More than an Add-On

5
th
National Forum for Performance in Cultural Institutions

Sydney, Thursday 22
nd
April 2010


Program & Registration Information
Updated 19 March 2010


Performance examples from the Powerhouse Museum


The Forum is proudly hosted by:







About the Forum

International Museum Theatre Asia Pacific (IMTAP) is excited to present the 5
th
National
Forum on Performance in Cultural Institutions on Thursday 22
nd
April 2010. This will be the
first time that the Forum is to be held in Sydney and is proudly hosted by the Australian National
Maritime Museum and the Powerhouse Museum. The Forum will provide an opportunity for
those passionate about all forms of performance in cultural institutions come together to
explore, debate, discuss and connect ideas and practice.
IMTAP Mission & Philosophy
IMTAP aims to represent and offer services to all of its members and also to partner members
in IMTAL Americas and IMTAL Europe.

IMTAP is
the formal conduit for all museum theatre practitioners
the overseeing organising team for forums and conferences
the host for events with workshops, master classes and special guests
advocate for performance in cultural organisations
a promoter of academic rigour in the area of museum theatre

Forum Aims
To provide an opportunity for creative, high quality, and interactive presentations.
To celebrate the accomplishments of and provide showcase opportunities for the
practitioners in our sector.
To build on presentations from previous forums with a focus on looking at where the sector
has travelled over the past few years and to explore where to from here.
An opportunity to network with other practitioners in sector.

Target Audience
The Forum is aimed at anyone involved in the development and delivery of performance in
cultural institutions. This includes education and public program staff and volunteers in
museums, galleries, zoos, historic sites and parks; independent contractors who are
commissioned to deliver performances in cultural institutions; practitioners in the traditional
realms of performance who have always wanted to perform in a cultural institution. It will also
interest senior management in cultural institutions, policy makers and funding bodies so that
they gain a greater understanding of this sector.

Forum Theme
The theme for the 5th National Forum is More than an Add-On. Performance has
traditionally been seen as an afterthought add-on to an exhibition, but now it is seen as an equal
medium in its own right. Looking at the past and into the future this forum will look at the rising
profile of performance in cultural institutions in Australia.

Does your performance attract as many, or perhaps more, visitors than an exhibition but only
gets a fraction of the funding?
Is performance listed in your institutions strategic plan alongside exhibitions, publications
and the new emerging field of social media?
Have you ever walked past an interactive in an exhibition and thought to yourself we could
have had a performer in this space to get across the same concept?
Do your performances provide an opportunity for access to your collection that other
traditional methods do not?

If you have asked yourself any of the above questions this is the forum for you!


Registration

$75 Individuals, Students, Volunteers, Members Museum Australia IMTAP SIG,
Staff members of organisations with less than 10 staff,
2 or more registrations from one organisation

$90 Staff members of organisations with more than 10 staff $75 until 31
st
March

Registration Fee includes the following:
Forum attendance
Catered morning & afternoon tea
Lunch
Finger food during Pecha Kucha in the Pub

Registration Fee does not include the following:
Accommodation
Drinks at the Pecha Kucha in the Pub (these can be purchased over the bar)
Dinner on Thursday we suggest visiting Darling Harbour with fellow delegates

To minimise administration it is recommended that payment is made online by visiting:

http://www.powerhousemuseum.com/bookings/imtap.php

Please fill out the registration form at the back of this pack and submit it to:
Michael Van Tiel Forum Co-Convenor
Mail: PO Box K346, Haymarket, New South Wales, 1238
Fax: (02) 9217 0441
Email: [email protected]

Accommodation & Dining Options

The Museums are easily accessible by most hotels in the Sydney CBD in particular the Darling
Harbour and Chinatown precincts. We recommend visiting the Darling Harbour website for
exploring your options: http://www.darlingharbour.com A range of dining options in Darling
Harbour can also be found on this website.

Venue Locations

The Forum is being held in 3 locations:

1. Powerhouse Museum 500 Harris Street, Ultimo

2. Australian National Maritime Museum 2 Murray Street, Darling Harbour

3. Harlequin Inn - 152 Harris St, Pyrmont







Getting to and from the Venues

Please remember that the forum begins at the Powerhouse Museum . Here are some options
on getting to the Powerhouse:

Take the train to Central station, take the Devonshire tunnel exits and follow the Ultimo
Pedestrian Network behind UTS & ABC. Turn left at Ultimo Road and then a short walk
down Harris Street.

If your bus terminates at Railway Square it is a short walk down Harris Street to the
Museum. The 501 bus departs opposite Town Hall and stops just before the Museum.

Travel by Monorail or the Light Rail to their respective Paddys Market stations and
then walk across the Footbridge to the Museum.

Taxis can drop off on Harris Street right outside the Museum.


Take a State Ferry or Matilda Rocket to Aquarium Wharf and walk through Darling
Harbour to the Museum.


Park at the Entertainment Centre Car Park for discounted $12 all day parking. Parking
tickets must be validated at the Museum cloaking counter before you leave.




To get to the Australian National Maritime Museum you will need to take the footbridge past
the carpark and down the ramp alongside the Entertainment Centre (yellow arrow). Wander
through Darling Harbour and find yourself a nice spot to sit and have lunch. ANMM is behind
Pyrmont Bridge. Alternatively you can catch the Monorail to Harbourside Station .

As there is walking involved between the venues, please wear appropriate footwear and if it is
forecast to rain please bring an umbrella. Allow at least 15 minutes walk time.







Program Outline

Thursday 22 April 2010

The day begins at the Powerhouse Museum with the Keynote presentation from Alana
Valentine. Next is the first of our concurrent seminar sessions followed by a lively panel
discussion and the second seminar session. Now armed with a lunchbox full of yummy food
make your way into Darling Harbour and find a relaxing spot with fellow delegates to eat lunch.
Or if you are interested in finding out what IMTAP is all about grab some lunch and stick around
for the IMTAP AGM. But make sure you make it to the Australian National Maritime Museum for
a performance of I, Bunyip. Then get ready for the afternoon extended seminar session and our
Great Debate Is Museum Theatre just an Add-On? We then head up to the nearby
Harlequin Inn for our Pecha Kucha in the Pub where you will hear about the great performance
work being done by fellow delegates. Then we suggest dinner down in Darling Harbour.

Time Activity Location
8.30am Registration & Welcome Coffee Powerhouse Learning Centre
9.00am Welcome Target Theatre
9.10am Keynote Target Theatre
10.00am Seminar Sessions 1 Powerhouse Learning Centre
10.50am Morning Tea Powerhouse Learning Centre
11.10am Panel Session Target Theatre
12.10am Seminar Session 2 Powerhouse Learning Centre
1.00pm IMTAP Annual General Meeting Powerhouse Learning Centre
1.00pm Lunch & Walk to Australian National Maritime
Museum via Darling Harbour
Darling Harbour
2.15pm Performance The Theatre, ANMM
2.45pm Seminar Sessions 3 Locations given on day
4.00pm Afternoon Tea Tasman Light Gallery
4.20pm Great Debate The Theatre
5.00pm Forum Wrap Up The Theatre
5.30pm Pecha Kucha in the Pub Harlequin Inn
7.30pm Dinner Darling Harbour


Trash or Treasure Show, Australian National Maritime Museum


Photo: Lorrie Graham

Keynote Speaker Alana Valentine

A Lifeline of Meaning
Much has been made of performance's ability to be yet another alluring interpretive tool,
especially for the education department, where pedagogic messages can be delivered amid the
colour and movement. But in this keynote address, Alana Valentine explores how curator-led
works of performance might be conceived of as the centrepiece of an exhibition plan - a
distillation of the curatorial team's perspectives, a provision of contested viewpoints and a
lifeline of meaning from which visitors can hang their own continuing curiosity and engagement.

Alana Valentine has created site-specific theatre and films for the
Museum of Sydney (The Witnesses), the Australian National
Maritime Museum (The Prospectors and The Mapmakers
Brother), the Australian War Memorial (Radio Silence), Sydney
Jewish Museum (Moses Joseph), Sydney Observatory (Revolution,
Observation and A Leap of Faith), and an 8 week sold out
education season at Sydneys Hyde Park Barracks Museum
(Ratticus and Reidar). She also wrote the screenplay for a site-
specific film which was installed on waterscreens in Darling Harbour
(Reef Dreaming). The recipient of a Graduate Diploma in Museum
Studies (with Merit) from the University of Sydney she creates award-
winning site specific work which cannily combines historical
information with entertainment and artistry.

Alanas writing has been nominated for a NSW Premier's Literary Award and a prestigious two
Helpmann Awards, best New Australian Work and Best Play, for Parramatta Girls. She is the recipient
of the 2004 QLD Premiers Award for best Drama Script, 2003 NSW Writers Fellowship, the 2002
Rodney Seaborn Playwrights Award, and a International Writing Fellowship at Shakespeares Globe
Theatre in London. She has also received a Victorian Green Room Award nomination, a 2001
commendation for the Louis Esson Prize, two AWGIE Awards, a residency at the Banff Playwrights
Conference in Canada, the ANPC/New Dramatists Award in NYC, a Churchill Fellowship for England
and Ireland and a NSW Premiers Award.

Her stage plays include Shafana and Aunt Sarrinah (Alex Buzo Company), Eyes to the Floor
(Outback Theatre for Young People), Parramatta Girls (Company B, Belvoir St Theatre), Singing the
Lonely Heart (New Theatre), Love Potions (New Theatre), Butterfly Dandy (Women on a Shoestring),
Covenant (Powerhouse Youth Theatre), The Prospectors (Monkeybaa/STC, ANMM), Run Rabbit
Run, (Company B, Belvoir St Theatre) Titanias Boy (Riverina Theatre Company, Wagga Wagga and
Griffith), Savage Grace (Steamworks/La Mama, Performing Lines, Subiaco Arts Centre, Blue Room,
Religion, Literature and Arts Festival, Adelaide Festival Centre) Row of Tents (New York Fringe Festival
2001), The Conjurers (Playbox, La Boite), Ozone (Brisbane Festival), Spool Time (Vitalstatistix) and
Swimming the Globe (Freewheels, Northern NSW Tour, Commonwealth Games Cultural Festival,
Malaysia).


Galileo, Charles Darwin, Caroline Herschel and Isaac Newton discuss the marvels of science and discovery!
Scenes from Sydney Observatorys productions of Revolution, Observation and A Leap of Faith.




Seminar Sessions 1 (Powerhouse)

Please indicate your seminar choice on your registration form

1A - Think Outside the Black Box: how youth theatre thrives on cultural, historical, site
specific work
Suzanne Hauser, Amy Hardingham and Rebecca Cooen. Outback Theatre for Young People
As a producing theatre working in regional communities separated by long stretches of saltbush
and pastureland, Outback Theatre for Young People has become adept at site-specific theatre.
The company has performed in woolsheds, sports ovals, main streets and museums, weaving
local culture and history together with the creativity of young people. Imagination and a desire
for exploration make young people the ideal artists to interpret cultural and historical material.
No black box required.

1B - Museum Theatre in Education Providing creative access to our collections
Lyn Beasley & Peter Wilkins, National Museum of Australia
Museum Theatre and Theatre in Education seem an automatic fit so it is not surprising that
often the strongest support for Museum Theatre comes from the Education section of the
Museum although Museum Theatre is often seen more as a Public Program than an
educational activity. In this paper we examine the fit between Museum Theatre and Education
and explore ways of strengthening the ties and making Museum Theatre an integral part of the
education program.

1C - Japan Australia Science Performers Exchange 2009
Patrick Helean, Questacon; Chris Krishna-Pillay, CSIRO Education (Vic); Bernard Caleo,
Museum Victoria; Yuko Okayama, Miraikan; Megumi Ohashi, Hamamatsu Science Museum
This is an exploration of the ongoing international collaboration between Science Performers in
Australia and Japan with the purpose to strengthen ties between institutions and individual
presenters and to enhance science theatre and performance in both countries. Find out the ins
and outs of this unique creative collaboration presented by participants in the 2009 program
from both Australia and Japan. *The program was sponsored by the Australia Japan Foundation


Seminar Sessions 2 (Powerhouse)

Please indicate your seminar choice on your registration form

2A - Libraries loud and live: creating a scene at the State Library of Queensland.
Tammy Morley, State Library of Queensland
`The State Library is in a unique position. Whilst collection development remains core to
strategic aims, access to collections, whether directly or via exhibition or performance, is critical
to ongoing library programming and content development. The library has the capacity to
combine the best of collections, staff expertise, scope for development of partnerships and
audience development into programs that support and nurture the inclusion and interaction of
children and young people within the environment of a cultural institution. In addition, with its
commitment to remote and regional clients, the State Library is empowered to take our
programs out to a wider audience. One which utilises existing infrastructure such as public
libraries, schools and Indigenous Knowledge Centres to build audience capacity throughout
Queensland.




2B - Telling the Other Side of the Story
Barry Kay, Sovereign Hill
Sovereign Hill is known as an outdoor museum offering a lively celebration of Australias gold
rush heritage. However, for most of its existence, only the relatively non-controversial sides of
the story have been told. Recently, Sovereign Hill has begun presenting a new interpretive
theatre piece, The Anti-Chinese Immigration League, which focuses on racist attitudes and
government policy. This presentation will explore staff and audience reaction to a piece which
marks a bold new direction for Sovereign Hill.

2C - The parallel universes of drama education and museum theatre
Patrick Watt, National Sports Museum
To get to the performance we have had to come from somewhere and in some places there are
two paths to go by. In some places internationally there are tow forms of theatre that are taught:
drama the window to the world or theatre art of staging drama. There are many museum
theatre practitioners who dont know the value of Heathcote, Bolton, or Boal. Now its the time to
rediscover.


Seminar Sessions 3 (Maritime)

Please indicate your seminar choice on your registration form

3A - Nurturing Critical Literacies through Role Performance in Museums & Cultural
Heritage Sites
Jerry Boland, Charles Sturt University
This paper discusses how practitioners can reconceptualise the ways in which they construct
didactic interactions with visitors. Concepts concerning what Baz Kershaw (1999) calls the
radical in performance are introduced to show how role performance in museums and cultural
heritage sites can function as launch pads for promoting the growth of enhanced capabilities for
critical reasoning, critical action, and critical self-reflection (Barnett 1997).

3B - No laughing Matter: Its immersively serious
Simon Dalton, Old Melbourne Gaol Crime & Justice Experience
The rising road toll among young, inexperienced drivers = no laughing matter.
The rising rate of youth incarceration = no laughing matter.
Put the two together and get Ive killed my best mate, the upgraded courtroom drama for senior
education groups. Learn how this collaborative project with the Traffic Accident Commission is
bringing the court to life with audience performance and multimedia that can offer insight and
understanding on the road to reducing the carnage and wasted lives.


Panel Session

Meeting the needs of all involved Artist, audience and museum.
Co-Chairs: Nadya Tkachenko and Michelle Sanders, Museum Victoria
Panel Members: Helen Whitty, Powerhouse Museum, Kim Carpenter, Theatre of Image
When working with performers how do museums balance information with a desire for creative
interpretation? How can museums best communicate and collaborate with performers, writers,
directors and other artists to ensure messages are clear, performers maintain artistic integrity
and audiences are entertained and inspired?




Performance


I, Bunyip
Presented by Erth, in association with the Australian National Maritime Museum.

Meet lizardy Potkoorok, the shadowy Turongs, the cave dwelling Nyols and the mermaid-like
Yawkyawks as we explore the oldest myths and stories across Aboriginal cultures in this
interactive family theatre show. Devised to expand upon the themes and explore the Indigenous
content of the museums temporary exhibition Mythic Creatures Dragons, Unicorns &
Mermaids, the show represents stories of Indigenous creatures from across Australia.

The Great Debate

Join the Powerhouse Museums Derek
Williamsons as we debate the Forum
theme More than an Add On.

As practioners we are all for the
affirmative or are we? Do we have
some dissenters amongst our midst?
Or do you want to demonstrate your
fine performance skills by debating for
the negative.

We are currently looking for Forum
delegates to be part of the debate. If
this interests you please contact Derek
on [email protected] before he
contacts you!
Cogs Marvellous Machine, Powerhouse Museum, April 2007.

Cover page image caption (clockwise from top left):
Pixel & Friends, Co-presented with The Theatre of Image, April 2008
The Paper Bag Princess, Co-presented with Zeal Theatre, January 2008
Cogs and the Dragon, April 2009
K-Way Show, part of Sydney Design 07, Co-presented with NDS Productions, August 2007
Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, October 2009
The Pregnant Man, part of Ultimo Science Festival, August 2008


Pecha Kucha in the Pub

Join us at the nearby Harlequin Inn for our Pecha Kucha in the Pub where you will hear about the great
performance work being done by fellow delegates. Pecha Kucha is a form of presentation where the
presenter has 20 slides and 20 seconds to talk to each slide.

Light finger food will be provided. Drinks available from a cash bar.

Audience response system and the Climate Change Show
Kelly Osowski, Questacon Outreach
In July 2009, the Questacon Science Squad, an outreach program of QuestaconThe National Science
and Technology Centre, presented their innovative and entertaining Climate Change Show at the
Australian Museum. Designed to compliment the Museums Climate Change exhibition, the show used
an electronic audience response system, to encourage audience members to think for themselves and to
make choices that could change the world!

Mingling with a Grim Past
Simon Dalton, Old Melbourne Gaol Crime & Justice Experience
The old Melbourne Gaol has a grizzly past. What happens when characters from its past meet its
contemporary visitors? Unlike panels and objects, our gaol cameo performances are living, breathing,
walking, talking reminders that within these walls the past is alive where trepidation gives way
decisively to insight. A recent add on that illuminates the darker side like nothing else.

My Library Adventure
Bethany Leong, State Library of Victoria
Designed for students from Years Prep 2, My Library Adventure follows the story of Jessie, a young
girl who is exploring the State Library of Victoria for the first time. This presentation will look at the
challenges involved in creating a program for the Librarys youngest audience ever, and the power of
Museum Theatre in interpreting institutions not designed for children.

Kimota! The Magic of a Science Story
Sean Elliot, CSIRO Education, Victoria
The gulf between a science demonstration and a magic trick where one intends to expose a truth while
the other deliberately mystifies on the surface looks unfathomable. Examining the anatomy of a good
magic trick will help create memorable science presentations, and ultimately turn the audiences into
science communicators as they relate the story to other people. Participants in Kimota! will also be
audience to some damn good card tricks.

The Science of Endurance
David Cannell, Questacon
In 1914 Sir Ernest Shackleton and his crew whilst attempting to cross the Antarctic became trapped in
sheets of ice several hundred kilometres offshore. Their ship The Endurance was crushed and the men
spent over a year on the ice before attempting escape in lifeboats. This presentation is a combination of
diary readings, original photographs and an explanation of the science behind the conditions and how
the men managed to survive.

Zoe & Cogs Not Dead Yet!
Michael Van Tiel, Powerhouse Museum
At the last Performance Forum I reported on the imminent death of the Powerhouse Museum mascots
Zoe & Cogs. But watch as they come from the grave to star in their very own shows!

Why Bunyip? Aye, Bunyip
Scott Andrew, ANMM and Scott Wright, Erth
In October 2009, the two Scotts travelled to Maningrida in north east Arnhem Land as guests of
Maningrida Arts & Culture to talk to senior artists and community members and research stories about
Yawk Yawks - Aboriginal freshwater mermaids - for the ongoing development of the show I, Bunyip.
Discover the methodology behind the show & the research trip, and all of the (super)natural forces which
nearly derailed, but ultimately guided, their journey.


More than an Add-On
5
th
National Forum for Performance in Cultural Institutions
Sydney, Thursday 22
nd
April 2010

TAX INVOICE & REGISTRATION FORM

REGISTRATION FEES (includes GST)
$75 Individuals, Students, Volunteers, Members Museum Australia IMTAP SIG,
Staff members of organisations with less than 10 staff
$90 Staff members of organisations with more than 10 staff now $75 until 31 March

Please complete this form by ticking applicable boxes and entering the required information

PARTICIPANT DETAILS

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nd
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PAYMENT DETAILS

Our preferred method of payment is via credit card by visiting:
http://www.powerhousemuseum.com/bookings/imtap.php

I have paid online using my credit card. Conf #_______________________________________________

Cheque/money order attached for $__________ made payable to Powerhouse Museum.
Please submit this form to Michael Van Tiel Forum Co-Convenor
Mail: PO Box K346, Haymarket, New South Wales, 1238 Fax: (02) 9217 0441 Email: [email protected]


REGISTRATION: Registration is complete only when full payment is received. Please consider this form a tax invoice once you have paid.
10% GST included. Powerhouse Museum ABN 59 354 516 818

CANCELLATION: Any cancellation or amendments to registration must be advised in writing to the Forum Co-Convenor. Cancellation
prior to conference may incur a $20.00 service fee. Thereafter, no refunds can be given. As an alternative to cancellation, registration can be
transferred to another person without cost or penalty, by notifying the Conference Co-Convenor.