Sean the Fisherman

A playful musical experience and experiment with the sounds of the sea, that unexpectedly developed into the creation of an original children’s tale with participants own characters, story, song and sounds.

French born musician Marie Laure Haas, known to the residents as Mailo, describes her process, ‘Residents manipulated the sounds such as seagulls, wind and rain, using a range of instrument such as the ocean drum and rainsticks. I didn’t ask them to try making the sound of the wind as turning the pipe around in the air, was too dangerous. I discovered also that using the boat horn required too much breath, so the staff and I did both these parts. In the lead up were some very relaxing moments where the the residents simply experienced the sounds of the sea.‘

It was hoped to record and perform the story, the song and sounds of the sea, live in front of the participants families. However, as the event took place during day time their grandchildren , who were the intended audience for this tale were unable to attend, which was a little disappointing but the event was nonetheless celebratory.

A CD launch was held at the end of the project with the participants family members to distribute the CDs to the families with small children. A copy was also presented to the local library for sharing in the community.

 

Timeframe

March to June 2017

Participants

“I thought the usual residents were not available today, but when you came to see them they all wanted to come!” (Nurse)