The Ophelia Project speaks......

Despite setbacks (including being locked out of our studio) The Ophelia Project is really starting to take shape. I have decided to use text to form part of the soundtrack which will be mixed with both music and sound effects. I have been looking at various texts having disregarded, for the moment, directly using Hamlet. This weekend I have been looking at Byron's poems many of which are perfect for The Ophelia Project and my only problem has been selecting the most suitable poems from his amazing wealth of work. I am also looking at Edmund Spenser and Shakespeare's Sonnets.

Rhiannon

www.theromanticrevolution.co.uk

Scratch night at BAC - The Queen's Empire.

Frame making and technical rehearsals at Battersea Arts Centre in preparation of The Queen's Empire which opened the David Lynch themed Scratch night last night (17th September).

There was a great atmosphere at BAC and it was a great setting to perform The Queen's Empire.

Fred The Free One

Hello!

I'm proud to announce that Stone Project which we're working on has a title! Fred The Free One, has its origin... with a The Flinstones cartoon... yes, but that's the case! Work on the first part of the film, are coming to the end. We're doing the last shoots, before we do go to the second part. I would like to share with you some photos, that we did while filming our co- existence with stones. Here you can view all the photos http://picasaweb.google.com/asikdance/StoneProject#

I would love to thank everybody for their involvement in a project so far, for sacrifices such as lack of skin on elbows, fingers, not-nice-smelling stones/dustbins, causing non-intentional make-up, and following my incredible instructions such as "could you stay in the air for 5 seconds, cause I'm doing a photo". Oh, and forgive me that stones are not yummy. Next time we'll make a film about lolliepops.

Joanna

asik_dance@yahoo.com

http://4hands4legs.blog.com

The Ophelia Project continues....

The Ophelia Project continues to grow and develop. Currently, I am investigating the important element in Pre-Raphaelite paintings of the natural world and how I can add this to my piece. That has lead me to experimenting with the natural sounds of birds, water and trees moving in the wind. I have now set the sound of a babbling brook to accompany the section of choreography which is Ophelia by the Water's Edge (see a very short clip at my blog entry for 3rd September). I continue to look at the blending of these elements as the next rehearsal approaches on Saturday. Mother Nature is definitely an important contributor in The Ophelia Project.

Rhiannon

www.theromanticrevolution.co.uk

Regina Fichtner at BAC's The Scratch Festival

Regina Fichtner: “A Homeless Queen”

My name is Regina, I am a Russian-German and I live in the East End of London. My name, my cultural background and my life here in London is an important part of my piece “A Homeless Queen” – A Recall to Catherine the Great.

When Catherine the Great (born in Germany/Prussian) ascended the throne in the 18^th Century in Russia, she started to invite Germans to Russia to build up a new life in her new empire. From this time on a lot of Germans came to Russia to live there, like the past generation of my family did.

After World War II, and before and after the wall fell down in Germany, a lot of German-Russians came back to Germany and to, once again, build a new life.

My piece is about finding a home and (cultural) identity. “A Homeless Queen” is a Remix of the Russian tsar Catherine the Great; the Queen of England; and a reference to my name ‘Regina’, which means “Queen” in Latin.

A Queen’s Empire

The Homeless Queen meets David Lynch

17 September 2009 at 19:30 at Battersea Arts Centre

Artist/Director: Regina Fichtner

Performer: Rhiannon Brace, Sonja Bruehlmann, Regina Fichtner, Satoko Fujishiro,

Stage and Costume Design: Luca Paglia

The mysterious world of Lynch’s “Inland Empire”, his idea of a ‘film in a film’, becomes in this scratch an unknown historical and biographical ‘empire’ of Catherine the Great and the German-Russians, who are caged in a picture frame, a ‘living picture” on stage: “A Queen’s Empire”.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO JOANNA!!!

News on Stone Project

Hi all!

I'm Joanna and I'm quite new to Ophelia Collective... I think is high time to introduce my work!

Right now I'm working on a movement-based film, when we use stones a lot. Stones are playing methaphorical role of unsaid words, which are troubling us, situations which are heavy to forget, memories, which changed our life. Stones are heavy. Stones are hard to remove. Stones ARE existing in our life. In our film, we're dealing with them. We are living with them. And being with them.

And this is the first part of our film. About the second part, I'll talk later, when we'll start filming it.

On the last couple of days, we had quite a productive sessions. I hope you'll enyoj seeing the photos which are available on Picassa here http://picasaweb.google.com/asikdance/StoneProject#

Joanna

Congratulations to Regina to getting Scratch at Battersea Arts Centre!

Rhiannon

The Ophelia Project by Rhiannon Brace

I am a Welsh artist but currently living and making work in London. I studied Drama at Aberystwyth University where I specialised in directing and creating devised pieces of physical theatre. Since graduating I have been taking part in various projects and taking classes in contemporary dance. Recently in contemporary dance, there has been plenty of lively discussion about an apparent lack of female choreographers. In reaction to this discussion, I have formed The Ophelia Collective. The choreographers who form The Ophelia Collective are not comtemporary dancers, but artists with rounded experience and skills of different artistic disciplines.

The Ophelia Collective is also inspired by The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. This is a Sisterhood. A sisterhood created to support each other's work and to give us a voice. A voice that will become louder as we grow.

To commemorate this new collective, I am holding a series of workshops with a diverse group of female performers in order to devise a new piece of physical theatre. This piece is called The Ophelia Project. It draws upon images of Pre-Raphaelite women, and more specifically Ophelia, to create movement.

For more information about my work please see my website: www.theromanticrevolution.co.uk