Introduction

In defiance of definition or categorization, the Odd Enjinears make striking productions with curious technology. They reinvent theatre using no words, with a unique blend of sculpture, music, machines and performance:

· Wild and absolutely wonderful
· Charming, funny and amazing
· In a class by itself
· Brilliantly conceived
· People turned into machine
· Exhilarating experience
· Wildly imaginative
· Transforming the mundane into the magical
· Your imagination will be immeasurably enriched forever

In my opinion they are one of the most exciting, inspiring and innovative groups working in this country. Their performances were highly dramatic, visually rich, conceptually provocative and in a word, unique. What's more, this exploratory work drew a large and very excited audience........... Basil Jones, Producer, Handspring Puppet Company

By showing people the unexpected within the familiar, we have found a basic method to stimulate creativity and inventiveness whilst being humorous and dramatic. By avoiding high-tech methods (or 'box' technology in which the workings are hidden) we use rudimentary mechanics and 'off the shelf' technology, exposing all workings to ensure that everyone can identify with, understand and follow our play. We are an inventive team approaching technology with the creative instincts of artists, thus we may use a compressor to whip cream and play flute organs. Or we may use a welder to make lightening, make sparks and sound for a swinging pendulum, or as a projector for a 'puppet show'. Through our work we offer wide educational possibilities.

Odd Enjinears was founded and is directed by Mark O'Donovan, a qualified Electrical Engineer who later turned to sculpture with an emphasis on motion which causes repeated sounds - music machines. In 1996 Mark met Geert Jonkers, a Dutch percussionist with strong interest in inventing musical gadgets and the two have collaborated on many projects. For a series of projects the core group puts together another team of co-workers. This ensures constant evolution and opportunities for workshops and training.

In 2002 Odd Enjinears went on tour to Holland. Geert set-up and now directs Odd Enjinears.nl.

Odd Enjinears projects have been supported by the Royal Netherlands Embassy in Pretoria, the Fonds voor de Podiumkunsten in the Netherlands, the National Arts Council of South Africa and Cape Town City Council.

Past projects include:

• Opening of the new BP Headquaters, Cape Town - event for staff, April 2005
• TEN 2 ONE @ the Grahamstown National Arts Festival, June/July 2004
• TEN TO ONE, @ the Waterfront, Cape Town Festival, 18 to 21 March 2004
• TEN TO ONE, Oudelibertas Amphitheater, Stellenbosch, 3 to 6 March 2004.
• OddXperiments, show for the friends of the National Art Gallery, Cape Town, 14 February 2004
• Odd Enjinears @ Aardklop festival, September 2003
• OddXperiments, experimental shows in the Odd workspace, August 2003
• Odd Enjinears oddX1 @ Maynardville Open Air Theatre, Cape Town Festival, April 2003
• Odd Enjinears in the DonkerGat, Cape Town Ydesire party, February 2003
• Odd Enjinears Rollin'Rumour tour of the Netherlands, Oerol Festival, Festival Etcetra, Amsterdam NDSM, May to September 2002
• Odd Enjinears Vee Eye Eye, Cape Town Festival, March 2002
• Signal machine, commission for a public noon signal, Woodmill Lane shopping centre, Knysna, February 2002
• Odd Enjinears BlackSmith, Cape Town, December 2001/January 2002
• Machine for partly filling a million cups, commission for a public music machine Woodmill Lane shopping centre. Knysna, November 2001
• Odd Enjinears @ Power Station, Grahamstown National Arts Festival, June/July 2001.
• Machine for taking time out, Knysna, commission for a public water feature for the Woodmill Lane shopping centre. , April/May 2001.
• Machine for greeting shoppers, Knysna, Commission for a public sculpture for the Woodmill Lane shopping centre. January/February 2001
• One City Festival, Cape Town, September 2000.
• Hoopie Lê, Oudtshoorn Klein Karoo Nationale Kunstefees, March/April 2000.
• Seeds in Deed, Grahamstown National Arts festival, June/July 1999.
  Everard Read Gallery Knysna, commission for a water fountain feature and gates, April 1999.
• Odd Enjinears @ Knysna Arts Experience, March 1998.
• Fence for a grassroots sports facility, Bertrams Johannesburg, Architects Albonico and Sack, June/July 1997
• Music Box street show, Oudtshoorn Klein Karoo Nationale Kunstefees, April 1997.

This list does not include smaller projects and private commissions of which there are many water features, gates and fences.

Current and Upcoming Projects:

• Commission for a public sculpture, Iziko Museums of Cape Town, Mark O'Donovan selected to build a mobile sculpture outside the South African National Gallery in Government Gardens, Cape Town.
• The Odd Schools Project 2006 - Odd Enjinears will develop the machine and show which will entice the imagination of school pupils. The aim is to encourage an interest in technical education.

With each project undertaken the reputation of the Odd Enjinears has been growing. Our work is cutting edge contemporary which is highly appealing to a broad audience of all age groups and cultures. Our work crosses bridges between Arts and Culture on the one hand and Science and Technology on the other. Our work is unique.

Press Clippings:

A human head shoots up from nowhere, then vanishes back into the ground. In the dark, weird machines, which fuse backyard junk with technology, invite to be viewed and played with before an amazing performance begins upstairs in Grahamstown's derelict Power Station…… This wild and absolutely wonderful piece……. Adrienne Sichel, Published on the Web by IOL on 2001-07-10 14:25:11.

I recently attended a performance by The ODD ENJINEARS and Mark O’Donovan in Cape Town. In my opinion, they are one of the most exciting, inspiring and innovative groups working in this country. Their performances were highly dramatic, visually rich, conceptually provocative and in a word, unique. What’s more, this exploratory work drew a large and very excited audience..........Basil Jones, Producer, HANDSPRING PUPPET COMPANY (PTY) LTD, 15a Clairvaux Road, KALK BAY ,7975 Cape Town, South Africa. Tel +27 (0)21 788-8233 Fax +27(0)21 788-8234 email hspring@iafrica.com

Prepare to be challenged by the whimsical. Suspend your need for logic. And give yourself over to a charming, funny and amazing show - Vee Eye Eye - by the Odd Enjinears, Sandy Shepherd, March 19 2002.

Hoopie Lê is in a class by itself, and by the end of the festival extra shows had to be put on. A brilliantly conceived example of physical theatre in which everyday objects and actions became supernatural, extra-terrestrial one might even say, with the underlying metaphor behind people turned into machine eating chips, people furiously washing their hair while mouthing nonsense, wearing shoes that are brooms and making sounds through industrial piping........ The Arts trimph, Wilhelm Snyman, Cape Times Monday, April 3, 2000

It's an exhilarating experience, both easily accessible and deeply mystifying. If this show ever comes to Cape Town, go and see it: Your imagination will be immeasurably enriched forever. Setting the imagination on fire, Stephan Hofstatter, Cape Times, Tuesday, March 28, 2000

The term "performance engineering" would perhaps be fitting…… Cape Times, January 7, 2002, Neil Horne

They inhabit a whimsical space that falls within the overlapping fields of sculpture, theatre, performance art and music. They put on shows in curious locations and take audiences on journeys to wildly imaginative places. They play homemade musical instruments that would make Dr Seuss proud. They are site-specific in the truest sense of the word…… Artthrob Reviews, Blacksmith, James Webb

History

Aug 2000 Cape Town 1-City festival Guga S Thebe art center, Langa. Funded by the Cape Town City Council, a workshop for five unemployed men to build mobile African toys on a large scale for the street carnival through the streets of Cape Town. Odd Team: Mark O'Donovan; Collen Mtiya; Phumzile Panyeko; Tsepo Tqule; Anele Mxotwa; Eric Roxo.

April - May 2000 Iberoamerican Arts Festival Bogota, Columbia. Mark O'Donovan invited to join the Amsterdam based group, Warner&Consorten, for a series of outdoor performances.

Aug 1999Knysna Fine Art Gallery Knysna, SA In a collaborative project with mosaic artist Simon Stone, Mark O'Donovan was commissioned to build a water fountain feature and gates in copper and steel for the entrance to the Everard Read Gallery in Knysna.

Jun - Jul 1999Standard Bank Arts Festival Grahamstown, SA Seeds in Deed - a site specific musical mix of machine, organ pipes, base guitar and drums. Odd Team: Mark O'Donovan; Graeme Feltham; Howard Butcher; James Kjlzinski.

Dec 1998 – Apr 1999Drempelhonger Amsterdam, The Netherlands Mark as member of the Warner&Consorten team: “The value of my time spent in Amsterdam working on this exceptional indoor site-specific project, was immeasurable to me as a creative person”.

Sep 1998Knysna Arts Experience Knysna, SA Five outdoor performances at various locations for the festival, as well as a two-week workshop for five local participants. Odd Team: Mark O'Donovan; Jane Rademeyer; Graeme Feltham; Janine Williams; Jorgi Vizciano, Geert Jonkers (NL); Fiona de Bell (NL).

Jul – Aug 1998National Arts Council Knysna, SA The National Arts Council awarded Mark O'Donovan a grant for a music sculpture workshop with township youths. Elements of music machines were incorporated in a variety of shows and music sculptures were exhibited at Trent Read’s Knysna Fine Art gallery throughout the year.

Apr 1998Klein Karoo Nationale Kunstefees Oudshoorn, SA In this, the first project under the name Odd Enjinears, we performed twice a day for the duration of the festival a street show entitled ‘Music Box’. Odd Team: Mark O'Donovan; Graeme Feltham; Vincent Myberg.

May – Oct 1997European Art Festivals Europe Mark was a member in training with Amsterdam based group Warner&Consorten. He spent two months in intensive training and experimentation in Amsterdam, and three months on tour at various European arts festivals. “My education in this type of work took a giant leap forwards through exposure to the work of other groups from around the world, and through working with the generosity and creativity of the highly motivated and professional group of people directed by Warner van Wely”.

Mar – Apr 1997 Klein Karoo Nationale Kunstefees Oudshoorn, SA Mark was a freelance builder with the Amsterdam based group ‘Dogtroep’, to workshop and construct a show called ‘A1’. The show was performed in Oudtshoorn, Grahamstown and Holland.

Feb 1997University of Pretoria Pretoria, SA Mark conducted a workshop on site-specific, interdisciplinary, non-narrative street theatre for drama students at Pretoria University as an introduction to a new approach to theatre.

Nov 1996 – Feb 1997Newtown Market Theatre Precinct Johannesburg, SA Mark developed and performed the Stripe Street Act: In these street shows members of the audience were given the opportunity to interact by turning handles, pulling strings, hitting tuned bowls and ‘driving’ the music machines.

Sep 1996Arts Alive Festival Johannesburg, SA Mark O'Donovan was workshop participant with Amsterdam based group Warner &Consorten

Jan 1996Johannesburg Arts Foundation Johannesburg, SA Mark O'Donovan and composer Jason Armstrong were funded by the Foundation for Creative Arts for a project incorporating fire and music sculpture.

Nov 1995Impromptu Street Acts Cape Town, SA Mark performed the impromptu street act, ‘Mr. Stripe’, taking a mechanical dog and puppy, to where other people took their dogs – walking along a promenade or to dog training in the park – to experiment with audience participation

Sep – Oct 1995 The Market Theatre, Newtown, Johannesburg, SA KLAP public performance company workshopped (four participants) and performed the ‘Newtown Urban Eco Tour‘, a sight specific show in which the audience moved from one space to another. Team: Mark O'Donovan, Catherine Henegan, Francois Venter, Jason Armstrong and five students.

Jun – Jul 1995 Standard Bank Arts Festival Grahamstown, SA Mark conducted a workshop on site-specific, interdisciplinary, non-narrative wild theatre for drama, dance and sculpture students at Rhodes University, Grahamstown. We put together a show called ‘Hell’, in a section of the old jail, as part of the festival

Apr 1995 Newtown Market Theatre, Johannesburg, SA ‘KLAP’ public performance company presented the Newtown Fleamarket Relaunch; street parade and street shows. Team: Mark O'Donovan, Catherine Henegan, Francois Venter, and many others.

Jan 1995 Market Theatre Laboratory Johannesburg, SA As ‘KLAP’ public performance company, we held a workshop (two participants), turned the Theatre around and performed ‘Bugler and Fish‘. Team: Mark O'Donovan, Catherine Henegan, Francois Venter and two students.

Sep 1994 Arts Alive Festival Johannesburg, SA Mark was workshop participant with Amsterdam based group ‘Dogtroep’ for the Johannesburg Arts Alive Festival. After the ‘Dogtroep’ show he was a founder member of a group called ‘KLAP’, which emphasised a pioneering spirit in visual non-narrative performance works. These projects were collaborative and educational, involving students from all the artistic disciplines.