As well as studying the analysis of movement and mime and investigating new work, we will explore four major styles of acting; Neutral Mask, Bouffon, Clown and Vaudeville.
Participants will leave fueled with a sense of action, more confident in voice and body and in their ability to stand in front of an audience or camera. Their imaginations will be fed and they will be encouraged to test their ideas and realize their artistic dreams in a rigorous and secure environment.
This course is appropriate for professional actors interested in refining their previous training or younger performers (minimum age: 18) keen to develop their craft.
The Neutral mask puts us in touch with our most authentic and intuitive self. It integrates mind and body, clarifies impulse, and allows the wearer to experience the power and fragility that come from living in the present, which is the basis of any other performance work.
Energy normally wasted on eccentricity and character is now directly used in coherent action, from still point to still point.
Nothing can be hidden in clowning: all of your stupidity, charm and child-like play surface and dazzle the audience, taking them to an imaginative place reserved for naivety and magic.
As well as helping to develop a circus clown who can do tricks, falls and circus routines, this section of work reveals the actor devoid of tricks and routines; the actor who can stand on stage or in front of a camera whole and secure in his or her vulnerability, completely spontaneous.
The world of these malformed and anarchic people is perfect.
Their beloved task is to make the audience die of laughter by parodying their ways and gleefully mocking their hypocrisy.
This is one of the most freeing and adventurous experiences for any actor. It requires absolute commitment of imagination and body and involves learning to follow the dark and destructive urge, with charm.
We will inquire into the world of Vaudeville. As well as entering into Melodrama, students will create their own unique theatre by integrating or focusing on one of the styles we have studied. From the serious to the absurd, these explorations are platforms from which participants can continue their investigations after completing the course.