Terra Nova Productions

This week-long Belfast workshop was funded by the Arts Council. The aim was to workshop the 1st draft script created by Andrea Montgomery as a result of work in Novemeber 2009 and to test how the other art forms (puppetry sound, animation) could be included. Codirectors Sarah Davey and Andrea Montgomery were joined by the Artistic Directors of the two other co-producers: Chad Leslie and Ko Ti Lung. The acting/directing team was joined by puppeteers, a composer/sound designer, an animator with theatre experience. Arts from seven nationalities were involved. Science content was provided via Andrea Montgomery who had input from Tai Viinikka, Sarah Davey and actress Emma Powell who had focused on liaison with the charity Population Matters. During this workshop the team discovered that non-human populations could be represented through puppets, and that the involvement of a film maker was necessary.

This week long workshop was held in the Forrest Hill Space of our co-producers Bold and Saucy. The two co-directors, Sarah Davey and Andrea Montgomery worked with professional actors from Hong Kong, London and Belfast. They were joined by free-lance Hong Kong director Tang Wai-Kit, a specialist in movement. All four companies had producers in the room supporting the artists: Terra Nova, Bold & Saucy, Chung Ying, MacWac. There was no script at this stage. The actors and directors worked with the text of Collapse by Jared Diamond and a range of supporting material.