BUSY BEING ZE
A theatre show for families about a puppet named Ze and their journey to self acceptance- inspiring love, learning and inclusivity for everyone.
New Writing, Musical, Spoke Word, Puppetry, Family
On Tuesday 15th October 2019 we hosted a public sharing of work developed during a three week residency at Applecart Arts, Upton Park of new puppetry musical "Busy Being Ze". This first stage of R&D was made possible by over 100 incredible people who supported us on Kickstarter. It was also supported by Arts Council England National Lottery Project Grants.
We created this page to give you an idea of our show. It has photos and videos of our work and we hope you can engage with as many or as few as you like.
The Story of Ze
Busy Being Ze is a fantastical adventure story which all starts when Ze finds they don't fit in on their first day of school. When seeking escape in a bathroom, they find themselves being pulled through the mirror into a strange and magical world, the amazing world of the InBetween. In the InBetween there are many weird and wonderful creatures Ze meets, each as special and unique as the next. The creatures are each inspired by the colours of the pride flag and their meanings- orange for healing, green for nature, red for life. Along Ze's journey the characters they meet they help Ze along the way, helping them explore topics such as curiosity, courage, community, empathy and pride through song and dance.
When it all seems happy and perfect in the InBetween, Ze discovers some sad creatures lost and hurt by the real world, seeking refuge in the InBetween. Ze start to worry and realises they can't hide in the InBetween forever, they have to go back to school. Through courage, strength and by listening and learning from other's stories Ze realises they can help others by accepting themselves. Ze returns to school with the hope that they can bring a little of the joy and celebration of the InBetween back to the classroom.
When Ze feels isolated at School, they fall through the Bathroom Mirror into a magical world called the "InBetween". Using language, music and design we are forming this world by breaking down the gender binary. These designs, by Alicia Britt, illustrate some of our concepts.
The Concept of the Creatures of the "InBetween"
The Concept of the Creatures of the "InBetween"
The Concept of the Creatures of the "InBetween"
The Concept of the Creatures of the "InBetween"
During our R&D we explored our ideas of the InBetween through puppetry, words, poetry and music. We have made this short show-reel to give you a condensed taste of our work. You can view the full content here on our videos page or by clicking the link under the video below.
Busy Being Ze Reel (Duration 07:17)
Busy Being Ze Reel
As part of our R&D we hosted a Puppet Making and Exploring Identity Workshop in collaboration with Arcola Theatre and Dalston Roof Park.
For more information click here.
CREATIVE TEAM
Alicia Britt (Director/Designer)
Alicia is a resident artist of the Cockpit Arts Creative Careers and Young Ambassador for The Princes Trust. She is a puppetry director and maker, with training from Curious School of Puppetry graduating in 2017. She regularly performs and collaborates within the cabaret community and produces puppet cabaret nights merging specalisms of drag, burlesque and cabaret puppetry.
Alexander Luttley (Writer)
Alexander Luttley is a Cabaret Superstar better know as Mercury or Pi the Mime. An award winning performer, they were also part of the creative team for incredibly sucessful children's cabaret "Princess Charming". They also co-wrote and created new queer history musical, "Queerstory" recently performed at the ROUNDABOUT for Paines Plough.
Sebastian Freeburn (Music)
Sebastian Freeburn is a director, designer and musician and has worked with Loaded Object and Wondering Hands Theatre since their creation. He composed and wrote children's puppet show "The Old Woman Made of Stardust" previously by Wondering Hands Theatre.
Edie Edmundson (Co-Writer, Puppeteer, Poet)
Edie Edmundson and Alicia met at Curious School of Puppetry. Edie is a writer, puppeteer and puppetry director. She has worked with the RSC, and previously performed as the Matchgirl in Emma Rice's "The Matchgirl and Other Happier Tales" at the Globe and Bristol Old Vic.
Thanks for visiting, we hope you enjoyed our little exploration into Ze's world! If you would like any more information about the show or a copy of the script we'd be more than happy to pass them on.
We are looking for a new venue partner to help us take Ze's story through a second stage of R&D, into production and beyond. We can't wait to work with you so please get in contact at-
or call Alicia on-
Thank you!
Team Ze x
