Featured Farmer: KATE HARMAN
A performer and creator,
Kate is at the heart of The Farm
An interview with Kate in November, 2018 as she is gearing up for her new work Depthless at the Judith Wright Centre in Brisbane
Where are you right now?
At the Powerhouse drinking a Stone and Wood, and waiting for that show bell to go off.
Can you upload a photo for us?
Ummmm, OK
When and how did you first meet other members of The Farm?
Well the meetings were through QUT, and then Dancenorth, Splintergroup, Animal Farm Collective and then The Farm, so it’s been a long ride.
I was studying with Raw, Alice and Josh at QUT in 2003, and then the 4 of us all moved up to Townsville to start at Dance North with Gavin when he took over in 2006, and it was there that I met Grayson and Sarah Jayne Howard. During my years in Germany, I think I met pretty much everyone else.
So what’s Depthless about?
Oooohhhhh, You know that Depthless means “deeper than deep”, and that’s your question?
Come on, you can do better than that, how about a take 2?
OK, Depthless is described as a “transit along the edges of conflict and power,” Can you unpack that “edge” for us? What was your starting point?
It’s the woman submerged, that energy that is just under the surface. The feeling of being an outsider, watching the play between balance and power. It’s about the unknown women that kept disappearing in my home town, and the childlike comprehension of their dental records in the newspaper.
It’s walking down the street and turning your head and see if someone is following you.
It’s about diving deeper into who we are, beyond our gender.
All of that has been in my head since I was a little girl, so one night in Freiburg after listening to L'inconnue de la Seine (the unknown woman of the Seine) I woke up in the middle of the night and started drawing pictures, it’s not something that I can explain logically, but it was then that I knew something had begun.
You started working on this show with Ben Ely, who wrote some heart breakingly beautiful songs for it, and now you’re working with Guy Webster, what’s that all about?
Ben is gearing up for a new album and a whole bunch of touring with Regurgitator, but has put us onto his friend Guy who is the perfect person to replace him. Guy is a musician who studied as a dancer and has a lot of experience working in theatre.
Ben was just in working with us today as a lot of the music he wrote is still in the work. We are still working out what the show will become with Guy, but the big change is that I’m learning the guitar so that I can live out my fantasy of being a rock god!
What’s up after Depthless?
Well, I’m doing the new work with you guys, can I talk about that?
No
Well that’s a great way to end your interview.
Where can people find out more about you?
Well, you could come and see Depthless, I’ll be in the bar with a beer afterwards. Or stay tuned for the new secret mystery show with The Farm. Or if your under 20, come and hangout with me as a part of the GreenHouse youth ensemble. Or if your really smart, you could just join our newsletter, and get all the news.
Other farmers featured
Jeff Wood, Laurie Young, Murielle Elizéon, Josh Thomson, Kayah Guenther, Michael Smith