Ourania Papanikolaou
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004 (Community Engagement Facilitator & Performer) 2018

100 UnEarth, Wildworks

As Community Engagement Facilitator and performer for 100:UnEarth by Wildworks at the Lost Gardens of Heligan, I helped shape a large scale, outdoor, site specific production that unfolded across eight distinct locations within the gardens, guiding audiences through a narrative that moved with the terrain. The show blended the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice into a powerful journey of remembrance of Cornish WWI soldiers, inviting audiences to traverse meadows, woodland clearings, and sculptural installations as the story unfolded around them. Featuring a cast of over 100 performers, including professional actors, a community choir, local residents, and young amateur artists, the production became a formative training ground in large scale coordination. Working within this expansive performance ecosystem taught me how to hold a creative vision steady while allowing for the organic contributions of many voices, strengthening my understanding of collaborative methods that honour both artistic coherence and community participation.

The Sound of the Underworld — Wildworks. All Rights Reserved
The Tribe — Wildworks. All Rights Reserved
Two WWI-costumed performers embrace in a field as others around them reunite, hills in the background
Five performers in period farm clothing lean on a gate watching cattle in a sunlit field, framed by green leaves
A procession of performers in white moves through a dark woodland lit by scattered lanterns
A blindfolded performer in a red blindfold stands beneath a tall rusted metal frame against a deep blue evening sky
A performer in a medal-covered vest and helmet stands before a plume of fire, flanked by performers in white
A performer in a yellow dress laughs while wheeling a bicycle with a wicker basket, surrounded by other costumed performers
A large group in period dress shares food at a long wooden table in a field, an old cart visible behind them
A performer with a blood-red painted face leans toward a performer whose face is covered by a mass of faded roses
A band in military-style costume plays trumpet, flute, saxophone and guitar on an outdoor stage lit in pink and gold
Performers stand within a tall metal frame structure on a hilltop stage at dusk, silhouetted audience heads in the foreground
A performer in a raincoat holds a placard reading Peace Is Cheaper in front of a barn and greenhouse
A performer in a white dress raises a bouquet in celebration in a walled garden of roses
Steve Tanner Photography