Chalk About

"[...] full of a rich sense of the joy of human difference and the vibrant male-female energy of life." The Scotsman on the original Chalk About production

Based on interview recordings with children, a loving dialogue unfolds about what counts in life: family, home, nationality and gender, happiness and sadness... taste in music and pizza toppings. “Chalk about” for two performers plays with the English “to talk about” and “to chalk”, which means “to mark with chalk”. Located between dance and theater, a pulsating, life-affirming manifesto about the differences between people, staged using the simplest means.

"[...] both actors talk to us about themselves, their personal stories, what they like and don't like, with a friendly honesty that is absolutely charming." The Herald about the original production of Chalk About

The piece was created through collaboration between choreographers Leandro Kees from Argentina/Germany and Christine Devaney from Scotland. Because of the great success of the production, the artists decided to develop two versions with different performers in different languages. Marcela Ruiz Quintero and Constantin Hochkeppel play in the “German version”. Chalk About has been played a total of around 200 times worldwide in both versions and received, among other things, a 5-star review from The Times at the Fringe Festival Edinburgh 2014. The piece is designed to travel with minimal effort and to be easily performed in different environments. It is currently playable in German and English. Other languages are possible.

“[Chalk About] ...is some of the most outstanding, imaginative, funny and touching theater I have seen this year. With a combination of dance, conversation and the chalk from the title […] they tell their stories. […] But they tell us so much more. Without ever seeming suggestive - or inappropriate - they […] touch on themes such as sexuality, nationalism, gender, feminism, loneliness and grief.” - ***** (5 stars) THE TIMES on Chalk About's CURIOUS SEED production at the Fringe Festival Edinburgh 2014

Production Details:

Age: For everybody aged 8 and above | Duration: 50 Minutes

Concept & Original-Choreography: Leandro Kees and Christine Devaney
Performance: Marcela Ruiz Quintero & Constantin Hochkeppel
Production Design: Karen Tennent | Sound Composition: Martin Rascher | Lightning Design: Tom Zwitserlood
Dramaturgical Advice: Moos van den Broek | Booking & PR: Laura Cadio
Management & Technology: Martin Rascher
Pictures: Pipo Tafel, David Zuschlag, Tanzhaus Zürich

A production by performing:group and tanzhaus nrw as part of Take-off: Junger Tanz, originally conceived by Leandro Kees and Christine Devaney (Curious Seed, UK). Take-off: Young Dance is funded by the Cultural Office of the state capital Düsseldorf and the Ministry for Family, Children, Youth, Culture and Sport of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia. Originally a Curious Seed production, funded by Imaginate and additionally supported by the Scottish Government's Edinburgh Festivals Expo Fund. Produced by Catalyst Dance Management and co-produced in collaboration with tanzhaus nrw. Supported by Fresh Tracks Europe, Lyra Theater [Edinburgh] and The Work Room [Glasgow].