Creative Skills Workshops

ADVENTURES IN CHARACTER BUILDING:
Come to play, Come to grow, Come to learn.
Come and explore a new strategy for unleashing your acting prowess in expansive and expressive characters. Within the context of simple scene work we will reveal characters and stories that surprise us. By setting strange obstacles and restricting our normal path to character creation we will find characters we never realized we had within us. The idea is to circumvent our individual tendencies or “go-to zones” in character building. While traveling new paths, we will find new characters we couldn’t imagine and surprise ourselves.Whereas, some theatre training focuses on breaking down an actor to open him/her up, this exploration is about playing in new ways to enable new discoveries. The focus of this workshop will be on process over product and learning over performance. All workshops are modified to fit within several different time frames. Please contact us to discuss what might work best for you.

FILMMAKERS CHALLENGE
Beginning or Intermediate Level:
Participant teams of 3 to 7 artists/students will leverage a short story, scene, or film that is 5 minutes or less as the content or inspiration for a digital video adaptation. This adaptation or remake, however, will be funneled through a series of requirements forcing creative problem solving and teamwork to generate a new vision and challenge the usual story creation process. This fascinating process revolves around the idea that restrictions actually provide freedom and creative opportunities leading to unexpected, and often poignant or humorous discoveries.This workshop can be offered in conjunction with skills training in shooting, lighting and digital video editing. It is applicable to all levels of filmmakers and creators and although the focus is easily placed on product, our intent is to focus it on the process. This method has been used by graduate students, high school students and independent filmmakers alike. It is also possible to tailor the work to a variety of skill levels simultaneously and work with one group or many within the same period.

FINDING YOUR INNER APE
Physical Actor Training:
This workshop series focuses on finding extreme characters through physical exploration. Using techniques from clown and mask work while looking deeply into understanding of archetype, and using some concepts about space, weight and flow of energy from Rudolf Laban descendents, we will explore how to trust our own intuition and impulse. After we’ve played on our own we will introduce our characters to each other and figure out if ‘Rufus the elephant boy’ is the evil step brother of ‘Camille the baker’. We will then create a world where these character’s can play together using improvisational techniques to create repeatable scenes. We will incorporate drawing, character interviews, writing and household objects to help our imaginations run free.

GENERATE, CREATE, COMMUNICATE:
Using Improv to Unleash The Story Inside
We will look at improvisation and its applications in theater, writing, dance and overall creative endeavors. In a playful and supportive environment using games, movement and freewriting, we will work individually and collaboratively to generate ideas and create work. Perhaps you’ll find that your childhood pet iguana Charles inspires a jalopy adventure for two sisters to the Mohave Desert! Artists of all disciplines and anyone who wants to have fun discovering stories is welcome. No experienced required, but an open mind is.