce successful Tá Na Rua street theatre unless we perchance manage to schedule it on one of the few days of the year that actually has sunshine? Clearly such an idea is totally unjustified if we consider not only the fact that rain does also happen in Rio, (a lot of rain in fact!) and as this photo proves Tá Na Rua are able to perform in the rain of Rio with bouteous amounts of energy! The trick therefore must be in discovering how it is that the Tá Na Rua group are able to stir up the energies of their performers to a point whereby nothing, not falling rain or flying bullets (this is Rio) will stop them!

One such obvious means by which the Tá Na Rua group were able to psyche themselves up for performance, (which we aside from all my best efforts lacked) was through music. There were time it seemed in Rio that it was possible for the Tá Na Rua group to take performance directly out of the workshop space and onto the streets by simply grabbing a few percussion impellents and playing some beats. This drum-fuelled energy is undboutably a strong part of Brazilian popular culture- the most obvious example being the Carnival. Clearly, as my failed attempts to find a drummer proved, this percussion element to Tá Na Rua performances is something which might not be possible for Tá Na Deptford given that spontaneous drumming is quite simply not apart of our culture. We have therefore to find some means of arousing the energies of our British performers on the streets of London without the use of drums. I believe that music is still the way to do this, given that it is music which has been the stimulus used within the workshops and our public performances in club venues around London. The only difficulty is in bringing this music onto the streets when the cost of a P.A. system is so clearly beyond the Ta Na Deptford budget (which is basically the little money I have in my bank account).

Until I find a solution to the music there are however still certain things that can be improved upon without the need of extra- finance, most particularly- a strong unified group from the outset. I remember from my experience of performing street theatre with the group in Rio, that for the performance to succeed it was absolutely essential that the group must enter the street as a collective. Most of my street activities with them were unplanned events that spontaneously moved out into the street below their rehearsal space following moments when the performances within the workshop achieved such heightened energy that they could no longer me contained in the one room. In these times, this energy was of course built up through the course of a two sometimes three hour workshop. However I did also partake in a pre-organised street performance ran by Tá Na Rua in celebration of the international day of workers rights. For this event the group had created this unified energy by working together in preparation for the event. The night before we stayed late in their space creating banners, costumes, and masks for the performance. On the day itself we all arrived early to prepare. A breakfast was laid out, as the group dressed one another and began playing music and dancing. Only once the energies of all the performers had become united as one, and once this tension had built did we then bring it to the street. Like unloading a cannon we exploded together outside that red front door and made our way in union (by foot!) to Cinelandia to begin a performance. Such was the strength of our group that I remember we danced openly in the middle of a busy crossroads, banners held high, shouting, dancing, singing, drumming- undeterred by the beeps of traffic surrounding us. A city like Rio is a place that in no other situation would I dare mess with the motorists, but in this instance our energies overpowered them and they had no choice but to wait for the procession to move on. Creating this kind of energy is essential if you are to produce street theatre where you are essentially having to enter an environment that is alien to performance- the street rather than the theatre, and therefore it is your duty as performers to own this space, to convert it into your theatre, and to boldly capture the attentions of all those present- who must be transformed from general passer-by to audience member. It was by reflecting on this experience in Rio that I lead me to suggest to the group that we meet together for breakfast in the morning; I knew it would be imported for us to gather our strength as a collective before braving the streets; however I had not foreseen just how essential the activity is.

There is however another crucial element that was missing from our performance which I am not sure if in all honesty I should really admit to without looking like a complete arse- the group must actually care about the issues raised in that performance! Like I said at the beginning of this account, Tá Na Rua is a street theatre company that produces political theatre with the goal of transforming society. If I am honest what Tá Na Deptford sought though last weeks event was an opportunity of using a local political event to get something out- press shots, experience, new contacts – you name it! When I really consider it, I realise that we didn’t really care that much about the issues that were being raised in this protest! I know this is not the sort of thing one should admit to but I have to be completely frank, having since taken the time to actually read the arguments this protest was raising, I have realised that they are gaping with holes- offering no solution to the cuts, or possible alternatives in their action. Rather their arguments were more about personal attacks of anyone who was vaguely linked to politics and an opportunity to have a good old lefty rant! Certainly given the fact that we had to cover Alex’s face in a mask the moment we arrived at the Carnival not because it was in keeping with the theme of the event but rather because he is currently interning with our local MP (one of the people on the hit list for Lewisham Anti-Cuts alliance) forced me to admit that we were not exactly faithful supporters of this event! To create good political theatre like that produced by Tá Na Rua you have to truly care about the politics itself- something which is really a no brainer, and something which really, particularly given my background experience in political/ social theatre I should have been all too aware of! However sometimes in life we do need to be reminded of the obvious and so at least in this example I am willing to take the blame upon myself, as creative director never again will I force the group to commit itself to an event which it really does not care about for the purpose

Producing Tá Na Rua street theatre in the context of London is no easy task. It will inevitably involve a serious of experiments, which may often go horribly wrong but we can comfort ourselves in the knowledge that often the more mistakes we make the more we will learn. I believe that the trick to successfully achieving the goal of street theatre is in identifying what are the key elements that make a Tá Na Rua street performance work so well in Rio, and adjust these elements to our London culture. Whilst last weekend’s event was an utter fiasco, at least we learnt a good deal from the experience which will help to develop the group so that one day we will finally achieve our goal of producing visually spectacular, politically engaged street theatre!

As a final point - when reflecting upon last weekends events I am not only comforted with this thought but also with one aspect of London culture- which can be viewed as either comic or tragic that has meant the entire event was not a total waste of our time. This is our internet driven social networking culture that reins supreme in London, and our obsession with publicly documenting on online forums such as twitter and facebook every aspect of our lives. The social network evolution is something I hate with a passion, but for the purpose of developing this group in London I have had to become a slave to it. Throughout the course of our disastrous Carnival Against Cuts escapade, Alex decided to tweet our continuous ‘progress’ online- in such a way that was not a complete lie. We were ‘braving the British weather in support of local causes!’ and we were ‘Costumed up and bussing it to Catford for some street theatre at the Carnival Against Cuts!’, and if the action of the press is anything to go on then the remark ‘Ta Na Deptfordians you stole the show in your fantastic costumes- great work!’- is also not a complete lie! And we weren’t the only ones sending out this online bollox- Lewisham Anit-Cuts Aliance were bragging about ‘over 1000 protesters’ turning up- (there was more like about 50) and the Goldsmiths Students Union event thanked and tagged us in a you-tube video of the Carnival procession that we had entirely missed! When I hooked up with my friends that evening they couldn’t wait to hear all our stories about the event, which they had all been following via twitter and therefore assumed had gone fantastically well! So I guess I should be thankful that at least in London we live in a culture wherein it doesn’t really matter what you actually do, since so long as you can upload enough photos, get tagged in enough videos and tweet enough trash you can still appear successful! Fortunately for the future of this performance group, whilst this London trait does make me laugh out loud when I consider last weekend, it does by no means give me the kind of satisfaction that a truly spectacular performance would offer and so we will battle on until we produce a piece of street theatre that astounds not those following it on their computer screens but rather those who encounter it on the street!

What WE did in 2010.......

Before cracking open the fizz for a suitably costumed New Year Festa (with the Tá Na Deptford collection to hand I am not short of an outfit!) I feel it is necessary for me to reflect back on our achievements over the past year. Not so much an annual review given that Tá Na Deptford was created in Sept 2010, rather a reflection on the past few months since that night I sat down with some friends and began planning how to set up a performance group based upon Carioca street theatre company Tá Na Rua- a group that only I could claim to have ever know, witnessed or even heard of. As luck would have it my friends are not only very open minded they are also always up for a new challenge, and so what once began as a vague idea in my head soon became a real proposition with a team behind it.

And so we (Tá Na Deptford) began…..

We borrowed the acting methodology from Tá Na Rua which involved me using both personal practical experiences and my less than perfect portuguese to translate from the wealth of work written in online- This is now available for all to enjoy on our blog: www.tanadeptford.blogspot.com

We scourged the internet for a collection of songs to root the DJ set to our own culture, everything from musicals like Oliver to heavy base from the latest London Dub scene was showcased although interestingly it has been Kate Bush who has triumphed, with the scenes produced to Bush always being an absurdist nock out!

We searched everywhere within the Deptford area- it’s second hand shops, markets, rag-yards, artists studios, local’s wardrobes to produce 6 sacks of costumes and props. We now have everything from neon tutus to garments once owned by the Royal Opera House- oh yes- I bet your wondering how I got my mits on those gems? Let’s just say spend enough time around Deptford and you become a Del-boy!

We found a venue to store these costumes and use them to run weekly workshops by sweet-talking manager of the local pub to give us use of their upstairs room with the promise of something spectacular (luckily they weren’t disappointed). Once we had the place, the props, the music and the costumes we then began putting it out there.

We sold our vision before even we knew what it really looked like and promoted the Tá Na Deptford ‘workshops’ through posters, flyers, the internet and most successfully word of mouth.

We got people –wonderfully varied people. Yes, it is fair to say that our core gang is composed of wacky drama students and dancers but it is also true that it gets spiced up weekly by the random characters that have stumbled across our path through sheer chance- ranging from classically trained musicians, to fashionistas, to drag queens, to aged local literary ‘intellectuals’ (no not Christopher Marlow he died in a pup in Deptford in the 1500’s). Somehow this random bunch of ‘actors, dancers, performance artists and misfits’ have been able to produce breathtaking performance by embracing the impulsive, unconstrained, liberating spirit of the Carioca and remoulding it as a South East London collective.

We were so proud of what the workshops were producing that we began shooting, editing and uploading footage, enough to make our very own website www.tanadeptford.com – a vital means of communicating back with the group in Rio who describe us as ‘maravilhosos!!!’

We could not however constrain these fantastical performances within the realm of our workshops, once again through a bit of luck and a lot of charming we were able to put them to the public. Interestingly however the ruas of London are not it seems quite ready for Tá Na Detpford- both the weather and the British street conventions seem too cold to be inviting at present, so street theatre remains a dream to be realised in 2011. However one side to London which has welcomed us with open arms is that of our alternative clubnights and ‘happenings’- a scene which does not really exist back in Rio. Our ability to spin music, dress up and let go has made us a popular with club promoters and though we seek artistic appreciation and not drunkan adoration from our audiences- who doesn’t love becoming a party piece for a night? Especially when the nights in question are on such a fantastical scale- DIY costume party with D&C, the Elysian Project rave-up and even our local Amersham Stereo-types art themed event were all much more than mere clubnights they were events that were fundraising, promoting and exhibiting exceptional London artists whom are happy to be associated with.

So that’s just a little bit about what WE did last year- and it goes without saying that I owe so much to all those individuals whom make up this ‘we’- DJ Alex, D&C, Francis, Emily, Patrizia , the groovy Goldsmithsers, the luscious Labanites, all those local misfits who fitted with us so perfectly and of course the Tá Na Rua gang back in Rio who helped support this venture- THANK YOU so much for all your hard work, enthusiasm and belief in Tá Na Deptford- without you none of this could have happened!

And so as New Year approaches I am going to stop reminiscing on 2010 and start getting you all very excited about 2011, for more workshops, more performances and perhaps even some photo shoots, music videos, festivals and carnivals to look forward to- where’s that fizz? Time to crack it open!!!

Tá Na Deptford actor or dancer?

Now that the Wednesday Workshops are in full swing- ticking along every week with just enough participants to make it possible- I can be in the lucky position now to sit back and begin analysing what is happening.

By setting up these workshops in the UK I am essentially embarking upon my own independent research project into what happens when you test out a deeply Brazilian set of performance techniques in London. This cultural submersion was something I hoped would offer me some profound insights into not only makes Tá Na Rua a reputable Brazilian theatre company worthy of import, but also whether when stripped down from their avert Brazilian-ness Tá Na Rua can offer a sound, usable and original set of acting techniques that are worthy of a place amongst other international greats such as Stanslavsky, Brecht, and even their once friend and neighbour- Boal.

In a research project such as this, I am finding that it is by exploring the problems we encounter in the practice that we make discoveries into the theory. Perhaps the term problem is too harsh a word for this instance- not so much a problem, more an area of slight confusion- which occurred when I was trying to figure out how to promote these workshops. The issue arose when I was having difficulty promoting the workshops to both the Drama students of Goldsmiths University and the dance students of the Laban Centre- without the hastle of producing two sets of flyers. After hearing me moan on about this complex problem my DJ Alex asked me a question that got me thinking ‘Emma, are you trying to teach actors to become dancers? Or dancers to become actors?’

Alex is not the only one confused by what exactly it is I am trying to create with this group- it seems every time I speak about this theatre company to an English-man/woman they look back confused and question me about whether it is not in fact a dance troupe? Certainly when I try and explain exactly what goes on in the workshops the group seems to hold a much greater resemblance to a company of dancers rather than actors. We work to music using a DJ, we create the aesthetic performance not through dialogue but through movement, and because what we create is directed by music- the scenes inevitably occur through dance.

Funnily enough the whole time I workshopped with Tá Na Rua in Brazil I never questioned the legitimacy of the term ‘ator’ when it was used by Amir as he sat in a plastic chair explaining to the group the methodology of his work whilst we lay strewn across the floor after what was essentially an intensive 3 hour dance off. Though I lay dripping with sweat, having just attempted the samba, the salsa, the tango, some afro, a touch of ballet, contemporary jazz and a side of funk all before lunch- I felt every bit a Tá Na Rua ‘ator’ not dancer.

I was an ‘ator’, because by performing these techniques I was not leaning the steps to the samba, or how to perform a good pirouette but rather how to act without direction on impulse, in an environment that offered complete freedom of physical expression without the hindrance of words or dialogue. Once you develop this ability then the theatre really starts to take shape. Scenes are created by the Tá Na Rua actors not merely by the dancing but by how they create the entire mise-en-scene. The costumes and props when used must have relevance, levels should be explored, colours must be co-ordinated, movement sequenced, facial expressions appropriate. Tá Na Rua is ‘teatro sem arquitetura (theatre without architecture), dramaturgia sem literature (drama without literature), actor sem papel (actor without paper). Actors are not simply enjoying a chance to dance to their hearts content but rather discovering how to work together as a collective in order to mutually and spontaneously direct a piece of theatre. When this is achieved the overall effect of the performance is outstanding- an entire society can be created before your eyes wherein you can witness characters, places, romance, death, class-divisions- you name it, anything can be made possible!

Creating scenes with this level of complexity is something which is I am all to ready to admit still along way off for my group. Tá Na Rua actors can take months, even years before they have mastered these techniques- but I know it is possible and from what I have so far seen I know there is hope! The difficulty arises when perhaps due to my inability to briefly sum up what exactly these techniques are and who can do them- we get stuck in a situation wherein people question whether they are learning to become a dancer or an actor.

This problem I feel is particularly resonant in the UK because I believe that we have a strong tendency to place actors and dancers in two different categories. I know you could argue that they cross over within the field of musical theatre wherein people become trained up into being all singing, all dancing all acting geniuses but even so enter any drama school and you will see that dancing and acting remain taught in separate places- by separate tutors- and are generally considered separate (not that I have been to one- I’m just going from what I saw on Fame!). The notion of spending time dancing in order to learn how to become a better actor seems perhaps a bit silly- although I would like to call it radical!

In Brazil this notion that you are either an actor or a dancer unless you work with musical theatre is not quite so apparent. The fact that people generally learn to dance from an early age (any Brazilian kid can samba me right off the floor) means that dance can hold a much stronger role in performance, reflective of the fact it is such an integral part of Brazilian culture. Certainly in work I have done with other Brazilian theatre companies- such as the Centro do Teatro do Oprimido Rio. There was never an eyebrow raised when the CTO jokers decided to integrate dancing into drama rehearsals. I have worked with Theatre of the Oppressed techniques in both London and Rio and the strongest difference I felt was that in Rio I was expected not only to act but also to sing and to dance. This is particularly true in their current practice which follows theories in Boals last book ‘Estetica do Oprimido’- a work which though written at the end of Boal’s carreer is seen (by the CTO) to lay the essential framework to all Theatre of the Oppressed techniques. The Estetica do Oprimido believes that ‘ser humana ser artista’ -to be human is to be an artist. In order to clarify the significance of this statement I must refer back to work I have done in the UK with Theatre of the Oppressed techniques, wherein the Boalian goals of liberating the oppressed in society by developing their critical senses and encouraging debate was always achieved through acting techniques. In Rio by following the Estectica do Oprimido- the oppressed are taught how to develop their ‘pensimento sensivel’ sensitive thinking and ‘pensimento simbolico’ symbolic thinking by experimenting with a range of different art forms- so the Boalian actor becomes artist by working with music, dance, fine art, poetry/literature as well as acting techniques. As the theatre is an art form which can use a range of different art forms in it’s stenography what occurred was that the group performing would also be whom had designed and made the scenery, costumes, written the dialogue and music, they were also the musicians and the singers, the dancers as well as the actors. When working with groups from the CTO Rio this method worked very effectively, made easier perhaps given that the cultural environment is one which as we discussed last- does not separate professional and unprofessional in the same way we do in the UK. However- keeping to the thoughts spinning around my head this week- I feel it serves to demonstrate how in Brazil there is much greater cross-over in the various art forms, each one being depended upon the other and the notion of being an artist- is not necessarily someone who lives their life chained to a single art form but it can be someone how chooses to live creatively, and is therefore open to exploring all artistic avenues. Place this back into a Tá Na Rua context and we begin to understand why the Tá Na Rua actors must learn to get out of the mindset that as an actor they are only there to act. To be able to produce performance spontaneously, without pre-direction they must learn to do more than act. It is taking on a Brazilian mentality that as an actor you are also an artist, who can therefore be a musician, a dancer, a stenographer because you have mastered the ability to create.

This method of producing performance by developing your ‘artistic’ skills is something which can perhaps be related to the work of Growtowski and principles the better actor. (Although this is something that I will only feel comfortable exploring in greater depth once I have read more into Growtowski) At any rate it is certainly something which I believe should be developed in artistic practice over here which is why I feel so strongly about running Tá Na Deptford workshops in the UK, because I feel it offers performers a training method which can be incredibly useful.

So how is my group so far dealing with this sudden juxtaposition of various forms? How are they finding turning up to a workshop run by a ‘South East Street Theatre Company’ and then offered no guidance with regards to how they should act; left instead to listen to the music and from this start to dance. Well part of the success so far is that the group has comprised not of professional actors but has been predominantly dance students. I was encouraged to strongly promote this to the Laban dance school after the first ever workshop I ran- in a rehearsal studio in Islington felt somewhat flat, given that the trained actors in attendance tended not to have the confidence, ability or stamina to perform well to music. By filling a room with dancers- particularly Laban dancers who are famous for their unconventionality, has meant that sessions have taken off well because the participants have a good ability to physically create with the music. Their fitness levels means they can continue for long enough to produce a variety of different scenes, and their dance training means they can achieve fantastic shapes and sequences with their bodies. What has impressed me about the dancers that have been in attendance at the workshops so far has also been their ability to create wild, often abstract personas using the costumes and props provided. The more experimental the participants are willing to be with the costumes, the greater the aesthetic impact- which gives the group a fantastic selling point for hiring out to alternative club-nights in London.

To test run this theory we took the group to a night happening at an underground club in London to perform at a costume party called ‘DIY with D&C’. With more and more London clubs wanting to offer something a bit ‘different’ to their punters- I think putting Tá Na Deptford out there as a club night performance troupe is a good way to go. The alternative night scene around London town is exactly the kind of environment where Tá Na Deptford can flourish. It offers for the group a space to go wild with the costumes, pump up the music and release inhibitions. At such nights it is not just accepted for people to be a bit theatrical, a bit wacky, a bit controversial- it is encouraged- the perfect conditions to break out Tá Na Deptford. And our pop-up workshop and our final performance with band Dimbleby and Capper went down a storm! We offered people not only something wild, beautiful and skilled to watch passively but by contributing the general artistic ambiance of the place- I feel we helped people attending the night to feel they were in an environment wherein they are able let go of some of their own inhibitions as well. Because of this I think promoters will love us. Because of this I think we have a selling point in London.

However, does going down this route of club-night performers mean we are loosing the direction, changing the method, ignoring the philosophy of Tá Na Rua- taking it from it’s social theatre roots and turning it into some kind of ponsy avant-guarde dance troupe- which can only be enjoyed by the cool kids in London town? I don’t think so. Yes we are changing Tá Na Rua- we are adapting it to an entirely new cultural context- and experimenting with it down new paths wherein it might be able to flourish. We are still at the start of our journey and the goal at the moment is quite simply to find out how Tá Na Deptford can survive in this city. How it can attract people to it. How it can actually create performance And finally how it can make money- because I can’t keep funding this out my back pocket- even a Deptford dealer like myself must learn to draw the line somewhere. It is not our fault that UK actors which have come into contact with Tá Na Deptford have tended to falter at because of its lack of structure, its insistence on physical performance, its lack of script. Let us appreciate that the dancers we have attracted have so far embraced this opportunity to let go, dress up, and act on impulse and that they seem keen to take things further. However the future of this is not a dance troupe- it is a performance group that can create theatre which impacts our society. And for this we need more than dancers- we need dancers that can act. By this I mean dancers that can create characters and work as a collective to build scenes- that place the protagonist against the antagonist, that expose the truths of societies, that take us on an emotional journey, that offer us essentially pure theatre!

So come forth all you dancers, since you appear physically and mentally able to perform impulsively to music, come join us for our Wednesday Workshops- and step up to the challenge of becoming a Ta Na Deptford actor!

Workshops: every week at the Amersham Arms in New Cross from 8pm.

First workshop: Can Brits be impulsive?- Porque não?

Last week was Tá Na Deptford’s first official workshop following the Manifesta launch and I was glad to see a mixture of old and new faces turning up for what I had ambivalently promoted as a ‘Happening’!

Happy to have some new faces as it proves the word is spreading. Relieved to have old faces as it takes some of the pressure off me- the more people who understand the basic techniques, the less I would have to dictate. I was encouraged that the new people were willing to leave the comfort of their homes, step out into the night and head up the dingy back stairwell of the Amersham Arms pub - to enter the unknown realm of Tá Na Deptford. My concern arose when the moment people entered the space they felt compelled to find me and tell me that they were not going to participate, that they were either not actors or dancers or that they were unsuitably dressed for a practical workshop and would I mind if they stayed at the back and just watched. Of course I don't mind! It doesn't matter to me what people do with themselves (so long as it does not affect the performance in a negative way), people can partake, or sit at the back and get slowly pissed for all they like- there is never any compulsion to do anything in a Tá Na Deptford workshop.

This is an essential part of the Tá Na Rua philosophy, which creates the backbone of our group. We Tá Na Deptfordians do things because want we want to. We follow our impulses- because of this the TND performance always has an incredibly life - fuelled by the energy emitted from a collective of performers doing precisely what they want, uplifted by their own spirits and giving it all they got! On the outside I pretended not to care about such attitudes and when people approached me asking for permission to not partake in whatever was about to happen I could only ensure them that there would never be any pressure on my part to force people into the practical work, that I would not be offering formal direction and intended to keep things as relaxed as possible. However inside I felt concerned- how are we to make successful performances within these workshops if people arrive having already decided not to partake?

When I first hatched the scheme to start up Tá Na Rua workshops up in an English context I expected people to encounter difficulty with the notion of working completely without direction in an environment were you are free to do what you want. One could argue that Brazil is a country that works more to the beat of this rhythm, certainly in my own experience out there I found a much more 'can do' than 'can't do' attitudes amongst the people I lived, worked and played with. If fact the very idea of a Brazlian person entering a happening above a bar and immediately seeking out the authority figure and asking permission to not partake in whatever might go on seems utterly ludicrous. This Brazilian ability to just do things, without concerning themselves with such worries as whether they ought to do it or whether they can do it, is something which while I would not condone to all aspects of our lives I would certainly try and encourage within the field of the arts.

This notion that we can perhaps learn by how the Brazlians approach arts/ culture in our own artistic practice was re-enforced for me when I attended a seminar this weekend entitled ‘POINTS OF CONTACT: transformational arts practices in Britain and Brazil’ ran by People’s Palace Projects. One point that came up which caught my attention was related to how the two countries define 'professional' and 'non-professional' artsists and how this affects their levels of social engaments. In Brazil, it is generally acknowleged that everyone has the right to be an artist, there is far less concern for who is the professional or the non- professional which I believe takes a great deal of the pressure off those who just wish to engage in a bit of cultural activity as they do not have to concern themselves with achieving any kind of artistic excellence.

Looking back on my first experiences of Tá Na Rua in Rio, I can see how the Brazilian approach to outsider engagement gave me the confidence to enter myself into such an alien performance activity. Having stumbled across a Tá Na Rua workshop one week, and when I say stumbled I mean hearing some crazy music coming out of a run down building in Lapa- entering through open side-door and climbing a dishevelled stairwell- uninvited. Once inside I did not only enjoy spectating but also began performing (uninvited) with the group- an experience which was in every sense Maravihoso, as Amir would say! Off the back of my apparently un-European courageousness I then got actually invited to take part in their professional workshops and from then on continued to climb that disheveled staircase a few times a week until the day I left. The idea of not only gatecrashing but throwing yourself unasked into a professional theatre company rehearsal seems utter madness here in London! Why had it been so easy to walk up those stairs and begin performing with a group I had never seen before? Why, when confronted with a group of Tá Na Rua actors (who make up a very professional theatre company) did I feel it was OK for me to take part in their unique rehearsal? Why? Well to coin one of my most used Portuguese phrases- porque não? (why not?)

The truth is I do not blame first timers at a Tá Na Deptford workshop for not arriving with the kind of spontaneous adventurism that I believe I exhibited in Rio that first night I met Tá Na Rua. If I am honest I treat life differently when I am in this city to the way I do in Rio, every situation- from a job interview to a neighbour's BBQ- I approach differently. Handling my day-to-day life with more care, greater order and less spontaneity. However Tá Na Deptford is a theatre group that intends to create performance fuelled by spontaneous, impulsive creativity and so I have to some way find away of creating such conditions for the group to be able to embrace these techniques.

Currently we are running workshops in a room above a local pub rather than hiring out a dance studio (which I have once tried) for the very reason that we need to be in an environment where non-professional can enter and be comfortable enough to create (unintentionally) amazing performance. We are promoting our workshops as creative ‘happenings’ rather than formal workshops in the hope that people who arrive do not feel they need to have any prior performance training. We are advertising around local cafes, shops and cultural centres rather than arts websites in the hope of picking up some eager non-professionals who are interesting in trying their hand at something a bit different. Yet all this is clearly still not enough if from the moment people enter the room they choose to opt out of the activity before it has even commenced. Luckily, our first non-official workshop which we branded as a MANIFESTA party rather than anything remotely formal- managed to lure the participants into their comfort zone enough for them to produce fantastic Tá Na Rua style workshop scenes. And luckily some of the Manifesta crowd had returned this week for the Wednesday Happening. Amazingly, without me needing to offer any kind of direction the Manifesta group set about exploring the ever-expanding costume collection as our DJ began spinning some tracks and soon they were performing. And after a while, the first timers stopped worring about whether I would tell them to join in and more curious about what the costumes would look like on them and soon, thanks in part by the impulsive performance created by the manifesta group, and in part by the fantasiticly catchy tunes being played by our DJ they got up and began performing.

It was a fantastically successful first workshop and I think you'll agree the proof is in not the pudding put the pictures!