pianoBoat plays on the East Coast of Tas

the pianoBoat project, in Tasmania for a wee bit of work. We had a fortuitous spell of fine weather on the way down the East Coast. First stop after fleeing the ferry at Devonport was the Fingal Valley, where we got to test out exactly how effective the boat is at catching even a modest breeze ...

At Friendly Beaches near the famous Freycinet Peninsular, the pianoBoat project (under the care and guidance of our photographer and close friend Toby Story) braved austere finger-freezing temperatures and dazzling breath-snatching beauty. Toby managed to compose some exquisite images, in defiance of his injured knee and the severe sleep-deprivation of all concerned. We all had to keep pinching ourselves to reassure against the impression of super-reality conveyed by the remarkable calm and clarity of the skies.

We set the pianoBoat up in the dunes and tested out the new battery and power inverter with the data-projector, attracting some very curious (and curiously silent) observers in the process. We'd lost most of the twilight by the time we'd ironed out the many technical hitches along the way, but this led to some wonderful photos of the milky way behind a light-painted boat. The difficulty of sitting still for minutes on end was more than matched by the technical challenges of timing exposures in-camera for the projector, torch, and starlight.

Simply witnessing the extraordinary sky above a becalmed Tasman Sea, complete with the crispest views of the Milky Way with the Magellanic Clouds and other distant galaxies, made it all worthwhile.

The spectacular weather held, even as the mast occasionally threatened to give way on the sometimes exposed ride out of the National Park...

With many thanks to Toby Story for all of the above photographs.

Stills from a short kids show pianoBoat performed at the ArtPlay Winter Caberet in June.

April Workshops at ArtPlay

pianoBoat landed at ArtPlay in April for a two day workshop with 12 kids involving all things shadow. Games, puppet making, story devising and a quick performance for other participants and families made for two very full days!

Overflowing with drawings and ideas for creatures, the kids quickly had paper and card flying as they created their shadow creatures. Then there turned out to be just as many creative ideas for the narrative - opinions ran high, but scripts were eventually negotiated – although leaving precious little time for performance preparation. Shadow-puppeteering on the pianoBoat sail with live accordion accompaniment and narration, the kids gave life to their puppets and stories. Here's a few quick snaps from amid all the action!