Lift Off / the Boy & the Ball

Lift Off began as a research and development project taking place between January and July 2021, working with students and staff at Kilkenny Preschool. Each visit to Kilkenny Preschool involves Stephen presenting of a short self-devised performance to students and staff. The aim was to test these performance segments with students to see what they respond to and engage with. Each subsequent visit informed by the previous visit lead to the development of a solo non-verbal image and movement based performance for 4 year olds which was given the title the Boy & the Ball. In 2022 Stephen began the final development and rehearsal of the Boy & the Ball, this involved ongoing trialing of the work with staff and students at Kilkenny Preschool, Ngutu College, West Beach Kindergarten and Newland Park Kindergarten. Dave Brown of The Paperboats will direct the Boy & the Ball working alongside collaborators designer / provocateur Greg Cousins and musician / composer James Brown. In August 2022 the Boy & the Ball will have a season as a part of Goodwood Theatre and Studios COMEBACK Festival season. This project is funded by Arts South Australia and is a project partner with The PaperBoats. Video highlights click here. Lift Off / the Boy & the Ball making process has been documented here.