Sight Unseen
2021 – 2022
A young man sits at a table offering compliments to the audience. A series of affirmations descends into a shouting contest. A woman tears pages from a book, piling up the scrunched pieces of paper. A solitary voice pierces the darkness, chaos erupts, and things start to go wrong.
Sight Unseen is a playful theatre work, developed by DADAA‘s Youth Performance group, and performed and filmed in the PICA Performance Space as part of KickstART Festival.
Eight young performers explore what it feels like to fit into a mold that is narrow, outdated, and doesn’t come close to being able to handle the shape and breadth of your potential. The performance gathers fragments of young peoples’ voices and experiences, layering live action, sound, and media, to remind the audience that our quirks and differences are what make us interesting.
This project began with a series of workshops and conversations around what marks people as good or bad, what is seen as good behaviour and what is bad behaviour, and that this is often not black and white. Performers were asked to reflect on themselves and the shades of grey we all sometimes inhabit. From bullies and bullying to masculinity and femininity, obeying or standing up for yourself, one conversation lead to another and Sight Unseen evolved.
The artists
DADAA‘s Youth Performance group is a mixed bunch of young people who meet weekly to create contemporary performance works. Now in its third year, the group is made up of people from different backgrounds and different abilities, celebrating all that makes us unique, different, and interesting.
Performed and filmed at the PICA and available online, Sight Unseen celebrates breaking free from codes of expected behaviour and the necessity to sometimes “let your naughty out”.
Presented by DADAA in association with PICA and Propel Youth Arts WA as part of KickstART Festival
About KickstART Festival
Presented by Propel Youth Arts WA, the KickstART Festival has been the flagship event of Youth Week WA for 12 years running. KickstART offers over 60 free events – including workshops, talks, performances, mentorships, exhibitions, markets, and other special events – between 8 – 16 April, for young people aged 12-26. This year, due to COVID-19, the festival is presented in both digital and hybrid formats.
The Youth Week WA KickstART Festival 2022 is presented by Propel Youth Arts WA and is funded by the Government of Western Australia through the Department of Communities and the Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries. KickstART is also supported by Lotterywest, the City of Perth, the City of Stirling, the City of Fremantle, and the City of Vincent.
