"I make work that is reflective of my own experiences or a journey I am trying to take." Chelsea McGuffin on the creation of her new work, Hysteria.
Hysteria is a brand new contemporary circus performance by one of Australia's premier circus creators, Chelsea McGuffin, a pioneer of this art form that highlights the real-life experiences of women who have been hospitalised for the perception of their mental wellness. Set on Backbone’s unique bowling green, this work is in the round, with the audience immersed in the soundscapes through headphones.
Alongside Chelsea, the cast includes three generations of a traditional Russian circus family: the Abishev family, including 16yo granddaughter Isabella, mother Aylia and granddad Sergi (he won the highest award you can win in circus, a Golden Clown) - the Abishev family were among the acclaimed artists of the Soviet Union’s state circuses at the height of their international fame. It also features a score by singer-songwriter Jackie Marshall that is meditative, therapeutic, trauma-releasing, and heart-centred.
Virag spoke to Chelsea about the inspirations for this new work and what audiences can expect from Hysteria.
Hysteria is a brand new contemporary circus performance featuring the real-life experiences of women who have been hospitalised for the perception of their mental wellness. Talk me through how the concept for this show emerged.
Over the past few years I have struggled with my own mental wellness and witnessed people in my life facing some big challenges. I have been confronted by the public health system and the things in place which are there to support us at our most vulnerable times. The word Hysteria was used at different times for different reasons and really set me off on a journey on what it is to be ''normal'' and who are the people that get to choose what normal is. I make work that is reflective of my own experiences or a journey I am trying to take. In Hysteria I feel like I am playing one of the physical storytellers. It feels very empowering to reflect my own experiences through someone else's story.
Creating a verbatim work of art is never an easy task. Was there a particular process you used to thread the narratives together?
Jackie Marshall and I gathered stories just by having conversations which were recorded and Jackie also allowed women to record a message to share with her. It started as a very simple idea and finding ways to dig a little deeper into the world we were wanting to explore. Jackie is very good at holding space for people to share so this opened up a little porthole and the stories just started to come in. We both feel like we could do the work forever and after each performance we could start a new process with the next set of stories coming in. There are lots of women out there looking for ways to connect and share experiences. Sharing stories is so important because it normalizes our experiences, helps healing, brings us together, allows the emotional weight to be shared. Now more than ever we need to share our stories and help people connect and reinvent who we want to be.
Your work is presented in the round, with audience members being immersed in the soundscape through headphones. Why did you choose the incorporation of technology to present this work?
It wasn't our choice to use headsets. It was set to partly overcome the sound of the traffic which runs past the venue and also the noise restrictions which are in place for the area (so odd when the traffic is so full on). But it has now become a very important part of this work and an element I will explore again in future works. I think this is going to allow the audience to be in a very private experience and allow them to take their own journey, it feels pretty magic to sit in such an inner city environment, under the stars and witness a very emotional power work. It's not something you get to do often and I feel it really adds to the work in an exciting way.
Your cast includes three generations of a traditional Russian circus family: the Abishev who were among the acclaimed artists of the Soviet Union’s state circuses at the height of their international fame; after an award-winning tour of China and receiving the titles of Honoured Artists of Russia, the family moved to Australia. How did you approach them to come on board with this work or did you already have them in mind during the creative development?
I crossed paths with Danik Abishev at Woodford Folk Festival and then at circus and arts festivals around the globe. When his family made a choice to stop touring and base themselves in Queensland he reached out to me to help find teaching work for them. This was about 7 years ago. Since then our relationship has grown and we are always making and creating together. I don't come from a circus family and have great respect for this history and knowledge it carries, so it is a pleasure to be always learning and inspired by them. Circus runs in their blood and their passion for it drives a creative force in me.
Lastly, what do you hope to leave the audience with as they exit the theatre?
It's a performance which I hope will allow an audience to take a journey and leave feeling like they have witnessed something full of truth, hope and opened up something personal for them. Hope, resilience, an uplifting of the spirit. There are also some very raw and powerful moments which can really take your breath away. I think Jackie's score will really allow an audience member to be taken away. We want people to know that emotional uprising is needed and needs space to be heard, shared, expressed. It's ok.
Hysteria played at Backbone from 27 July to 1 August 2021. Read our review here.
