14 Aug 2023

Tentacular: Conceptual photos

Three strobe lights on the ground in a worn wooden floored dance hall; they are sonic transducers for the work Tentacular. Around them sit four people in discussion about their use. The room is not warm, as reflected in the long-sleeved layers of the dancers in discussion.

Tentacular is an immersive experience of inter-species kinship with humans, sounds and objects colliding to generate extended hybrid bodies. It is informed by the nuances of crip/queer culture.

Here is a sneak peak at some of the transducers that have been devised for Tentacular!

A wooden stage in a worn old hall with peeling greeen and orange paint on the background, two people using the elevated stage to play with and listen to reflective orbs as transducers. One person on the far side of the stage is making sound into one transducer, while the other person, wearing a fuzzy wool sweater and hair up in a bun, is sitting close to the camera, is leaning over, listening to the transducer through a black tube.

A tan-skinned person in shorts and a sweattop sits on a stage in an old and worn hall, leaning towards a strobe light, listening to the vibrations through a paper bag on their head. The orb is purple, the light reflecting on the person.

A pale skinned dancer with her hair in a bun, on her head. She is manoeuvering through a an old, aged dance studio with her eyes closed, her left arm out in front of her, her right hand as a platform with an orb as transducer helping her find her way to her destination.

A robot made from a circular floor cleaner, with two fans attached to either side, an sonic transducer made from a strobe light riding on its back as it makes its way across old and tired hardwood floor boards.

A beaten, peeling, old wall, turquoise, clay and white colours mottled in at once a weathered and beautiful wall. The basic office chairs on the floor in front of the wall, with a strobe light on the old 1930s built-in storage benches.

Tentacular is one of three pieces currently in development that comprise Tuarā Wairua, an intersectional triple bill of works by disabled creatives.

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ORO:RESONANCE is a Touch Compass crip-led, disability-led short-form arts mentorship programme empowering disabled young adult creators through sound and music creation, and performance. An accessible sound design programme for disabled youth in NZ. Participants learn from professionals, create alongside professionals, and witness their work performed live at Basement Theatre Auckland on Friday 24 April. Sound and music creation is led by disabled composer, sound designer and music maker Drew McMillan; with rangatahi-created works supported by the professional dance and performance professionals of Touch Compass, and a young and hungry diverse set of next-generation dancers.

24 April 2026

🔊✨ (((ORO:RESONANCE))) live showing at Basement Theatre

ORO:RESONANCE is a Touch Compass crip-led, disability-led short-form arts mentorship programme empowering disabled young adult creators through sound and music creation, and performance. An accessible sound design programme for disabled youth in NZ. Participants learn from professionals, create alongside professionals, and witness their work performed live at Basement Theatre Auckland on Friday 24 April. Sound and music creation is led by disabled composer, sound designer and music maker Drew McMillan; with rangatahi-created works supported by the professional dance and performance professionals of Touch Compass, and a young and hungry diverse set of next-generation dancers.