Interactive story-telling theatre about a First Nations woman and her search for her Song.

I AM SONG is an intimate one-woman performance with workshop elements and cultural sharing developed by proud Narungga-Kaurna performance maker Devi Telfer. In this re-imagined version of her acclaimed 2015 theatre work ‘SONG the story of a girl, a bird and a teapot’, Devi has stripped back the theatrical elements to take an innovative approach to storytelling which combines simplicity, discovery and powerful honesty.

A woman called Song enlists the help of the audience to go with her on a journey of identity touching on childhood, disconnection, belonging and hope. Part workshop, part theatre, the story unfolds through dialogue, poetical style, movement and the use of minimal symbolic props, such as stones, a bell, a possum cloak and a teapot.

By coming to the show, you are a part of the show. You bring a small stone, your stone becomes part of the set, your voice part of the storytelling, and you may play people from Song’s life. Through supporting and connecting with Song as she tells her story, you lose your sense of being a spectator and leave with a deep personal understanding of a First Nations woman and her search for her Song.

Venue Format
Black Box Venue
Technical Rating
C
Touring Party
2
Considerations

CONTENT WARNING this production contains intergenerational trauma-related and suicide themes with occasional strong language. TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS • Performance area large enough for circle of 36 seats, additional 24 seats in second row behind, and 2 ‘safety spaces’ outside the circle, each with a table and 3 stools or seats. (Safety spaces are for audience if they feel the need to leave the circle due to the play’s content.) • One lighting state wash covering performance and audience area. No LX cues. • No sound cues (except for venue’s recorded welcome to country if appropriate). • Good acoustic for one unamplified performer working in the round, and for untrained audience members to speak. • Seating general admission, capacity 60. (This is an intimate interactive show with some simple audience participation. Audiences need to feel comfortable for Devi to feel she can welcome and guide them into the shared storytelling. Please contact the company if you wish to discuss increasing the capacity.)

YAKKANA AND ACCOLADE PRODUCTIONS

Yakkana Productions is the production company of Kaurna-Narrunga writer/producer/performer Devi Telfer. Accolade Productions is the production company of writer/director/dramaturg Sue Rider.

Yakkana and Accolade partnered together in 2013 for the creation and development of SONG the story of a girl, a bird and a teapot. The show premiered at Brisbane Powerhouse in 2015 and toured to Tandanya National Aboriginal Cultural Institute for Adelaide Spirit Festival in 2016. The show was re-imagined as SONG REVISITED with support from QPAC and toured to Tandanya for Adelaide Fringe 2021. Further support from QPAC has enabled Yakkana and Accolade to develop I AM SONG as an intimate one-woman performance with workshop elements and cultural sharing.

Unique Selling Point

What makes I AM SONG unique is the low-tech environment and the innovative use of traditional ways of learning to make a new form of inclusive theatre. With respect and gentle humour, Devi engages the audience from the moment they enter in a yarning workshop that gradually evolves to a full theatre experience with audience interaction. Audience members are asked to bring a small stone that becomes a part of the storytelling and weaves people as volunteers to take on various character roles in the shared telling of a First Nation story.

Marketing Materials

Material to help us sell the show (currently in progress) • Hero shot • Promo videos • Full length archival video (not for public distribution) • Photos

Community Engagement

The show itself is a form of community engagement. In addition: • Devi Telfer will offer a free Q&A or informal Meet and Greet following the performance. • Sue Rider can offer a 60 minute master class on Directing in the Round OR Creating a Solo Show. Cost $450 for a maximum 25 participants.