WORKSHOPS AND TRAINING

Roving Classical Commedia University* (*Totally Unaccredited) with Mask Arts Company

Presents

Commedia dell'Arte Summer Intensive Workshop

Sunday, June 22 – Thursday, July 3, 2008

June 28 day off
July 4th Commedia dell'Arte Picnic

Daily Schedule
Personal warm-up 8:30
Class 9 AM to 1:00 PM
 Lunch Break
2:00 PM to 5:30 PM sometimes 6:30 PM 
Over  88 hours of Commedia dell'Arte Class Time

Fee: $795
Some partial scholarships are available based on need.

RCCU, now in its seventh year, teaches Classical Commedia dell’Arte as close to its original form as we believe it was performed in the 1500’s and 1600’s.  Master mask-maker and Maestro of Commedia dell’Arte, Stanley Allan Sherman will head this summer’s intensive. 

RCCU will again bring in guest experts that specialize in specific aspects of Commedia dell’Arte. Including Caroline Copland with the world famous New York Baroque Dance Company. 

Much of this years scenario and improvisation work will be taken from RCCU's new translation of three of Flaminio Scala scenarios developed by the legendary Gelosi Company 1572 to 1604. 

If you have any questions please feel free to call or e-mail. Space is limited...$95 reserves your place.
Payment accepted by check, cash or credit  card through Google Checkout.

For registration and to reserve your place
biographical information, further details, more information and questions go to www.commediau.com and www.maskarts.com
or
Contact Stanley Allan Sherman at 212-243-4039
or
Email il-dottore@commediau.com or stanley@maskarts.com

RCCU is indebted to our teachers, the late masters of physical theatre and Commedia dell'Arte Jacque Lecoq and Carlo Mazzone-Clementi.  Combined with RCCU's experience to gives you two weeks of Commedia dell’Arte - "Momentum, Effort, Risk and Joy". Experience the Commedia dell’Arte actor’s "falling into the void" of improvisational acting within the scenario.

This workshop is geared to the professional performer, student and teacher.

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Ideal Glass Gallery & Minetta Street Productions
Presents

LECOQ TECHNIQUE
THE ART OF MOVEMENT AT THE SERVICE OF THE ACTOR

WITH MASTER TEACHER: NORMAN TAYLOR

June 23rd -27th  
 
After a highly successful visit in 2006 Norman Taylor, who taught alongside Jacques Lecoq for 20 years, is returning to New York for a five day summer workshop.

Beginning with the premise that everything moves this workshop is an exploration into the inherently physical nature of theater.  It will explore the analysis of movement, one of the fundamentals of Jacques Lecoq's approach to artistic training.  From the most natural movements of the human body to the observation of movement within the natural world, the actor will move towards the creation of dramatic space and situation.  Using also the investigation of rhythm, play and physicality, this workshop offers the actor a unique opportunity to develop a heightened sense of their body in performance with one of the world’s greatest teachers.

Norman Taylor taught at the Ecole Internationale de Théâtre in Paris for 20 years.  Prior to this, he was a student of Lecoq's himself, first as an actor and then as a student of his pedagogy.  From 1998 - 1999, Norman was the Pedagogical Coordinator at the school.  He now teaches Lecoq's techniques throughout Europe and Latin America and is on faculty at the renowned Lassaad International School of Theatre in Belgium. This is Norman’s second visit to North America.

Participants do not need to have studied Lecoq technique but do need to have a working familiarity with one or more theatrical movement techniques.

For more information please contact:
Adrienne Kapstein at lecoqworkshop@gmail.com, or by phone at: (347) 645 4985

Hours:    Monday, June 23rd through Friday, June 27th, 10am - 3pm

Location:  Ideal Glass Gallery, 22 East 2nd street
                 (between The Bowery and 2nd Avenue)                                 

Fee: $450

*$100 deposit required to reserve space. Returnable only up until June 16th.  Remainder due first day of class

Please make checks out to Adrienne Kapstein and mail to:

Adrienne Kapstein
2515 Glenwood Road, #6G
Brooklyn, NY 11210

SPACE IS LIMITED

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New York Downtown Clown
Presents

The Slapstick Dojo
a fight club for comedy

As seen in BACKSTAGE Summer Training Spotlight!

Classes are every Wednesday from 6-7pm @ West Side Dance Project
260 W 36 Street, 3rd Floor. 
$15 per class or $50 for a month pass.

Prospective students can try a class for free.

For more information visit www.newyorkdowntownclown.com/workshops 

March 1 2008- Slapstick is a uniquely American art form born of the silent film era. The focus of the Slapstick Dojo is instruction and development of comedy trips, falls, slaps, kicks and comic uses of props. This is an ongoing class with rolling open admission. The class operates similar to a yoga or martial arts class, where students of all skill levels are encouraged to come to “work out” and further develop technique. Each class will include instruction in specific skills and exercises that will teach students the methods and moves of slapstick greats from silent films, circuses, and contemporary physical comedy. 

This new workshop is the only weekly training in the world that focuses exclusively on the style, technique, and character of slapstick.

Slapstick is the comedy martial art and the study of it has benefits for all types of performers. Class instructors are Joel Jeske (Big Apple Circus- Step Right Up!, Big Apple Clown Care Unit, Cut to the Chase) and Christopher Lueck (New York Downtown Clown, on-camera commercials). Combining their skill, experience, and knowledge of physical comedy, martial arts, and education Jeske and Lueck aim to develop performers’ sense of timing, use of physical space, improve improvisational skills, enforce connection and communication with a partner, sharpen physical action and reactions, and develop comedic sense. In addition The Slapstick Dojo hopes to prepare performers for physical comedy based roles in film, commercials, and on stage.

About the Company:
New York Downtown Clown is dedicated to cultivating clown theatre in NYC by creating a central hub for clowns and clown fans to share, learn, promote, and teach through performances, workshops, and online resources. The Clown Revue is the center of the clown theatre community in New York City and has performed to sold-out audiences since May of 2006. Downtown Clown produces many special events and workshops that engage, inspire, and develop the clown theatre community in NYC including The Golden Nose Awards, Clown Olympics, and Slapstick Dojo. For more information visit www.newyorkdowntownclown.com 

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Bouffon and Clown Workshops

With Master Teacher and Award Winning Director
Eric Davis 
 
 A FUN, PLAYFUL EXPLORATION
 FOR ACTORS, WRITERS, DIRECTORS AND MOVERS
 
Bouffon:  (The Anti-clown)
 
   In the world of Bouffon, the audience is the joke.  Bouffons show no
vulnerability.  Their great joy is to parody the audience, its values
and flaws.  This pack of grotesque outsiders engage and parody the
audience with great joy, intelligence and charm.  To play as Bouffon, is
to celebrate contrast & paradox!   They are disgusting, yet beautiful. 
They hate you, yet they flatter you.  The Bouffons are the ultimate
manipulators!  A Joke, told by a Nightmare!  Are you ready?   A
ferocious social satire is about to explode, liberating the energy in
the room with an immense pleasure to parody and to play.  In this
workshop, participants will explore:
 
* Connecting with the audience,                    
 
* Parodying societal maladies and hypocrisy
 
* Creating complex physical characters         
 
* Playing upon contrasts of theme and rhythm 
 
* Being 100 % present and captivating
 
@ 440 Studios  (440 Lafayette  at Astor) Sundays,  MARCH 30- MAY 25  (8
sessions)  3:30 PM - 6:30PM
 
 The Clown:  (Improvising from the Heart) 
 
In the World of Clown, the Clown is the joke.  The clown is completely
vulnerable, wearing his or her thoughts and feelings on the outside of
the skin for all to see. Through great generosity and courage we allow
the audience to see our personal ridiculousness. Not to say a joke, but
to be the joke. When you learn to do this, you will not be liked.  You
will be loved. In this class, you will search for and build your inner
clown through various exercises and play, focusing on impulse, emotion
and physical expression.  
 
Meets Saturdays: Noon-3 PM  March 29-May 24th. @ 440 Studios (440
Lafayette at Astor Place)
 
About the Instructor
 
Eric Davis is a master teacher and practitioner of Bouffon and Clown as
well as a Director of the NY Clown Theatre Festival.  His Bouffon and
Clown work have received critical acclaim from the NY Times, TimeOut NY,
Village Voice, Backstage and the Hollywood Reporter.   He is the
Director and Co-writer of Bouffon Glass Menajoree which was nominated
for 4 awards (Outstanding Director, Original Short Script, Ensemble and
Production) by the NY Innovative Theatre Awards. Mr. Davis starred as
the lead clown in Cirque du Soleil's Quidam and recently was hired to
workshop both Kooza and their 2009 touring production.  He is currently
a Bouffon consultant for John Clancy's Captain Overlord's Follies, which
premieres at the International Arts Festival in August of 2008 and for
the Combustible's Detritus project.  June 2008 will be the premiere of
his latest Directorial Project, a Clown Noir.  His work as Red Bastard
is celebrated both in the U.S. and abroad.  He has studied clown with 
Sue Morrison, David Shiner, Rene Bazinet  and Philippe Gaulier.  For
more info please visit www.redbastard.com
 
FEE:  $300 per workshop.  $500 for both   
 
Bonus:  $50 discount for each referral you make that takes a class
(please inquire)
 
FOR MORE INFO: email info@redbastard.com

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Urban Research Theater presents
--- BODY & SONG WORKSHOPS ---

This workshop is a rare opportunity to explore the organic intersection of song, movement
and action.

Each session begins with the discovery of active silence, as the group follows its leader
through elementary movement explorations in search of the playful, the rigorous, the
dynamic, and the subtle. We then move into singing, using fragments of traditional and
original vibratory songs to unlock the freedom and vitality of the body-and-song, the
body-in-song, the body-of-song...

This workshop touches on all aspects of performance and is designed to serve the inner
and outer lives of dancers, actors, singers, martial artists, yoga practitioners, and anyone
with an interest in embodied practice. Every participant receives personal attention and
guidance, and is invited to encounter the present moment in a safe and open space.
Beginners and advanced participants are welcome.

NEXT WORKSHOPS:
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Saturday, May 24, 2008

All workshops take place from 2:00pm to 5:00pm
at Bill Young Studio, 100 Grand Street.
There is a $20 participation fee.

Details and registration:
ben@urbanresearchtheater.com

Participant testimony and other information:
http://www.UrbanResearchTheater.com/

BEN SPATZ has has over ten years of experience as a director, performer, and leader of
theatrical research. He lived in Poland from 2003-2005, first as an ensemble performer
with the Gardzienice Theater Company and then as a Fulbright Fellow at the Grotowski
Institute. Ben has trained with Song of the Goat Theater, Rena Mirecka, Odin Teatret, and
the Workcenter of Jerzy Grotowski and Thomas Richards. In addition to leading the
practice-based performance research of Urban Research Theater, Ben is a doctoral student
in theater at the City University of New York.

MICHELE FARBMAN is a sixteen-year practitioner of chanting, meditation, and other forms
of internal yoga. She has lived and worked in New York City for sixteen years as a writer,
editor and teacher, and has been a full-time member of Urban Research Theater for one
year.

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Announcing
the NYC Big, Big Summertime
"Righteous Pandemonium!" Workshops
with
Christopher Bayes
Acclaimed Director and Master Teacher of Physical Comedy/Clown

Reserve a spot now!

clown
Jump into your body...open like a little flower...rediscover your playful spirit and the simple pleasure and ferocious generosity of performance. In this intensive workshop we pursue the clown together in all of its messy and hilarious beauty. Your relationship to all other forms of drama will be enriched by the openness and reckless abandon that the clown requires.
 Admission is open to all students.
Monday, June 9 - Friday, June 13
Monday, Wednesday & Friday: 2 pm - 6 pm
Tuesday & Thursday: 10 am - 5 pm (w/an hour lunch break)
$500

clown 2
You just found the Ha-Ha. Keep going!
After the clowns are discovered, they can begin to make a mess together in gleeful pandemonium. Students in this workshop will begin to work in groups (families, duos and trios), create clown numbers, and develop solo material. Admission is open exclusively to those who have taken clown or who have studied with Christopher Bayes previously.
Monday, June 16 - Friday, June, 20
10 am - 5 pm (w/an hour lunch break)
$600

commedia dell'arte
Discover the world of Harlequino, Pantalone, and other archetypes of the Commedia dell'Arte. Celebrate the vulgar, the romantic and, of course, the profane. Find the  lazzi. Learn to bring the mask to life. Live fully in your body. Investigate the actor/creator. Take ownership of your work.
Admission is open to all students.
Saturday, June 21 & Sunday June 22
10 am - 5 pm (w/an hour lunch break)
$250

Venue to be announced
All workshops will take place in Manhattan or Brooklyn.

To sign up for a workshop or ask questions,
call 917-533-1924 or email virginiascott@nyc.rr.com

$50 non-refundable deposit required to reserve a spot per workshop.
$50 discount given to those taking more than one workshop!
$100 discount given to those taking all three workshops!

Christopher Bayes is the Head of Physical Acting at the Yale School of Drama. Previously he has served as Director of Movement and Physical Theater at the Brown University/Trinity Repertory Theater Consortium. He is a faculty member of The Juilliard School, NYU's Graduate Acting Program and The Tisch School of the Arts, and The Public Theater's Shakespeare Lab. He is a Master Teacher of Physical Comedy/Clown. He is the Director of Movement for The 39 Steps currently playing on Broadway.

Check out an interview with Chris in the January 2008 edition of the American Theatre Magazine! http://www.tcg.org/publications/at/jan08/bayes.cfm

find out more at www.christopherbayes.com