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Let's Get Crackin'

Details

In 2015, The Crackup Sisters toured Let’s Get Crackin’ to regional and remote Queensland communities providing performances and workshops at local Agricultural Shows.

Let’s Get Crackin’ is an array of comedy, whipcracking, acrobatics and slapstick with big props, tall stories and funny jokes. The tour visited 10 communities including several drought affected regions between April and June 2015, and delivered 54 performances and 45 community engagement activities.

A key component of the tour was community workshops for young people. Prior to each show, The Crackup Sisters worked with participants in developing skills in stock whip cracking, acrobatics and comedy. Participants then performed alongside the Crackup Sisters at the agricultural shows. This not only helped participants develop skills but also actively involved them in their local Agricultural Show. 

Crack up sisters poster

When

April to June 2015

Where

Alpha, Biloela, Bollon, Chinchilla, Emerald, Maleny, Mitchell, St George, Sunshine Coast and Yeppoon 

 

 

Key stats 

  • 10 communities
  • 54 performances for 16,650 attendees
  • 45 engagement activities for 881 participants
  • 6 paid artists and arts and cultural workers

Arts Queensland contribution:

$47,595 - Playing Queensland Fund

Outcomes

  • The tour was positively received by audience members and participants with some audience members travelling over 400kms to see the show or returning to see it a second time.
  • The community engagement approach worked well. Feedback especially from schools was very positive.

The Crackup Sisters were amazing with teaching kids to do things they had never done before in a safe and friendly environment with encouraging attitudes and including everyone fairly making sure every child was equally involved with the activity/program of the day. The Crackup Sisters have an amazing ability to build confidence in every one around them and making everyone feel good about themselves and they really were a crack-up☺!"

It is always good for our students to work with a variety of teachers in a variety of experiences. The element of team work and trust which is embedded in your workshop is exactly what our school promotes, and for our students to perform with you at the show was an exciting opportunity which really added value to the workshop. They still talk about it!

  • The Crackup Sisters are in conversation about a 2016 tour with a similar tour circuit and with workshops aimed at the wider age range that expressed interest within each community. There are also discussions with towns around how to engage the community in different forums and at different times of the year.

Image of Crackup Sisters

 

Learnings and reflections

The Crackup Sisters reflected on the importance of community engagement and communication: 

We learned that engagement with the community prior to shows was of utmost importance. This meant that we learned more about the town and the town learned about us. Things like going to the local coffee shop and being out and about in town became something that we realised was important to the town. It showed each community that we were there to be in their town, use their resources and contribute to their community in more ways than one. 

It was essential that communication was of the highest priority. This meant that calls to the community were made weeks and months before the tour commenced and that the town was prepared for the workshops and the shows. This meant that it ran smoothly for both the community and us. 

This leads into the idea that there must be community need for the project and performance. The community must identify the need for the art to come to their town. It is crucial to be in tune with the needs of the communities in order to deliver the best arts project possible. 

In future tours, the Crackup sisters are looking to expand their community engagement approach.

For any further tours, we will re-develop this community engagement approach to include all members of the community - including parents, young people, elderly people and station people. It also means that we will spend longer in the community which is a crucial element to this kind of engagement.

Contact for further information

Amanda-Lyn Pearson
Phone: 0407 152 172
Email: amandalyn@crackupsisters.com
Website: http://www.crackupsisters.com/

Links 

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/crackupsisters

Crackup Sisters Playing Queensland 2015 https://youtu.be/XkTj-D9zc-0

 

A pdf version of the Let's Get Crackin' case study (PDF) (340.54 KB) is available.

 

All images courtersy The Crackup Sisters.