!nstant Theatre Company are proud to host top-rate workshops at cut-rate prices. These are professionals who we've convinced after long and arduous meetings to teach their craft as a service to the community. Space is limited, stage experience preferred.
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Saturday February 23rd from 10am to 1pm
INTRODUCTION
TO CLOWN
Instructor: Becky Johnson
Saturday February 23rd from 1pm to 4pm
INTRODUCTION
TO THE "HAROLD"
Instructor: Alistair Cook
Saturday February 23rd from 1pm to 4pm
INTRODUCTION
TO THE LIVELY ARTS: Commedia Dell'Arte
Instructor: Susan Bertoia
Please Note:
All shows are at the Roundhouse Performance
Centre
(181 Roundhouse Mews / Davie
@ Pacific)
Reservations Call 604-874-7522
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Saturday February 23rd from 10am to 1pm
INTRODUCTION
TO CLOWN
Workshop Leader: Becky Johnson
General Public: $20
Festival Pass Holders: Free
Description:
Required: Comfortable clothes and shoes to be worn
Workshop Leader: With a background in improv and physical theatre, Becky Johnson has been spending the past few years involved in a wide variety of bizarre theatre and sport fishing across Canada and along the west coast. She has performed improvised theatre with many ensembles including Under the Gun Improv, Grunt Improv, the CHUMPS, Theatre in a Box, Foolproof Improv, and in the annual Food Bank Fundraiser "Laughing for Food."
Becky had the wonderful fortune to create and perform the role of Special Agent Damn Silly in Under the Gun's production of their original semi-scripted show The X-Fools; the Spoof is out There. In 1999, Becky finished a year of full-time study at the Dell'Arte International School of Physical Theatre where she immersed herself in areas of study such as Corporeal Mime, Melodrama, Commedia Dell'Arte, Modern Dance, and Clown.
She is currently creating and touring a solo clown show, underground (with ruby), that will be playing as part of the Third Annual !nstant Improvisation Festival at Yaletown's Roundhouse Theatre (Davie at Pacific) Tuesday February 19th at 9pm. For more information, please call 604-874-7522. For more on Becky Johnson, please visit www.crosswinds.net/~beckybecky.
On a good day, she can also clean and fillet
a salmon in under two minutes.
Saturday February 23rd from 1pm to 4pm
INTRODUCTION
TO THE "HAROLD"
Workshop Leader: Alistair Cook
General Public: $20
Festival Pass Holders: Free
Background:
The Harold was created by Del Close and Charna Halpern. A group of
improvisers take a single suggestion from the audience and use it as a
springboard to create thirty to forty-five minutes of scenes, games and
monologues. As the improvisers perform, they discover connections, interweaving
their characters and stories to create a cohesive universe. Often enlightening,
never obsequious, The Harold is an extemporaneously entertaining, serendipitously
aforementioned piece of theater which is destined to elevate your mind
to galactic proportions.
Description: This workshop will cover the basics and essentials of the "Harold" format of longform improvised theatre. Come and learn the freeing and exciting form of improvisation from the artistic director of !nstant Theatre Company, Alistair Cook. Our preference is to have generous, confident, enthusiastic, experienced players who have a hunger to experiment with their skills. (sorry, no audits)
Required: Comfortable clothing and an open mind.
Workshop Leader: Since 1989 Alistair Cook has been performing, directing and coordinating improvisation for audiences across Canada. However, he still feels he is only scratching the surface of all that is possible in improvisation. Cook's main focus has been the coordination of the National tournament for young people the "Canadian Improv Games".
Cook is currently the National Director
and BC Regional Director of the event sponsored by the National Arts Centre
(Ottawa, Ontario) and Artistic Director of Vancouver's !nstant Theatre
Company. He has directed over 15 different long form shows and done
corporate communication and shows for the likes of Fuji Canada and YES
youth networks. Future plans include opening the "!nstant Theatre
School", a school highlighting story based improvisation skills and long
form techniques. "The company is a very important part of my training"
says Cook, "I'm constantly contradicting myself and learning from those
contradictions. If there was an easy equation to improvisation someone
would have patented it long ago."
Saturday February 23rd from 1pm to 4pm
INTRODUCTION
TO THE LIVELY ARTS: Commedia Dell'Arte
Workshop Leader: Susan Bertoia
General Public: $30
Festival Pass Holders: $10
Background:
COMMEDIA DELL'ARTE is the lively form of professional Italian mask theatre
that flourished in 15thC Europe. Commedia dell'arte is an actors theatre.
It is exciting, challenging, physical, inspiring and part of the western
actor¹s heritage. Traditionally Commedia troupes relied on stereotypical
characters, masks, broad gestures and clowning to play to large, diverse
crowds and so from here we start our exploration.
Description: This interactive workshop
is a great introduction to the main stock characters 
Arlecchino,
Columbina, Pantalone, Dottore, Capitano, the Young Lovers and Pulcinella.
We take a contemporary approach through mask, movement, lazzi (physical
comic business), improvisation working towards scenarios. This workshop
is highly physical and fun and is open to all levels of experience. Dancers,
visual artists, musicians, improvisers and actors will find this workshop
of particular interest! Limit - 30 participants. (sorry, no audits)
Provided: an energetic, knowledgeable workshop leader, a fun interactive workshop, hand outs if desired, visuals and a live demonstration of the characters with costume and mask, an opportunity for some students to try on masks, a question and answer period.
Required: Comfortable clothes and shoes to be worn. Desire to move and have fun!
Workshop Leader: Susan Bertoia,
professional theatre artist & teacher. She has been leading this and
many other workshops for over 8 years. Skills and Training include:
BFA Theatre Acting UBC, Advanced Commedia Studies at Il Piccolo Teatro
di Milano- Milan, Italy & at Dell'Arte School of Physical Theatre-
California, USA. Leather Mask Making with Donato Sartori in Padua,
Italy. Circus Skills - rope climbing, clowning, twirling performing
with CIRQUE POULE. Advanced Movement One Yellow Rabbit's Lab Intensive.
Dance - Flamenco & Modern. As Performer/Creator: Plum and Other Colours
and a variety of Commedia Plays for BellaLuna
Productions the which she is Artistic Director. For more on Susan
Bertoia visit www.geocities.com/bellalunatheatre
| THEATRE | MUSIC | TOURNAMENTS | WORKSHOPS |
| back to festival calendar | home | Our Season | Last Season |