Cat Day Afternoon

This is James, he wanted to have a go with the measuring tape today.  He has a highly desirable skill set way beyond our own and his business, Landscape Construct, will be a cornerstone of this years Tuxedo Cat.  The caravan he's in will be a bar in the outdoor area of the Cat.  The caravan is an Ambassador, from the sixties and was not designed to hold multiple fridges or slush buckets.  In fact the interior was so well preserved it hurt a bit to go ahead with the gutting of it.  Turns out that beyond its vintage beauty was modern day mould ridden plywood, so we think it will enjoy its new life.

Pictured above at Electra House is Arapahoe, one of three cast members in Steve Sheehan's new show 'A Little Horseplay'.  It was great to see a large photo of all of them in last Saturday's Advertiser as well as two other shows at the Cat also getting a mention, the theatre shows 'Isolate' and 'Slavery To Star Trek'.  As you probably know the guide is out and tickets to all Adelaide Fringe 2011 shows are on sale NOW!

And this?  Well it's a...thing.  We acquired it today and was told that by simply plugging Electra House into it you can run a whole damn festival off of it.  The three switches are for genres, in this case 'Theatre', 'Comedy' and 'Cabaret'.  We have to get another one for 'Word', 'Events' and 'Visual Arts' and then an additional single switch one for 'Puppetry.'

Cat Alive!

With Tuxedo Cat curling up at Electra House, one working bee under our collar and the holiday season out of the way, we have regrouped to complete the transformation of 131 King William Street into the desirable Fringe hangout we have been missing since the demolition of our previous site at Synagogue Place.

Today we measured the space required to make way for the electrical cabling.

With three levels to bring alive it has the potential to be tricky but Electra House, with its wide halls and massive light shafts is generous with its solutions.  The building was gutted of wiring and other vital organs such as water and toilets several years ago.  Other notable absences of lesser impact include windows, doors, ceilings and floorboards.  Oh alright - it's a shell!

For the first time in five years of operating venues, sponsors wanting to make significant contributions to Tuxedo Cat have jumped on board.  Not just "Here, have an ice bucket and a couple of umbrellas" types BUT Crumpler, Little Creatures and Dulux all, quite simply, 'get it', they are just as excited as we are about being part of our landscape.  Combine this with the immeasurable support from the Adelaide Fringe office, the new Lord Mayor, the Adelaide City Council CEO and the like-minded crowd from Renew Adelaide and we begin to feel that there is a bigger and more positive movement happening collectively that could really strengthen and expand the artistic and social possibilities of Adelaide.  Exciting, huh?

Concluding our duties at Electra House for today by touching up some spray painted penises (averaging about two per room, slightly less than the previous Cat) with some metho' and sanding, we check that the date today is in fact 12/1/11 and think bloody hell...lets get our Cat on!