Making of Noodle Palace for Fringe World Perth

This week I am designing and installing one of the Perth Fringe Festival venues. That has pretty well taken over the week (as I still work my office job as well) so I haven't had time to shoot anything, or hit the 'publish' button on any of the pre-written blog posts I have sitting in my draft folder. In the interests of sharing some of my work, and the behind the scenes game, which actually started this blog in the first place here are a few (average quality) sneaky phone snaps of the venue so far. 

It is in the old Piccadilly Cinema in the heart of Perth, between the two malls (man, there are some CRAZY folk wandering around the city- bored and eager to wander into old unused buildings!). The cinema is a heritage listed Art Deco building, it is really cool, dilapidated, dodgy and gorgeous all at once. Working in there alone- or walking in with the light of my phone before switching on the lights is pretty fucking scary (excuse the language, but, we literally have found a garbage bag leaking what looks like blood). 

We are converting it into Noodle Palace, a three-stage performance space and bar, inspired by all things kitschy oriental. I took the theme, spliced in a bit of oriental art deco influence and ran with it. We managed to find some pretty cool stuff and I think so far it is looking pretty shit hot, if I do say so myself. Take it with a grain of salt, come see a show, and have a bit of fun. The venue, Noodle Palace opens up on Wednesday, and features a bunch of really cool comedy, cabaret and general Fringe acts. The info is up on the site here. 

Pictured:

 Me donning a new ASOS t-shirt much to my relief cause I had made a mess of the shirt I had worn all day. 

One of the cool Deco mirrors- modified by yours truly,

The amazing work of graphic designer (and my man) Mario Recchia

Our little elephant ready with programs in the entryway. 

xx Jenelle

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Cabaret Design Photo Diary

1/ Multi coloured Clown/ King light boxes salvaged from Dazzleland and painted a slicker black, white, gold to grace the foyers. 

2/ Former Archway lettering (which I deemed too small and had remade) reused in the Artspace

3/ The VIP/ Artists bar- at night with the view of the construction River Torrens 

4/ This years table covers and figure number holders- decided to go with a girl, modelled off of Degas' Little Dancer of Fourteen Years Sculpture (which I happily admired in the flesh bronze recently)

5/ Festooning that we expanded on so heavily this year to tie the spaces in together

6/ Costume racks at the Maj for Shane Warne The Musical (now you know why I have a Pinterest folder dedicated to Shane Warne- I used that to communicate with Simon Phillips the director, pinning reference images for the costume design)

7/ The Lyrics VIP/ Artists area- furniture hired through the lovely guys at LB Events. Love them xx

8/ The Artspace being reset pre show

9/ The small Throne I made for the Launch and for a photo spot

10/ More festooning and the Arches Archadia Games gracing the foyer. 

11/ Those beloved clowns!

I have one more design post from the 2013 Cabaret Festival, Moving meant that it has taken me ages to edit and upload them- but I hope you will forgive me. 

xx Nell

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Beauty

I am doing something VERY out of character (in a way) and post up pics from the most beautiful wedding I have seen of late. Only out of character in the sense that I am not a big wedding person, but in the name of being an Event Designer- think of it that way, and it isn't so out of character. 

These photos- care of Vogue.com are from photographer Rachel Chandler and stylist Tom Guinness’s rewedding after a tiny ceremony they had left uninvited friends a little miffed not to have been included. 

If you are going to marry into the Guinness family, I guess you can afford to have someone hand paint a marquee for you. OH MY! That tent! The floral arrangement around the doorway! The hand painted watercolour menu, the family home Castle, the domed roof with gold stars, Mark Ronson playing DJ (sure, why not?!) and imported flowers... If you are going to do it, do it right?! 

Images to wish you had a big budget for... 

xx Nell

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The Adelaide Cabaret Festival Winter Garden and Little Italy

Here is a look at two of the venues I have been designing for the 2013 Adelaide Cabaret Festival. 

The first is an outdoor pop-up Winter Garden. This space acts as an outdoor food hall, a place to hang out, before or after shows, grab a plate to eat, a drink and cosy up near a heater, and swap stories. Last year we channeled a German Beer hall, taking a pattern from David Bromley's house- printing it on the table cloths. This pattern is then repeated in the Backstage Club. This year we wanted to expand on this. 

To give something new a try, we looked at widening the Winter Garden space- incorporating the garden and lawn area, giving us double the space, and finding a new place to put our vendors. Taking a look at the various March festival spaces, we noted how the various vendor stalls were set up. A trend we observed channeled shanty style street stalls, suited to the dusty grounds of summer festivals. However, given we are Cabaret, winter, and more European than off the beaten track, we wanted to create something clean. I began to think about places which excited me to buy food- places that made me want to start eating something as soon as it was handed over the counter. While I am not into markets filled with cheap imported trash, I do love a Victorian market, the kind that "used to be everywhere". Looking through photos of the permanent food hall in the Queen Victoria Markets in Melbourne, I sketched up simplified designs to house our vendors. Of course there are always a lot of design considerations- contracts, access, size, budget, time, etc etc, so these informed the design. 

I must admit I am happy with the results, it has made the space cleaner, each vendor has then customised their stalls, which gives each just the right personality. Each year, it is about growing, who knows where it will be in another year? 

The other venue pictured here is our Little Italy. Due to construction going on on the other side of the building (a foot bridge leading to a sports stadium), the Bistro has been closed, meaning we needed another indoor dining spot. Cue 'A Little Italy'- a spot to grab a plate of pasta before a show. Working with so many Italians, we wanted to create a space which can give the feeling of Italy, whilst also being able to be turned around in a matter of minutes as the venue becomes the Piano Bar. The tables are laid with brown paper, red cloths and gingham lined herb pots. Above hang, fern pots, along with strings of chilli and garlic. For an area with a very small budget, that is used for a couple of hours each night, it has a touch of that Italian home feel. The meals are good too. 

I have a lot more to share with you, so stay tuned in the coming days! 

Also- the festival is into it's second week, with another to go... till the 22nd of June, so come on down. 

xx Nell

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The Adelaide Cabaret Festival Lyrics

As promised- a look at the Adelaide Cabaret Festival design work I have been busy with...

The Lyrics room is one of the primary function spaces at the Adelaide Festival Centre. I have no idea how many functions these guys do each year- but it seems to me to be an average of two per day- big and small. If you live in Adelaide it is likely that you have been here for a work conference, celebration, launch, wedding, or some sort of party. The Lyrics room is long, light and bright. Think a narrow white room with a view of the River Torrens... With two random pillars, no light rigging points and an uneven symmetrical wall.

Investec are one of the biggest Adelaide Cabaret Festival sponsors, so we met with them early to discuss their function. Beginning with the resources of my preferred collaborators, LB Events for furniture and The Tenth Meadow for floral arrangements, we discussed a bunch of ideas. Weeks later I sent off concept drawings, image boards with options for both hired and purchased furniture and floral concepts. Originally we were thinking Art Deco- furniture, panels, etc. I had fun chatting with a member of the Art Deco society, as it is a period that I love. Eventually it was decided to pare back, using a mixture of black and white furniture and add a little yellow into the green and white arrangements. Investec were great, it was refreshing to work with a client who has a vision and enthusiasm for a project.

My monochrome graphic wall panels form a tri-pattern, and although drawn up late in the night, I think the little flaws actually work in its favour- adding character. The sharpness of the graphic angles and patterns are nicely softened by the delicacy of the flowers. I love to break up a statement like monochrome and hard lines with something soft, and romantic. I think of Chanel, and her signature camellias worn pinned to a boyish modern shape.  Elegance.

What is to be said of beautiful arrangements by Morgan of The Tenth Meadow? Are there words? Not really, or at least, I feel like mine do not do them justice. Morgan is a gem. I am FUSSSSSSSY when it comes to flowers. Like REALLY fussy! I think this is because they are so close to my heart- I find happiness in flowers, gardens and colour. Over done- under done, unnatural, there are so many factors that have to be clear. Last year I searched and searched for the right floral artist, and the searching paid off. You can tell, no? :)
This room- photographed here in the afternoon, later illuminated with twinkling tea light candles, sung, not just with the voice of Cabaret artist Ali McGregor, but with drama and grace.
I have a lot more of my behind the scenes on Cabaret to follow. Stay tuned.

xx Nell

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Welcome Kristin Chenoweth

The highlight of our Cabaret Festival opening weekend had to be the incredible Kristin Chenoweth. 

Isn't she darling? Pardon some blurry photos as I snapped a few of her carpet arrival. For someone with one of the biggest voices, she is a tiny thing- like a doll. 

Her show was beautiful, full of energy, tears, laughs and a whole lot of cheering. 

I am so glad I got to see her, at last, I think she was my most requested artist, and I was lucky to be around at the right time. 

Also pictured is the gorgeous Kate Ceberano- the coolest boss any one could ask for, with Tommy Bradson- whom I had the pleasure of working with on his Reg Livermore show. Tommy gave me a low down on the characters, and we got to sourcing costumes and props to recreate some favourite characters. I think Tommy blew me away, I laughed so much- this guy is one hell of a performer. I feel very blessed to have worked with him, and I doubt I will ever need to design a light box which flashes both "LAUGH" and "MASTERBATE" again. :)

This year we decided to buy our own red carpet- so all I can really claim to in these shots, is picking out the carpet pile, organising the red bollards and choosing the blue balloons. 

More actual design stuff to follow... 

Oh, how'd you like the custom dress Kate had made by Paul of Paolo Sebastian?

Ahhhhmazing! What a great Adelaide match! 

xx Nell

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