The article documents the process of creating a mixed media dance theatre production in Malta which was presented at the Marinando Festival, in Italy.
This is a unique Mediterranean youth theatre and video festival based on the theme of the sea.
The festival is unique both for its educational objectives on the theme of the sea, fishing and nutrition, as well as artistic and professional development objectives for both actors and theatre makers.
Working collaboratively with theatre professionals, choreographers and media artists a group of young people, aged 11 to 16, devised a multimedia piece that helped them explore and experiment with stylistic modes.
The starting point was a newspaper article and music by a local composer who uses recovered local Maltese folk instruments weaving together indigenous and regional traditional strains with classical European influences and contemporary genres.
The article discusses ways of how the facilitation of the devising process was approached and the challenges met through this process.
The young actors/dancers were interviewed at intervals and asked to keep journals to capture the evolution of the piece through research, improvisation, photography, filming, dialogue and rehearsals.
The performance Xandru u X-Xixa (X&X) was the result of a process of collaboration between director, choreographer, young performers and media artists, a genuine melting of people and media, which made each component indispensable to the other.
ISABELLE GATT
University of Malta
Youth devising multimedia dance theatre production – DOWNLOAD NOW
