Bebé Plim-Plim Production Notes Jan 2011, 2.9
Bebé Plim-Plim arouse as a sequence to BébéBábá and Andakibébé, the first musically based theatrical creations specifically aimed at families with babies. Bebé Plim-Plim starts with families and babies in a workshop, afterwards becoming part of a performance targeted to a wide public. Based on a wide-ranging experience in musical sessions for babies and inspired by the ideas of Edwin Gordon the workshop uses the music as a way of encouraging in the parents and babies the musicality of their relational interactions. Out of the seeds of the rhythm and the vibration present in the workshop, emerges the following day more elaborated music capable of involving the whole community in a spectacular that is symbolic of the desire to communicate, that exists from birth. The music of Bebé Plim-Plim is a "gramelot" made up of babies' vocals electronically treated and of musical variations that range through Bach, Monk, Schwiters, Balla, Gamelan and Portuguese traditional folk in a sophisticated playground of phonemes, syllables and rhymes. It is the primacy of the voice as a music element and as a form of communication. In the same way, the desired atmosphere that warms part of the workshop transforms itself in the performance, into a canvas on which is painted light and video and where are constructed mundane shapes that emerge from big rounded forms. The actors and actresses are enigmatic beings, cheerful and full of tenderness. They speak with a universal musical vocabulary, the source of all communication which dwells in a intimate space that sometimes also reaches the public. In constant transformation and abstract in form, the scenario takes the audience into forests, to the sky, to a ship, to the bottom of the sea, to as many places as the imagination is able to create from colours and shapes. It is the magic of white, repository of all colours. In this way Bebé Plim-Plim is both a workshop and a show. Each is a different but complementary artistic creation. The workshop offers an experience for the baby and one or two companions. The show is made for the baby and for all those who want to see it grow. Because its artistic language returns us to the beginnings of human interaction and the roots of musical communication, Bebé Plim-Plim is for everyone.
Credits Conception and Production Companhia de Música Teatral Music and artistic direction Paulo Maria Rodrigues Scenic video João Raposo Luis Miguel Girão Paulo Maria Rodrigues Light and sound design Luis Miguel Girão Scenery Miguel Ferraz Costume and prop design Rute Rosas Cast Ana Paula Almeida Helena Rodrigues Paulo Maria Rodrigues Paulo Neto Photos António Teixeira Aknowledgments António Rocha, Bau-Uau, João Pedro Reigado, Pedro Andrade, Cátia Oliveira, Rui Raposo The show presented in Poland inspired students, teachers and educators., Ewa Zwolińska, Bydgoszcz University Before my eyes a wonder took place: isolated family units became a single large community... This was theater at its finest and in its most ancient tradition, the building and reinforcing of society and social values by art., Anthony Martin, musician
Technical Rider I) Workshops Context: One or two workshops taking place on the day before the show. Duration: 30 to 45 minutes. Participants: a maximum of twelve babies up to eighteen months accompanied by one or two adults. Sound and Image recordings: Recordings of the vocalizations of the babies may take place during the show. These recordings will be used for artistic, research and promotion purposes. Promoters of this show need to get permission from the parents of the participating babies in a written and signed form (See Annex). II) Show Type: A theatrical-musical show with live and recorded music in which the audience is invited to participate. Audience: For all ages, including infants. Recommended for families. Duration: 1 hour without intermission. Suggestions for booking: Our experience recommends scheduling the workshops on Saturday and presenting the show on Sundays. Cargo management: CMT may request the promoter to assist with local formalities and to handle the shipment reception. The items will be unpacked by CMT on the first day of Set-up Set-up schedule: 4 shifts of 4 hours each both full teams from CMT and the promoter. Dressing rooms: 1 male dressing room for 3 and 1 female dressing room for 3, both with shower. Stage requirements: 8 X 8 meters with no scrim or drops. 1 cyclorama at the back of the stage to prevent any malfunctioning that might occur with CMT's on stage projection surface. The venue needs to allow blackout at anytime of the day. Other requirements: 1 position for the operator of the video and 1 for the operator of the sound & light systems, positioned either in the center of the hall or at the back of the hall. 1 video projector rated at 5000 ANSI lumen. Human resources: House technicians for installation. Sound, lights and video are operated by members of CMT. Striking the show: 2 hours with full teams of both the promoter and CMT.
Stage Plan The stage must be completely free of any object not belonging to the show. A projection surface (provided by CMT), measuring 8.4 m width x 14 m length, needs to be suspended from a black lighting truss (or similar) at a height of 3m, 7m stage upwards. This surface covers the acting space and actors perform on it. The projection surface remains in place throughout the entire show. Some scenes involve direct interaction with audience. The actors/singers need to access easily the seating area Light, sound and video are operated from the back of the hall. Stage Projection Screen/Acting Area Actors Audience Audience Light/Video/Sound Operator
Video The video projector needs to be placed at the back of the stalls above the heads of the audience, such that its image covers the projection surface entirely from approximately 1m stage upwards. The mounting for the projector as well a composite video cable (75 Ohms) running from the video operator (see above) to the video projector must be supplied by the promoter. Stage Audience Stage Audience
Lighting CMT will provide its own DMX controller. The promoter needs to provide a DMX cable with a 5 pin plug, running from the light operator (see above) to the light system. The filter for the light projectors will be provided by CMT. Nonetheless, CMT will count upon collaboration to solve any problems concerning lighting filters, etc. # Required PCs - 36 # Required SPOTs- 4 All on independent channels (see diagram) Projection Surface Legend: PCs Spots
Power Mains power for the video and sound&light operators must be 220-240 Volts or 110-120 Volts, 50-60 Hz, 16A independently grounded. Sound Main Sound System for the hall A stereo system with power adequate for the volume of the hall and size of the audience, with spectral response from 20Hz to 22kHz and with approximated isobaric distribution. It must be possible to regulate the volume and the equalization of the sound system. Foldback: 4 monitors suspended off stage and evenly distributed between upstage and downstage. These monitors should be paired (L-R) and equalizable in 31 bands. The signal that feeds them is the inverted stereo of the main mix. Mixer Channel Assignment: 1 Voice 1 Wireless Mic, CMT 2 Voice 2 Wireless Mic, CMT 3 Voice 3 Wireless Mic, CMT 4 Voice 4 Wireless Mic, CMT 5 Voice 5 Wireless Mic, promotor (spare) 6 VDRUM1 Wireless Mic, CMT 7 VDRUM2 Wireless Mic, CMT 8 PC 1_L; 9 PC 1_R; 10 PC 2_L; 11 PC 3_R.
Annex Form template allowing recording in the workshops to be signed by the parents I, hereby authorize the audio, video and photographic recording, for artistic, research and promotional purposes, of the Bebé Plim-Plim workshops in which I participate with my child. Date:.../... /... Signature:
Companhia de Música Teatral (CMT) was created by Paulo Maria Rodrigues and Helena Rodrigues, with the purpose of developing projects that would fit the generic aesthetic designation of theatrical music or music theatre. CMT wants to promote the dialogue between different forms of expression and to develop the production of interdisciplinary initiatives that have Music as a starting point for the interaction between different artistic languages. The artistic creations of CMT include shows (AliBaBach, Bichofonia Concertante Opus Formiguinha, Bebé Plim-Plim, Zoo Lógico, As Cidades e a Serra, Uma Prenda para Eugénio de Andrade, O Gato das Notas, Andakibébé, Nós e Voz, MNF/ Morte e Nascimento de Uma Flor, A Flauta Quase Mágica, CyberLieder, As Águias Voam Legato), community/education projects (Grande Bichofonia, BebéBabá, Musikitos and Musikotas) and interactive installations (BébéCúcú, Tribunal da Ralação). CMT has had the regular support of the Ministry of Culture, has collaborated with various artists and organizations such as Artshare, Coro de Câmara de Lisboa, Aveiro Digital, Câmara de Oeiras, Casa das Artes de V.N. Famalicão, CESEM-FCSH (Universidade Nova de Lisboa), the Gulbenkian Foundation and the Education Service of Casa da Música in Oporto. The work of CMT has been presented in Portugal, Spain, Poland, Canada, USA, Belgium, Germany and Lituania. CMT has pioneered musical theatrical work for very young children based on Edwin Gordon s musical learning theory and has developed a substantial experience in projects in this field. This work has emphasised the importance of early music experiences and has been the basis for an articulation between academic research, artistic and technological creation, community involvement and general diffusion of knowledge. BebéPlimPlim, Andakibebé and BebéBabá were conceived specifically for families with babies. BebéBabá is a mixture of a serie of workshops for parents and babies, workshops for parents and a final show. It has been recognised by its very high interaction and social impact and it was recently implemented in a prison with mothers and their babies, in collaboration with the Education Service of Casa da Música in Oporto. CMT has also developed educational projects, such as Grande Bichofonia with music teachers in Lisbon and Oporto, aiming at providing teaching tools and artistic experiences that can influence the way music is taught in schools. CMT s work aims also to improve the availability of educational and entertainment material and therefore some of its works have been published as videos, CDs or books. Future work include the creation of new projects addressed to the community, the edition of new musical material, the touring of existing shows and the participation in research projects, namely on Musical Development on Infancy-Early Childhood and Transdisciplinary Artistic Creation at CESEM-FCSH (Univ. Nova de Lisboa) and DeCA (Univ. Aveiro) "Companhia de Música Teatral have made something wonderful. It is a revelation to developmental psychologists, actors and musicians, which proves that creative artistic activity is a need of human beings, and a force for education, Colwyn Trevarthen "I have known the work of CMT since the early days. This remarkably fluid, innovative group of creators composers, writers, actors, singers, dancers, musicians and digital multimedia artists has, already contributed significantly to the development of performance art", Rolf Gehlhaar "The work of CMT is at the level of international excellence and indeed at the forefront of what I consider to be relevant as an artistic experience for young children", Edwin Gordon
Contacts Companhia de Música Teatral Rua Sam Levy, Ed F, 4º Dto 1400-391 Lisboa Portugal E-mail: cmt@musicateatral.com Telephone: Artur Silva +351 96 957 2521 Website www.musicateatral.com