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with Dr Nicholas Ng
PRESENTER PACK
D E S C E N D A N T S O F T H E
dragon
Descendants of the Dragon PRESENTER PACK
CONTENTS
PAGE
⼀一 The Show..…………………………………………………………………………..3⼆二 Instruments and props……..………………………………………………………..3 三 Image and text selection……………………………………………………………4四 Biographies…………………………………………………………………………5五 Reviews..……………………………………………………………………………6六 Technical requirements...…………………………………………………………….7七 Workshops……..…..….…………………………………………………………….8
Proudly produced by:
Queensland Multicultural Centre Level 1, 102 Main Street
KANGAROO POINT QLD 4169 P: (07) 3391 4433 | F: (07) 3301 9996
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Descendants of the Dragon PRESENTER PACK
⼀一 the show
Descendants of the Dragon is a captivating melange of live music, story-telling, visuals and movement that takes audiences on a memorable journey to China—via Australia!
Presented by Australian Chinese performer Dr Nicholas Ng, 'Descendants of the Dragon' pays homage to the Chinese in Australia in light of their long historical presence in regional Queensland. It is a captivating, informative and at times humorous account of the ‘ancient’ and ‘wise’ culture of the Chinese, and their descendants down under.
What does it mean to be Chinese and Australian at the same time? What instruments are played today? What languages are spoken? What foods are eaten? What legends are told? What occasions are celebrated? Where can you find the world’s longest Imperial dragon?
Raised in a Chinese household in suburban Sydney, Nicholas answers these questions passionately as an artist with a 15-year career of reconnecting musically with his home culture. Nicholas always had many interests, training in martial arts, classical and world music, movement and story-telling. Merging with his love for food, the cross-platform show brings together all his interests into the one production.
His plan to bring Dragons to rural destinations developed during a regional tour of Queensland as part of the ‘Ethno on the Road’ project organised by BeMAC (Brisbane Multicultural Arts Centre). Discovering a Chinese presence in the rural areas he visited, he is now excited to have BeMAC’s support in presenting Descendants of the Dragon to regional communities.
Descendants of the Dragon is designed for children of all ages, and those young at heart.
⼆二 instruments and props
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pipa, 4-stringed lute
hulusi, reed instrument
erhu, 2-stringed bowed fiddle
gu, double-headed drum
ban, woodblocks
bo, cymbals
xiao luo, a gong used in opera
luo, gong
PROPS
4 dragon puppets:• Yellow Dragon• Long Dragon• Black Dragon• Pearl Dragon (with attachable stick)
2 hand puppets:• Blue guard• Red guard3 face masks:• Old Man• Heavenly Emperor• Mountain King3 face masks:• Old Man• Heavenly Emperor• Mountain King1 reversible altar/Heavenly Palace set (2 decorative cloths, 1 incense pot, incense, 1 offering bowl containing dried fruit)1 walking stick2 kung fu fans
INSTRUMENTS
8 instruments in total
Descendants of the Dragon PRESENTER PACK
三 TEXT and IMAGE SELECTION
An excerpt from the script:
Opening Nicholas: [pipa solo into underscore] This is a story about dragons. Have you ever seen a dragon before? I have…in my dreams. But once, in a land called the Middle Kingdom, there lived many, many dragons…and people saw them: flying through the clouds, swimming in the ocean, and sleeping in caves.
But that was a long, long time ago, when the land was without water. It was so dry that there were no rivers, no creeks, no lakes, not even any water holes or billabongs…Can you imagine that? A land with no water! …and so those who lived on the land had to wait for the rain.
Dragons in Australia Now that you've heard the dragon story, I'd like to introduce you to an old friend of mine: Sun Loong. He’s 34 years of age, and he's a very special individual because Sun Loong is the longest dragon in the world! This is a photo of him [refer to screen]. See how amazingly colourful he is with 6,000 silk and papier-mâché scales, and 90,000 hand-cut mirrors on his face and body.
Does anyone know where Sun Loong lives? [wait for responses] No, he's not in China, although he was certainly made in Hong Kong.
Well, Sun Loong lives in Australia! In the township of Bendigo in country Victoria.
An excerpt from the slide projection:
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Descendants of the Dragon PRESENTER PACK
四 biographIES
Nicholas Ng—PERFORMER http://www.nicholasngmusic.com/ & https://soundcloud.com/nicholasngmusic
Dr Nicholas Ng is a highly acclaimed composer and performer with extensive experience in music research and event production. To date, he has performed at venues such as Merkin Concert Hall (New York City), 'The Studio', Sydney Opera House, and at festivals including the Chinese Gardens Chamber Music Festival (Sydney), KunstenFESTIVALdesarts (Brussels), Melbourne International Arts Festival, the OzAsia Festival (Adelaide), the Push Festival (Vancouver) and Woodford Folk Festival. His original compositions may be heard on the radio (ABC Radio National, ABC Classic FM), in dance and theatre productions (Australian Choreographic Centre, Griffin Theatre, Performance 4a), and as art exhibition installations (Art Gallery of NSW, Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art, Brisbane). Published by Orpheus Music, he has won numerous prizes and has been commissioned by the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, The Australian Voices, Chronology Arts and the Society for Universal Sacred Music.
He collaborates regularly with photographer, story-teller William Yang (photography) and TV personality Annette Shun Wah. In 2013, Nicholas formed tunCLOUD with Anna Yen (circus, movement) and Julian Wong (movement, music) in a debut production at Queensland Conservatorium.
Nicholas researches Chinese music in Australia and the greater Chinese diaspora. A former Research Fellow at Queensland Conservatorium, he curated and performed in the festival ‘ENCOUNTERS: Musical meetings between Australia and China’ (May 2010) with assistance from Arts Queensland and the Australia Council for the Arts. His first edited book takes its title from this festival (http://www.amazon.com/Encounters-Musical-Meetings-Between-Australia/dp/1922117064).
He has worked as a co-producer and performer for Brisbane City Council’s ‘Music in the Gardens’ series (2011-2012), BrisAsia Festival (2012-2013), in the City Hall Lunchtime Concert series and for the G20 Cultural Celebrations (2014). This year, he was fortunate to tour in the BeMAC (Brisbane Multicultural Arts Centre) 'Ethno on the Road' program to regional Queensland.
Nicholas is passionate about world music, the use of sound for healing, and in combination with other artforms. He practices Tai Chi weaponry, ballet and enjoys gymming, and cooking. He is excited to have devised Descendants of the Dragon, which combines many of his interests into a single production. The show has been enthusiastically received in Sydney and Adelaide, primarily in Primary and Secondary Schools.
Joanne Pratt—PRODUCER http://bemac.org.au/
CEO & Executive Producer Jo joined the BeMAC (Brisbane Multicultural Arts Centre) team in March 2009. As CEO and Executive Producer, Jo is responsible for the overall management of the organisation, as well as defining and delivering the artistic vision. Jo brings with her 15 years community development experience with Indigenous and Pacific Island communities, working across range of sectors, including youth justice, community cultural development and health. A mid-career redirection led to events and artist management and delivery of training and career development programs for artists from Indigenous and Pacific Island backgrounds.
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Descendants of the Dragon PRESENTER PACK
五 REVIEWS
■ Erik Griswold announces, “Welcome to the States”, and Alison St Ledger begins wordlessly singing “Amazing Grace” to a seamless accompaniment by Nicholas Ng on erhu. Über-chestnut done ecumenical gospel lite...Stop, and Pirrie-the-usher wanders about pulling down bits of bunting and dumping it on the floor to a slow blues soundtrack of melodica and erhu...Then it’s trumpet, voice and erhu again sounding out a listless blues.
Greg Hooper, RealTime 94 | December-January, 2009
■ Steve Newcomb and Erik Griswold played off each other wonderfully, while Nick Ng moved intriguingly between the blues and more minor-modal, 'eastern sounding' scales.
Liam Flenady, Resonate Magazine | 16 October, 2009
■ The erhu is at the centre of the composition, again framed by Western instruments and tonalities. Gonging and glissandi, some striking, deep, flowing saxophone and jaunty flute and clarinet lines provide rich interplay. In a second movement solo, the erhu, increasingly and fascinatingly distorted, is amplified dramatically against pre-recorded sound (not unlike deep breathing and percolation) suggestive of physical interiority. The work then becomes almost meditative before dancing to a finish…a satisfying multimedia experience: an ambitious concert built thematically around light (actual and metaphysical) but also, for the most part, dexterously realised in inventive staging and engaging projections.
Keith Gallasch, RealTime Arts | August-September, 2009
■ Nicholas Ng’s urhu [Chinese ‘violin’] is a beautiful complement in this space, gentle yet also sharp against the jerkiness of this dance.
Zsuzsanna Soboslay, RealTime Arts | December-January, 2008.
■ ...the live Chinese music backing…is beautifully delivered by Nicholas Ng.Simon Ferguson, The Daily Telegraph | 23 March, 2007
■ Nicholas has shown amazing skill in interpreting the ideas and requirements of the choreographer, connecting to the overarching theme yet still creating individual pieces that are hauntingly beautiful, delicately intricate, powerful or profound in impact. His sections always reflect the theme perfectly.Nicholas is also very accomplished in playing a beautiful Chinese instrument all an erhu. In 2004 he played the erhu live on stage, which created a stunning mood as the dancers worked around him in a piece called Devotion.
Ruth Osborne, The Australian Choreographic Ensemble | 3 March, 2006
■ All works composed by Nicholas for our various groups were imaginative, effective in performance and made excellent use of the players involved…Nicholas is an outstanding young composer, whose works demonstrate well-developed technique, originality and intelligence.
Vivienne Wither, Music for Everyone | 5 March, 2006
■ Recorded sound was given a short but beautiful pause when a solo erhu player (Nicholas Ng) appeared during Passion [Devotion].
Larry Ruffell, The Canberra Times, p. 24 | 30 July 2004
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Descendants of the Dragon PRESENTER PACK
六 technical requirements
Descendants of the Dragon is a small theatre piece. Nicholas Ng begins seated between two main props as seen in the diagram below. Video and still images are projected on a screen during the narration, which he provides while accompanying himself live on various instruments. The Production Manage sits off stage while triggering the video and still images that have been embedded into a slide sequence running on a Macbook.
Nicholas manipulates 4 dragon puppets to backing tracks, and finishes with a sword dance and audience participation activity that involves up to 8 volunteers on stage with him, and the rest of the audience members clapping rhythmic patterns from their seats.
The performance runs for 50 minutes (no interval). The auditorium should seat between 100 and 300 people. The ideal number would be 200. The show travels with 2 people: Nicholas Ng – Musician • To be advised – Production/Tour Manager & Operator AV. The show tours with 5 pieces APPROX 60k g of freight.
VENUE• Minimum space required: 6 m wide x 6 m deep• Seating should be raked; if seating is all on the same level, the stage should be raised (1-3 m high)• Black box space is best• Dressing room or toilet with mirror
STAGING• iron, ironing board with washing facilities• 1 padded chair for musician—preferably black
AV• AV is operated by the Production Manager. A table with enough room for 1 laptop and a script is needed. The Production Manager must be able to see the screen and the Performer• We supply 1 speaker, RØDE NT3 microphone and stand for instrumental amplification; and RCA cable for backing
tracks• We supply 1 MacBook computer with powerboard and extension cable• 1 projector with necessary VGA cables are to be supplied by the venue. The projector should ideally be 3000-4000
lumens, and the make and model must be approved by the Production Manager• 1 lapelle microphone or headset with necessary cables are also required (please advise if unavailable)
BUMP IN• normally takes 40-60 minutes, but access to the venue 2 hours before show commences is recommended for loading and stage set up• Flat-bed trolley (please advise if unavailable)
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Eastern Ocean (long blue box with waves on the front containing puppets
and masks)
Narrator/Musician (with instruments on both
sides of chair)
Altar/Heavenly Palace (a back-to-back prop)
Sword (concealed behind chair)
A U D I E N C E
Production Manager (with laptop)
vacant area for puppet and sword work, and up to 8 volunteers
Screen
Descendants of the Dragon PRESENTER PACK
七 WORKSHOPS
The show comes with a series of related workshops. Catered for children aged 5 years and up, and interested adults, the content and difficulty level of these workshops vary depending on age and ability. Families are most welcome, and no prior experience is necessary.
All workshops are 45 minutes in duration and focus on a specific discipline as seen in the description below. An optional '3-1' workshop of half a day (with appropriate rest times) is also offered.
Through these related workshops, the show give audiences a chance to participate in the arts and deepen their familiarity with another culture. Easy Chinese language participation activities are included where appropriate.
Workshop types:
MUSICAL: Introduction to rhythm & melody The facilitator allows participants to explore their musicality through an explanation of the basics of music-making in a group and easy-to-learn activities.
Can you clap a simple rhythm and tune? How good are you at keeping time and pitch? Which is your favourite percussion instrument?
The workshop ends with a mini-performance for family and friends involving all the participants singing, and on various instruments.
Instruments are provided by the facilitator, although participants are encouraged to bring their own.
CHALLENGE! (where appropriate) Can you remember more complex rhythms? Are you able to harmonise in a group?
PHYSICAL: Learn to meditate & move your body This workshop is great for Jackie Chan fans and anyone interested in meditation and movement. While the two seem to be contrasting activities, Nicholas shows the complementary benefits of learning to still the mind while cultivating inner energy through the movement of the body.
The workshop ends with a mini-performance of a basic form performed by the participants for their family and friends.
ART & CRAFT: Make your own character from the show! Based on the characters in the show, workshop participants choose between making a papier-mâché dragon or character mask. It can be cute, ferocious, mysterious or anything they please. Participants begin by sketching their desired creation before making it with balloons, newspaper, glue, egg cartons and art and craft materials.
All materials are provided by the facilitator, although participants are encouraged to bring their own recycled newspaper and cardboard.
3-in-1: Play, move & create An integration of all of three workshops in the one half-day session.
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Descendants of the Dragon PRESENTER PACK
thank you for your time in reading this Presenter pack.
We hope you find Descendants of the Dragon interesting and look forward to hearing from you!
For further information, please contact:
Ms Joanne Pratt, CEOBeMAC (Brisbane Multicultural Arts Centre)
Level 1, 102 Main StreetKANGAROO POINT QLD 4169
P: (07) 3391 4433 | F: (07) 3301 9996E: [email protected]
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D E S C E N D A N TS O F T H E
dragon
All images © Copyright by Nicholas Ng 2014
