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THE
WORKSHOP
*highlights and
brief notes
|
Tony Totino (Loose Moose Alumni -living in Oslo) and I taught
for five days. We would alternate who we would work with
and gave them a variety of approaches for their needs.
In listening to the participants, I discovered that the group
was a little fractured and displayed frustration about certain
areas of "control".
In my class, I started the group with a series of basic
exercises to get them on the same wave-length (understanding
the worth of accepting offers which fell in context of their
work, risk taking, enthusiasm).
Each day we explored exercises that allowed them to work
within the confines of script work but which also encouraged
spontaneous generation of possibilities. (Each time you
do a structured play, there will be small differences in the
performance.) |
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CHALLENGES |
It's Opera. All of the stereotypes you can think
of exist. Physicality is limited. Structure is
TIGHT and precise. The concept that FAILURE could be
useful is a little foreign in this kind of environment.
Specific challenges also come from their history as a group.
There's a wide age range and, outside of their musical talents
there's a wide range in their performance skills. One of
the ongoing challenges that I enjoyed was how to make the work
relevant to their experieces and the
challenge of understanding their reality in the creative
process versus their performance. Every day there was
something new to learn about them and how to address their
issues. A universal problem that seems to appear in most
NON-improvisation groups is this: Most groups have some
negative connotations associated with improvisation. So it
takes a few moments to see reluctant participants open up and
truly participate (not just their body but a true
involvement). And people won't ask the necessary
questions or offer the beneficial comments UNTIL they realize
the worth of the work. This is doubly so in groups that
are not "artistic" by nature (business, sport, etc) The
other universal truth is that ALL groups I have worked with do
come around. |
k
many of them got aware of habits and attitudes that they need
to work on - or at least be more aware of.
work.