Fosterville
Place to Make | Creative Engine Grant Recipient 2024
FOSTERVILLE
Josh Mitchell
Fosterville is a new project, very much in its first conceptual phase. The jumping-off point was a project I worked on last year called Ravens with Blink Dance Theatre. For that project, we had some beautiful photos taken, dressed as stylised Ravens. During the shoot, I recorded atmospheric audio at each photo location. These recordings became the basis for the music I wrote and then performed live for the showing. Leading up to the performance, I also worked closely with Jess (our choreographer) and the cast to ensure the music worked with the choreography.
This workflow is one I have used many times when working with dance companies. The music I write is based on the concepts discussed, the audio site recordings, and feedback in rehearsals. However, what if this relationship was really pushed? What if the choreographic practice and music composition were entirely co-dependent? Movement patterns are recorded and become the percussive elements of the music. We separately play with the tempo of the choreography and the music, each always informing the other. Improvisation exercises are set to fragments of music and then mined to develop themes and verbal feedback that become lyrics. These lyrics then become verbal scores used to develop choreography. We keep iterating back and forth until we come up with the ‘final’ song/choreography.
The performance outcomes could be quite varied. Initially, I’m imagining the first output of the Fosterville project to be 4-5 ‘songs,’ like an EP. The songs are performed live by myself with the dancers performing the choreography. Footage captured during the creative process is projected onto and behind us. For a longer performance, we would perform the EP (or an album if we get ambitious). For a smaller showing at a gallery, we could just perform one or two songs. Looking forward, this creative process could be used with different dancers and musicians. It could also be taught as a workshop for different companies and in schools.
Josh Mitchell Bio
Josh Mitchell is a composer, sound designer, and performer. He composes original scores, creative sound design, and spatial audio mixes for film, theatre, and dance, as well as virtual and augmented reality applications.
Josh has a Bachelor of Contemporary Art (Drama/Dance) from Deakin University, an Advanced Diploma of Dance and Drama Teaching from RMIT, and has attended the prestigious NYU/ASCAP Film Scoring Workshop at New York University. He has performed as both a musician and a dancer/actor with Blink Dance Theatre, Vital Organs Collective, Melbourne Dance Theatre, and The Lost Rung Physical Theatre.
Recently, Josh has written music and designed sounds for the ABC, Phoria XR, Catalyst VR, Blink Dance Theatre, The International Paralympic Committee/Meta, City of Sydney, and the Penrith City Council.