THE LEGEND OF QUEEN KONGEpIS ODE I I : QUEEN KONG IN OUTER SPACE

Arts Centre Melbourne in association with Briefs Factory and Auspicious Projects presents

I N F O . D ATA . W H AT ’ S W H AT. L O W- D O W N .

Queen Kong and the HOMOsapiens would like to acknowledge the traditional owners of the land. We pay respect to their elders past, present and emerging. We acknowledge that sovereignty was never ceded. We celebrate

their strong ongoing culture.

THE OLDEST LIVING CULTURE ON PLANET EARTH.

Welcome to The Legend Of Queen Kong Episode II: Queen Kong In Outer Space. This queer, sci-fi, rock concert is the second part of a trilogy of work that tells the story of an immortal being, part-rock and part-ape, who journeys through time and space to discover what it means to be human. It is a modern mythology, a queer tale, an abstract adventure. If any of our audience who are deaf or hard of hearing find themselves lost or confused over the duration of the show, don’t worry, nobody else understands what is happening either.

This show features a large projector screen and colourful images will be projected onto this throughout the show.

Auslan is integrated into the performance. On the projector screen, you will see deaf performer Asphyxia playing the role of the Motherboard. She will be signing in Auslan and voiced by Ilana Charnelle Gelbart. Also on stage is Auslan interpreter Kirri Dangerfield, she will interpret all the live spoken text.

The entire show will be captioned.

MUSIC & VOLUMEThis is a rock show designed with specific consideration for deaf and hard of hearing audiences. Therefore, it will be loud and bass-heavy. This means the sound can be heard and felt through vibrations.

Some hearing audiences may wish to wear earplugs or sound-cancelling headphones. Earplugs will be available in the theatre foyer, please ask our ushers for a pair.

LIGHTING & VISUALS There is no strobe in this show but some songs have fast moving lights. Lighting is used to indicate the pulse and mood of the songs.

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far too close to home was a planetA planet called EarthThe third planet from the sun in a solar system catalogued as PIA01341This side of the Milky Way galaxyWhich is a very small chocolate bar

Upon this planet was a geological phenomenonA unique life force within a rockThis rock incubated for millions of years

Then one morning25 million years agoA great ape fell upon this rock and diedOver the ages the ape was fossilised withinThey became one

Eventually in an explosive act of creationKnown as a volcanic eruptionThe Earth gave birth

And a Legend was bornPart RockPart ApeShe was immortalShe was Queen Kong

THE GENESIS OF QUEEN KONG

RELAXED PERFORMANCE Saturday 19th January 4pm

The Relaxed Performance of The Legend of Queen Kong Episode II: Queen Kong in Outer Space is designed to particularly welcome audiences with disability or sensory sensitivities, their friends and families.

During this Relaxed Performance, house lights will be at a low level throughout the show, there will be no strobe lighting and doors will stay open for people to come and go as they wish. The theatre doors open early and the performance is General Admission, meaning you can choose where you would like to sit.

There will be a designated quiet area for people to relax in, before or during the show. Trained ushers are available to offer assistance and earplugs will be available in the foyer. Noise and movement during the performance is welcome.

You are welcome to bring in any item that will help make you feel comfortable in the theatre – headphones, fidget toys etc. On the following pages you will find some general information about the music, volume, visuals, lighting and songs to help you prepare for the experience.

If you would like any additional information in the lead-up to your visit, please contact community@artscentremelbourne.com.au

Previously in Episode I

When I, Queen Kong, was born

I witnessed the evolution of

life on Earth

From dinosaurs

To the Great Apes

And the age of the Homosapien

As I was immortal, humans

worshiped me as a god

Being placed on a pedestal was

lonely

I sank into a deep-water

depression

There I lay dormant in the

abysmal plane

The pressure was so immense

my body was squeezed and

lengthened

When I awoke

I emerged from the water a

giant

My size caused panic and chaos

I became known as an

accidental terrorist

Locked in a cell, upon an

island, I waited for humans to

process me

Alone. Friendless. I called on

rock to save me.

What Is A Wormhole?A passage through space-time that could

create shortcuts for long journeys across

the universe. Some objects allergic to

the radiation can go through a series of

unfortunate or fortunate changes known as

transmutations.

Note: Queen Kong enters a wormhole during

her journey through space and for a time

becomes a series of French desserts.

SET LIST – a list of the songs in order

PRE-SHOWThere will be a pre-show playlist of space and monkey themed music at low volume.

OPENING: QUEEN KONG’S BACKSTORYThe show commences with a black-out on stage. There will be no performers on stage, just the projector screen. There are projected images of lightning and volcanic eruptions. The sounds accompanying this include a volcanic eruption and soft steady siren-like tones.

GORILLA GORILLA This is a full-bodied rock anthem with pop-folk bridges. This song comes in suddenly and surprisingly at a loud volume with large flashes of lights. In between each verse are lots of flashing, moving coloured lights.

CALLING ON ROCKSlow, broody rock. This starts soft and builds in intensity. In the chorus there is a slow, low intensity flash every time Queen Kong sings “Rock”. In the third and final chorus these are slightly quicker and more intense.

NOMO FOMOUpbeat, rock-pop featuring congas and acoustic guitar. During this song there is pulsing and gentle sweeping in the lights.

What Is A Black Hole?

A black hole is a dark star, an

invisible nothing, a prison of

light. There is no

solid surface beyond,

just a bottomless

gravitational whirlpool

so strong that it sucks

everything - even light

- relentlessly inward.

Oblivion awaits at the

centre in the form of

the Singularity.

What Is Spaghettification?

Spaghettification is a scientific term.

It’s the vertical stretching and

horizontal compression of objects into

long thin shapes, rather like spaghetti.

The stretching is so powerful that no

object can withstand it. You will die a

stretchy death!

ROCKS OF THE UNIVERSEArt Pop. The lighting is still in the verses and slow and sweeping in the choruses.

O MADREOperatic singing accompanied by harpsichord and tremolo guitar. Musically sparse with dramatic vocals. The lighting is still throughout and most of the stage will be dark.

EARTH 2Alternative, electro-pop. Near the end there is a dramatic vocal build which climaxes to loud scratchy vocal tones; almost a scream. There are two gentle flashes in the final section of the song.

IN THE BEGINNINGA rock ballad with a heavy rock chorus and a lengthy, meaty guitar solo with a long build. During the song, you will see a moving light that throws a pattern and sweeping lights.

TRUCK STOP Driving surf-pop with a funk groove chorus and Loony Bop B-section. There are slow moving, slow flashing coloured lights in the verses, sweeping lights in the choruses and low intensity flashing coloured lights in the spoken word B section.

HEYMANBeat poetry set to the sounds of an audience at a jazz club. There are a lot of incidental sounds and background noises with sound effects.

I’M A BLANCMANGE This has a loud, neo-punk-pop chorus with spoken verses. When Queen Kong joins the band the lights begin to flash quickly. These will stop flashing during each spoken word section. The flashing will last for 20 seconds each time. The song concludes with seven big flashes followed by a shorter sequence of smaller fast moving flashes and a blackout.

SURRENDERThis song is a rock ballad. The chorus is sudden, loud, full-bodied and angst-driven. There is rhythmic, white noise, electronic percussion in the verses.

WOODSTOCKThis song is written by Joni Mitchell. It’s gentle with no big dynamic shifts. The lighting is mostly still throughout. Gentle sweeping lights, a mirror ball and lights reflecting off a mirrored costume are added towards the end of the song.

CREDITSAt the end of the show, we will perform an instrumental reprise of Truckstop over a projected credit sequence. This song is loud and driving and shifts in genre throughout. There are very slow, gentle flashes of light throughout this sequence

NOTEThere will be low volume underscores accompanying some of the spoken text between songs.

There is an old Latin proverb ‘A monkey is not to be caught in

a trap’.

Or as I like to say

‘The monkey who throws poo in the morning, has a smelly hand by

night’

Appearing On Stage and Screen

Queen Kong: A part-rock, part-ape, immortal, mythological being. The protagonist. Played by Sarah Ward.

The HOMOsapiens: All queer, all gender-diverse rock band led by Musical Director and drummer Bec Matthews with Gen Bernstein on lead guitar, Jo Franklin on Rhythm Guitar and Cerise Howard on Bass.

Motherboard: A conduit of communication, the central processor. She holds information and allows for communication between all systems and life-forms. Played by Asphyxia.

The Voice of the Motherboard: Ilana Charnelle Gelbart.

Interpreter: Signing in Auslan all live text is Kirri Dangerfield.

Un-named Alien: Played by Bec Matthews. Queen Kong meets this Alien at a truckstop in space.

Great Ape: Played by Anni Davey.

Creative Team: At the end of the show there is a video credit sequence; you will see the creative team behind this work and a list of those that helped us create it.

Cover photo by Elleni Toumpas Illustrations by Finn Scholes Design by Manouri Peiris

What’s so kind about mankind?Human nature is a boy bandGenes are denim pantsSocial is a danceDNA the other waySpells ANDQueen Kong

If you are interested in learning Auslan we

recommend the Magic Hands beginner course. Like

them on Facebook to get updates on when their

courses are happening, or go to the School House

Studios website and search for Magic Hands.

Also the website Sign Bank is a great resource

for learning specific signs and furthering your

knowledge of Auslan.

The Future is Accessible