Elementary Carbon

This pilot project involves the creation of an interactive performance with embedded lecture-installation, which will be aimed primarily at 14-18 year olds studying chemistry and/or physics, in order to excitethem about Carbon research (i.e. contributions to energy research as well as fundamental research, and nanotechnology) and encourage strong debate.The piece will highlight and examine the contradictions surrounding the perceptions and potential of Carbon, from environmental footprints to its use in nuclear technology, from diamonds to carbon fibre. The way these themes are brought to life will be underpinned and informed by Prof. Malcolm Heggie's ongoing research.This multidisciplinary performance project will involve three professional performers and a director from critically acclaimed Organic Theatre, two visual artists from the Studio Rogmag collective, and will also incorporate a specially commissioned interactive lecture from Prof. Malcolm Heggie.The 50min piece will fit within existing school/college teaching schedules, and will be integrated with existing educational curricula where possible, and followed by post-show discussions and dissemination of follow-up teaching materials.The performance will be built up over a three-week rehearsal/devising process, staggered into time-distanced sections, to allow for ongoing consultation with education professionals, formative assessment, and forward planning.The initial performance material will be generated and devised through a series of three explorative two-day workshops (six hours per day) involving Prof MH and all artists in an exchange of scientific knowledge and creative practices. Prof MH will offer information and points of departure on carbon structures, their science and applications, while the performers, the visual artists and the director will investigate the possibilities of improvising and constructing scenes and art objects based on the newly acquired material. In this process Prof MH will also act as advisor and referee of the appropriateness and the consistency of scientific data, while the visual artists will respond with, and integrate their own ideas on the basis of information received from both scientific and performance processes.At the completion of the workshops, the resulting performance material will be further developed into a performance structure by performers, director and Prof MH, also in consultation with representatives of target audiences (school/college teachers/lecturers) through audits as appropriate, before embarking on a further two week devising and rehearsal period involving all participating artists, split into two 1-week sections. This will include Organic Theatre director and performers working with MH to develop the performative structure and realisation of MH's embedded lecture, as well as ensuring its effective integration within the whole piece. The lecture will be enhanced by interactive elements, which will draw a significant body of the audience into the work in a hands-on format, by integrating art objects which will be based on carbon molecular models and other responses to the theme.A scratch performance, linking ideas in loose performance format, will be presented to representatives of target audiences half way through devising period (i.e. after the first full week of devising/rehearsal), in order to ascertain the ongoing relevance to their curricula. A dress rehearsal will take place at Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh, to gather artistic feedback from Drama and Performance staff, to further enhance and evaluate the quality of the work.There will be five performances: one during Brighton Science Festival for invited schools/colleges audiences from the Brighton area. The other four performances will take place in drama facilities at schools and Further Education colleges exact dates to be confirmed