Exploring the Music of MamaBabaMe
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Greg Sinclair is a performer and composer as well as a Starcatchers’ Associate Artist. He recently composed the music for our co-production with Curious Seed, MamaBabaMe, which is currently touring Scotland. In this blog he reflects some time he spent with the babies and families at Expecting Something in Wester Hailes, where they took a deeper look at the music in the show.
This was my first time working on Expecting Something at WHALE and I had a really great time. I recently composed the music for MamaBabaMe, Starcatchers and Curious Seed’s new dance performance for 18 months to 3 years. Katy thought it would be a fun idea to use the session to explore and chat about the show. MamaBabaMe is currently on tour, with performances across various Scottish venues, and will be a part of the upcoming Edinburgh International Children’s Festival. The Expecting Something group will attend a performance of the show in a few weeks’ time.
It was a glorious sunny day so we decided to do as much of the session outside as we could. I played some of the music from the show on my cello whilst the two mothers and their babies sat and listened. It was all very relaxed with gentle murmurings between mothers and daughters in the sunshine. I also brought the cello close to them and received some fantastic feedback from the babies in the form of wide eyes and smiles.
They gently placed their hands on the cello to feel the vibrations.
We had a talk about the show and watched the trailer and the making of videos. This was useful to help the mums visualise the performance and to ask questions. I always think it’s good to reassure parents bringing their child to the theatre for the first time that the show has been made specifically for them – so any fears about crying or restlessness or sleeping or needing to walk about have been taken into consideration. I hope this went to help the parents feel comfortable and excited about coming to see the show. It will be great to hear what they and their children thought of it!