Presents

Buttons

Touring Resources

Pack

About The Show

As we approach the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz (27th January 2015), it is important to continue preserving and sharing the stories of both victims and survivors of the Nazis' biggest concentration camp. Although seventy years have passed, the impact of these events still resonates in the public today; not only with direct relatives of those affected, but with the wider public.

Buttons was originally developed for the Little Angel Theatre’s HATCH Festival and it received its premiered to a sold-out audience at the Little Angel Theatre FIRST Festival in March 2014. With the centenary of World War One this year, and the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz in 2015, the production is responsive and timely to these significant historical events.

Buttons by Sort of Theatre

Show Copy

“Joni is a puppeteer. Dana is not.Dana is a Jew. Joni is not.Buttons is a show about their journey to Auschwitz and the stories they discovered on the way.Using a mixture of live performance, spoken word, shadow puppetry and object manipulation Joni and Dana attempt to recount the story of their ‘sort of’ holiday, whilst exploring the themes of memory, family, war and the Holocaust.”

Synopsis

The show performed by both Dana and Joni, is a direct address piece to the audience. The show has moments of heightened deep emotions such as sadness and nostalgia, juxtaposed with lighter moments of comedy. The show is delivered in a natural style – although we follow a script, we perform as ourselves rather than characters or constructs of ourselves – this is to highlight the honesty within the storytelling as well as creating a feeling of 1-2-1 interaction between us and each audience member. We aim for the audience to go away feeling that they know us better.The show begins by us telling the story of why we wanted to go to Auschwitz. We then focus on aspects of our journey in sections, in the style of a travel guide: Packing, Travel, Language, Food, Sightseeing, and finally the camp itself, Auschwitz. We interweave stories from Dana’s family history as well as other stories we found along the way. We also have two sections of the show where we step outside of the story of the journey and discuss the reasons behind doing the show – one at the beginning and one at the end. Throughout the show a tension builds between the dichotomies of the performers’ relationships to the subject matter which culminates in a constructed argument between Joni and Dana, and a resolution which concludes the journey.

Contact Details

Email address: sortoftheatre@gmail.com!

Telephone number: 07429582110

Website: sortoftheatre.wordpress.comTwitter: @SortOfTheatreFacebook: Facebook.com/SortOfTheatreYouTube: youtube.com/Sort OfTheatre

About the Company

Sort Of Theatre is a contemporary collaborative performance company which puts the art of honest storytelling at its heart. We don’t just tell stories because we want to, we tell them because they need to be told. This is what defines us.

We are process based devising company, taking on stories around identity and morality that make the biggest impact on us as artists. We use puppetry not to just illustrate these stories; but to illuminate them. We use the power that puppetry has to bring a visceral emotive response to our audiences.

Creative Team

Joni-Rae Carrack and Dana Segal (performers and devisers)

Phil Maguire (composer)

The staging is simple – one table and two chairs. We use an Over Head Projector, and a Slide Projector, so would require space on stage to project (a free standing screen or white wall). These are placed onstage prior to performance and remain there throughout the show. We have a variety of props including paper plates, a jar of buttons and a photo frame. All our props fit into the two actual rucksacks we took on our journey, and throughout the course of the show we take them out and place them onstage. They are then packed back into the bags towards the end of the show. We use a variety of puppetry techniques – shadow puppetry, object manipulation, and bunraku-style puppets.

We commissioned musician Phil Maguire to create a soundscape to underscore moments of tension or action. He can perform live with us, or we can supply a recording. The major themes of the show are family, memory and war. We explore the fragility, strength and layers of these themes through the visual aesthetic of the show, and through our performance delivery style.

Further Details

Running Time: 60 minutesAge Restriction: 14+ due to sensitive nature of subject

Buttons Trailer -2014http://youtu.be/OgWc5V7jh1g

Images

Example E-Flyers

EMAILS

“I found it to be so polished, it had the perfect balance between depth and light hearted humour, you were so spot on. I also found it far more hard hitting than before. The amount of hard work you'd put in, between the autumn and now was so evident, well done! The final touch of giving out the buttons on the way out was perfect, I loved that.” Judith Hope

“I knew that you were going to rip my heart out and stamp all over it – but you did it with such humour, honesty and sincerity. Really, my heartfelt congratulations, Buttons is a production to be so proud of.” Sandie Mattioli

“I loved the style, how informal and familiar it is in contrast to the button projection and the puppetering. I felt it was a s much a celebration of life as it was an important showcase of history thats not far in the past at all. The informal style I think really helped to hone in on this point, that this history affects all of us (even if we aren't kosher!). It has also inspired me, in a way, to visit Auschwitz and many other places where humanity was at it's worst and greatest. I loved the final image of art will set you free and am quite in awe as to how you and joni made such a massive massive tragedy into art that is digestible but not forgettable. The button at the end was a blessed touch.” Deanna Rodger

“I loved it so much. I cried in an alleyway afterwards” Anonymous

FEEDBACK FORMS

“The avoidance of the main subject made it even more powerful at the end. I didn’t like the taste of emotion being taken away from me but this added to the waterfall at the end” Gavin Mathers

“Loved the fact that it was a direct recount of past experience, linked with the hard hitting subject”

“Powerful, honest story, unique use of puppets and props” Ed Stone

“Very powerful delivery and use of puppetry. Conveyed the emotional side of it very well”

“Very well written and naturally performed. Interesting ‘puppet’ concept. Yes, I expected more puppets as such, but it had it’s puppets so, I liked it” Mabel Enainas

“The freshness of the reminder of historical horror – we cannot afford to allow to forget” Isabel Ros Lopez

“Compelling storytelling, great balance of light and dark, great design”

“Loved it! Natural, clever, moving, funny” Stephanie Graham

“Amazing – so powerful and emotionally charged. Puppetry used to compliment a moving narrative” Emma Pickering

“It felt very natural and personal. Very thoughtful and balanced”

“Moving, perfectly judged storytelling. Fantastic”

“Simplicity and raw honesty. Nature of how artistically dealing with with something as sensitive”

“Great comedy and puppetry is great!”

“Beautiful imagery, touching, full of heard and honesty”

“Great music, atomospheric lighting and you could hear a pin drop in the emotive silent scenes...”

Feedback

“Loved the honesty and pace”

“Very well structured, entertaining and informative”

“Brilliant emotional performance”

“Brilliantly conveyed the experience – I have done the same trip and this was truly a great description of the experience”

“Loved the theme and the way it was portrayed in a way that didn’t dumb it down but made it accessible”

“Witty and honest”

“Really wonderful. Enjoyed the natural style and clever use of objects. I’m working on an event on objects * performance so this was very interesting – how objects can be activated and transformed by their use. Touching, funny and sad. Great storytelling!” Natalie Coe

“I liked the intensity and honesty of the show – the courage of the emotional heart and the structure/shape of it, rising and falling. I love that you are telling the stories. I felt a bit uncomfortable on the shifting sounds of the beginning but that too was good, because that big of discomfort prepared me for the whammies – VERY GOOD SHOW!”

“A very good first performance. Would see them again”

“Very moving and brave. Balance of funny dark. Felt personal and genuine. So evolved since HATCH Festival. I have Jewish family, and it really made me think and reflect”

“So heartfelt and honest. A real insight into how a Jewish person felt about it. A wonderful performance by them both. Thank you”

“I thought it was brilliant and enjoyed the mixture between objectionable and ‘in character’”

“I like the puppetry and symbolism of buttons”

“Very strong, accessible show. Movingly told”

“Liked the OHP and light projections – very emotive. Good storytelling, informative without being preachy”

“Loved it. Really moving, funny, honest and informative. Has inspired me”

Lighting Cue Sheet

Music Cue Sheet

Risk Assessment