Better Words Than 'Fake'

We've been getting a great response to out call out for 'true stories of fake things' for our new show, What I Heard About The World. As well as some great stories and anecdotes, we've also had quite a few people say, 'So *what* is it you're looking for?' and '...nope, nothing comes to mind.' Which has helped to refine our brief, and to understand a little better what we're interested in at this stage.

It has confirmed my suspicion that I'm not particularly interested in deception - in fakes, in hoaxes, in cons. (I am interested in all that stuff, actually, but it's not what I think this show is about). So perhaps 'fake' isn't the right work. Checking 'fake' in a thesaurus just produces more words that imply deception, and in fact some of the other words suggested early on might be more helpful. So, how's this:

We're looking for instances where a replica, substitute, simulation or stand-in is used knowingly, in place of the real thing. An alternative, a deputy, a locum, a proxy. An understudy, even. A deliberate, or at least recognised, reliance on the inauthentic. Things that keep us one step removed from the original. Things that might, in the longer term, replace the original. My instinct tells me that this is not a good thing, but of course research so far has thrown up several examples of instances when this is a really positive thing. And of course, as ever, we are looking for ideas that support and challenge our thesis.

The other answer is that we don't *know* what we're looking for. But we'll know it when we find it. So we're also interested in the tangents and digressions that our provocation might throw up in your mind. Anything that our impetus suggests to you, we're interested to hear.

We start the next phase of practical work on What I Heard About The World next week, with two weeks work in Sheffield, including a flying visit to Glasgow, followed by a week in Oldenburg. We'll be sharing our research so far, and inviting more contributions, at the following festivals in the next few months:

Forest Fringe Micro Festival, The Arches, Glasgow, 16 & 17 April
PAZZ Performing Arts Festival, Oldenburg, 28 & 29 April
Forge Festival, Sheffield Theatres, 29 May

So please come and talk to us about the project if you can make it to any of those.

In the meantime, feel free to respond with thoughts and stories by commenting here, or emailing us at alex[at]thirdangel.co.uk. We're also sharing some of the ideas we're sent on Twitter, @AlexanderKelly, and using the hashtag #whatiheardabouttheworld.

Thanks in advance for any contribution you make.

Finally, credit where it's due, the good news, and the schedule: What I Heard About The World, by Third Angel and mala voadora, is a co-production with Sheffield Theatres, Teatro Maria Matos and the PAZZ Performing Arts Festival, in association with Worldmapper.org. Supported by the National Lottery through Arts Council England. The show will premiere in Sheffield Theatres' Studio, and then tour in Portugal, in autumn 2010. Further dates in 2011.