Festival Wrap Up

This was a BIG week for the Nguyens.  Here's what we experienced.

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We tried our hand at Baby Yoga

... new, stretch!, bonding, fun ...

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Archie watched his first ever theatre performance 
- This [Baby] Life

... amazing!, engaging, experiential, wonder, insight ...

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We wandered around the free events with Grandma

... busy, colourful, smiles, sticky, creative ...

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We went to the opening night of The Flying Orchestra 
with Daddy...

... exciting, shush!, imagination, emotive, funny ...

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And I filled my mind with big ideas at the 
'Connecting the Dots' Symposium...

... learning, teaching, confidence, thought, exchange, inspired ...

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If you've read my other posts you'll have a pretty good idea of how much this festival has impacted on our little, young family.

Loc...
Loc's learnt to make sure his mobile phone is turned off during a theatre performance.

Archie...
I think Archie's learnt a whole lot.  About things that move.  About colours, and sounds.  About shadows and light.  And about people - that there are lots in this busy, noisy world - each face a different one to the one he saw just a moment before.

Me...

I've learnt that there is so much more in the world that I can engage my baby boy in, outside of the comfort of our lounge room.  I've rediscovered a confidence in my own ideas, and learnt how they can both work alongside and benefit my new role in life as a mother.  I've enjoyed more smiles, giggles and coos this week than I've ever taken the time to notice in the routine of my days at home.

I guess this is my opportunity to thank the organisers of the Out of the Box Bloggers Project for inviting me on board, and for giving my family the opportunity and the little push we needed to get out and begin engaging our new family with the arts.

And thank you for reading!  I also write about our little old life with Archie over on my personal blog Cassie Nguyen is Homing, and I'd love for you to stop by and say hello.

I hope you've enjoyed your Out of the Box Festival experience as much as we have.  See you again in 2014 for our all-grown-up OOTB toddler experience!

Lucky We Have a Big Sliding Door...

... otherwise I don't know how I would have fit all these ideas back inside our house!  (Yes, I am that funny.)

Thursday and Friday were our last two days at the Out of the Box Festival.  I was privileged enough to be able to attend the two-day Industry Forum as a part of the OOTB Symposium, and even more honoured to speak on the Friday afternoon panel.  I've spent this past weekend running around to family events with Loc and Archie, all the while trying to let my mind work through the multitude of thoughts, ideas, memories, hopes and imaginings that I gathered during these two amazing days.

Catching the train into the Industry Forum on Friday

I wrote earlier about both my excitement and apprehension with regards to attending the Symposium (knowing you're going to be on a panel beside Wesley Enoch will do that!) and at first I couldn't figure how I was going to make it work with a 4 month old, fully breastfed baby.  I think the first thing I have to mention about these two days is just how amazingly supportive my husband Loc is for taking time off work to wander around the Cultural Centre with our beautiful baby boy while I was in the Symposium sessions.

Morning tea break with my boys

If I were to write about all that I have taken away from the Symposium this would likely turn into a novel!  Perhaps it is because I haven't engaged with big ideas in such a way for quite some time, but for me there was a highlight in every single session - the keynotes, the panels, the performances and workshops...  And to have these punctuated with time spent with Loc and Archie was the perfect way for me to be shown that my old world of arts theories and ideas can and should complement my new world as a mumma.

I feel like there are a lot of different 'hats' I could wear to write this post.  But the most apt one is the one that brought me to this festival and this blog - my "Archie's mum" hat.

Our second family theatre outing - watching "Bear With Me" with the other Symposium delegates.

It was inspiring to be amongst people of influence in the world of arts and creativity who believe with such strong conviction and passion that every child should have access to the amazing gift that is engaging with creativity.  I listened to passionate addresses calling for bold institutional change, willing Artistic Directors, policy makers and CEOs to put children at the centre of the planning, organisation and running of cultural and artistic experiences.  That they be 'equal citizens' in the adult world of art and culture.

That's the kind of world I want Archie to grow up in...

It was inspiring to be amongst people who see that children have so much that they can both teach us and remind us of. That their knowledge and wisdom is so easily brought to the fore through artistic and cultural activities, and that as adults we have a responsibility to provide them with the opportunities to use creativity to find confidence in the knowledge and understanding that they already have within themselves.

That's the kind of confidence and awareness that I want Archie to grow up with...

Archie hanging out at The Edge

How wonderful for a 'Festival for Children' realise that engaging and educating 'the adults' is an important part of making a festival for children worthwhile.

How beautiful for us adults to spend time challenging our own perceptions of what creativity means in the lives of our kids, and reminding us of our responsibility to provide them access to those experiences.

And how beautiful for all of that to take place right in the middle of a giant, creative and artistic playground - full of imagination and fantasy, colour and character, giggles and screams.

Out of the Box - Some Free Stuff!

Today we're off to the Industry Forum as part of the festival's 2012 Symposium.  I am SO excited about the next two days.  Loc has some time off work so he can hang out with Archie while I'm in the Symposium sessions, and hopefully we'll also get a bit of time just to enjoy some more of what the festival and the Cultural Centre grounds have to offer.

On Tuesday afternoon, Grandma, Archie and I wandered around the festival a little bit before we went home.  We got to see some of the free events that I thought sounded like so much fun!

It was cold so Archie had to wear his little beanie.  Agh! So cute!

Tall Tent of Tall Tales

The Sticky Maze!!!!!

Chalk the Walk underneath QPAC, and the Under Age Stage in the Cascade Court

I can't wait for the 2014 Festival when Archie will be just over 2 years old.  Our festival experience will be so different when he's walking (or running!) around, and we can engage him in so many more of the activities.

That said our 2012 experience has been just perfect! The shows we've seen and the workshops we've done that were suitable for babies have been really, really wonderful!

Daddy's First Children's Festival Experience - The Flying Orchestra

Archie playing with his Flying Orchestra program this morning.

Archie and I were both very, VERY tired today after our big day at Out of the Box yesterday.  We had an appointment this morning, but then spent all afternoon sleeping!  He's so cuddly and warm, and I love listening to his little relaxing sighs while he sleeps.

Last night while I wrote about This [Baby] Life, my husband Loc wrote about our experience at the festival's opening night celebrations.  We got to see the premiere of The Flying Orchestra at the Lyric Theatre, but I'll let him tell you all about it...

Archie and Cassie all dressed up and ready to go.

I read the book written and illustrated by Clare McFadden just a few days before seeing the show and was already in love with the ideas and messages. I love music with a passion and without giving away too much, the story, through its perfect selection of words and uniquely beautiful illustrations, follow a small orchestra as they play their instruments through the highs and lows of the book's characters.

I was apprehensive about taking Archie to a show in the dark with quiet moments and an audience, as I feared Archie may have felt the need to exercise his lungs and his rights to demand we stop this charade of our former life at the theatre and take him back home to sleep in comfort.

Waiting for the lights to go down and the show to begin!

As the lights went down I was more focused on Archie and instead of a restless child threatening to whinge his way home I instead saw Archie's big eyes pinned to the majestic visuals on the stage and captivated by the awesome sounds of the orchestra. He didn't flinch for the first five to ten minutes as I am sure I saw my son frozen for the first time, engaged with the arts on a theatre stage and enjoying it. It was a very proud parent moment for Cassie and I. 

The costumes, puppets, music and the flow of the story on stage just radiated story book charm and allowed adults and children alike to get lost Clare McFadden's wondrous world. At home I struggle to hold Archie's attention for more than two to three minutes at my most entertaining. (By entertaining I mean blowing on his belly and pretending I am a crazy old dog sniffing his hands. I know, disturbing and beautiful at the same time, but each to their own right?). So it was incredible to watch our four month old Archie being entertained by something far more creative and inspiring than a crazy old dog.

Here's a bit of the show that author Clare McFadden shared on her Facebook page!

The night didn't go perfectly though however and it had nothing to do with Archie. I have never forgotten to turn off my phone in a theatre or in a movie but tonight I did, and can you believe it, I got a call during the show. Very embarrassed and ashamed. Archie did contribute though to our inappropriate theatre family noises by screaming out after he scratched himself with his Catwoman like claws midway through the show. Cassie took him out for a few minutes but brought him back in settled allowing us to enjoy the show all the way to curtain call. 

Ouch!  Poor Archie after ending up on the wrong end of his nails!

Cassie: "I can't believe I'm at the theatre with such crazy, noisy boys!
Archie: "Can we go home now?"

I'm extremely grateful for the opportunity we were given by the organisers of the OOTB festival tonight. That we just decided to take our clingy little boy, and take the risk that he may have cried all night and we may have had to leave the show early for it, paid off big time. Our little man enjoyed the show, Daddy embarrassed himself and Mummy and as for our family, it was our first and definitely not our last night out together at the theatre.

One of our first family photos!  After our first night at the theatre together.

Theatre for Babies - So... EXCELLENT!!

We're home now after attending the OOTB Opening Ceremony and the premiere of The Flying Orchestra.  Needless to say we had one VERY tired bubba in the car on the way home, who is now peacefully sleeping while Loc writes about tonight and I reflect on this truly amazing and memorable day.

Another well timed nap!  He woke up just as the performance was beginning...

After our Baby Yoga class this morning Archie, Grandma and I joined in "This [Baby] Life" (after a delicious roast vegetable wrap from The Cafe that is!).  I didn't really know what to expect from this performance that described itself as an interactive exploration of how babies and adults connect with one another.

Let me simply say, both my theatre mind and motherhood mind were suitably blown.

The studio space that is the Tony Gould Gallery, underneath the Cremorne Theatre, was so simply set up, with comfy blankets on the floor for us all to sit on.  The director and three performers welcomed us in, and we formed a little arc around their performance space, also on the blankets.

It's almost hard for me to find words to describe what I saw and what I felt during this performance.  It was a mix of beautiful experimental music, contemporary dance and movement, sound, mimicry, and storytelling.  I could feel almost as soon as the first performer began to sing, that the circle of parents and babies amongst which Archie, Grandma and I sat, were all drawn into this gentle, peaceful and engaging conversation.  The adults watched as babies and performers spoke to one another, each telling their own stories and sharing their own moments of excitement, confusion and awe.

This was Archie's first ever experience of live performance.  I watched him, quietly taking it all in.  Long eyelashes over big brown eyes absorbing all that he saw.  I know I will forever hold this image in my minds eye - his face outlined by the theatre lights behind him, his little mouth hanging open in quiet contemplation.

Archie and I with Heather Frahn and Felecia Hick from This [Baby] Life

I loved the aesthetic of this production so much.  The pastel colours, it's gentle rhythm and pace, the simple story-telling through voice and movement.  It was everything I think theatre for babies should be  - the complete opposite of bright and noisy, of primary coloured plastic, of mass-produced, over-simplified performance.

Archie didn't tire.  He wasn't over-stimulated by noise and colour.  This performance, or really this exchange of human interaction, was just right for his little mind.  For where he is at in relation to his growing understanding of this noisy, bustling world outside of my belly.

I mentioned in my first post that theatre and live performance is something that has always been close to my heart.  That makes today a momentous occasion for me.  Archie's first live theatre performances.  I mentioned in my earlier post that sleep deprivation is making me teary, but seriously, I feel like today will be up there in my motherhood memories alongside first words, first steps, first day at school...

I've attended a lot of theatre and performance.  And I've been to a lot of festivals.  But I've never, ever seen through the eyes of a child who is a physical and emotional extension of myself, and it really was amazing.  We don't watch a lot of TV in our home, and so what Archie experienced today - the people, the movement, the lights, colours and sounds was all brand new.  I watched his new eyes with new eyes myself.  Motherhood surprises me every single day.

In a big way I can't believe it's only the end of Day One of Out of the Box.  Because Archie is so little, and we already have two big days at the Symposium planned for Thursday and Friday, I'm not sure how much more we'll be able to squeeze into our week.  Three festival days is quite a lot for a four month old!

Perhaps it's because it's late at night, because my baby is asleep, or because I'm a very, very tired new mumma...  Whatever the reason I'm waxing philosophical and feel like I've been taught a WHOLE lot about motherhood today.  Or reminded at least.  Our home is a beautiful place, we make sure it's full of love and learning, however, our little baby is growing up fast and there is so much in the world outside of our home.  As his mother I can, I should and I must give him every opportunity I can to engage with the amazing life around us.

Tonight I go to sleep having learnt a whole lot.  About my son, about me, and about just how insanely important creativity is in the lives of our children.  We are privileged to live in a beautiful place where our community provides us with experiences like Out of the Box.  And I feel so lucky to have fallen right into the thick of it now, in my first child's first year.

I could go on all night but I won't!  It's time for these tired parents to rest.  Tomorrow I'll share some more photos and stories from our festival day today, and as a special treat my husband Loc will post about our Flying Orchestra experience from a Dad's perspective.

Good night lovely people.  Time for sneaky, silent kisses on the cheeks of those precious little ones under your wings.

Baby Yoga - Gorgeous Giggles and Muscles I Forgot I Had...

Well!  Archie, Grandma and I have just arrived home from our first morning at Out of the Box!  We were at QPAC bright and early today for our Baby Yoga class at 8.15am.  I think I jinxed our little family last night and we were indeed up numerous times after 11pm (by 5am Loc and I gave up and started our day nice (?) and early).

We caught the train in and I was happy when a kind man stood up so that my Mum could sit beside Archie and I.  Of course the little munchkin fell asleep, all snuggled in the carrier, about ten minutes from South Brisbane...  I was worried he would end up sleeping through the whole yoga class!

Arriving at QPAC it was obvious that this week is ALL about Out of the Box!  It was really so wonderful to see the spaces that had been set up for all the festival goers in their pre-children-erized state.  I could see just how much work has gone into (and at that time was still going into) making the festival fun, comfortable, and practical for both parents and kids.

The three of us quickly made our way to the eeni meeni miini moh marquee in the Cultural Forecourt to get ready for our yoga class.

Archie stirred before the class began.  I woke him gently so that we could give this Baby Yoga thing a go.  I have done a fair bit of yoga before, but obviously never with a baby, and definitely not since I was a very pregnant lady.  The class began with a fun, gentle and engaging yogababy sequence for the bubs.  We stretched and played with their arms and legs, and held them in strategic cuddles so that us mums could also do some stretching and gentle exercise.

Now, I'm sure the four hours of broken sleep that I got last night may have contributed to my emotional state this morning, but I literally felt overwhelmed by tears when I saw how much Archie was enjoying the class.  My little man is usually very quiet, serious and observant with a frequent side of "cuddle me or I'm going to cry!".  But when we followed the yogababy sequences he was cooing, giggling and squealing like a crazy child!  It was so, so beautiful to see, especially after our last few weeks of winter flu, painful wind and troubled sleep.

Grandma watched on, equally surprised and heart-warmed by Archie's reaction to the class, and quickly insisted that I must do this every week with the little guy!  If only we lived closer to the yogababy studios at Paddington.

I have to be completely honest and say that if it wasn't for this free Baby Yoga class at the festival, I never would have had the opportunity to try it out and see just how wonderful it is.  The other babies, most slightly older than Archie, enjoyed tumbling and swinging and cuddling into their mums so very much.

It's obvious that baby yoga is not only a beautiful way for parents to connect with their bubs, but I can see how it is also fantastic for the development of strength, confidence and engagement in these special little people in our lives.

Towards the end of the class Archie started to grizzle (not surprising considering how little sleep he had last night!), and I was very happy then that Grandma was able to cuddle him while I got to finish the class.  I stretched some muscles that I seriously though had turned to complete mush after my pregnancy!

But those muscles are still there. Oh yes, I can feel them.  And I think that tomorrow they'll remind me of their presence even more!

Mobile Blogging... Rain, Hail or Shine!

It's the eve of our first big day at Out of the Box and I thought I'd try out the blogger iPhone app to see how well I can share our festival experience on the go!

Archie's fast asleep and I'm getting our things ready for the early start tomorrow. Warm things!! And our umbrella... We'll be at our baby yoga session come rain, hail or shine!!

I've decided to forgo taking the pram tomorrow and am going to carry Archie in my Close Carrier instead. I know it works for us and I don't think we're quite experienced enough with the pram for it to be more help than hinderance!

Well, it's time for this tired mumma to get some sleep. I'm sure we'll be up a few times between now and our train at 7.30am tomorrow morning, so I better get some shut eye while the little guy's still in baby dreamland!

See you tomorrow. I hope!!