Class of Cabaret Scholarship

Year 10 and 11 performing arts students from regional and outer metropolitan South Australia are invited to apply for a scholarship that offers an opportunity to perform at the 2022 Adelaide Cabaret Festival and learn from top cabaret stars.

The Nathaniel O’Brien Class of Cabaret Scholarship is presented by the Adelaide Festival Centre and honours Nathaniel O’Brien, a former Class of Cabaret participant who died in a car accident in 2015 while on his way to perform at a gig.

The recipient will receive a scholarship up to the value of $5000, including entry into the 2022 Class of Cabaret program (which involves workshops, masterclasses and an intensive camp), travel and accommodation expenses to attend rehearsals, and private vocal tuition in Adelaide next year.

This year’s winner was Port Lincoln student Charlee Watt, who performed at the Adelaide Cabaret Festival in June. She says the scholarship broadened her knowledge of the arts and entertainment industry in many ways, and enabled her to refine her craft through working with professional mentors and music coaches.

Applications (here) close at 5pm on September 26.

How have COVID-19 restrictions affected you?

Arts organisations and independent artists are invited to take part in a survey being conducted by the Arts Industry Council of SA looking at the impact on the sector of the recent seven-day lockdown and pandemic restrictions.

The survey (here) takes around 10-15 minutes to complete and asks questions such as how many events (gigs, exhibitions, residencies, etc) respondents have had cancelled or postponed since July 19 this year, as well as the estimated income lost as a result. It also canvasses whether the individual or organisation has been able to access any industry-specific government funding or other government support.

Surveys must be completed before midnight next Tuesday, August 11, with AICSA saying information provided will help shape its advocacy for the arts.

The sector-wide industry body issued a statement last month calling for greater government support for creatives affected by the latest pandemic outbreak.

Poet, critic and broadcaster Jessica Alice ­– the director of Writers SA ­­– was recently appointed the new chair of AICSA, taking over the reins from Gail Kovatseff.  Justyna Jochym, CEO of Festivals Adelaide, replaced Alice as the organisation’s deputy chair.

It’s Raining Poetry

Adelaide’s annual Raining Poetry project launches tonight and promises to make the wintry days a little less grey as short poems emerge like magic on our footpaths whenever it rains.

Raining Poetry is run by post-graduate students at the University of Adelaide under the auspices of the JM Coetzee Centre for Creative Practice and this year includes verse by 19 poets including Thuy On, whose published poetry collection Turbulence was recently reviewed here.

The project, now in its fifth year, sees selected poems spray-painted onto footpaths and streets using hydrophobic paint and cardboard stencils – so the words are invisible on dry days and appear like magic when it rains. They usually last one to three months.

An interactive map includes photos of each poem and shows the CBD locations where they can be found, including along North Terrace, Grenfell Street and Grote Street.

Light Cycles extended

Illuminate Adelaide’s Light Cycles in the Adelaide Botanic Garden. Photo: Moment Factory

Strong demand and sold-out sessions have prompted Illuminate Adelaide organisers to extend the Light Cycles experience in Adelaide Botanic Garden by a further fortnight.

The 2km trail featuring video projections, light effects, lasers, smoke and soundscapes was originally to have run from July 15 until August 1 as part of the festival program, and was then extended by a week after the SA lockdown.

On Sunday, Illuminate Adelaide co-founders and creative directors Lee Cumberlidge and Rachael Azzopardi said it would now continue until August 22: “We are overwhelmed with the audience responses in the last 48 hours,” the pair said in a statement.

The event is operating with reduced capacity in line with current pandemic restrictions, and masks are mandatory.

Read InReview’s pre-festival interview with the Canadian creatives behind Light Cycles here.

The art of guitar-making

Guitar maker Jordan Reynolds. Photo: Daniel Marks

If you’ve already dabbled in guitar making and the recent Guitar Festival has inspired you to want to learn more, instrument maker Jordan Reynolds is presenting a one-day “Crafting Guitars” masterclass at The Mill’s exhibition space on August 21 as part of SALA Festival.

Reynolds, who operates his custom guitar maintenance and building business The Sound Garage from The Mill, will take participants through the eight steps of guitar making with hands-on and skills-based tutorials that include the opportunity to shape the neck of a guitar.

While some basic skills are required for the Crafting Guitars workshop, he will also run another one on August 29 called “Talking About Guitars” which is more of a talk-based class offering insight into how the instruments are constructed.

For those more interested in ceramics, artist Ari Menendez is presenting a workshop at The Mill on August 21 where she will take participants through the processes required to make an oil burner.

First Nations casting call

The producers of the “high-octane fantasy series” Firebite are seeking First Nations Australians based in Adelaide for paid extra roles.

The series is created, written and directed by Warwick Thornton (Samson and Delilah, Sweet Country) and Brendan Fletcher (Mad Bastards), and is filming in South Australia from August through until November.

Firebite is described as an “original spin on the vampire genre and fantasy series” that follows two Indigenous Australian hunters on their quest to battle the last colony of vampires in the middle of the South Australian desert.

The series is being co-produced by AMC Studios and See-Saw Films and will screen on the American streaming service AMC+ (contact details for applications can be found here on the SA Film Corporation website).

Green Room is a regular column for InReview, providing quick news for people interested, or involved, in South Australian arts and culture.

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