[Script Info]
Title: 
[Events]
Format: Layer, Start, End, Style, Name, MarginL, MarginR, MarginV, Effect, Text
Dialogue: 0,0:00:00.75,0:00:04.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Sydney. I had been waiting my whole life to get to Sydney.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:04.43,0:00:07.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I got to the airport, to the hotel, checked in,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:07.47,0:00:10.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and, sitting there in the lobby, was a brochure
Dialogue: 0,0:00:10.25,0:00:12.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for the Sydney Festival. I thumbed through it,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:12.88,0:00:16.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I came across a show called "Minto: Live."
Dialogue: 0,0:00:16.02,0:00:19.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The description read: "The suburban streets of Minto
Dialogue: 0,0:00:19.65,0:00:22.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,become the stage for performances
Dialogue: 0,0:00:22.19,0:00:24.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,created by international artists
Dialogue: 0,0:00:24.40,0:00:27.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in collaboration with the people of Minto."
Dialogue: 0,0:00:27.20,0:00:29.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What was this place called Minto?
Dialogue: 0,0:00:29.91,0:00:32.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Sydney, as I would learn, is a city of suburbs,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:32.27,0:00:35.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and Minto lies southwest, about an hour away.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:35.94,0:00:39.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I have to say, it wasn't exactly what I had in mind
Dialogue: 0,0:00:39.30,0:00:40.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for my first day down under.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:40.90,0:00:43.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I mean, I'd thought about the Harbour Bridge or Bondi Beach,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:43.84,0:00:46.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but Minto? But still, I'm a producer,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:46.80,0:00:49.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the lure of a site-specific theater project
Dialogue: 0,0:00:49.97,0:00:52.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,was more than I could resist. (Laughter)
Dialogue: 0,0:00:52.24,0:00:54.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So, off I went into Friday afternoon traffic,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:54.72,0:00:57.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I'll never forget what I saw when I got there.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:57.12,0:00:59.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,For the performance, the audience walked
Dialogue: 0,0:00:59.78,0:01:02.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,around the neighborhood from house to house,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:02.57,0:01:05.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the residents, who were the performers,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:05.45,0:01:07.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they came out of their houses, and they performed
Dialogue: 0,0:01:07.56,0:01:11.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,these autobiographical dances on their lawns,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:11.40,0:01:13.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,on their driveways. (Laughter)
Dialogue: 0,0:01:13.75,0:01:16.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The show is a collaboration with a U.K.-based
Dialogue: 0,0:01:16.72,0:01:19.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,performance company called Lone Twin.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:19.37,0:01:21.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Lone Twin had come to Minto and worked
Dialogue: 0,0:01:21.27,0:01:24.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with the residents, and they had created these dances.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:24.39,0:01:28.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This Australian-Indian girl, she came out and started
Dialogue: 0,0:01:28.23,0:01:30.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to dance on her front lawn,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:30.25,0:01:33.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and her father peered out the window to see
Dialogue: 0,0:01:33.19,0:01:35.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,what all the noise and commotion was about,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:35.70,0:01:37.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and he soon joined her.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:37.91,0:01:41.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And he was followed by her little sister.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:41.03,0:01:44.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And soon they were all dancing this joyous,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:44.09,0:01:48.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,exuberant dance right there on their lawn. (Laughter)
Dialogue: 0,0:01:48.27,0:01:50.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And as I walked through the neighborhood,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:50.46,0:01:54.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I was amazed and I was moved by the incredible
Dialogue: 0,0:01:54.68,0:01:57.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,sense of ownership this community clearly felt
Dialogue: 0,0:01:57.12,0:01:59.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,about this event.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:59.69,0:02:02.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Minto: Live" brought Sydneysiders into dialogue
Dialogue: 0,0:02:02.64,0:02:05.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with international artists, and really celebrated
Dialogue: 0,0:02:05.98,0:02:09.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the diversity of Sydney on its own terms.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:09.46,0:02:13.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The Sydney Festival which produced "Minto: Live" I think
Dialogue: 0,0:02:13.18,0:02:16.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,represents a new kind of 21st-century arts festival.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:16.95,0:02:20.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,These festivals are radically open.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:20.47,0:02:24.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They can transform cities and communities.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:24.18,0:02:26.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,To understand this, I think it kind of makes sense
Dialogue: 0,0:02:26.86,0:02:29.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to look where we've come from.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:29.18,0:02:31.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Modern arts festivals were born
Dialogue: 0,0:02:31.21,0:02:32.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in the rubble of World War II.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:32.70,0:02:35.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Civic leaders created these annual events
Dialogue: 0,0:02:35.31,0:02:38.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to celebrate culture as the highest
Dialogue: 0,0:02:38.42,0:02:41.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,expression of the human spirit.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:41.02,0:02:44.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In 1947, the Edinburgh Festival was born
Dialogue: 0,0:02:44.10,0:02:46.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and Avignon was born and hundreds of others
Dialogue: 0,0:02:46.76,0:02:48.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,would follow in their wake.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:48.66,0:02:51.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The work they did was very, very high art,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:51.91,0:02:54.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and stars came along like Laurie Anderson
Dialogue: 0,0:02:54.52,0:02:56.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and Merce Cunningham and Robert Lepage
Dialogue: 0,0:02:56.79,0:02:58.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,who made work for this circuit,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:58.21,0:03:00.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and you had these seminal shows like "The Mahabharata"
Dialogue: 0,0:03:00.98,0:03:03.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the monumental "Einstein on the Beach."
Dialogue: 0,0:03:03.97,0:03:06.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But as the decades passed,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:06.46,0:03:09.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,these festivals, they really became the establishment,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:09.66,0:03:13.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and as the culture and capital accelerated,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:13.06,0:03:15.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the Internet brought us all together,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:15.06,0:03:17.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,high and low kind of disappeared,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:17.99,0:03:19.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a new kind of festival emerged.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:19.61,0:03:22.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The old festivals, they continued to thrive, but
Dialogue: 0,0:03:22.75,0:03:27.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,from Brighton to Rio to Perth, something new was emerging,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:27.10,0:03:30.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and these festivals were really different.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:30.04,0:03:32.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They're open, these festivals, because, like in Minto,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:32.94,0:03:35.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they understand that the dialogue
Dialogue: 0,0:03:35.16,0:03:38.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,between the local and the global is essential.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:38.87,0:03:43.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They're open because they ask the audience to be a player,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:43.38,0:03:47.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a protagonist, a partner, rather than a passive spectator,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:47.79,0:03:51.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and they're open because they know that imagination
Dialogue: 0,0:03:51.36,0:03:53.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,cannot be contained in buildings,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:53.52,0:03:55.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and so much of the work they do
Dialogue: 0,0:03:55.38,0:03:58.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is site-specific or outdoor work.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:58.68,0:04:02.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So, the new festival, it asks the audience to play
Dialogue: 0,0:04:02.06,0:04:05.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,an essential role in shaping the performance.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:05.18,0:04:10.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Companies like De La Guarda, which I produce, and Punchdrunk
Dialogue: 0,0:04:10.28,0:04:13.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,create these completely immersive experiences
Dialogue: 0,0:04:13.09,0:04:16.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that put the audience at the center of the action,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:16.29,0:04:19.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but the German performance company Rimini Protokoll
Dialogue: 0,0:04:19.39,0:04:22.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,takes this all to a whole new level.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:22.68,0:04:26.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In a series of shows that includes "100 Percent Vancouver,"
Dialogue: 0,0:04:26.46,0:04:30.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"100 Percent Berlin," Rimini Protokoll makes shows
Dialogue: 0,0:04:30.46,0:04:33.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that actually reflect society.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:33.29,0:04:37.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Rimini Protokoll chooses 100 people that represent that city
Dialogue: 0,0:04:37.83,0:04:41.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,at that moment in terms of race and gender and class,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:41.24,0:04:44.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,through a careful process that begins three months before,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:44.51,0:04:47.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and then those 100 people share stories about
Dialogue: 0,0:04:47.74,0:04:50.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,themselves and their lives, and the whole thing
Dialogue: 0,0:04:50.27,0:04:54.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,becomes a snapshot of that city at that moment.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:54.90,0:04:58.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,LIFT has always been a pioneer in the use of venues.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:58.33,0:05:00.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They understand that theater and performance
Dialogue: 0,0:05:00.74,0:05:02.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,can happen anywhere.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:02.06,0:05:05.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You can do a show in a schoolroom,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:05.27,0:05:07.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in an airport, — (Laughter) —
Dialogue: 0,0:05:07.65,0:05:10.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in a department store window.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:10.14,0:05:14.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Artists are explorers. Who better to show us the city anew?
Dialogue: 0,0:05:14.56,0:05:17.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Artists can take us to a far-flung part of the city
Dialogue: 0,0:05:17.91,0:05:19.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that we haven't explored, or they can take us into
Dialogue: 0,0:05:19.94,0:05:24.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that building that we pass every day but we never went into.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:24.36,0:05:28.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,An artist, I think, can really show us people
Dialogue: 0,0:05:28.52,0:05:31.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that we might overlook in our lives.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:31.66,0:05:35.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Back to Back is an Australian company of people
Dialogue: 0,0:05:35.06,0:05:39.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with intellectual disabilities. I saw their amazing show
Dialogue: 0,0:05:39.64,0:05:42.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in New York at the Staten Island Ferry Terminal
Dialogue: 0,0:05:42.81,0:05:44.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,at rush hour.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:44.22,0:05:46.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We, the audience, were given headsets and seated
Dialogue: 0,0:05:46.94,0:05:49.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,on one side of the terminal.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:49.73,0:05:51.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The actors were right there in front of us,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:51.72,0:05:54.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,right there among the commuters,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:54.13,0:05:55.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and we could hear them,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:55.69,0:05:58.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but we might not have otherwise seen them.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:58.78,0:06:03.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So Back to Back takes site-specific theater and uses it
Dialogue: 0,0:06:03.30,0:06:06.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to gently remind us about who and what we choose
Dialogue: 0,0:06:06.58,0:06:09.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to edit out of our daily lives.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:09.47,0:06:12.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So, the dialogue with the local and the global,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:12.58,0:06:16.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the audience as participant and player and protagonist,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:16.49,0:06:19.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the innovative use of site, all of these things
Dialogue: 0,0:06:19.62,0:06:22.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,come to play in the amazing work
Dialogue: 0,0:06:22.47,0:06:26.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of the fantastic French company Royal de Luxe.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:26.52,0:06:30.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Royal de Luxe's giant puppets come into a city
Dialogue: 0,0:06:30.26,0:06:33.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and they live there for a few days.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:33.02,0:06:36.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,For "The Sultan's Elephant," Royal de Luxe
Dialogue: 0,0:06:36.59,0:06:39.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,came to central London and brought it to a standstill
Dialogue: 0,0:06:39.61,0:06:44.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with their story of a giant little girl and her friend,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:44.00,0:06:46.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a time-traveling elephant.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:46.51,0:06:51.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,For a few days, they transformed a massive city
Dialogue: 0,0:06:51.18,0:06:56.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,into a community where endless possibility reigned.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:56.09,0:06:59.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The Guardian wrote, "If art is about transformation,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:59.68,0:07:03.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,then there can be no more transformative experience.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:03.67,0:07:07.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What 'The Sultan's Elephant' represents is no less
Dialogue: 0,0:07:07.57,0:07:10.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,than an artistic occupation of the city
Dialogue: 0,0:07:10.41,0:07:15.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and a reclamation of the streets for the people."
Dialogue: 0,0:07:15.29,0:07:18.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We can talk about the economic impacts of these festivals
Dialogue: 0,0:07:18.75,0:07:23.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,on their cities, but I'm much [more] interested in many more things,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:23.06,0:07:26.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,like how a festival helps a city to express itself,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:26.82,0:07:30.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,how it lets it come into its own.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:30.09,0:07:32.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Festivals promote diversity,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:32.22,0:07:34.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they bring neighbors into dialogue,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:34.20,0:07:36.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they increase creativity,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:36.65,0:07:39.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they offer opportunities for civic pride,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:39.82,0:07:43.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they improve our general psychological well-being.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:43.48,0:07:47.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In short, they make cities better places to live.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:47.69,0:07:48.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Case in point:
Dialogue: 0,0:07:48.66,0:07:52.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,When "The Sultan's Elephant" came to London
Dialogue: 0,0:07:52.01,0:07:56.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,just nine months after 7/7, a Londoner wrote,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:56.36,0:07:59.100,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"For the first time since the London bombings,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:59.100,0:08:03.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,my daughter called up with that sparkle back in her voice.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:03.61,0:08:05.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,She had gathered with others
Dialogue: 0,0:08:05.35,0:08:08.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to watch 'The Sultan's Elephant,' and, you know,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:08.54,0:08:11.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it just made all the difference."
Dialogue: 0,0:08:11.22,0:08:13.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Lyn Gardner in The Guardian has written
Dialogue: 0,0:08:13.37,0:08:17.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that a great festival can show us a map of the world,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:17.83,0:08:21.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a map of the city and a map of ourselves,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:21.88,0:08:25.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but there is no one fixed festival model.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:25.09,0:08:27.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I think what's so brilliant about the festivals,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:27.92,0:08:32.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the new festivals, is that they are really fully capturing
Dialogue: 0,0:08:32.99,0:08:36.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the complexity and the excitement
Dialogue: 0,0:08:36.18,0:08:38.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of the way we all live today.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:38.20,0:08:46.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Thank you very much. (Applause)