BY STEPHANIE ESLAKE
Why do you feel angry?
It’s a question that’ll elicit from each of us a very different response. For composer Rachel Lewindon, anger is about hopelessness. But, importantly, she also feels anger brings with it an opportunity to really listen to our feelings and what’s going on around us.
Seeing Red is a work that combines Rachel’s music — produced in collaboration with fellow composer Samuel Kreusler — and a choreographed dance work by Ashley Dougan.
It’ll take you into the depths of anger as a psychological and physical expression, and it’ll manifest in this fascinating (and very loud) new work at Melbourne Fringe Festival.
Rachel, let’s start from the beginning. How’d you get involved in Seeing Red?
Ashley and I have been collaborators for a few years now on various multidisciplinary works. We actually became close friends through living together for three years! Nothing like two arts students in a house together conceiving wild ideas whilst trying to stay afloat!
When Ashley was conceiving the show, he reached out to ask Sam and I to come on board — and the sonic styles he was interested in really resonated with me.
So, the show is all about anger. What form of anger, and where does the anger come from?
The show is more about the psychology of anger than the presentation of anger itself. A lot of the work derives from the chemical processes behind anger, why that anger comes about and how to let go.
A lot of people feel anger when there is hopelessness. I think this show is meditative in a way that almost allows us to release this anger.
What makes you angry?
Hah! What a question that honestly doesn’t have a specific answer. I think anger for me comes from a frustration of hopelessness; when I feel like I can’t do anything to help a problem — and that can be something huge like the political issues we’re currently facing, to something seemingly insignificant like the fact I always come out a few socks short whenever I do the laundry.
I think anger can manifest itself in many different ways, and I try to be sympathetic to mine to work out where it comes from and listen to what it is. I think so much of our world’s anger could be eased with a bit more listening.
For a work about a feeling so intense, the event’s soundscape has also been described to me as “ethereal”. Talk us through your composition.
The soundscape is a blend of mine and Samuel Kreusler’s background combining electroacoustic and instrumental techniques. This combination of techniques creates an abstract environment by blending the lines between sounds with an obvious source like piano and violin, and acousmatic sounds — sounds with an unclear original source.
A lot of the work is durational and develops over time with many polyphonic layers. Like you said, the work is about anger, which is quite intense. But I think that this ethereal juxtaposition of the soundtrack creates an almost meditative state, enabling the audience to transcend time and let go of any feelings they were holding onto when they came into the space.
How did you work collaboratively with Samuel on the score?
Sam and I have worked collaboratively together a few times, and we interestingly work in very different ways. Often it will start with a brain dump of material on my behalf, and then we’ll go back and have a look at what was in there and pull out some interesting material!
Sam is a detail wizard: he likes to delve very, very deeply into small sections, so I think our combination of creating and finessing works really well.
We also build on each others’ ideas using raw sound sources rather than a specific description of the intention or direction of the piece. This creates an interesting variety of styles whilst staying in the same sonic world, taking advantage of the different ways we hear and create instead of forcing us to think parallel.
How can audiences attend events like these but protect themselves from potential triggers? That is, how can they maintain good mental health in the face of anger on the stage?
The work doesn’t present anger in the traditional sense, as you would see in, say, a traditional theatre piece. The beauty of dance is that it can be quite abstract, and so the likelihood of an audience member having a trigger is very unlikely.
I think it’s good to remember that we all have our own emotional response to situations — some stronger than others — but we are all here experiencing it together. No one is alone. To respond emotionally is human, and your emotions are valid and respected in this space.
What do you want the world to take away from your music in Seeing Red?
I think we’d love for them to feel lighter, like we’ve taken a weight off their shoulders, or at least given them an escape for 45 minutes.
I hope that the meditative state helps the audience understand the different ways anger can be experienced, and also let go.
Seeing Red is on show from September 19-22 at Upstairs Studio, Dancehouse, as part of the Melbourne Fringe Festival. It’ll feature music by Rachel and Samuel, and dance from Momoko Nanri, Jesse Clune, Gabriel Holton, Millie Excell, and Ashley Dougan (choreographer).
Image supplied.
