The past week of the Live-In has been quite an eclectic run of events, for sure.
Pam Calabrese MacLean trekked up from her home in Antigonish on Sunday evening with three lovely actresses to share her new play Toss about a mother and daughter dealing with secret revelations of their family and the consequences that their actions, both past and present, may have on their future. Pam has been working on the piece for some time and shared with the audience some of her philosophy towards writing and writing plays in particular, and we had a very interactive audience feedback discussion afterwards.
Monday night saw The Living Room cleared out of furniture and filled with moving bodies as Kim Parkhill led a much appreciated physical theatre workshop. Drawing from recent study in Latvia with Sergey Ostrenko, Kim led a group of mostly local actors in a series of exercises and activities to develop body self-awareness and group dynamic, and explored the static medium of visual artworks by inhabiting their form and appropriating the gestures within.
Long-time DaPoPo associate Steve Cloutier brought his first draft of the first act of his new play They That Take The Sword to the Live-In Tuesday evening, with a lively reading and spirited discussion of dramatic form and contemporary Canadian politics afterwards.
Thursday evening was a double-bill of New Grudge From Ancient Mutiny by Ira Henderson, a hilarious satiric romp of four characters thrust together through circumstance, boredom and iambic pentameter. Although Ira could not attend (he's currently studying at film school in Vancouver) some thoughtful discussion afterwards of the intentions and form of the piece were noted and forwarded his way for further development.
Rounding off Thursday evening was a short glimpse at a new work by Andrea Dymond, a two-hander entitled Shannon/Joanna. Although only a preliminary draft of the first act, Andrea had the audience hooked with her sparse and sensitive portrayal of 4 characters slotted to be played by two actresses, and her innovative pursuit of a circular narrative form.
So that's what you may have missed this past week at the Live-In! There are still workshops and readings coming up, not to mention the fast-approaching opening of When Did You Last See My Mother? So come out and live it up at the Live-In!
UPCOMING EVENTS
!!TONIGHT!!
FRIDAY November 13th 6-10pm
Workshop Making Video Live: Constructing Play in Mediated Landscapes. Lead by Dustin Harvey (Artistic Director, Secret Theatre), the workshop will focus on a process of making performance with video. Participants will work collaboratively on a mini project based on the key ideas of public engagement, mediated space, and contemporary urban living.
SATURDAY November 14th 7pm
Play-reading Drinking Song by Amanda Jernigan. A poetic (re)creation of one stormbound night, and through it, of the shared history of a family of players joined and divided by wine and song.
MONDAY November 16th
Play-reading Paint On Windows by Kristi Anderson.Sunshine Cleaners laundromat and three eclectic characters; Keelin the wide-eyed country kid in the big city, Simon the painter who sees art through meth crystals, and Fiona the eccentric lady of the laundromat determined to solve all life's problems with stain remover.Paint on Windows is a rapid one-woman exhibition of character and physicality.
TUESDAY November 17th
Workshop Introduction to Mask and Neutral Mask led by Courtney Siebring. Shape has meaning, and in this workshop students learn just how our bodies are constantly telling stories. They will expand their physical vocabulary as they tune into their body's instincts, push past their own idiosyncrasies, and examine the actor's most basic tool. This workshop presents the art of mask performance from neutral mask to character mask. Students will learn the proper protocol for handling and donning a mask, the connection of the mask to the body, and the technical aspects of mask performance. Much is "unmasked" for the actor in this workshop such as an awareness of personal physical habits and inroads into character development.
No comments:
Post a Comment