Polyglot’s October e-news

“They bring a lot of light and joy!”

We hope that you are safe and well. The situation in Melbourne has certainly changed since our last e-news, and it is constantly evolving. In navigating the challenges that this brings, our thoughts are with everyone who is affected by COVID and the ongoing restrictions.

Polyglot had grand plans for August – in-person rehearsals and creative developments were scheduled, our latest project with Rumbalara Football Netball Club was set to kick off, and we were excited to visit schools again. While this was all paused with lockdown #6, we have found other ways to connect with children and families. We reached over 170 students at a single school with our online workshops and were delighted with their energy and creativity. ArtPlay also presented our pre-recorded online workshops, and together these had nearly 800 views. An educator who used these with their students shared some feedback: “Just wanted to say how great your [online] workshops are, really engaging from start to finish, easy to follow, the hosts are brilliant… they bring a lot of light and joy!”

Selections of our Polyglot at home videos are being presented by Melbourne Fringe and Wyndham City to engage local families. Artist Emily Tomlins recently spoke with Richard Watts on Triple R and Annika Priest on PBS FM about Polyglot at home, and how simple materials and making tasks can inspire limitless imaginative play. We are working to make these videos more accessible by rolling out descriptive transcripts and English captions.

In early September, our new work Bees was pitched at the Australian Performing Arts Exchange (APAX). The 2021 virtual APAX event featured pitches and updates from performing arts organisations across the country, as well as keynote addresses and breakout conversations. Bees is a beautiful participatory experience developed through our Generator program, and we can’t wait to see our audiences across the country immersing themselves in it soon.

Polyglot is thrilled to be a selected artist at the IPAY CultureCrew Festival! Voice Lab – our unique creative installation module for collecting the thoughts and opinions of children – will be featured at the digital event, alongside 13 other productions from around the world. CultureCrew is one of the only youth-juried international performing arts events, with the selection panel comprising of 19 young people from five different countries.

Please look after yourself and those around you over the next little while, and we are excited to create with you in-person soon.

Header image: Voice Lab physical module
Photographer: Theresa Harrison