Radical Access Commission

Radical Access is a partnered program by Melbourne Fringe and Arts Access Victoria, designed to benefit Deaf and Disabled artists, arts-workers, and audiences by increasing access and improving social inclusion and mental health outcomes in the arts sector for people who are Deaf or Disabled. Chunky Move is excited to come on board as a co-commissioning partner to centre work by Deaf and disabled artists in the Melbourne Fringe Festival and help support artists to excel.

~~~~~ “...derelict in uncharted space...”

Conceptualised by Fayen d’Evie and Benjamin Hancock

In 1974, an amateur Star Trek fan club in San Francisco launched Project Communicator, a non-profit initiative to bring the wonderment of Star Trek to blind audiences, through descriptive radio plays. For their pilot, they chose the episode ‘Is There In Truth No Beauty’, which guest starred a blind telepath character. Despite being endorsed by the Star Trek cast, and narrated by Trek actor James Doohan, Paramount perceived the project as piracy. The pilot was never released, and Project Communicator was abandoned.

In this world premiere season, a stellar collaborative of dancers, artists, writers, musicians, and designers pays homage to the creative innovation and collective ethos of Project Communicator. We invite you to join us for an ambitious movement performance that experiments with possibilities for inter-sensorial translations, beyond the boundaries of perceptual norms, and the boundaries of space-time.

The live performance season will be adapted into an audio described radio performance season, to be digitally broadcast between 18–21 October via Digital Fringe.

“O brave new world…”

Live Performance Season

Melbourne Fringe Festival
Chunky Move Studios
Wed 11–Sat 14 October 2023
7:30pm Wed–Fri
3:00pm Fri & Sat
Sensory Friendly performance 3:00pm Sat

Digital Radio Play Season

Online
Wed 25–Sat 28 October, 2023
Various session times
Free

Pre-season Tactile Tour

Chunky Move Studios
Sat 2 October 2023, 2pm–3pm


Co-commissioned by Chunky Move and Melbourne Fringe and supported by Arts Access Victoria as part of the Radical Access program.

This project has been assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council, its arts funding and advisory funding, and by the City of Melbourne through its Arts and Creative Investment Partnerships Program, and received Cash to Create through the Fringe Fund as part of Radical Access and Cash for Equity as part of the Ralph Mclean Microgrants program.

Creative Team

Concept by Fayen d’Evie and Benjamin Hancock.

Created by: Fayen d’Evie, Benjamin Hancock, Rebecca Bracewell, Luke D. King, Georgina Kleege, Nelly Kate, Andy Slater, Lloyd Mst, Jon Tjhia, Alex Craig, Anastasia La Fey, Aaron McPeake, Ashley Buchanan, Marco Cher-Gibard, Anna Seymour, Sheereen Perrin, George Thomas, Lorena Zapiain, and Sheri Wells-Jensen.

In association with: Antony Hamilton, Vitae Veritas, Bryan Phillips, Madeleine Flynn and Charles Gushue.

Warnings

This event contains haze effects, sudden loud noises and dynamic lighting. It does not include strobe effects.

Access

Please click here to view an Access Pack outlining information about elements of the performance which are and are not accessible. Please note, this document is live and will be updated with more detailed information closer to the performance season.

Auslan

An Auslan interpreter will be present from 30 minutes prior to the Friday 7:30pm performance until the show starts, and will be available during a post-show function from 8:30pm–10pm.

Tactile Tour

Audience members are invited to attend a free Tactile Tour at 2pm, Saturday 7 October in advance of the live performance season led by Fayen d’Evie. Blind audience members and those with low vision, as well as sighted audience members, are welcome to attend.

Audio description

A number of audio-description devices will be available for each performance. The audio-description for this performance is a crucial conceptual and aesthetic offering. Priority will be given to audience members who are Blind or have low vision, however sighted audience members are also encouraged to experience this element, and may express their interest when booking tickets.

Open Captioning

Open captioning is also a crucial conceptual and aesthetic offering. The sound design will be described by the collaborating artists, and presented through open captions, on large screens viewable from different locations within the performance space. Live captioning will also be integrated, projected onto smaller screens integrated into the stage design. Auslan is also integrated within the choreography. 

Seating

This event is performed in the round, and audiences are welcome to move around the performance space. Limited seating available for those who prefer not to stand. Some seating areas will be dedicated to wheelchair users. Limited seating with low frequency vibrational haptics will be available, to offer a non-audible experience of the sound design.

Photo by Gianna Rizzo

Chunky Move x Melbourne Fringe

Live Performance Season

Melbourne Fringe Festival
Chunky Move Studios
Wed 11–Sat 14 October 2023
7:30pm Wed–Fri
3:00pm Fri & Sat
Sensory Friendly performance 3:00pm Sat

Pre-season Tactile Tour

Chunky Move Studios
Sat 2 October 2023, 2pm–3pm
Free, book here

Digital Radio Play Season

Online
Wed 25–Sat 28 October, 2023
Various session times
Free, book here

The Radical Access Commission is delivered in partnership between Chunky Move and Melbourne Fringe, and supported by Arts Access Victoria. This project has been assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council, its arts funding and advisory funding, and by the City of Melbourne through its Arts and Creative Investment Partnerships Program.

Artist Fayen d'Evie poses with a blue sculpture.

Photo by Jacquie Manning

Chunky Move and Melbourne Fringe are thrilled to announce the selection of Fayen d’Evie as the recipient of our Radical Access Commission.

This $40,000 commission is for an experienced dance or movement artist who identifies as Deaf or Disabled to create a brand-new work that responds to the creative provocation of ‘Radical Access’ and is a force for increased accessibility in the arts sector.

On top of the $40k, Fayen will also get studio space at Chunky Move, production, marketing and producing support, dedicated access funds and artistic mentorship and guidance from Artistic Director of Restless Dance Theatre, Michelle Ryan and Chunky Move Artistic Director, Antony Hamilton.

About Fayen

Fayen is an artist and writer, born in Malaysia, raised in Aotearoa (New Zealand) and now living in the bushlands of unceded Jaara country, Australia.

Fayen’s projects are often collaborative, and resist spectatorship by inviting audiences into sensorial readings of artworks. Fayen draws on blindness to propose critical and imaginative ways of navigating uncertainty and the precarious; handling the tangible, intangible, and concealed; and documenting ephemeral encounters through hallucinatory recall.

Fayen has exhibited at renowned locations including the Museum of Contemporary Art, the Art Gallery of NSW, TarraWarra Biennial, and the State Museum of Vadim Sidur (Mosco), among others. She is a lecturer in the Masters of Communication Design programme of RMIT University, a candidate for a PhD in Curatorial Practice at Monash University, and is the founder of independent imprint 3-ply.

https://fayendevie.com/