Theme 2022

The banner theme for 2022 is ABOUT TIME.

The following theme course are offered:

 

GRAEME DU FRESNE STRANGE TIMES (singing) (Musical theatre and other songs with non-linear time scales)

One musical that starts at the end of the story and finishes at the beginning! Another in which one character starts at the end of the story whilst the other starts at the beginning, and a musical in which the characters remain the same age despite the story spanning 150 years! In order, these shows are: Merrily We Roll Along by Stephen Sondheim, The Last Five Years by Jason Robert Brown and Love Life by Kurt Weil. We will be working on songs from these non-linear pieces as well as other time related works including Racing With The Clock from The Pyjama Game and a setting of Shakespeare’s Sonnet 18. The arrangements will consist of some ensemble pieces, a duet that will initially be learnt by the ensemble and at least one solo that we will also learn together before attempting sections solo and/or the whole song. Hopefully as each participant’s confidence builds, volunteering for solo singing won’t be too daunting a prospect. We will work on acting the songs as well as singing them. The aim of the course is to explore the material in a supportive environment, improve technically and have some fun.

 

GEORGE RYAN DECIPHERING AND DEMYSTIFYING SHAKESPEARE (acting) (How to communicate Shakespeare’s language and philosophy of time – and better understand our own)

Pleasure and action make the hours seem short (Othello) Words without thoughts never to heaven go (Hamlet) How do actors communicate the complex language in his plays? This course will unlock the secrets of what makes Shakespeare seem impenetrable. We will explore active and fun approaches that will enable each participant to discover and develop their ability to speak and perform Shakespeare’s poetic texts with confidence and conviction. Over the last two years since the lockdown a lot of us have thought about time. Either we have less time, or the time we do have with people has become more precious. Shakespeare is one of the world's best storytellers, and through storytelling we 'hold the mirror up to nature' (Hamlet) in order to understand more about ourselves. This course is an opportunity to examine Shakespeare’s specific philosophy of time, and in doing so understand more about ourselves and our place in this new world.

 

JANICE DUNN MODERN TIMES IN MUSICAL THEATRE (acting and movement) (Exploring the craft of musicals and how to act in them)

A course examining elements of the musical theatre genre; how it transcends boundaries, and why it remains so powerful, poignant, and popular in a post-modern 21st century. (Please note that this is not a singing course.) We will work with a selection of songs, texts, and scenes from a variety of musicals (classic, show, story, political, jukebox, controversial, and mould breaking). LEATSS 2022 School and Course Details 5 There will be group and pair work, and individual work for those who would like to. Our examination will cover elements such as: – song as text, – movement and staging possibilities of numbers, – character and scene exercises linked to how song/ numbers, and story/ narrative, co-exist. These will be our starting points, and work will elaborate and develop throughout the week according to the make-up of the group, and its needs. I hope it will be a joyous, fun, and dynamic course, suitable for everyone; those who are musical theatre buffs, those new to musicals, and everyone in between. There will be movement elements, but they do not require people to be dancers, choreographers, or of course singers, as this is not a singing course; it is an acting course. But we can sing and dance if we want to, while exploring the craft of musicals and how to act them. And all that jazz.......

 

MITCH MITCHELSON STORY-TELLING (acting) (Exploring techniques to translate stories into theatre)

Story-telling is just being a human being. It’s what we do, from the very beginning of time, when we were writing on caves. That’s how we communicate. (Spike Lee, A workshop in the art of storytelling, and taking it to the stage) To cast a spell, to tell a story. We will search in the art of finding inspiration, exploring techniques to translate these stories into theatre, into plays. This course will explore the art of devised theatre, using the means at our disposal: the transformation of simple, everyday objects, the body and voice as sources of character creation and atmosphere generation, ensemble work and dynamics, the Shakespearean transposition of space and time. We will look at extant stories as a model for theatrical discovery, generate scenes from fictive sources and create our own collective story and play. We will also evoke the insights of the theatre practitioner Arne Zaslove and his theories of total theatre, with its evolution from the basic truths of everyday life to epic theatre techniques. As in the prologue to Shakespeare’s Henry V, we will on your imaginary forces work and will be jumping o’er times in our theatre telling.

Last updated: 2022-04-13 07:56:48