unFRINGEd

Interview with Appleloft by Lisa Banks

1.    What is Appleloft?
Appleloft started as a performance night in Wollongong, hosted by Applespielers and friends in garages, living rooms and backyards. It started as a facilitator for performers, artists, writers and musicians to show their work in the local community. The Appleloft being produced for The Sydney Fringe is an amalgamation of short works that Applespiel members have created over the course of almost two years of garage experiments in Wollongong, along with new works developed specifically for the Fringe. People can expect a night of games, performances and lots of baked goods.

2.    Where did you come up with the name Applespiel and who makes up the collective?
The name Applespiel came from the first work we did as a collective for the Wild Card section of Short & Sweet, almost two years ago. We created a piece that was a bit of a ‘screw you’ to the festival, mostly us doing things we thought were fun. The piece was called ’Applespiel’ because Nathan sat for ten minutes and methodically taste-tested apples and rated them from ‘most delicious’ to ‘least delicious’. We also played golf with a brick, Emma did stand-up about Wollongong birds dressed as a ghost, and Rachel stripped Troy and basted him like a turkey. Then we spend five minutes mopping up basting oil and bowing – to tumultuous applause (from the lighting operator, an instant Applespiel fan. I’m not sure the audience applauded much). After that the name stuck as a sort of label when any members of the group did any performance work. In this way it’s a loose name for our collective of artists, and we use it whether we do
works as a group or as individuals. The regular Applespielers are Simon Binns, Jarred Duffy, Joseph Parro, Nathan Harrison, Nikki Kennedy, Emma McManus, Troy Reid, Rachel Roberts and Mark Rogers.

3.    Where did you draw your inspiration from for the production?
We really wanted to produce a performance that was fun and interactive for the audience as well. Something where we weren’t trying to shock or disturb the audience at face-value, but rather establish a comfortable working relationship with them and create an atmosphere were both performer and audience are involved and having fun – similar to the relaxed atmosphere of the garage/lounge room Applelofts. All of the works you will see in Appleloft have been created or reworked by Applespielers, so the inspiration for specific performances are individual, but there is a common themes that draws the night together.

4.    I saw on your blog that you have some links to FBIradio, PACT and other youth orientated organisations and groups. What impact has community organisations like these had on you guys creatively?
We are in many ways beholden to PACT and the Quarterbred gang for their ongoing support. Ever since Tiny Stadiums, the planning stages of which began in 2009, they have been wonderful and their place in the Sydney performance scene is vital to emerging artists. We look forward to continuing our association with PACT. Media groups such as FBi have supported us a few times, starting during Tiny Stadiums, and it’s wonderful to get a chance to talk about and promote our work with a radio station that has great arts programs and really friendly people. Creatively, the assistance and often just the presence of supportive organisations such as PACT have, i think, encouraged us to keep things real and honest and personal, and to focus on the work and networking as being of greater value than promotion or hype.

5.    Do you use social media to gain publicity for your gigs and performances?
Yes, it’s free advertising, who wouldn’t? We love social media; we use our blog, twitter and facebook to spread the word about our upcoming shows. People are always happy to pass on links and email eFlyers around to help us out and that’s wonderful. It’s economical and environmentally friendly, rather than contributing to the plethora of paper flyers. We came into the Fringe with little-to-no budget, and decided to work with a $0 marketing campaign for our show, using our blog and youtube ads to spread the word. Since being supported as part of the PACT Presents… program, we’ve been lucky enough to receive extra promotion through PACT along with the other PACT Presents… shows.

6.    How did you all meet?
We met at University of Wollongong. We were all in the same year of the Bachelor of Creative Arts Performance course and decided we wanted to continue performing together. Since the three-year course finished, we’ve gone our separate ways, spreading through England and the US to complete electives, start Honours degrees and Dip.Eds. By the end of
October all nine of us will be back in the country and ready to knock everyone’s socks off.

(Rachel Roberts and Troy Reid, of Applespiel)

APPLELOFT (by Applespiel)
Thurs 23 – 6:30pm | Fri 24: 8:00pm| Sat 25  6:30pm

All Tickets: Full Price $22 Concession $18 available from www.thesydneyfringe.com.au