Katie Etheridge's diary

Mobile Machinoeki
This summer Katie will be working with Phil Smith on his new performance project Mobile Machinoeki, a 4 week project mixing exploratory wandering and narrative-based performance. Between 14th June to 11 July, in Teignbridge, South Devon, Katie Etheridge, Anoushka Athique and Phil Smith will make their own ambulatory explorations, create three mis-guided tours, perform a 30 minutes show (in tea shops, viewing platforms, etc.) based on their wanderings and finally spend a week on the road performing to and assisting those they meet. A 'machinoeki' is a Japanese walking station, the equivalent of a service station for walkers - the project seeks to create a new one and make it mobile. The project is funded by Arts Council England and Teignbridge District Council.

Shall We Dance?
Katie is working with Ragroof Theatre as a performer/collaborator on their 2007 tour of Shall We Dance?, a show designed for bandstands and inspired by local older peoples memories of dancing and courting from the roaring twenties to the thrifty fifties. The audience are transported back to a time when the intricate rituals of courtship were played out on the dance floors of village halls and grand ballrooms alike. Katie was commissioned last year to create an interpretive installation to accompany the show, based around oral histories collected in the research process. The resulting 1940’s parlour archive will also be on tour with the show this summer. Dates include 2nd June - Platt Fields Park, Manchester, 30th June - Winchester Hat Fair, and 17th-18th August – National Theatre, London.