Canberra artist and acrobat Jake Silvestro says his first solo work, December, is "a really important collision of my two practices".
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The physical theatre piece is Silvestro's response to the climate crisis, focusing on the hugely destructive Australian bushfires of 2019-20 and using multiple media to tell its story.
Silvestro studied at ANU School of Art - specifically, printmaking - and also works in the performing arts.
This is the first time he's brought his two artistic strands together: as well as appearing on stage, he designed the set and choreographed, collaborating with director Adam Deusier.
And he creates art and movement during the course of the performance.
In December, Silvestro plays a man who returns to the remnants of his home after the fires to try to find something - anything - that hasn't been destroyed.
"He starts digging through the ashes."
While searching for whatever might have survived, he is also looking for something else - hope - despite the great loss he's suffered.
"The memories still live on."
The set contains various forms of wood - obviously appropriate for a show about bushfires - including large sheets of paper and canvases on the walls and floor that are, or will be, covered by Silvestro.
"It's mostly charcoal, chalk and black ink," Silvestro says.
"I do a lot of the drawing during the show."
Silvestro moved to Europe during the fires and says he found himself talking to a lot of people about what was happening in Australia that summer and began to think about telling the story with its devastation, tragedy and reminder that climate change is happening.
"This is my contribution."
On returning to Australia at the start of COVID-19 he began developing what would become December.
It all started coming together in 2021 when he engaged Emma Kelly, whom he'd heard of through friends, to write the score.
Former Canberran Kelly, who performs as Happy Axe, scored December for violin, musical saw and vocals and used electronic music production to embellish and change the sound.
It was a happy collaboration, with Kelly and Silvestro responding to each other's work in the process of development.
Kelly recorded and produced the score which will be played during the performances.
It was a different way of working for Kelly, who came to Canberra from Sydney to study music at ANU "and ended up staying for 15 years", composing and performing in a style she calls "dream pop" - songs that use a lot of ambient elements.
As Happy Axe she performed in "strange places" including the summits of Mount Ainslie and Black Mountain.
Silvestro, 30, was born in Perth and came to Canberra as a teenager, where he took up acrobatics, being mostly self-taught. He went on to work with Warehouse Circus and companies around the nation and internationally, including Circus OZ and CIRCA.
Among his other achievements was creating Canberra's Poncho Circus which performed and toured physical theatre shows between 2012 and 2017.
Silvestro couldn't afford to go to the circus school in Melbourne so he taught himself and picked up skills along the way while working.
"I met a lot of likeminded people."
He spent time with them, worked with them and learned from them.
"One job led to another."
Now, he moves between Canberra, Albury and Melbourne.
"There's a lot of work in those three cities for me."