CYGNET & Swan youth theatre company has gone gothic, rehearsing thirteen of Edgar Allan Poe\u2019s poems and stories.<\/p>\n
As part of their RavenMad<\/em> production, approximately 30 people will perform the historic writer\u2019s works initially in a series of podcasts, and videos to follow.<\/p>\n Director Olivia French said it\u2019s all about making unusual poetry and prose more accessible.<\/p>\n \u201cThese stories are really well known in literature circles, but in many ways, they\u2019re kind of hard to access,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re beautiful and wonderfully created, tapping into the darker side of the human soul, but there\u2019s complex language, and they were written 200 years ago. They\u2019re not so easy to broach.\u201d<\/p>\n Actors are voicing characters or providing narration, while the theatre company is engaging other artists, from watercolour painters to LEGO builders, to create works which complement and lift the telling of each of the 13 stories.<\/p>\n Edgar Allan Poe\u2019s The Bells<\/em> will be performed by Mad Swan Harmonics choral speaking choir.<\/p>\n The first podcast – just like an audio play – will be released in March, and the first video – to be filmed at Kryal Castle – will be shared in the following months on YouTube.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re hoping we can create, share these, and have them as resources so teachers and students can use them in schools,\u201d French said.<\/p>\n Cygnet & Swan\u2019s Alexandra Meerbach said the company has a goal to showcase their work during Ballarat Winterfest, and locally perform elements live at some point.<\/p>\n Their mission is to create art that \u201cmakes a difference.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cCreating art for art\u2019s sake is great, and there\u2019s a place for that, but as a company, we want everything we produce to have a greater purpose, whether it be through education, speaking about social issues, or opening discussions about things that need to be talked about,\u201d Meerbach said.<\/p>\n \u201cEven just allowing people to have a voice that might not normally get a voice. We\u2019ve got about seven projects in the works at various stages of development.\u201d<\/p>\n