The Big Game | Polyglot Puppet Theatre

Artlink

Victoria

26/10/2008 - 26/10/2008

National Gallery of Victoria - The Great Hall

The Big Game is a gigantic, fun interactive performance and play space for families. Kids participate as tokens in a huge board game, rolling enormous dice, stepping on game tiles and meeting larger-than-life characters that take them from start to finish. Each player faces an interactive terrain of sculptures, puppets, live music, action and art, and must undertake tasks, forwards and backwards movements, rewards and hazards in their quest to make it to the end. There are two ways to experience The Big Game. As a beautiful play space, children and adults can play the game with their own dice and their own teams. As a spectator sport and performance it becomes a play-off, with children as the tokens and the audience as cheer squad. The Big Game has been made in collaboration with children from the Carlton high rise commission flats, drawing on their interpretations of the collection at the National Gallery of Victoria and on their own stories and cultural influences. The Big Game draws on the kids’ responses to games and art, and their interpretation of artworks from the National Gallery of Victoria which form the basis of the visual design of the game itself. The Big Game reflects their lives, their stories, cheek and energy. It explores the board game elements of competition and luck as people are challenged to be satisfied with the lot the dice gives them, treading the path chosen by a random twist of fate. COMMUNITY PROCESS UPDATE - JUNE 2008 Since July 2007, designer and community consultant Geoff Kennedy has been running regular workshops with the children at the Carlton housing commission flats, providing materials, stimulus, visiting the NGV for inspiration, giving them a place to go on a regular basis and connection with other kids. Geoff started working with them almost immediately on the ideas behind The Big Game. The six months of workshop funds in 2007 were provided by a bequest form the family and friends of Geoff Hale - once principal of Carlton Primary School and board member of Polyglot. In addition to the regular workshops, for the past month children from the Carlton Primary School have also been engaged in The Big Game, working with Geoff and with Polyglot's Artlink Manager Mandy Field. On Wednesday 4th June the children participated in a photo shoot as part of the City of Melbourne's The Big Photo involving the tenants of the Carlton Housing Estate. As part of The Big Photo the Carlton primary school children were dressed as their costumed characters from the Game world they have developed through the course of the workshops. A trail of iconic game items led them to the photo shoot where their characters played a game.

The Big Game is supported by Angior Foundation, Besen Family Foundation, City of Melbourne, Helen Macpherson Smith Trust, National Gallery of Victoria, The Ian Potter Foundation and VicHealth.

Geoff Kennedy

Designer/Community Artist

Throughout his career Geoff has worked in a variety of disciplines including painting, assemblage, murals, sculpture, photography (including continuous multi-projection slide installation), painted and three dimensional installation works, set design and construction, puppet design and fabrication, paving design and the production of pictorial community newsletters.

Sue Giles

Director

Sue Giles was appointed as Artistic Director of Polyglot Puppet Theatre in August 2000. While at Polyglot she has broadened the company's puppetry performance base to include community participation and creative processes with children. Before Polyglot she was a freelance writer, director and performer.

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