Kaitlyn McConnell

NO BLANK STARES  

“I haven’t figured out if you’re going to be the nicest on my naughty list, or the naughtiest on my nice list.” – a suggested Tinder opening line from theplunder.com.

Online dating is confusing. You can’t message back straight away or they’ll think you’re way too keen but wait too long and you'll blow your chance. Choreographer and dancer Kaitlyn McConnell examines conventions like this in ‘No Blank Stares’. Surrounded by six MacBooks, McConnell frantically responds to a female Siri voice relaying tips for a great profile pic from the Beauty Editor blog. Can she pull off just the right amount of flirt and come across as keen but not too keen? 

No Blank Stares, featuring Kaitlyn McConnell and Thomas Schmocker - is part of the Melbourne Fringe Festival 2016 at Arts House (North Melbourne Town Hall) in The Warehouse from September 16-23.

No Blank Stares is a new work headed by a team of three VCA graduates: Kaitlyn McConnell (choreographer, performer, dancer), Thomas Schmocker (composer, performer) and Louise Miller (project manager). 'No Blank Stares' deconstructs how we interact through online dating. It's about the push and pull of mystery, interest, allure and truthfulness in words and images. Sending a pic? Push out your chest, pull up your chin, don't duck face and bring the light into your eyes - keep him guessing girl!  

The work's genesis came after a series of passive aggressive texts from a friend. This blossomed into a desire to understand relationships through an online interface. What are the conventions and where does the online persona collide with reality? Through a combination of dance, performance, text and sound 'No Blank Stares' will bitingly assess where we are now, and if there's a future for the duck face in the online dating... 

Kaitlyn has been performing and making dance works for the last five years. Her approach to performance making is driving the project from her own body, acting as a performer and maker in her works. She uses a multimodal approach including; technology, film, sound, design, improvisation and pop culture image. 

Thomas has worked in theatre and dance since 2012, flittering about acoustically and electronically with a smattering of on-stage performance to boot. His approach to composition and sound design is method heavy, changing fluidly with the needs of each work to challenge both himself and whoever likes him enough to see his works. 

Find us on Facebook @ https://web.facebook.com/noblankstares/

The funds for this show will be predominantly used to hire a publicist, photographer, graphic designer, printing of posters and the hire of the venue at Arts House. Being our first performance outside of an institution, we are hoping to use a professional publicist to assist with widening our audience.  

It's also important to document the work in a provocative and professional way for archival and future grant applications. Photography is a massive part of capturing dance in a fixed reproducible manner. We are also employing a graphic designer to present our posters and flyers with a professional interface. 

Dramaturg - $500 

Venue Hire through Fringe Hub Program-$1200 

Photography - $270

Posters and Flyers (Including Graphic Designand Printing) - $230

Challenges that we anticipate to face (and overcome!):

• Despite lots of experience within the VCA, this is our first performance created and run outside of an institution.
• This project will receive funding only from the outcome of this Pozible campaign, itself an unknown, and our own closely guarded coffers.
• As emerging, young artists we'll make mistakes but at the benefit of taking risks, and pushing ourselves to new, challenging places.
• Working in a new venue, sharing the performance space, and operating under the umbrella of a festival with 70+ artists to look after.
• Finding cost-efficient ways to maximise our exposure through social media, radio, posters and traditional media.

Find us on Facebook @ - https://web.facebook.com/noblankstares/