Hannah Suarez

Me, a Critical Mass blogger Toby and many of his friends/colleagues attended Baroque Tarantella, a special performance by the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra and L’Arpeggiata from Paris.  Had a brief chat with Toby before the performance and he was very excited to see the event – well, considering that he runs and owns a business called Simply for Strings (a full service violin shop!).  I have not seen ABO perform by themselves before and it has been 2-3 years since I last saw an orchestra at QPAC.  Actually the last event that I want to in that venue was Brisbane Festival’s Mariza and enjoyed my first taste of fado.

Entering the Concert Hall was a few musicians and Christina Pluhar with her theorbo.  Even though her back was to the audience, I could tell that it was Christina.  Also noted that everytime she stood up, she would gesture towards the orchestra while giving the audience a big, warm smile..and then she would sit down again and they would move on to the next piece.

Anna Dego and Lucilla Galeazzi (see this YouTube video) make an interesting performance together, alongside Gianluigi Trovesi.  There was this one piece where Lucilla literally mimicked my mum (whenever she had to lecture me about something) to Gianluigi…some sort of arguement…the audience sensed that this was a comical scene and laughed in surprise when Gianluigi kissed Lucilla in the cheek.  She looked surprised! Another standout was Anna Dego twirling, jumping, kicking the air, stomping and the audience visibly (and audibly) going woah!

See Baroque Tarantella tomorrow night at QPAC and you would want to check out Havana Club after as well.

Edit: Check out this writeup from Toby C!

Walked up the stairs and entered this temporary ampitheatre built for the Brisbane Festival. Alongside many others who have witnessed this venue with new venues despite having a 3D render available for viewing on YouTube or seeing a large scale 3D render on the Brisbane Powerhouse walls.

We decided to sit at the back row and even then the sound was fantastic.  The ‘visual’ (ie setting, actors..) hyperreal, maybe it was the lighting?  Or maybe it was the juxtaposition of the everyday – the man jogging along New Farm Park, or the CityCat rolling by, or the occasional airplane in the sky.  Or maybe it was because it was held out in the open so the sky becomes your ceiling and the Brisbane Powerhouse walls transforms (like during the Launch) into a unique backdrop for the play.  Not sure if ‘hyperreal’ is even a proper or real word (it was the first and only thing to come up) to describe it.  Again, you will need to watch a show to see what I mean.

Michael Gow opened the event.  I like Marcus Graham’s voice – it’s very suited to the character of Macbeth.  Lady Macbeth is fierce.  There’s blood and swords and glittering jewellery and…better not say more, you will need to see it.

It was my first dress rehearsal for Macbeth and I would love to attend their final show just to see how the actors settle into their characters.

Response to “Five stars in their eyes: can you trust unpaid theatre critics?”

First off, there is something wrong with the name of this article.  Since when did trust equate to being paid?  If I come across a paid salesman, does that mean that I immediately trust him or her?  Similarly, I have come across numerous volunteers who can be trusted to the right thing.  Indeed, absolutely wrong for the author to equate trust with paid or unpaid.

Another line that I have an issue with, “everyone is a critic these days” – well, I agree and I disagree at the same time.  I think that it is easy to publish – whether it is a blog, a tweet, a YouTube video – but there are still elements that separate and these are unique.  There is reputation – what are other people saying about you.  There is passion – why are you putting this amount of effort/money into your own work.  There is networks.  There is personal history and experience.  There is more to the separation of ‘wheat’ and ‘chaff’ beyond the name of the publication and beyond how much (if they are getting paid) there is involved in terms of writing.

I shudder at the whole “they are just a blogger” thing (from a blogger perspective) but at the same time I can understand why some are asking for media accreditation (from the events perspective).  It seems to be a case by case scenario – the sheer vastness of Edinburg Fringe is different to a two hour local conference which means that there is less grabs for tickets at the local conference compared to the numerous desireable shows at a popular, huge fringe festival.

My personal stance is – see the shows that you want to see, work with those who want to work with you, write what you think needs to be written and publish what you think needs to be published.

First and foremost, you have to believe in your work.  You need to be the first person to believe in your work at the very least.

Rant aside, there is a quiet important question posed – should amateur reviewers be more ‘organised’ (ie a formal code of practice).  I think that there is room for such, such as an industry body or even an association, but I don’t think there is a huge value in this other than that feeling of belonging to a group.

What do you think?

This will be my second round speaking at Ignite Brisbane.  There will be 14 speakers, including me, and some have spoken at the first Ignite Brisbane event that was held at the Queensland College of Art.

The format of Ignite is interesting in the way that you are basically not allowed to talk about YOUR company or business.  You pick a topic that you want to talk about, send a presentation pitch to the organisers and confirmed presenters need to get up on the night to speak.  Oh, and each slide must change at a set time (I think 20 or 30 seconds) and you have no control over this!

It’s almost like a fun game…unless you’re scared of public speaking…

This event is FREE however ticket registration is a must.

The Australia Business Arts Foundation Award is on at the same night but will be heading off to The Edge after this finishes.

I am currently waiting for my membership to the Australian Institute of Management to be approved.  I have known about the Institute for at least two years – back when I first started seeking out industry and professional development events for Brisbane Creative Industries (see the website).  Membership to these groups can range from being free to costing thousands of dollar depending on the entity that you are seeking to be represented as (a student, individual, business, association, fellow, partner etc), the institution/association/industry group itself and the industry.  Memberships have a variety of benefits.  The motivations of joining an industry body, association or institution vary – some will join primarily to take part in the Awards program (such as the Australian Interactive Media Industry Association‘s Amy Awards), some will apply to receive special membership discounts for themselves or for their entity and so on.

I have received numerous feedback about industry associations, groups, organisations and institutions and while the cost-benefit analysis needs to be made – ie I wouldn’t pay a $50 membership for a group that is semi-relevant but I would spend hundreds on a state group with great professional benefits.  There is also the interest factor as well as I also count industry/professional groups and organisations in a very broad category that can also include online properties (such as Digital Ministry, Brisbane Creative Industries) and other social media groups and networks.

I think that industry memberships are vital regardless on what stage you are at – whether you are a first year uni student or a professional with decades of experience.