Sleep/Wake performance will rouse audiences
massey-university
Wed Feb 18 2009 13:00:00 GMT+1300 (New Zealand Daylight Time)
Sleep/Wake performance will rouse audiences
Wednesday, 18 February 2009, 4:01 pm
Press Release: Massey University
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Sleep/Wake performance will rouse audiences
Challenging theatre exploring the science of sleep is set to rouse audiences at Auckland and Wellington.
The collaboration between sleep expert Professor Philippa Gander of Massey University’s Sleep/Wake Research Centre and The Playground theatre company director Sam Trubridge, a Massey performance design tutor, uses science and performance to investigate the world of the sleeping body.
Sleep/Wake, is a revised performance of work which premiered at the New Zealand Fringe Festival a year ago.
With the support of Creative NZ, elements of Sleep/Wake, including the choreography, music, lighting live video and set design has been refined.
Using the languages of dance, design, image and science, Trubridge says the production charts a unique journey into the unknown territory of sleep, “where we spend one third of our lives.”
Full dress rehearsals for the theatre community are being staged for free from February 21-22 at the Print Factory performance space at 35 King St in Newtown, Wellington. Capacity is limited to 45 seats so audiences are advised to book early by contacting eleanorbishop@gmail.com.
These ‘test’ performances are being held ahead of a season at the Auckland Festival 2009 from March 7-10.
Professor Gander says the production has changed the way she looks at theatre with each performance highlighting the mystery of what is happening to the brain while asleep.
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Her core research centres around how the circadian biological clock drives body and brain function through daily cycles. “It’s really interesting research to be involved with because it is something everyone experiences every day of their lives.”
The Sleep/Wake production’s cast gained first hand experience of the clinical science of sleep when they spent a night in an isolation laboratory, being woken from different stages of sleep and experiencing phenomena such as sleep inertia and dream recall at first hand. “Everyone can identify with sleep, and it also has a rich mythology,” Professor Gander says.
Negotiations were currently underway for the production to be staged in Melbourne, Singapore, Venice and other parts of Europe.
ENDS
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