Mr Bennies has a chat with the director of Friby Producoes about their Latest Spectacle. You can catch their next performance at the Rapskallion Extravaganza show on Friday 25th of March at Red Bennies.

1. Could you tell the Red Bennies crew a little bit about your performance troupe's name? What are it's origins?
 
Well Friby Producoes intially started out as a travelling duo collaborating and performing with other artists on the streets of Brazil. The name is a spontaneous combination of our names which has since stuck. The Portugese words tend to trickle out of an english speaking MC's mouth rather uniquely so we get to have a completely different name every time we perform!
 
The idea of a Spectacle is to entertain within reach of the uncanny, something we deem most appropriate for our shows.

2. We've been told that your style is a mixture between vaudeville and traditional burlesque. How would you define yourselves?
 
I ask myself this very question everyday. Hmn, where should I take this?
 
Well, very recently actually, someone put forth the idea of traditional burlesque being defined as 'exaggerated characters' - I would have to say that this most definately sums up a large part of our performance work. As character is the defining point for many of our shows.
Of course our shows are essentially dance based, we are a dance troupe that take the everyday, humdrum mannerisms of habitual routine and turn them into something spectaculour, unpredictable and devilishly amusing. The idea is to put the whack back into wacky.
 
3. What's your show creation process? Do you collaborate or is it the result of a directorial vision?
 
Most of our shows are created with a director/choreographer - performer relationship. Often I will just get slapped in the face with an idea, it could be anywhere but usually it is a very mundane routine that we have all, at one point partaken in, then after spending some considerable time working on the choreography, I will present it to the group. During rehearsals the developmental process goes further into coming up with the 'WhAt tHe?' shocks our spectacles thrive on.
It's quite funny when I arrive at a rehearsal for a new act; 'I have the best idea', I say with manic enthusiasm, ' We are going to be Milk', the girls have come to accept my clueless suggestions with a drop of fear, take them on and pull a rabbit out of the hat on stage. They are amazing!

Our rehearsal process also uncovers new forms, ideas and possibilities that come from the performers themselves who know all too well what kind of weirdness our shows need. Then of course there are the collaborations, which are often the most fun. Sometimes a certain act will come along which is incorporated into our shows, yes we are a warm-hearted, charitable group adopting the 'oh so needy' wandering troupeless performers.
 
 
4. What's your experience in working and performing with Rapskallion?
 
We began performing with Rapskallion about three years ago. At the time we were all a very transient bunch, well I suppose to some degree we still are, it was great fun just to jump up on stage and play around with eachother. Rapskallion has always been great like that, extremely open to letting performers explore whatever concepts they think best for the performance.
Time moved on and both our groups went off to grace the stages of the world and have now come back with new performance mojo and inspirations. Performing with Rapskallion recently has been a whole new kettle of fish. I really enjoy developing scenic concepts to compliment their wild melodies and this time we actually rehearse! There is still very much an openness to eachothers ideas and this makes for a very wild audience experience.
It's great fun when you get the opportunity to work with a live music group and a very different process to that which we undergo when developing our own works

5. Rumour has it that you'll be performing a 'spaghetti dance' in one of your acts this Friday night! What can our audience expect from your show?
 
Who told you? What were their names? Where do they live?

Yep. There will be spaghetti on board for this Friday's show along with the debut performance of Havai Hanna, hula hoop groover and Aviva Reed, Martial Fan performer. There will also be the foottapping Synchronised Sun-bakers and a delicate musical number dedicated to hands.

Expect the frivolous, colourful and imaginative. Expect extremely detailed dance routines and the super outrageous, and be alarmed, many spaghetti strands were harmed during the creation of this show.