Oceanallover and the Tide Machine

The Tide Machine Moving into 2012

2012-01-27T19:28:00.000Z

The Tide Machine had a fab outing in Annan in September 2011. I think that everybody was surprised, not least ourselves at the weather and the great interaction between performers and audience. Thank you to all who made that possible and encouraged us to show the show.

Here we are in 2012 and looking forward to a month of residency in Dumfries, with a possible link to events in Whitehaven on the other side of the Solway Firth.
The Tide Machine will appear as part of the Dumfries Arts Festival at the beginning of June, with a programme of involvement in costume, engineering, performance and design during May. Actually, Stuart Hall is already working with students from Dumfries and Galloway College to develop our ideas for tide powered turbines using the Gorlov Helix as a basis for drive.

The Emerge Agency based in Dumfries are helping us with marketing and management this year and they have posted a Facebook page that you can follow here:

The Tide Machine on Facebook

This phase of the project is made possible by the support of the Holywood Trust in Dumfries and is focussed on the inclusion of young people in the creative processes.

Porpatrick Photographs

2011-09-11T17:45:00.002+01:00

Here are a few marvellous pictures taken by Gavin McDowall ........

I will post more of these on the Tide Machine web-site: www.thetidemachine.com

National Museum of Scotland, St Andrews and Portpatrick

2011-09-05T10:24:00.000+01:00

Well..............!!!

moving into wilder weather and one more Tide Machine event to come this year at Annan in Dumfriesshire on the 14th and 15th of October.

We had tremendous fun spicing the mix amongst six thousand people at the opening of the revamped National Museum in Edinburgh on the 29th of July, closely followed by rising tides in St Andrews on the 30th. Both events were very lively and provocative, in a crustaceous kind of way. We have just returned from Portpatrick Folk Festival and another busy crowd of excited people! At this event we were joined by eleven young people from Stranraer Drama Club; they shoaled and scuttled with us on Friday night in the rain and Saturday afternoon in the September sun. Another tremendous event here and thanks to everyone at all the venues who helped to make them possible.

I will post some pictures for these event as they come in; if you have any then we would love to see them.

The Word.......

2011-07-10T10:59:00.000+01:00

Here is a link to an arts community blog for Dumfries and Galloway edited by Matt Baker. This page contains a review of the Kirkudbright event by Matt.

The Commonty

This picture was taken by Sarah Bain on Sunday the 3rd of July

Over the Dee

2011-07-07T10:28:00.000+01:00

Kirkudbright and The Tide Machine were well met!
A good audience for both events and a very lively response to the project.
Mark, Doug and Xander arrived on Friday to rig the Machine and James came to install the 12 volt system for us. Rehearsals took place during the day on saturday and Iona Bonaventura from the local academy joined the Boat Band as part of the show.

Great weather really helped and a very great deal of creative, collective hard work from the team!

The Windmills of Your Mind.......

2011-06-20T20:14:00.000+01:00

Only a couple of weeks until its first outing this year in Kirkudbright and things are moving rapidly forwards. Mark is seen here with the rebuilt mechanism.

The first show is on the 2nd of July at 11 pm and then again on the next possible tide at 12 noon...... see you there!

The Tide Machine at Pitch

2011-05-23T10:24:00.000+01:00

The Tide Machine was out in the world again last friday at the Briggait in Glasgow as part of the Conflux Pitch series. Alex worked with students from the Physical Theatre course at Adam Smith College lead by Simon Abbott, alongside Marion Kenny and Rudi Zygadlo from the Tide Machine Show. The performance was exuberant and energetic and looked great in the huge entrance hall of the building. Photographs from the event can be seen at this link:

Alex Rigg Flikr

Some of the students from this event will take part in Tide Machine events through the summer.

Making the Dance.......

2011-05-17T09:16:00.000+01:00

We are in the thick of rehearsal now, working jointly with our core team in Wallaceton Village Hall near Moniaive and with the Physical Theatre Students from Adam Smith College in Glasgow. There is a showing of the student work to date at the next Conflux "Pitch" event this Friday at 5pm.

This is always a challenging and exciting time....... taking a leap into the void!!

Machine Rebuild

2011-05-05T20:48:00.003+01:00

Meanwhile, back at Blackchubb in an agricultural shed the new machine is being assembled from new and old. Mark is seen here wielding a tape measure and his imagination.........................

Gorlov And His Amazing Helix

2011-05-05T18:04:00.004+01:00

So.............. working with Stuart and Ross from Natural Power, based in Dalry, we have built a prototype Helical turbine that might be able to deliver power to the Machine in a tidal flow. It is in the stream below our house but now needs the rain to fall...... it has started today after a three week drought so the turbe could be spinning by the weekend. We will hook up a dynamo or an alternator to test it for juice.

If this works then we will make a shorter, fatter one with a floating carriage. More to follow!

Some Thoughts on Tides

2011-04-29T10:15:00.003+01:00

Even as I speak to you now, my most honourable friends, the earth turns and mark me, mark me well: you will turn with it. This is no conjuring trick, no smoke and mirrors, no long saw with two handles, no straight jacket, handcuffs pack of cards tall black hat a rabbit some flowers and six white doves………..

No! This is The Tide Machine! It is a celebration of rotation and an ecstatic exaltation to existence.

The moon! The moon! Look up you darling astronomers and feel that ghostly orb as it pulls at your eyeballs and causes your sandwiches to rise twice daily. Caught as it is by the power of gravity, chained to our very core, it must spin like a pendant around the neck of mother Earth. As it passes the moon causes the water to rise like goose bumps on a cold day.

Here we see a machine, note its gleaming wheels and polished shafts of steam rising in dawn’s early glow. This here connects to that there and all are joined, listen carefully, all are joined by gravity.

Imagine, if you dare, the strength of that bond; the bond between mother and daughter. Lifting up vast oceans like an eternal heart beat, a pulse that marks the passage of our lives.

The tide rises, the tide falls,
The twilight darkens, the curlew calls;
The little waves, with their soft, white hands;
Efface the footprints in the sands And the tide rises, the tide falls.

Tidal changes are a net, the casting of which gives rise to multiple influence in our body. These influences are called Tidal Constituents. We are the primary constituents and within us is contained the Earth's rotation. Within us also the positions of Moon and Sun relative to our hearts. Bound within us too is a knowledge of the Moon's elevation above our equator and Bathymetry.
Dead fish don’t swim in jealous tides, said the man.
Happiness is not a matter of events, it depends upon the tides of the mind, replied the woman.

We are caught, you and I both, in a place between. A line that stretches around all land and binds it with a saline caress. The highs and lows of our fortunes sealed within this band of gravitational fidelity. Each hour that passes owes its very name to the magnetic charge of love that flows between moon and earth. The water and the dry dust, circling forever, licking their lips.

And so you see! This is what happens if you don’t pay attention. All waters rise and you with them. Hold on tightly to your bus ticket, clean your teeth, keep a spare key under the doormat. I am not your mother and you should learn to tidy your own rooms.

Tide Machine Events for 2011

2011-04-17T21:27:00.002+01:00

So................

We will be showing the Tide Machine at Kirkudbright, Port Patrick and Annan.

All Dumfries and Galloway towns and all with a coastal, tidal flow.

the first Tides event will be a presentation in Glasgow as part of the Conflux "Pitch" evening on the 20th of May at the Briggait. This will be work made with the Physical Theatre Students from Adam Smith College, a course lead by Simon Abbot. I will be working with the students to devise and reinvestigate the Tide Show.

Here is a list of the dates that we have at the moment: -

Pitch; Glasgow Briggait at 4.45pm on Friday 20th of May

Kirkudbright, Galloway on the 2nd and 3rd of July

Port Patrick, Galloway on the 3rd and 4th of September

Annan, Dumfriesshire on the 1st and 2nd of October

The Machine itself is being rebuilt at the moment and rehearsals will take place in May. If you have any questions, suggestions or comments then please do contact us or leave a note here!

2011

2011-01-14T20:03:00.002Z

Excellent news for The Tide Machine!

Creative Scotland are supporting the project this year and we are in conversation with several venues about performances and residencies between May and October.

We will post dates and information as soon as we can.

There will also be auditions and rehearsals for the project, along with technical explorations and general ebbing and flowing................

More soon!

Towards A New Dawn.......

2010-11-14T14:58:00.004Z

November in Dumries and Galloway, lumpy rain already seen and the leaves mostly on the ground. Plans are moving forward for future presentations of the Machine and we are keen to hear from anyone who has an interest in becoming involved in whatever way might be possible.

You can reach us at live@oceanallover.co.uk or by posting a comment here.

We look forward to awakening the creatures of the tides once again!

ps. here is a link to a recent article written by Jean Aitkin of DGArts about the the project:

Public Arts Scotland

Glasgow Tides

2010-08-06T22:42:00.003+01:00

Some time after the Glasgow Tides have ebbed and flowed. We had such a marvelous time and would like to thank Conflux for inviting us to take part. Al, Alan an d Karen looked after us so well and the Surge was a great place to show work and meet people.

Thank you also in a very big way to all performers, crew and Musicians for making this a memorable event again. Thanks also to all who have helped in other ways with advice, storage, tea and biscuits and to the DGAA for their continued faith in The Tide Machine.

The mechanism is currently under cover pending further mechanical explorations. Costumes and the performance that they populated is lurking in my shed and desperate to get out........

There are some images here taken by Biotron. Here also a link to more of his work:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/biotron/4842530454/in/photostream/

The Tide comes in and the Tide goes out.................

We want to do this again soon so please send us your thoughts!!

Waves..........

2010-05-11T17:58:00.004+01:00

Two weeks on and still dreaming wild dreams. I've invented and forgotten new performance techniques, leapt the height of tall buildings on improvised skis, witnessed new and bizzar choreography with a wide range of almost humans, calibrated and reengineered every last bolt.

Its exhausting to be asleep. However....... such great fun and planning the next part of the event and daydreaming all of the possible future permutations is endlessly diverting.

Meanwhile, back on earth..................

Mark and I need to make some technical corrections to the chassis before the Glasgow event. We have talked much and with many about the way forward and this current prototype is proving to be a good model for what might be possible with a more ninja framework with alloy bits and cleverly simple but astonishingly light other bits etc etc

Money is a topic of conversation and needs looked at. We have had several enquiries from different communities about the possibility of The Tide Machine making an unscheduled appearance at scheduled events, with or without its attendant array of performances and tide inspired groups. It is hoped that we can follow through much of our technical dreaming as well as expand the range of people involvement to the whole of the D & G coast, as well as looking to a national and international progression.

One of our dreams is to move the Machine every twenty nine and a half days to a new location where it will be a point of departure for artistic, scientific and day dreaming. We could make a Tide Machine show using locally generated ideas as an event to mark the handover from one location to the next, whether it be in Kircudbright or Constantinople.

The circulation of the moon through the creative waters of or brains is a force beyond reason; complete lunacy.

Photos © Alison Bell

Movement on the Water!

2010-05-04T09:46:00.003+01:00

Sooooooooooooo............. a word from the barnacle:-

The Machine works, the dancers dance, the musicians play, the audience watch and laugh.

Yes, all good and thank you every one who helped to make such a wonderful day!

testing and fitting....

2010-04-18T23:20:00.003+01:00

A quick note today before our final week of preparations.

We ran a test at the river last week to try the machine for potential issues and it/she was a success. We were helped by Topher, Anders and Roy; thanks also to Jason Shackleton for the use of his landrover. The test left us with a few problems to solved that relate to the organ, but generally all is on schedule. Great! Mark has begun spraying the timber and making the floats to power the tidometer.

Alice, Cate, Rosie, Alison and Denise have all been busy sewing, sticking, bending and boning. Costumes are all looking very interesting!

Here's a shot of Rosie at Solway House last wednesday.

Conflux performers will be joining us at Solway House from tomorrow to begin experiments with costume...... very exciting all round.

The Mechanisms.......

2010-04-08T22:29:00.003+01:00

Or, wheels within wheels.

Well into April now and the pressures of time pushing us inexorably along. We were fitting the organ pipes today, making an access ramp and shaping the wheels of the tideometer.

Not to mention costuming and general organazizing!

But looking good and lots of excitement all round.

Spring has arrived!

2010-04-01T21:55:00.004+01:00

An Angel

Well......... a very good day at the workshop. Plenty of interested and interesting people came to look at The Machine. We didn't stop talking from beginning to end. Excellent music provided on the hoof from Anders Rigg and Rudi Zygadlo with wandering strings from Joey Sanderson: thank you all three.

The sun shone and so we wheeled the mechanism out into the courtyard to soak up the rays as well as to provide for more of a sense of scale. Topher began plumbing in the tide-powered organ today while Cate sewed and showed costume.

Thanks to all that came and to the DGAA for tea, biscuits and moral support.

We now have one month to get as far with ideas as we can before our launch event on the 28th: no time for hesitation but just outright action! The Orrery needs to be tested and fitted, rotary platform built, tide indicators completed and calibrated, organ completed and tested; the whole painted, flags and banners made and mounted, costumes for twenty to be wrestled into existence. So here we go!

The way in!!!!

2010-03-27T17:20:00.002Z

Well........ very excited here preparing for a visitation on Thursday and generally cranking up a gear.

The open day will be a good chance to measure public and professional response, as well as applying a little pressure to the makers to moves things on.

Here is a picture of the elusive building on the Crichton Campus, Dumfries. Find the front that looks like this, park you car and walk round to the courtyard at the back.........

Coming out of the dark......

2010-03-12T23:47:00.003Z

Mid-rehearsal this week and some interesting stuff coming out! Also coming out is the machine....... looking like a tiger's cage from a victorian zoo at the moment. Topher Dagg has been working with Mark and Doug this week to get the rigging of the winders all working a treat. I'll post more news and pictures next week when the dust settles a little.......

March and onwards......

2010-03-02T15:13:00.002Z

Tuesday and regrouping after our open workshop yesterday.; thanks to all who came and we look forward to seeing you at our next open doors day on the first of April. It was a good day for talking through and assessing our progress to date, as well as feeling suddenly much closer to the reality of going public in April!

Our next major landmarks will be the beginning of rehearsal next week with the core team as well as the first stages in actual construction of the orreries. We have a fairly long list of ideas we would like to try using the tide as a power source for art and hope to take several of those ideas to a finished state for the launch in April, including a tide-organ.

2010-02-24T17:36:00.002Z

Nearly February's end and snow is piling up again!

Mark and Doug are in the process of assembling the platform; we met with Simon Owen yesterday and talked through structural ideas and requirements. Following this we are duly encouraged and alarmed...... so much to do, so little time........

There are loads of possible gadgets and connections we could add to use the tide's power; we will need to see how much we can achieve between now and April the 28th. On Monday the 1st we are having a doors open day at the workshop for anyone who wants to see our progress and find out more about our ideas....... please feel free to come along! This is at Solway house, part of the Crichton campus and you can follow this link here for a map. Solway House is in the bottom right corner. http://crichtoncampus.co.uk/about_FindUs.asp

ps. Bring a coat.......... there's no central heating.

Time and Tide.......

2010-02-16T22:23:00.003Z

The sixteenth of February and we are running around catching our own tails....... well, actually getting through a lot of work.
Mark and Doug are building the stage part of the Machine: an essential element providing the arena for all events. Meantime I am making sculptural costumes and general wrestling with plumbing, lorry-side tarpaulin, evil-stick and aluminum bars.
Anders helped to cut through the Organ pipes and soon their voices will rise once again over the city..........

A public workshop and audition in Glasgow last week was great fun and gives us a pool of performers to draw on for the event. Several of those there were from the Physical Theatre Diploma course in Glasgow and a group of ten of them will take part on the 28th of April.

The 28th of April is now cast as the day for our opening whammy and we will show it all at noon and midnight down by Kingholm Quay, Dumfries. Following this day there will be several other events presented and run by local community groups and schools. This will include a theatre workshop from Dumfries Academy and a musical poetry reading from Dumfries Writers group.

Narratives

2009-11-28T11:49:00.004Z

Almost February at the Tide Machine..... and everywhere else..... We are now installed at the workshop space very kindly provided by the Crichton Development Company and have prepared the chassis of the machine ready to start on the superstructure.
Peter Grimwood is in the process of designing the mechanical orreries and we have begun sculptural costume making.
Suddenly it is very busy and even more exciting! Audition and workshop to find performers for the opening event will be held on Tuesday the 9th of February at Landsdowne Church in Glasgow. Details for this can be found on the Conflux web site www.conflux.co.uk or by e-mailing us on live@oceanallover.co.uk. Rehearsals will be in April for an event on the 28th. This will coincide with spring tides for that month.

We are keen to have as much involvement from you at both the thinking and the doing stages of this project as we can, so please feel free to email us or write your thoughts here.

There is a great deal of mythology related to the sea but not so much about tides. Greek mythology relates the story of a giant whirlpool, pulling unfortunate mariners down into the waiting jaws of a sea monster. Wikipedia is full of facts and there is a link here if you want to blind yourself with science:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tide

There is a lot of historical battles that are as wild as any sea monster; the fighting between church and science is a legend of its own making. Twice each day the tide arrives and departs, millions of amazing animals depend on this flow of food and water. Their stories are amazing as well.
Throughout the ages of humanity people have lived at the boundary between water and land; their lives have been subject to the movement of the tides and the extremities of flooding. Tides have shaped the farming practice and towns along every coast. There must be a million million stories about all of those lives.

We would be delighted to hear your thoughts and stories about the tide, so please feel free to post your ideas here.

The Tide Machine

2009-10-19T15:20:00.000+01:00

This is a place for you to say what you think about the Tide Machine and all subjects related.......

Please write your thoughts here.