Small + Loud: taking risks, performance art, and supportive communities
When you’re deep in the process of creating an artistic work, it can be impossible to tell if the project you’ve been working on for months contains real substance, or if it’s becoming a Frankenstein of mismatched ideas. For forms such as sculpture or painting, often one pair of eyes is all you need to move towards a stronger piece, but where do the creators of live performance art air their still emerging, as yet unfinished works? If they’re in Melbourne, Australia, they probably go to Small and Loud.
Hosted in The Channel, a cosy room within Melbourne Arts Centre, Small and Loud is described by its creators Georgia Symons and Olivia Satchell as being “a place where artists can take risks with a safety net.” On the last Wednesday of every month, a selection of still being refined works are performed on stage to a room of eager and enthusiastic audience members. The energy and response from everyone in the room is electric, and it’s here at Small and Loud that you’ll find many hands raised for interactive pieces and huge applause for fledgling works. Recently I interviewed Georgia and Liv to find out more about the genesis of Small and Loud and where they’re taking it next.
Georgia and Liv, tell me how Small and Loud first began.
GEORGIA: Liv and I met one night at the National Young Writers Festival in Newcastle. We hung out all night, walked halfway out of town to find the local heat of the National Poetry Slam, and we decided then and there to start this scratch night. So then we did!
What was the catalyst for Small and Loud? Why is it important to you?
LIV: The two of us sensed a gap in Melbourne’s (and Australia’s) cultural ecology — the few development opportunities available were often inaccessible, with a sense of competition that steered artists away from risk and the possibility of failure. Small and Loud is important to me because I value risk-taking, and risk-taking makes failure an inevitable and extremely useful part of the creating process.
What kind of culture does the performance art scene often encourage? What does Small and Loud offer that’s different?
G: At present, we have an artistic and critical culture that rates artworks out of 5 stars, rather than meeting and experiencing works…so there’s a danger to offering a part of yourself only to have it rated out of 5. We wanted to bring the audience to the centre of [the live performance] experience — creating a community of people who understood what it was to watch and support and provide feedback for works in development.
What’s one of your favourite moments from Small and Loud?
G: One time, one of our performers shaved their head live on stage. That was pretty excellent. Also, in our old venue*, there was this window onto the street and people would always look in through the window from outside, and they would seem very perplexed, or transfixed.
L: My favourite thing about Small & Loud is hearing about people who have met for the first time at the event going on to hang out, and even work together. This alone makes the program worthwhile, in my mind.
[*Their original venue was at The Workers Club in Fitzroy. Small and Loud now meets at The Channel which is located at the Melbourne Arts Centre]
When you’re not running Small and Loud, what other creative things are you doing?
L: Right now, I’m writing and directing a play called my sister feather, which will be on at La Mama Courthouse from the end of May. It is about two middle-aged sisters — Egg and Tilly — who are reunited in a prison visiting centre after an 18-year estrangement.
G: I’m now working on setting up a theatre space in Richmond, and I’m also the lead writer on a video game and the production manager of Melbourne Knowledge Week. I’m also trying to bake more, and have recently done some nice hikes.
If you’re in Melbourne, please add a Small and Loud event to your calendar to experience the magic of in development theatre and cabaret yourself. They run every last Wednesday of the month and can their events can be found here on their Facebook page.
In another exciting development for Small and Loud, Georgia and Liv announced in January 2018 that in a few months they are going to be stepping out of their event leadership role at Melbourne Small and Loud, to make way for some fresh faces in their leadership team. While they’ll still be around, they’ll be turning their energies to taking Small and Loud to new places in Australia. If you’d like more information about the roles and the application process, click through to the Small and Loud website for more details, and to access the application pack. Applications are due by March 5th 2018.
Answers have been edited for length and clarity.
