We are looking for performers or artists who know Bedford to be part of our team for The Desire Paths from 2nd - 5th September. The Desire Paths is a conversational, durational performance that involves drawing a street map on the floor with chalk, talking to the public and inviting them to rename a street after a hope or dream for the future. It also involves listening to any stories they tell you about themselves and/or the town, and maybe telling those stories back at the end of the project.
You can see photos and video of indoor and outdoor versions of the show here.
In Bedford we are working in partnership with The Place to present the performance in Church Square [sometimes known as Pigeon Square] so it will be an outdoor version, right in the town centre by the bus station. As visiting artists Third Angel will do some research into the history of the street names in Bedford, but we know from experience that it helps to have some people on the team who already know the streets and areas of town.
We are looking for up to 4 performers interested and/or experienced in engaging with the public, gathering stories (so listening and telling), drawing/writing in performance. You might be an actor interested in exploring more task based performance, a visual artist interested in installation and performance, a performance artist, or anything in between.
It’s 3 - 4 days work: one prep day, then two days performing, the final day will open the space up to passersby, and encourage them to use the chalk to draw their own pictures/maps/memories on the ground - probably 6 hours a day plus breaks! We can pay £120/day for freelance performers, with per diems for food and drink on top. If you’re interested, we would love to meet up and have a chat.
If this sounds like something you’d be interested in joining there is an initial meeting with The Place Bedford and Third Angel teams on Thursday 8th of July - exact times/location TBC (expected between 11am-6pm depending on availability). We will be running a site visit in the town centre, talking to interested performers and finalising the plans for the event in September. If you’re interested in joining us please get in touch directly: al@theplacebedford.org.uk, or reach out to The Place team on Social Media.