The Minotaur.... Music & Skills
It’s always really exciting to be able to work in partnership with other projects and programmes, especially when it offers a chance for musicians to try something new and learning new skills. So I was delighted when we got the opportunity to offer two places to MLWM members to work with mac and Kindle theatre on the Minotaur project a few months ago.
Dan Milverton & Luke Iveson kindly blogged about their experience... Luke: “I really liked what Kindle had done in the past and really wanted a chance to work with them.’We Are The Minotaur' was a perfect opportunity as my skills as a musician where displayed and tested, and I learnt knew things about theatre, producing and directing. As a composer I mainly write contemporary/avant-garde music however this allowed me this think about how music can be heard differently and placed against complimenting and disjointing visuals, creating two very different experiences... The show was really successful...there were moments where I didn't see how things would fit together and things were constantly changing, however with the carful direction of Kindle everything fell perfectly in place, creating something everyone was proud to be involved in.”
Dan highlighted the opportunity to gain new skills: “I think the main skills I learnt during the course were working to create music, whether it be from scratch, or adapting pre-existing music to fit an idea, which could sometimes be very vague, sometimes more detailed. It helped improve creativity and also take me way out of my comfort zone to develop improvisation and extended techniques to fit it with the action taking place.... These are all very valuable skills, which as a working musician, it is almost impossible to make it without being versatile and willing to put yourself on the spot. This is what I found most useful!”
It’s fantastic to see how one experience can vary so much for everyone involved, and as Dan so neatly expressed – sometimes we just need to get out of the comfort zone to really develop ourselves professionally.
Erika