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Presenter Information

Blast Theory is a company continually in demand on the UK and international touring circuit. With a repertoire of site-specific, performance, interactive, video and installation work, Blast Theory's work is suitable for both performance and exhibition presentation.

Blast Theory's work can be presented in festivals, group exhibitions and stand-alone contexts. It often involves site-specific elements and the company works closely with presenters and galleries on all aspects of delivering a Blast Theory presentation.

For further details and full technical specifications please contact:

Dan Lamont
Administrator
Tel: +44 (0) 1273 413 455

Currently available for tour are the following pieces of work.

Fixing Point

Fixing Point (2011) is an audio walk about Seamus Ruddy made in collaboration with electronic musician Clark. It is a Faster Than Sound commission for Aldeburgh Music in Suffolk, an area that has a strong military history with experimental installations at Orford Ness and an American nuclear base at Bentwaters. Building on these contexts Blast Theory conducted an interview with Anne Morgan about her brother Seamus Ruddy, who was killed in 1985 by members of the Irish National Liberation Army in Paris. His body has never been found but is believed to be in a forest in France. He is one of a number of victims who disappeared and relatives are still anxiously hoping to find news of their loved ones. Anne speaks movingly about Seamus and what it is like to wait 26 years for news that never arrives.

To take part in Fixing Point you walk to a wood wearing headphones connected to a smartphone. The screen shows a map of the area and audio recordings are hidden in the wood. You explore the wood to reveal the recordings and learn more about Seamus. Each recording is also marked by a metal fixing point which is screwed into the ground leaving a galvanised steel ring visible above the surface. Blast Theory Associate Artist Jon Sutton created the Android application.

A video of Fixing Point is viewable online here or DVD available on request from Blast Theory.

Size of Company: For installation and site visits, 1-2 on the road: 1 artist and 1 technical. No Blast Theory team are required when the show is up and running, as it can be run by a local team.

Freight: No freight required.

Scale of venue: The show takes place in a wooded area that needs to be at least 100 metres by 200 metres.

A Front of House position will be required a maximum of 5 minutes away from the woods as a starting point for the audience.

Liaison between the hosts and the artists in the period preceding the show will allow exact location/scale of the wood and its proximity to the Front of House position to be worked out.

A small space for storage and desk space for 2 people will be required.

Session Times: The show runs for 6-8 hours each day, for between 3 days and 28 days depending on the context of the event. A minimum of 12 people can participate each hour or 72 people per day. The work lasts 30 minutes.

Participation and ticketing: Audience members use a smartphone provided by Blast Theory. They start the work from a dedicated front of house position or start location which needs to be a maximum of 5 minutes away from the woods. Depending on arrangements with the host venue, tickets can either be free or purchased in advance or on the door, but it is advised that the audience book in advance. Fixing Point is recommended for 16 years and over.

Working with local performers: There are opportunities for 2 local artists/performers to be involved in the presentation of the work.

Site visit: 1 member of Blast Theory for 1-2 days, to choose a site, a route and to collect GPS reference points. The site visit must be carried out at least 6 weeks prior to the start of the show.

Artists Presentations and Workshops: The artists are available to provide talks, presentations and workshops.

Language: This work is written and performed in English. Please discuss bilingual and translation options with the company.

For further details please see the project page here.

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A Machine To See With

Have you ever wanted to rob a bank?

A Machine To See With is a work for pedestrians and their mobile phones. To start the work you receive a phone call with instructions. A man's voice leads you through the streets of the city and into a heist movie; you are the protagonist, as you move from hiding money to meeting up with a partner in crime and onwards to the bank, the tension rises. You must deal with a bank robbery and it's aftermath. A Machine To See With mixes thriller clichés with the reality of the urban environment and explores the tyranny of choice and the financial crisis.

A Machine To See With premiered at the 2010 01SJ Biennial in San Jose going on to sold out seasons at New Frontier Sundance Film Festival (Jan 2010) and Walker Art Center Minneapolis (Apr 2011). It premiered in the UK at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival (Aug 2011) followed by presentations at the Brighton Digital Festival (Sep 2011) and Taipei Digital Festival (Nov 2011).

A DVD of A Machine To See With is viewable online here or available on request from Blast Theory. A copy of the script is also available.

Size of Company: 1 artist and 1 technical manager on the road.

Freight: No freight required.

Scale of venue: Three spaces are needed:

1 - A control room with 3 desk spaces, plus space for mapping.
2 - A quiet space suitable for recording audio.
3 - A Front of House location.

All spaces should be near or within the performance area in the city. The show takes place throughout the host city. Liaison between the hosts and the artists in the period preceding the show will allow mapping to be carried out and agreements to be made over public spaces to be used.

A car is required as a prop in the show. It must be parked at a location in the city in the same place throughout the run.

Session Times: The show runs for 2-6 hours each day, for between 3 and 10 days depending on the context of the event. 24 people can participate each hour and the experience lasts 50-75 minutes approximately.

Language: Written and performed in English. Please discuss bi-lingual and translation options with the company.

Working with local performers: Hosting the project requires 1-2 dedicated local assistants to work over the course of the show and for 1 day of the Get-In. The role requires confidence in dealing with the public and competence in using computers and mobile devices.

Site visit: 1 member of Blast Theory for 2-3 days.

Artists Presentations and Workshops: The artists are available to provide talks, presentations and workshops. Please discuss options with the company.

For further details please see the project page.

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Ulrike and Eamon Compliant

Commissioned by the De La Warr Pavilion for the 53rd Venice Biennale in 2009, Ulrike and Eamon Compliant is a narrative work for mobile phones. The audience walk the streets of the city on an interactive journey, where they choose to be one of two characters - Ulrike Meinhof of the Red Army Faction or Eamon Connor, member of the IRA. They receive phone calls, respond to questions and follow a path to a secluded and secretive interview chamber. The experience creates a parallel and, at times, unnerving reality to the physical world through which the audience is walking.

Size of Company: 10 on the road. 3 Artists, 4 Performers, 2 Technicians, 1 Production Manager.

Freight: 2 installation rooms and furniture, tools, IT equipment, costumes & print materials. Total: 8 cubic metres.

Scale of venue: 1st installation room: minimum 3.5m x 6m, with a minimum height clearance of 3m, ideally with blackout. Preferably a public space at the host venue.
2nd installation room: minimum 3.5m x 6m, with a minimum height clearance of 3m, ideally with blackout. Preferably a space with direct street access within 10 mins walk of the host venue.
Dedicated control room: large enough to accommodate 3 working tables and space for changing. Ideally within the same building as one of the 2 installation spaces.

Basic technical and other requirements: The installation spaces and control room require an always-on Internet connection, with a minimum 512kbps up and down; 12 x chairs 2 x basic worktables - for use during Get-In only; separate storage space for crates and packing; use of a separate space for meetings/dressing room.

Session Times: The show runs for 6 hours each day, for between 3 and 14 days depending on the context of the event. 72 people can participate each day.

Language: Written and performed in English. Please discuss bi-lingual and translation options with the company.

Working with local performers: Hosting the project requires 4 dedicated local performers to work over the course of the show and for 1 day of the Get-In. The performer role requires confidence in dealing with the public and competence in using computers and mobile devices.

Site visit: 1 member of Blast Theory for 1-2 days.

Artist's Presentations and Workshops The artists are available to provide talks, presentations and workshops. Please discuss options with the company.

For further details please see the project page.

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Rider Spoke

Rider Spoke invites the audience to cycle through the streets of the city, equipped with a handheld computer. Combining theatre with game play and state of the art technology, Rider Spoke continues Blast Theory's enquiry into performance in the age of personal communication.

Size of company: 5 on the road. 3 artists, 1 Production Manager, 1 Technical Manager

Freight: 30 bicycles, racks, helmets and lights are required and it is preferable for the host organisation to supply bicycles. Blast Theory can supply bikes and bike racks.

Scale of venue: Outdoor undercover area for bike pick-up (with enough space for 30 bikes and racks). Indoor front of house in close proximity to bike pick-up plus control room (of at least 2m x 2m). Secure storage must be supplied for the bicycles.

Working with local performers: Hosting the project requires a dedicated team of 4-6 performers to work alongside the Blast Theory team.

Language: Written and performed in English. Please discuss bi-lingual and translation options with the company.

Conditions of Participation: Rider Spoke is suitable for people age 16 years and over.

Artists' Presentations and Workshops: The artists are available to provide talks, presentations and workshops. Please discuss options with the company.

For further details please see the project page.

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TRUCOLD

TRUCOLD is a video shot at night on the streets of Karlsruhe and London. The work comes out of Blast Theory's interest in physical displacement, amnesia and time travel, focusing in on the city at night and the gaps between what is real and what is fictional. Lengthy shots with a fixed camera unveil the passage of time on the landscape.

TRUCOLD can also be exhibited with a lively and engaging installation archive of two groundbreaking projects, Can You See Me Now? and Uncle Roy All Around You, presented alongside the interactive computer-based work Single Story Building. Collectively they show different perspectives on the city as a communication space at the turn of the century.

Size of company: 1 artist for installation.

Freight: DVD's can be sent in advance or travel with the artists.

Scale of venue: A darkened space (at least 4m x 4m) with white walls or similar for projection.

Artists' Presentations and Workshops: The artists are available to provide talks, presentations and workshops. Please discuss options with the company.

For further details please see the project page.

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