Bandstand (2013)

Bandstand is a collection of digital audio performances for Bandstands from The Other Way Works.

Download the Bandstand App from the Google Play Store. or download the mp3 files to use on any device.

Bandstands invite an audience. Lonely, empty stages standing ready at the centre of parks and squares. They seem resonant with what has happened there, and ripe with possibility. Our Bandstand Audio Theatre Experiences invite you to inhabit these spaces afresh creating a new performance event which places you at the centre of the action. Listen to the stories unfurl as you take a trip around the bandstand with these exclusive, intimate performances designed just for you.

The Bandstand Audio Theatre Experiences were created by artists from The Other Way Works and influenced by local history research and conversations with park users and local groups. The final pieces are like short radio plays that tell a new fictional story that is inspired by each bandstand and park, to be experienced in the environment in which they’re set.

Produced by The Other Way Works Commissioned by Black Country Touring Supported by the National Lottery through Arts Council England.

Bandstand featured as one of “10 digital arts projects we love” by Sync

November 22, 2013 by

We were very excited to find out that our Bandstand project has been selected by Sync as one of their recent “10 digital arts projects we love”.

They said:

“it’s a beautiful way of finding new ways to read these historic spaces through digital technology.”

You can read the full article here.

We are in rather excellent company, with other highlighted projects including Hello Lamp Post and the V&A’s recent Memory Palace Exhibition.

Bandstand mp3 files

August 23, 2013 by

If you don’t have access to an iPhone or Android Smartphone, but would still like to experience the Bandstand Audios in situ, then you can now download the mp3s from below (right-click and save file as).

We recommend that you visit the featured Bandstand when listening to each track. The audios have been designed with specific locations in mind and contain audience instructions and narrative content that refer to the specific environments.
Bear in mind that listening to the mp3s at home or at the office is a bit like reading a play script rather than going to see a full production performed at a theatre, i.e. its not the full experience.

Lightwoods Park, Bearwood

Lightwoods mp3 (for solo listening)

Recommended Listening Instructions:

> Go to Lightwoods Park Bearwood (B67 5DP)
> Find the Bandstand
> Stand at the bottom of the Bandstand steps
> Put your headphones on and press play on the Lightwoods track on your audio player
> The track lasts for 40 minutes
> Enjoy

West Park, Wolverhampton

West Park WOMAN mp3 (for solo or 2-person listening)
West Park MAN mp3 (for 2-person listening)

Recommended Listening Instructions:

> Go to West Park Wolverhampton (WV1 4PH)
> Find the Bandstand
> Stand at the bottom of the Bandstand steps
> Choose the WOMAN track if you are listening alone
> If you are listening as a pair, one should choose the WOMAN track and one the MAN track
> Put your headphones on and press play on the selected track on your audio player. If you’re listening in a pair, make sure you press play AT THE SAME TIME
> The tracks lasts for 20 minutes
> Enjoy

Audience feedback from Launch Events

July 31, 2013 by

Our Launch events were blessed with sunny afternoons, and we had a great turnout at both. Here are the lovely things people wrote in our comments book after they’d listened to the audios.

Bandstand Audience comments in Guest book

West Park Wolverhampton
Wednesday 10th July 2013

A very enjoyable experience!

Absolute delight. Enchanting performance that had you oblivious to the other happenings in the park. Thank you.

A lovely experience, thanks

An enchanting experience, bringing a historic park feature to life!

My friend and I listened to the man/woman stories which created a sense of tension, unease and finally was very moving and affecting. The first experience of this kind I have taken part it, and thoroughly enjoyed it.

A delightful interlude in my day.

A lovely story. I much preferred the woman’s story to the man’s as I thought it was more complex and interesting.

Really enjoyed this in beautiful sunshine. Something very moving and thoughtful about the ‘voice experience’. Lovely! Thank you.

Transported to another world. Dreamlike experience. Excellent.

Totally absorbed in the story.

Lightwoods Park, Bearwood
Thursday 11th July 2013

This was so lovely. Will come back again and bring friends too. Excellent!

Amazing! Shame it finished too soon – gripping stories! A great afternoon and my second visit to this park.

I really enjoyed it. It’s excellent. It made the whole park into a kind of set, like a piece of art that was part of the play. Interesting doing the moves – becoming the characters for a moment. Loved the music and blend of different voices. Interesting watching the kids gliding on their bikes right next to where the ice rink was set. Great job!

Intrigued by the play of ‘fact’ and fiction. Sense of different landscapes – real, imagined, absent, hypothetical. Also enjoyed the threads of narrative and collisions with space/time eg frozen ice, broken slats round the bandstand.

Congratulations to all involved. A really enjoyable experience on a beautiful sunny afternoon. I liked the variety of characters and how the narrative unfolded, the integration of local knowledge and history really placed the work in the setting. Nice to be invited to move around and engage with the environment, help to keep you engaged. Will look out for more!

I thought it was great but I didn’t like listening to myself but I loved it I’m gonna come again! MAKE MORE!!

Superb experience, fantastic site-specific audio. Thoroughly absorbing. Enjoyed the natural backgrounds, sounds and rhythms. More please.

Beautifully layered and transporting. Really enjoyed it and impressed how all the voices are sewn together. Will recommend to others! Thank you!

Lightwoods Park Bandstand

July 16, 2013 by

Lightwoods Park
This is just an ordinary park on an ordinary day: a man with a baby circles the park; a man huddles on the bandstand; a woman walks her labrador across the grass; a skater practices his moves in the skate park.
But look more closely and traces of magic appear: snowy footprints on the grass; a glimpse of a large animal in the trees; a ghostly figure walking out of the locked up house; the crack of ice…

Solo – A mysterious story inspired by Lightwoods Park. To be listened to alone.

Credits:
Produced by The Other Way Works
Commissioned by Black Country Touring
Supported by the National Lottery through Arts Council England

Concept & Direction Katie Day
Writing & Research Katherine Maxwell Cook
Produced by Katie Day & Katherine Maxwell Cook
Sound Design Mark Day
App Calvium
Illustration Luke Thrush

Additional text Mr Naylor
Voices Mr Naylor, Ali Belbin, Greg Hobbs, Gareth Nicholls, Catrin Talbot, Katie Day
Musicians Mark Day (various), Nick Mather (double bass), Paul Lawson (drums), James Atashroo (trumpet)

West Park Bandstand

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West Park
Step back in time to a carefree, sunlit Sunday in post-war Wolverhampton. Music wafting on the breeze, the sharp taste of lemonade in your mouth, and your dance partner’s hand on your back as you whirl together around the bandstand. But as the clouds begin to gather a decision needs to be made, and one that will change the course of a whole life.

Solo – The story of a couple told from the woman’s perspective, to be listened to alone.
2-Person – The story of a couple told from the woman and the man’s perspective, to be listened to at the same time as a partner, one listens to the man and one to the woman.

Credits:
Produced by The Other Way Works
Commissioned by Black Country Touring
Supported by the National Lottery through Arts Council England

Concept & Direction Katie Day
Writing & Research Katherine Maxwell Cook
Produced by Katie Day & Katherine Maxwell Cook
Sound Design Mark Day
App Calvium
Illustration Luke Thrush

Voices Ali Belbin & Greg Hobbs
Brass Band Chapeltown Silver Prize Band recorded at Chapeltown Park, Sheffield, 2012

Storify of Bandstand App Launch Events

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Lightwoods Park Audio Extract

July 12, 2013 by

Listen to an audio extract from the Lightwoods Park experience.

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West Park Audio Extract

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Listen to an audio extract from the West Park experience.

Bandstand App Launch Events

May 23, 2013 by

The Other Way Works and Black Country Touring would like to invite you to the launch of our brand new Bandstand App.

Bandstands invite an audience. Lonely, empty stages standing ready at the centre of parks and squares. They seem resonant with what has happened there, and ripe with possibility. Our Bandstand Audio Theatre Experiences invite you to inhabit these spaces afresh creating a new performance event which places you at the centre of the action. Listen to the stories unfurl as you take a trip around the bandstand with these exclusive, intimate performances designed just for you.

The Bandstand App will be available to download from the Apple AppStore and Google Play store from early June 2013.

We are celebrating the launch of the App with events at the two Black Country Bandstands that feature in the App:

10th July 2013, 3-7pm – West Park Bandstand, Wolverhampton (come and find us in the cafe by the bandstand)

11th July 2013, 3-7pm – Lightwoods Park Bandstand, Bearwood, Sandwell (we will be on the grass next to the bandstand)

Drop in and join us in the afternoon or after work, enjoy some light refreshments, try out the audio experiences on the Bandstand App for yourself, and meet the artists behind the App.

If the summer is kind to us and the weather is nice, why not bring a rug and a picnic along and enjoy the park for a little longer.

The Bandstand App contains recorded audio theatre experiences written specially for each bandstand. The pieces for West Park can be experienced by a solo listener or a pair and last 20 minutes. The piece for Lightwoods Park is for a solo listener and lasts 40 minutes.

The Bandstand Audio Theatre Experiences were created by artists from The Other Way Works and influenced by local history research and conversations with park users and local groups. The final pieces are like short radio plays that tell a new fictional story that is inspired by each bandstand and park, to be experienced in the environment in which they’re set.

We would be grateful if you could RSVP to info@theotherwayworks.co.uk before 28th June to let us know that you are joining us. You are welcome to join us at West Park, Lightwoods Park, or both!

Please bring your iPhone or Android phone along if you have one (or can borrow one), and a pair of headphones. If you get a chance, download the Bandstand App in advance. We will have some MP3 players and headphones available to allow people without smartphones to listen to the audio experiences on the day. The events will be mostly outdoors, so dress appropriately for the weather.

You can find more information about the Bandstand App at
www.bandstandaudio.net
www.bctouring.co.uk
www.theotherwayworks.co.uk

We look forward to seeing you on the 10th and/or 11th July,

Katie Day, Artistic Director, The Other Way Works
and
All at Black Country Touring

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Call for Research Participants from Pamela McQueen
Are you attending the launch performances of Bandstand? Are you willing to be involved in an audience research project? Do you have two hours to commit to a pre-show questionnaire and post show interview with a researcher?

I am conducting a PhD research project comparing and contrasting audience experiences of several city promenade performances. The study aims to explore your experience of attending this site specific event in Lightwoods and/or West Park. I am interested in how participation affects your understanding of the place and the play.

If you are willing to participate in the audience research of Bandstand, please indicate your interest in your RSVP to Black Country Touring/The Other Way Works. Alternatively you can email me directly at pamela.mcqueen@yorksj.ac.uk

Bandstand is produced by The Other Way Works, commissioned by Black Country Touring and
supported by the National Lottery through Arts Council England.

Get the App

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Download the Bandstand App from the Google Play Store

Bandstand is now no longer available to download for Apple iOS devices as an app, but if you already have the Bandstand app downloaded to your iPhone or iCloud it will continue to work.

If you want to listen on an Apple device, try downloading the mp3 files.