Puppet stories from the land
"Erth is a performance company based in Sydney," Scott said. "We tour both nationally and internationally but our work is Australian-centric and always incorporates life-size puppets."
Of course, with puppets involved children make up a large part of the audience. "Our work is considered to be oriented to families. But we also make work for adults," Scott said.
The puppets are all made in Erth's Sydney workshop situated in the new contemporary arts centre, CarriageWorks. Recently Erth has been embracing new technologies in their production using computer-generated imagery and projection as performance tools.
"On a good day the workshop has about 10 people in there. The company has a core team of about 20 to 30 people," Scott said.
Erth was founded in 1990 and has been creating performance art ever since. It is an innovator of physical and visual theatre. Scott has been involved since the beginning and is its artistic director.
"I started the company way back in the olden days," Scott laughs. "Three of the original founding members still run the company. I'd long been interested in puppetry and I'd always been involved in the performing arts. It was a natural progression. I kind of fell into it and kept falling, I guess."
Erth tours the world performing at most major Australian and international festivals. And it's a huge logistical operation taking all the puppets for their shows with them. Erth currently has three different shows running simultaneously around the world.
Their latest show I, Bunyip is coming to Lismore next week. It's not the first time Erth has come to Lismore.
"We did Dinosaur Petting Zoo to sold-out audiences there a few years ago," Scott said.
"I, Bunyip is the continuatuion of our investigation into the stories that come from Australia," Scott said. "We're known for our dinosaurs, which is natural history, but we're also looking at folklore. We're introducing stories from the landscape, being mindful of the rich treasure trove of Aboriginal stories."
Scott wants people to understand their place within a landscape from these stories that come from the land. These stories invite us to respect the forces and spirits connected to the land. He believes that children need to experience the magic and inexplicable parts of their world. It teaches respect.
"This latest production is about respect," he said. "It features bunyips and such but the overall key message that we offer is about respecting culture and respecting the stories that come from the land and from the people who have been here for thousands of years.
"The main thing about the show is we love to see the joy on the children's faces," Scott said.
NORPA presents I, Bunyip at the Lismore City Hall next Monday, June 25, at 5.30pm; and next Tuesday, June 26, at 10am and 1.30pm.
Tickets are $16.50 or $60 (family) from 1300 066 772 or www.norpa.org.au.
