We are making a new experimental performance work called Showy McShowface, which will be part live theatre, and part expansive internet experience. It’s inspired by stories of companies running online polls to name things going horribly wrong. This has lead to voters picking “Boaty McBoatface” to christen a very expensive British polar research vessel, calling Vegemite’s cheese snack “iSnack 2.0” and naming a whale Mr. Splashypants. We like the idea of corporations expecting the goodwill of the public to contribute to their PR efforts, but when they ask people what they think they instead find wellsprings of frustration, ambivalence, gleeful disobedience.
For us this niche topic is a way to connect to big ideas about democracy, late capitalism, and how the internet can be weaponised, for good, evil, or fun.
As we start to make the work during this residency we are going to explore polling the audience in different ways and using a live green-screen.
For us this niche topic is a way to connect to big ideas about democracy, late capitalism, and how the internet can be weaponised, for good, evil, or fun.
As we start to make the work during this residency we are going to explore polling the audience in different ways and using a live green-screen.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Michelle Aitken is a maker and performer working across dance and theatre in Boorloo (Perth). She has worked with companies including Renegade Produc9ons, Squid Vicious Theatre, pvi collec9ve, and STRUT Dance, and is a frequent collaborator on independent projects. Michelle presents work under the nom de guerre Hey! Precious, including the award winning solo Future’s Eve (2018), and Unrule (2019). Michelle is also an AV designer for performance, and can be found on YouTube as her science- communicator alter-ego, Michelle From Perth.
