The Horse Mouth Poster Image courtesy of Vanessa HudgesThis week we spoke to past QSS-Resident Vanessa Hughes about Bambina Borracha’s upcoming project The Horse’s Mouth, a festival of autobiographical writing coming up at the Old Fitz in Woolloomoolloo from 24 November — 17 December as part of the Tamarama Rock Surfers.

As one of the co-founders of Bambina Borracha, how did you come about forming the company  in the first place?

Along with the other directors of the company, I fell into Bambina Borracha to start producing shows on a larger scale, in better venues then we were able to access without the company’s name and supporters. Once we found our first partner, the University of Sydney Union, we had the resources to build seasons of productions and ongoing creative developments.

I didn’t foresee how broad the collection of artists would be that we’d work with. Apart from playing around with my co-founders for four years, that’s been the best part.

Phil Spencer, Scarlet McGlynn and Zoe Coombs Marr and yourself all have something in common as past QSS-Residents. Tell us about Queen Street’s involvement in your career so far. Do you have a favourite memory from time spent here?

The show I developed during my QSS-Residency was Under Milk Wood, easily the most ambitious show I’d tackled in terms of my audiovisual work.

Of course, the consequence of having a saturation of A/V on the stage is that, aside from making it engaging, crucial and beautiful, it also needs to be integrated seamlessly into the direction of the piece and the live performance. For me and my co-creator/performer, Zoe Norton Lodge, it was critical time spent at QSS to bring all those elements together.
The best memory was finally breaking amazing ground rehearsing the show, having not left the studio for 8 hours or so, and then having a Zumba class come in and promptly kick us out.

Can you tell us a little bit about The Horse Mouth Festival ?

Zoe Coombs Marr

The festival is curated by Phil Spencer, Associate Artistic Director of Tamarama Rock Surfers. Phil invited several of the most promising young dramatic writers in the country to create autobiographical works for the festival.We have a total of nine writers involved, their works spread across three programs in the festival, including two Philip Parsons Award nominees, Zoe Coombs Marr and Nick Coyle. I love that all the works are autobiographical. What you’ll see are radically different stories told through the eyes of people that are undeniably still kids. All the writing is set to oscillate somewhere between embarrassing and astonishing. Personally, I can’t quite get past the Premature Memoir concept, and that’s what excites me most.

As a film maker and creative designer, what are other skills you wish you had? 

I suppose I learn more and more about the potential of film, sound and animation every project I undertake, and if I have an instinct to try something new, like claymation, I’ll always try to self-teach. That being said, I would really like some of my lesser-tuned creative skills to magically improve, like drawing. It’s nice that I’ve made the basics my thing — “Look, I can draw circles.” But if I could draw a human body, or an apricot… I would. Someone told me once that anyone can draw, but I think they lied.

Who has been your main inspiration or influence for entering this industry ?

Peter Weir. When I first saw Picnic At Hanging Rockwhen I was little, it scared me senseless, but taught me that sometimes when image and sound go together perfectly, they can suck you down a hole you don’t want to get out of. I think of all the artists, filmmakers and musicians who inspire me, that particular film means the most.

Tim Spencer — Show Me Yours, I’ll Show You Mine

Lastly, what’s up next for you?

A series of animated/live action shorts re-telling, slightly inappropriately, the Just So stories of Rudyard Kipling.

Click here for more information about The Horse’s Mouth.

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