Itch That Scratch Night May

Itch that Scratch is a brand new multi disciplinary feminist evening of creative works in progress hosted by Contact, Manchester.

Expect unfinished, unready, raw and exciting work from the artistic community of Manchester.

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ITCH THAT SCRATCH 3

7-8:30 performances

8:30-9 optional feedback and mingle

LINE UP: 

Paranoia, written by Mara-Daria Leriu and performed by Freya Keppel-Compton and Tanya Magesh.

Gwendolyn is a prophet of doom. She knows when people are going to die as clearly as she knows her mother’s face. So when her friend Freya is getting ready to go on what Gwendolyn believes it’s her last night out, she’ll do everything in her power to stop her.

This piece will have violent imagery and derealization

This team are looking for some ‘wind your neck in’ style feedback on their piece, which means you can let them know what you think via an anonymous form during or after the event, or use one of our feedback stations to quietly make your thoughts known!

I Climbed Up a Pomegranate Tree by Emma Strong

A spoken word performance that sits on the edge of the absurd. I Climbed Up a Pomegranate Tree explores the evolution of a memory, divulging into the secrets only a pomegranate tree on the corner of a doctors office can hold.

Emma’s poem is short, reflective and gentle in tone.

It's a Long Story by Claire Fogarty 

A PowerPoint Night with a purpose. Social Media Manager Claire muses on modern storytelling with excerpts from her intimate Instagram story archive. Seeking to step beyond 'engagement', she'll explore how honesty, vulnerability, and heartfelt humour online might fight the doom scroll blues and pave the way to genuine connection.

Claire has been talking to herself online, now she wants to talk to an audience. What should she do next with this weird mixed multi media meme format? Maybe you can help?

Claire says: 'This piece will make gentle references to grief in the form of a relationship break-up and discuss some issues associated with mental wellbeing, predominantly loneliness and self-esteem, especially how these are impacted by social media. When discussing the negative impacts of social media I may touch briefly on body image. Some jokes may make subtle sexual references including self-pleasure and online dating, but these will not be too graphic, will not be accompanied by any explicit imagery, and will be tasteful. The overall tone intends to be light and uplifting and veers away from anything too heavy or upsetting.'

Space Chronic-ills by Ash Cox, aka Commander Ash Tronomy

Am I failure, or am I being failed? After being knocked off course, a seemingly resolute commander and their overbearing virtual assistant work together to refocus their mission.

Ash Cox (they/she) is an artist and access consultant, focusing on work that is reflective of their lived experience being a disabled, queer, working class space geek.

Ash has an inclusive approach to noise and movement coming from the audience. You are welcome to wriggle, move, stim and respond in any way that is natural for you. The work features integrated audio description and creative captions.

• Explores ableism and internalised ableism

• Mild swearing - “sh*t” + “frakking” (fictional profanity from Battlestar Galactica)

• Loud music

• Gentle audience participation, which is optional

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Girl Gang prioritise platforming women and non-binary artists and audiences, as well as those of marginalised genders. Cis men are very much welcome to attend or present work - join us!

Why do we need this event and why should you support it?

This will be a community centred and supportive evening that gives Manchester based artists the chance to try out and experiment with new work and receive feedback from their artistic community and potential audiences.

Giving artists a space to perform at low stakes can stimulate ideas and facilitate community bonds, but it can also create vital space for evidence gathering and practice or rehearsal that is usually tricky and expensive to come by!

This scratch night is unfunded so we can’t guarantee artist fees. Ticket prices will reflect the unready, itchiness of the evening, as well as keeping the event accessible. Sales will cover our costs and technical support from the venue. You can also donate direct to artists when you buy your tickets or on the night.

Prices:

We do self assessed tiered ticketing to try and make our events as accessible as possible. Please use honestly to support us in making our work sustainable <3

Do you have an access code? Enter it at checkout to unlock more ticket prices!

Unwaged / concession / creative industries worker : £10.00

Standard: £12.00

Come as a Pair, two standard tickets for the event bought together: £15

Refund policy: Paying for a ticket funds freelance artists, creatives and facilitators and helps support Girl Gang Manchester in continuing to run events. All tickets are non refundable and non transferable.

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Accessibility information:

Girl Gang Manchester’s events aim to be as inclusive as possible. This event is open to people of all genders, ages, races, sexualities, classes and abilities. All are welcome, please see specific access information below.  

• Contact spaces are all fully accessible with accessible toilets. There is lift access to all floors. Contact have some really detailed access information on their website here: https://contactmcr.com/visit/access

• There are lots of bus routes that pass the venue on Oxford Road, and Oxford Road is the closet train station. 

• The event is seated (unreserved, unless for access needs) 

• Wheelchair spaces are avaible, please let us know if you need us to reserve a wheelchair space for you by adding this information during checkout

• We happily offer free tickets for personal access assistants, please email us at girlgangmanchester@gmail.com to arrange this.

• Specific COVID guidance can be found below.

• A Girl Gang Manchester team member will greet you as you enter the event space and will be available as a point of contact throughout the event if you require anything.

If you have any other access requests or worries, please contact us at girlgangmanchester@gmail.com. We are super proud that our events and club nights are welcoming and that there are always people who feel comfortable to attend on their own.

COVID-19 Guidance:

Though we no longer have any specific COVID-19 guidelines in place at our events, it is our expectation that you as a member of our community exercise personal responsibility in that you do not attend if you knowingly have COVID or any other contagious disease, or if you have knowingly had contact with a positive case.

Why do we ask identity questions?

We want to make our events as inclusive as possible and we often get questions from people who for whatever reason say ‘I really want to come but I am nervous, will I be the odd one out?’ Whilst we will always strive to do our best to make everyone feel welcome, it is useful to know a little more about who our audience is for each event so we can be honest in our responses to any queries. It also helps us tailor events for the people attending and identify who we aren’t currently reaching with our work.

This data really helps us, please answer any questions you feel comfortable with. If you do not want to share this information, please leave it blank. More information can be found on our Privacy Policy.