Michael Stimpson, c/o Darwin Symphony Orchestra, Charles Darwin University, Casuarina 0909

1 September 2009

Dear Michael,

We write to thank you for your involvement in, and contribution to, Origins. What an epic production! An extraordinary amount of work by a large number of individuals and organisations resulted in a unique and amazing experience for both the general audience and those more closely connected to the project.

Audience estimates indicate we had about 3,000 people come through the area over the course of the evening and so, despite some fear and trepidation about competing with Territory Day celebrations, this turn out is a great success and testament to both the support bases of participating organisations and the public being open to an alternative to fireworks.

The feedback has been rich and included:

how exciting it was to have an adventure, where as an audience member they were encouraged to wander, investigate, explore and interact; o how much they enjoyed the experience even though they weren't sure what they were enjoying - watching performers replicate dividing cells was intriguing; that the music was fabulous and they enjoyed the freedom of exploring the performance areas whilst listening to the music which sounded great wherever one was; o the hatching dinosaur eggs were gorgeous; o please do it again next year!

We have had many conversations in the last few weeks about Origins and the constraints we worked under as well as what we have learned from the experience. On the whole though we are glad the event happened.

For Corrugated Iron it provided a number of exciting opportunities. We collaborated with colleague organisations Darwin Symphony Orchestra and Darwin Chorale - and these were new relationships. We extended our already significant relationship with Darwin City Council and Origins provided a fantastic avenue to publicly launch the HMS Beagle Bell Ship Chime. Staging an event that was part of international celebrations is significant and it was wonderful that Origins provided an opportunity for the DSO to perform their commissioned work celebrating Darwin 200. Our workshop participants and young actors performed for an audience much larger than the usual mid-year show and this was particularly exciting for members who have been involved with the company for a while.

Continuing the investigation of the species theme, director Alex Ben Mayor has created personalised certificates where names have been aligned with species as a tribute to your involvement in Origins.

Many thanks for your participation, involvement and contribution to Origins.

Kind regards

Damien A Pree Associate Artist