Creating Original Performance Work

Participants will be guided through a process of collaboratively creating original performance work. This course is geared towards artists who are looking for innovative ways to brainstorm themes and create original material, as well as to participants with no theatre experience who are interested in the use of performance in group facilitation, teaching, community building, and social justice. The longer version of the course has an option of culminating with a public performance.

 

Act, Inform, Inspire: Using Theatre as a Tool for Dialogue & Social Change

The performing arts are powerful tools for introspection and personal transformation. In this fun and fast-paced workshop, participants will be guided through a variety of games and activities that explore relevant social and personal issues. The workshop will also serve as an introduction to basic Theater of the Oppressed techniques, as developed by Agosto Boal. This workshop is geared towards participants with no theatre experience who are interested in group facilitation, teaching, community building, and social justice, as well as to theatre practitioners who are looking for innovative ways to brainstorm theatrical themes and create original material. Participants are asked to come prepared to move their body, speak their truth, and act from the heart.

 

Current Events through the Lens of Performance

Students analyze and dissect current events through a series of theatre exercises and techniques, and create performative responses to them. These events, researched individually or in small groups, can come from any sector of society and can be affecting communities on a local, national or global level. Using theatrical models, students investigate the impact of the event and critically examine social and political structures. Through their participation in the course the students also learn practical skills in communication, cooperation, critical thinking and observation. The longer version of the course has an option of culminating with a public performance.

 

Interdisciplinary Collaboration Lab: Bringing together experts from in and outside of the arts

In this course, experts in and outside of the arts will be guided through the process of collaboratively creating original interdisciplinary work. This laboratory-style course will expose the participants to innovative ways of brainstorming themes and creating original material together. The longer version of the course has an option of culminating with a public performance.

 

Collaborative Process Through the Lens of Theatre Making

To create is the act of making something that did not previously exist in the world. To create in collaboration – using the collective intelligence, varied experiences and skills of a group – has the potential to generate a wider spectrum of ideas, resulting in content that delves deeper into the topic at hand.

The theatre is one of the ultimate models of the collaborative process, however most enterprises in the 21st century requires some level of collaboration whether in the classroom or workplace. This course, designed for students from any discipline, will be a laboratory examining the dynamics of collaboration – how it works, when it works, when it doesn't work – through the lens of theatre and the theatrical formats of composition, improvisation and games.

Through a series of exercises and techniques, students will build practical skills in communication, cooperation, critical thinking and observation, while examining the nature of collaboration and the challenges faced in different aspects of teamwork. Using theatrical models students will dissect group dynamics and critically examine social and political structures through collaborative laboratories.

 

Immersive Theatre & Viewpoints Basics for Actors and/or Interdisciplinary Artists

In this fast paced workshop participants will be introduced to the basics of the Viewpoints technique and the essentials of creating Immersive Theatre. Viewpoints, currently a staple in American theatre training, is a technique and theatrical vocabulary that originally grew out of post-modern dance and was adapted for actor training by Anne Bogart and SITI Company (New York). Viewpoints breaks down the performer's life on stage into elements that identify his/her relationship to time and space. It serves as a platform for performers to develop a sense of the ensemble and to fluidly and intuitively create together in the moment. Immersive theatre, which has recently been taking the world by storm, takes the audience out of their seats and places them at the center of the playing space. It transforms the passive role of the spectator, into that of spect-actor and co-creator who is essential to the action and narrative of the performance. Immersive Theatre challenges traditional acting methods and calls for a new, more holistic, approach to acting. After receiving a crash course in the techniques, participants will create performative compositions using text chosen by the instructor. The longer version of the course has an option of culminating with a public performance.