RESEARCH AND INSPIRATION MADRID DECEMBER 2018

Seems to be fast becoming a new Tracey ritual, the quest to absorb and study the work of one man ? yes it the rather exceptional work of Robert Wilson. Last year I whisked me and the Mr Gibbs off to Dusseldorf to see The Sandman, was an amazing experience front row ! Dusseldorf was fair but bitingly cold and for me not enough art to feast on. So no surprise that I had being keeping a close eye on his upcoming productions, there it was a window of time was there and the idea forming in my head. In true Tracey style I booked a hotel first to make sure we would be going and then counted down the days until the tickets for Turandot a the Teatro Real went on sale, a very nervous Tracey sat waiting for the go on the 15th October!

https://www.teatro-real.com/en/the-theatre/the-real/the-teatro-real

It was tense!! 365 people were in front of me ! there were only two dates we could do and those cheaper seats would be going fast. Success I had a rough idea where our seats were not bad, definitely not cheap but no choice I had to see something of his on a bigger scale . There we were our first proper opera and first time to Madrid! At least I had consulted the Mr G this time as last year I booked it in a random moment 5.30 am whilst staying somewhere teaching .

the day before Teatro Real Madrid

I am slightly ashamed to say I was unfamiliar with pre LIPA, there are just not enough superlatives to fully describe his work, indeed it could be foolish for me to attempt it? But nether the less I may try ,for me I find his work so rich in a truly visual way layer upon layer of intricately woven elements from light to colour to scenography ,he has very quickly become one of my main influencers in the creation and thoughts on creating lighting for the stage.one beautiful image after another akin to passing a leisurely heady afternoon with my tome of fashion photography my most loved photography genre VOGUE! Especially the September edition . At times almost reaching sensory overload but such a feast !

We had a few days to explore Madrid from what I can only say is one of best little hotels I have ever stayed at, in a great location for the big two museums close by . We did one a day as I don’t like rushing as then you could miss a gem. Both very easy walking distance from the hotel as was Madrid we discovered, very easy to walk around and so much great food!

MUSEO DEL PRADO

MUSEO THYSSEN-BORNEMISZA

MUSEO REINA SOFÍA

Food oh yes we did food ! tapas with attitude and so so delicious , luckily for us one of my dance students just so happens to be from Madrid so with her local recommendations we experienced some fantastic local cuisine , a highlight for me was the small seafood standing room only one opposite our hotel, oysters,scallops good plonk ! heaven

http://www.artriphotel.com/en

so fresh!

No trip to Spain for me is complete until I have drunk my body weight in Cortardo’s

Madrid did not dissapoint with seemingly dozens of Artisan coffee places nearby happy days

Cortardo

My next project has given me the tiniest of chances to encompass some of his techniques, well a chance to investigate them and have a go interpretating some of my own thoughts around his use of one place on the stage I sometimes feel we all don’t play with enough ... the cyclorama , that combined with the rich references to Baz Luhrmann film has given me the opportunity on the upcoming 3rd year dancers show Romeo & Juliet again at LIPA ,working closely with set designer Mailin Hellend to facilitate this a collaboration from the start. Along with a close working relationship with the director to bring the various choreographers involved pieces together as a narrative piece. I want to bring the rich highly decorated scenic elements along with the richly textured costumes by designer Charlotte Mcadam to life and full of the sense of place and time of day as in the movie . So with this and my dissertation based on his work I was and am completely justified in seeing this first outing of this production.

programme

So here we were, waiting outside this grand opera house watching the well dressed of Madrid mingle with chinking glasses of champagne , to say I was excited would of course be an understatement. Sitting there surrounded by all the gold and glamour, unable to see anything of the front of house rig I just sat and soaked up the atmosphere.

waiting for curtain up

It was amazing, so rich yet stark parred back to the purest movements and went so quick!

Two acts of continued joy for me and I have to say loved the singing ! a new one for me, the best way to really describe it is to say nothing but give you the link to the production images. A worthwhile trip? for sure loaded with ideas and yet more inspiration for both my upcoming show and eek dissertation.

https://robertwilson.smugmug.com/Turandot-Madrid-2018/?fbclid=IwAR0CPWqO2GDTbQbikrw3v9TkkASTO4c7W5rKqexTq2G9b

I did however lurk behind as long as possible in the auditorium to have a look at where and what maybe rigged front of house, only Robert Wilson could get away with turning the Royal Box into a rigging point!

you can see the LIPA production of Romeo & Juliet soon see link below to book

https://www.unitytheatreliverpool.co.uk/whats-on/romeo-and-juliet-2018.html

more can be seen on my Instagram feed if you like exploring like me

https://www.instagram.com/juliet/?hl=en

A ROOM OF CALM LIGHTING INSTALLATION LIVERPOOL LIGHT NIGHT 2018

Everything in our sensory world plays it part, I see and think in pictures and movement, a piece of music can be the start point for a piece of work a recent example of this was a lighting installation I created for Liverpool Light Night in LIPA. Having being a huge admirer of all things Brian Eno for quite sometime I happened upon his beautiful app “Bloom” co created with software developer Peter Chilvers, together they created a place where for once our smart devices can offer a stop off at calm and with the gentlest tap and play, become ambient music composers at the same time! What is not to like there? With a choice of colour pallets included it triggered me to both share and replicate in some way a Room of Calm idea was planted.

some of the various colour choices you can play with Bloom

I have always being fascinated with light in general with the last few years at LIPA distilling this to a new appreciation of the effects on people of light and colour. Which leads me to another big inspirational artist who’s work influenced this project. Olafur Eliason, who has created some of the most stunning and sometimes questioning work with colour and light  and the effect this has on people engaging with them. One of his most memorable the Weather Project at Tate Modern when people began to sit and bathe in the SUN he created in the vast turbine hall

Weather Project Tate Modern 2003

Weather Project Turbine Hall Tate Modern 2003

His work inspirational in many ways with his strong focus on the ecological and sustainability, one of my favourite projects is the solar powered light now rolling out around the world where electricity is scarce and helping many to both work and study.

I have a great love of re-appropriating everyday objects and materials to both recycle and discover their attributes on a creative level. I knew I needed something big for the proposed space and that it must emit light in a soft and glowing way, from my photographic history worked with perspex backlit backgrounds, which transmit light in such a beautiful way. So where to find something ?

One of my clients happened to be just that and industrial plastics manufacturer ! I know the gods of fate were on my side aligned with the fact that as a bit of cheeky bugger in the approach that in if you don’t ask you will never know and you never know people may say yes!  Which they did ! really interested to see what I could do with some of their huge diverse range and turn them into a three dimensional bloom! Fun with drills, strings of LED fixtures ,me and my team of helpers set about creating the Room of Calm . I had researched and created a range of colours that have being proven to lower the heart rate and aid relaxation, these moved around the installation during the 10 min performance, accompanied by a sound track of course Brian Eno a new piece called Reflection .

And then there is my custodian of the space Molly a 3rd year acting student, I wanted people to be encouraged to interact with the piece so with her gentle voice and slow actions she also occupied the space to help the public find their spot to either sit or as some did be enveloped by the light .

Many Thanks to Stamford Plastics Mailbox Division for your support

press release in Food Processing Magazine

Personal thanks to Rhys Carl, Lydia Grandi, Josh Hibbert and Thomas Ashcroft for your help and the patient Theatre Technicians at LIPA

here are some links to enjoy

https://youtu.be/JEBofVEEeIE

https://olafureliasson.net/archive/artwork/WEK101003/the-weather-project

https://littlesun.com/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/lipaliverpool/albums/72157670750983827

Developing the new Tracey Gibbs Video/Lighting Designer

So my journey studying Theatre & Performance Technology at LIPA Liverpool is entering it’s final year, the first observation is whoosh where has that gone? closely followed with both a sense of sadness that the journey now has a finish post and a tinge of nervous excitement about where my creative path will follow now?

So here in blog land I am going to expand on my methods of approaching projects for the theatre and beyond.

Every designer has their way of approaching a production for me the design process begins with the story, be it the spoken word or the unspoken delivery of dance, the chance to interpret both the narrative and the directors vision and working in close collaboration with other creative’s on the team.

The story triggers a journey of research from many realms then to experimentation and creative bliss, reading through or listening to the creative treatment people are looking for to the end product and that tentative step into the weeks of production. A what a world we now occupy to fuel and discover inspiration , where do I go first ? well it can vary but music is one of my big triggers to begin the thoughts along with the all important story . And then there is the set design, this combined with the directors thoughts is a truly pivotal moment in the process, seeing the initial white card giving me a sense of scale and space that will ultimately become my playground.

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