Photo credit: Elena Rufenacht. Subject: Su Min Lee from WASTELAND presented by Monash Uni Student Theatre.
Showreel
About the Work:
A highly-collaborative, multi-disciplinary development, Wind Down explores the climate crisis through a wind-inspired narrative. The work draws on the varied expertise of artists, Anusha Yellapragada (composer/dancer/woodwind instrumentalist), Alexander Meagher (percussionist/martial artist), Su Min Lee (contemporary dancer/harpist), and Sam Pringle (writer/actor/tap dancer). To paint a sonic picture of frustration and hope, Wind Down encompasses elements of fluid movement and satirical theatre, with vibrant flute and various percussive timbres. Embellished by an investigation of the sonic colours of chimes, amplified desktop fan, and electronics, this work highlights the snare drum and prepared vibraphone.
Images by Darren Gill by courtesy of Speak Percussion.
*Performers:
- Dance, Choreography: Lee Su Min
- Percussion, Movement: Alexander Meagher
- Writing, Acting, Devising: Sam Pringle
- Composition, Direction, Live Mixing: Anusha Yellapragada
Instrumentation:
For snare drum, prepared vibraphone, chimes, amplified desktop fan, and electronics.
*In addition to their main area of expertise (detailed above), performers each have a background in some form of movement, theatre, and music performance. All performers contributed to the development, danced and played percussion at given points of the work.
Acknowledgements:
The initial development of Wind Down was presented as part of Axon (9/2024) – a weekend of sonic experiments and music conceived and presented by Speak Percussion’s Bespoke Artists. In a festival-like format, this intimate showcase featured live performances of 12 interdisciplinary works, split into 4 concert programs across 3 days, at Darebin Arts Centre. Axon was presented by Darebin Arts Speakeasy and Speak Percussion with the generous support of the Robert Salzer Foundation.
This project was made possible due to the mentorship and support of Speak Percussion through their Bespoke Artists Program (2023-2024). Thank you for giving us a platform to experiment with bold ideas and take risks. Thank you to everyone who came to watch Wind Down and provide their invaluable thoughts/feedback. It was a privilege to present Wind Down in such a setting!
Thank you to The Sir Zelman Cowen School of Music and Performance for supporting this project – in particular to Louise Devenish for lending us instruments during the development period.
Thank you to all the climate/climate-adjacent scientists and professionals who took the time to meet up with me, answer my emails, and help form the foundation of this work. In particular, I would like to thank Dr Adam Kessler, Prof Christian Jakob, Prof Ben Newell, Dr Zoe Leviston, Dr Andrew Gunn, Eezu Tan (climate writers), and Hannah Vardy.
Finally, thank you to Su Min Lee, Sam Pringle, and Alex Meagher. This project developed into what it was because of all of your ideas and respective artistic practices. It was so fun and inspiring infusing the project with your ideas, learning from you, and piecing this creative story together!
Anusha Yellapragada Composer 