Appendix 1: The Flowering Desert Creative Process
AP 1.1 Cycle 1: Jan-April 2020
AP 1.2 Cycle 1: Short Story - The Flowering Desert
AP 1.3 Cycle 1: Online Workshops and Outcomes April 2020-February 2021
AP 1.4 Cycle 1: Exploration through Performance and Film: March - June 2021
AP 1.5 Cycle 2: Leading to the Performances in May 2022
Appendix 1 - The Flowering Desert Creative Process
In this appendix I have chosen materials, reflections or transcriptions from key pieces of work, or workshops, that were carried out during the creative and performative process of developing the opera The Flowering Desert.
AP 1.6 Cycle 3 – Final Performance
This final cycle included the work done towards the final performance. For this we made an addition to Xoe’s costume, through working with students from BSA, of a hat and torch. We did this in the hope that it would add more humour and presence to the character, allowing the performer to move out of the spotlight for various moments.
AP 1.6.a Audience response for the third cycle
Questionnaires were handed out at this performance (ThinkTank Jan 2023). Despite the fact that tickets were sold out, I received far fewer responses. The feedback from this can be seen below. We can see from this limited response that the updates and reviews made for this production seem to have had an impact on the audience’s experience. In the space for extended feedback we did not receive any comments suggesting ways to change or enhance the production itself. We also received a fully positive response on the show’s ability to enhance empathy with the science in the show. It was also mostly viewed as a highly satisfactory experience. It also seems to have been fairly successful in increasing the audience’s interest in both opera and astrophysics. We received one piece of feedback from an unknown audience member on Instagram after the show saying:
I attended The Flowering Desert at the ThinkTank Planetarium yesterday and I just wanted to say I loved it so so much!! I honestly went into it not knowing anything about opera or science but it just seemed really interesting to me and it ended up being even better than I expected!! I will definitely have to check out more opera after this - thank you all for such a great and memorable experience . . . I find it so cool how much you’ve managed to integrate into the piece, it’s like not a bit of science was wasted! I also loved the costume design as well, like Pantele’s make-up showing how the atmosphere in a transiting planet is observed. . . I’m glad I was able to take it all in despite being unfamiliar with opera and astrophysics. (Serryade, 2023)
See results of audience feedback below.